Thread for information, and updates to Ohio's five ski resorts of Alpine Valley, Boston Mills / Brandywine, Mad River, and Snow Trails. 

Edited November 17, 20195 yr by NorthShore647

Repost from earlier this year in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park thread:

 

I don't know if this is the right thread for this (BM/BW or NEO skiing?), but the owner of Northeast Ohio's three ski resorts (Boston Mills, Brandywine & Alpine Valley) Peak Resorts, has been bought out by Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts is one of the largest operators/owners of ski resorts in the US, owning Vail, Breck, Stowe, Whistler and Park City among other well-known mountains.

 

The conglomeration has acquired a few other eastern resorts within NEOs Alpine Valleys and BM/BW size range, but mostly focuses on larger resorts where they can undertake real estate developments (a major aspect of their business model). The whole ski industry has been heading towards consolidation, worrying many patrons of local mountains about the effects management from an outside entity. Numerous resorts have however received notable capital investments once under the management of these larger corporations, usually in the form of upgraded lifts and snow making capacity. They claim this will be to the tune of $15 million over the next two years at former Peak Resorts. My guess is that most of this will go towards the larger resorts in Peak’s portfolio further East, skipping their four new Ohio resorts.

 

Peak Resorts has done aright job with BM/BW since they’ve been under their control for the past 15+ seasons, however many were upset with Purdue Pharma’s Sackler family (OxyContin patent holders) recently becoming majority owners.  

 

This acquisition will however be most beneficial to Northeast Ohio’s most avid skiers as it ropes them into their “Epic Pass” system. In its various forms it essentially serves as a season pass for all resorts under Vail ownership/management, meaning that an Epic pass you buy for Ohio of Pennsylvania skiing can get you into Whistler or Mount Snow. Vail Resorts now essentially funnels Northeast or Midwest skiers from local resorts to their larger mountains. If you ski locally, but also spend over 3 days a season on larger mountains further east or out west, this is great news.

 

TL;DR – Larger ski resort conglomerate (Vail) acquires smaller ski resort conglomerate (Peak), owner of Boston Mills, Brandywine and Alpine Valley. Large local capital investments are unlikely. New passes available for regions skiers who vacation at larger mountains.

 

http://news.vailresorts.com/corporate/peakresorts.htm

Edited November 17, 20195 yr by NorthShore647

Brandywine, Boston Mills and Alpine Valley should see improvements next season after purchase by Vail Resorts

Susan Glaser - Nov. 17, 2019

https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019/11/b4b3d78d633197/brandywine-boston-mills-and-alpine-valley-should-see-improvements-next-season-after-purchase-by-vail-resorts.html

 

"'We’ll see a lot more improvements after this season,' promised Jake Campbell, the general manager of all three Northeast Ohio ski resorts. 'We’re asking people to be patient. They’re the best ski company in the world.' ... Campbell, a Medina County native who was promoted to general manager last year, said local skiers and boarders can expect mostly the status quo this year. The most immediate change, he said, is the addition of the Ohio resorts to Vail’s Epic Pass, which gives skiers access to all of Vail’s 37 resorts, plus nearly two dozen other affiliated areas."

 

Not much new information here since the initial announcement by Vail when it acquired Peak Resorts. Undisclosed updates will come next season and fears over pass price increases persist. It does underscore the importance of eastern metro areas as key to the long term viability of the ski industry as its one of the only places where they can increase youth participation (most likely the main reason for the acquisition in the first place). 

 

In regards to the potential future improvements, my speculation is that it won't be anything too big as long as they keep to the $15 million figure for the entire Peak Resorts portfolio of 17 resorts for the next few seasons. It they were to follow other regional mountains, snow making and grooming capabilities would seem a likely investment as it help keep them open longer through increasingly sporadic winters. Knowing what Vail has prioritized in the past at other resorts they have acquired, a revamped or renovated lodge for Boston Mills would be a more likely large scale capital improvement (over revamped lifts). Boston Mills current facility can get quite crowded, especially with the ski school crowds, and a larger cafeteria and bar will be a primary way in which they could increase profits from the resort. Also, the two larger in state resorts of Mad River and nearby Brandywine have recently built new, and significantly larger, main lodges. 

 

TL;DR - New improvements to Brandywine/Boston Mills remain unclear, but will begin next year. Concerns remain over increases to various passes. 

Its hard to say what will happen. Peak’s modus operandi was buying resorts and improving snowmaking systems.  They did  build new lodges in order to reduce maintenance costs.  Vail buys resorts with an eye towards benefiting the skier experience.  They focus on improving and adding lifts. Since the snowmaking systems are fairly solid throughout Peak resorts, i expect the focus to be on lifts which is absolutely needed. 

 

Sunny Friday at Mad River

 

 

* SUBSCRIBED EXCLUSIVE *

 

Pandemic ski boom: Ohio resorts report busy season, as newbies, veterans seek fun on the slopes

Susan Glaser - Cleveland.com - Feb. 9, 2021

 

 

"While school ski club visits are down, season pass sales are up, said Thomas Conti, marketing manager for Northeast Ohio’s three ski resorts, Brandywine and Boston Mills in Summit County and Alpine Valley in Geauga County. ... Even with the capacity restrictions, Wolleson expects the resort’s visitor numbers will exceed an average year. Weekends routinely sell out and weekdays are busier than normal, he said."

 

 

I have always had a soft spot for Alpine Valley. It always had the most character for me compared to many of the other Cleveland resorts. Boston Mills and Brandywine suck in my opinion. Snow Trails is meh and so is Mad River. Perfect North is a semi-decent hill in the region and the only one worth really skiing at a couple times a year. 

Several years ago, I won a lift ticket to Alpine Valley from one of the local ski clubs.  It took me over an hour to get there from the west side  I only made two runs and left.  The was my first and last experience at Alpine Valley.

4 minutes ago, skiwest said:

Several years ago, I won a lift ticket to Alpine Valley from one of the local ski clubs.  It took me over an hour to get there from the west side  I only made two runs and left.  The was my first and last experience at Alpine Valley.

I think it is a bit dumpy on the whole, but it has character which I loved about it. Granted I have not been there in close to 20 years and back then part of the fun was the midnight ski and the cheap beer at the bar. 

The thing is, from Chardon, Peek N Peak was really not a far drive and much better than Alpine Valley (still not great) so it was almost worth a little bit further of a trip going just a bit further East

From NE Ohio I'd be checking out Holiday Valley and/or 7 Springs.

48 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said:

* SUBSCRIBED EXCLUSIVE *

 

Pandemic ski boom: Ohio resorts report busy season, as newbies, veterans seek fun on the slopes

Susan Glaser - Cleveland.com - Feb. 9, 2021

 

 

"While school ski club visits are down, season pass sales are up, said Thomas Conti, marketing manager for Northeast Ohio’s three ski resorts, Brandywine and Boston Mills in Summit County and Alpine Valley in Geauga County. ... Even with the capacity restrictions, Wolleson expects the resort’s visitor numbers will exceed an average year. Weekends routinely sell out and weekdays are busier than normal, he said."

 

 

I was trying to book a ski weekend and because of Covid you cant really get anywhere last minute. 7 Springs has capacity at their lodge and chalets, Snowshoe is not selling lift tickets for the rest of Feb on weekends. You need to Quarantine if you go to any of the NY area resorts so it is pretty difficult to book a trip right now.

^FYI, I just went to Holiday Valley this weekend. Granted, my friend who lives in New York bought the lift tickets, but I had no trouble at the resort coming from Ohio. Even drove by at least 3 NY state troopers. As long as you don't give an excuse to be pulled over and sent back to Ohio, you are good. No quarantine. For the record, I am very responsible when it comes to the pandemic, but quarantining when crossing state lines is where I have an issue for many very logical reasons...Especially considering my trip there is spent outside for 99% of the time.

I'm hoping to to a day trip to one of the western NY ski areas this winter.  Is the quarantine only required if staying overnight in NY? 

It is required in general if you are visiting NY for any reason other than a roadside rest stop. Haven't hit Peek N' Peak yet, but holiday had no problem with an Ohio plate. Saw a few others in the lot too. Again, don't speed and don't flaunt that you are in town from Ohio and nobody up there seems to care. That's the impression I got.

4 minutes ago, YO to the CLE said:

It is required in general if you are visiting NY for any reason other than a roadside rest stop. Haven't hit Peek N' Peak yet, but holiday had no problem with an Ohio plate. Saw a few others in the lot too. Again, don't speed and don't flaunt that you are in town from Ohio and nobody up there seems to care. That's the impression I got.

With Holiday Valley, I was worried I may have an issue if I stayed in one of the lodges. I know that State troopers cant prevent you from driving on the interstates or US Highways but was not sure if staying in the hotel could trigger something. 

Not chiming in with anything on quarantine but just to say my childhood ski spot is back open (Cockaigne in WNY). Of course if you only have one day, Holiday Valley is where it's at but I always remember busses from Ohio at the lodge growing up.

 

Cockaigne's located about a half hour from Holiday Valley (which duh, with one day, that's where ya go) but if you're looking for something lowkey this is their first year back since a massive fire took down their original lodge (about 10 years ago). 

 

Y'all have the thread preview on the front page to thank for my random insertion into this convo lol 🙃

33 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

From NE Ohio I'd be checking out Holiday Valley and/or 7 Springs.

7 Springs was sold out this weekend. 

1 minute ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

With Holiday Valley, I was worried I may have an issue if I stayed in one of the lodges. I know that State troopers cant prevent you from driving on the interstates or US Highways but was not sure if staying in the hotel could trigger something. 

Now this I am not sure of...You may have an issue with that. Day trip though, you shouldn't have any issues at all

I went to blue knob in PA last week. Its the closest 1000’ vertical ski resort to Ohio. It was a 3.5hr drive for me in Summit county. It is a bare bones resort in a New England kind of layout with tight trails that can get pretty steep.  I just day skied and came back. 

55 minutes ago, skiwest said:

I'm hoping to to a day trip to one of the western NY ski areas this winter.  Is the quarantine only required if staying overnight in NY? 

 

Nope - I am in Ellicottville 5-6x a winter, and it's actually been too open for my liking this year lol  

Officially, you may exit the 14-day quarantine requirement if you get a covid test on Day 4 of your quarantine and the result is negative:

 

"For any traveler to New York State from out of state, exempting the contiguous states, the new guidelines for travelers to test-out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine are below:

For travelers who were in another state for more than 24 hours:

Travelers must obtain a test within three days of departure from that state.

The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, quarantine for three days.

On day 4 of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain another COVID test. If both tests comes back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test."

 

https://forward.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory

 

The bolding above is mine.  Ohio is ALMOST a contiguous state to western NY state--I mean, we're only in PA on I-90 for 45 minutes or so, no?

30 minutes ago, Pugu said:

I mean, we're only in PA on I-90 for 45 minutes or so, no?

Ya that's about how long it would take to get to Peak&Peak from the PA/Ohio line. 

 

Its always worth the extra hour of driving for EVL and Holiday Valley though. Best in the East! 

In state though, the 5 Ohio resorts have all had pretty good stuff so far this year, especially with the recent snow. The only thing is that the lines have been longer this season. 

 

Checking the webcams to see how crowded they look beforehand has helped me multiple times this year. (at the moment, Brandywine and Alpine don't have the best views of their main lifts)

 

• Boston Mills/Brandywine: https://www.bmbw.com/the-mountain/mountain-conditions/mountain-cams.asp

 

• Alpine Valley: https://www.alpinevalleyohio.com/the-mountain/mountain-conditions/mountain-cams.aspx

 

• Snowtrails: https://www.snowtrails.com/footer/web-cams\

 

• Mad River: https://www.skimadriver.com/the-mountain/mountain-conditions/mountain-cams.aspx

17 hours ago, YABO713 said:

Nope - I am in Ellicottville 5-6x a winter, and it's actually been too open for my liking this year lol  

 

Do you have set days/weekends you go?  We may have crossed paths lol  I've only been there 5-6 times in my life though.  The haul from Columbus is too long for me to do more than once a year.

1 hour ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

Do you have set days/weekends you go?  We may have crossed paths lol  I've only been there 5-6 times in my life though.  The haul from Columbus is too long for me to do more than once a year.

 

We're actually in the process of buying a place up there (with the hope of using it 6-8x a year and renting it out the rest). So we've been up there at random this year based upon showings. In the past, we always do a trip with our friends the last weekend of January, but that was canceled this year. 

17 hours ago, NorthShore647 said:

Its always worth the extra hour of driving for EVL and Holiday Valley though. Best in the East! 

If going during the week, Holimont is quite nice.  The lodge is rather rustic, but there are no lift lines and I like the way the trails are laid out.

Ahh.. Mad River Mountain... THAT's the name of the place my friend was talking about, in or near Bellfontaine, right? I heard it's a REALLY good place to hit the slopes in Ohio. I've never been skiing but I'd really like to. Is it something you can pick up on pretty easily? Like, could you go to one of these resorts and only suffer a couple hours of embarrassment before becoming decent at it? I can rollerblade, ice skate and most recently I bought an electric skate board that only took a day or two for me to get good at maintaining balance and turning at 22mph but that mostly relies on your core. It seems like you should build up a lot of strength in your quadriceps and hip abductors before skiing, yeah?  As someone who has had a shoulder labrum and rotator cuff tear, I'm guessing it's something you should ease into and stretch a lot, to prevent hip labrum tears. A lot of people don't think about stuff like that (until you're in a lot of physical pain from the tear causing a giant paralabral cyst for a year and a half, realize you have limited range of motion, etc.) If someone T-Boning me at 30mph while my hands were on the steering wheel can cause a labrum and rotator cuff tear, I'd imagine skiing and landing from cliff drops can do a number on your hips. Maybe I'm wrong. I had too much coffee and I digress...

Can you just rent all the equipment you need, when you go to these places or do you need to show up with all of it? Like I said, I've never done it. 

Edited February 10, 20214 yr by David

All ski areas have a beginner hill where you can start. You should be able to get the hang of it on the first day.  But you probably won't be ready for any cliff drops yet.  I think your rollerblading and ice skating skills should be helpful.  Yes, the quads do a lot of work when skiing, so any exercise to strengthen them would be a good idea. You can rent all the equipment you need (skis, boots, poles) at the ski area.  Make sure you are dressed appropriately and have a good pair of gloves.  

 

Edited February 10, 20214 yr by skiwest

I don’t think you’ll find any cliff drops anywhere in Ohio, at least inbounds. 

 Take a beginner intro lesson or as Vail calls it a discovery lesson.  Its an hour and a half long includes rental equipment in the price of the lesson. 

2 hours ago, skiwest said:

If going during the week, Holimont is quite nice.  The lodge is rather rustic, but there are no lift lines and I like the way the trails are laid out.

I always wanted to try Hollimont, however, I thought it was a members only place? How does the membership thing work?

8 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I always wanted to try Hollimont, however, I thought it was a members only place? How does the membership thing work?

It is members-only on weekends and holidays, open to the public during the week.

^ unfortunately I live 6 hours away so weekday trips to Hollimont are harder to do.

On 2/10/2021 at 10:50 AM, YABO713 said:

We're actually in the process of buying a place up there (with the hope of using it 6-8x a year and renting it out the rest). So we've been up there at random this year based upon showings. In the past, we always do a trip with our friends the last weekend of January, but that was canceled this year. 

 

Hmmm...UO discounts available? lol

 

23 hours ago, David said:

Ahh.. Mad River Mountain... THAT's the name of the place my friend was talking about, in or near Bellfontaine, right? I heard it's a REALLY good place to hit the slopes in Ohio. I've never been skiing but I'd really like to. Is it something you can pick up on pretty easily? Like, could you go to one of these resorts and only suffer a couple hours of embarrassment before becoming decent at it? I can rollerblade, ice skate and most recently I bought an electric skate board that only took a day or two for me to get good at maintaining balance and turning at 22mph but that mostly relies on your core. It seems like you should build up a lot of strength in your quadriceps and hip abductors before skiing, yeah?  As someone who has had a shoulder labrum and rotator cuff tear, I'm guessing it's something you should ease into and stretch a lot, to prevent hip labrum tears. A lot of people don't think about stuff like that (until you're in a lot of physical pain from the tear causing a giant paralabral cyst for a year and a half, realize you have limited range of motion, etc.) If someone T-Boning me at 30mph while my hands were on the steering wheel can cause a labrum and rotator cuff tear, I'd imagine skiing and landing from cliff drops can do a number on your hips. Maybe I'm wrong. I had too much coffee and I digress...

Can you just rent all the equipment you need, when you go to these places or do you need to show up with all of it? Like I said, I've never done it. 

 

I have a friend who was a semi-pro (I guess?) rollerblader and used to snowboard but then transitioned to skiing.  He said it was really easy for him.  So, yeah, rollerblading / ice skating transition very well to skiing.  Skateboarding is a little more akin to snowboarding.

 

You are right on the rest, though there aren't really any cliff drops in Ohio.  Even the "black diamonds" here aren't that bad compared to actual mountains.  They do have beginner areas where you just take a carpet lift up if you want to get the hang of working your edges, which might be a new concept compared to roller blading.  Mad River has more trick areas (I believe?) than the other Ohio resorts if you are into that part of it.

57 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

Hmmm...UO discounts available? lol

 

Lol - absolutely. 

As if on cue - https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/2021/02/11/ski-snowboard-tubing-ohio-resorts-list/6705311002/

 

I always found it amazing that Southeast Ohio never kept a ski resort (last one I can think of was Spicy Run).  It has the state's best terrain, by far, and not that far from any populated center.

On 2/11/2021 at 4:36 PM, ColDayMan said:

I always found it amazing that Southeast Ohio never kept a ski resort (last one I can think of was Spicy Run).  It has the state's best terrain, by far, and not that far from any populated center.

I was just thinking that. Almost the entire Southeastern quadrant of the state is full of beautiful Appalachian mountains but there's no ski resorts. They're mostly near...Cleveland? What? 

Northeast Ohio is in a snowbelt. Historically from the 1930s to 1960s when most ski resorts opened in the US there was very little snow-making if any. Resorts relied on natural snow. 

Another factor to consider when opening a ski area then and today is the direction the resort faces.  Definitely do not want southerly facing slopes.  Opening a ski resort today is going to cost a lot of money for snow making, lifts, water, electricity, parking, lodges, rental fleet, and insurance. You’ll need approximately 50-60 acres of land at a minimum. Ideally 400’ to 1000’ vertical to make it worthy of visiting regionally.  

1 hour ago, David said:

I was just thinking that. Almost the entire Southeastern quadrant of the state is full of beautiful Appalachian mountains but there's no ski resorts. They're mostly near...Cleveland? What? 

Is it due to weather?  Maybe not enough snow and cold temps?  I'm not sure how well the ski areas near Cleveland do financially.  Their season is very short, typically about 2 1/2 months.

 

Edited February 14, 20214 yr by skiwest

I guess it does get less snow in that region after looking at the numbers (although high elevation generally means more snow than lower elevation so maybe it just depends on where exactly it is) but as long as it's below 32 degrees, you can have snow guns making snow. It costs $5000 per acre on average, to cover terrain in fake snow. I don't know if that makes it cost prohibitive. That kind of tourism would be great for that region of Ohio.

Researched Athens county’s highest and lowest points. 719 ft and 538ft.  They cannot have a resort in Athens that would be profitable at 180’.  That assumes one can have those points right next to each other which rarely happens as its usually a river far from a high point. 
 So just because a county is “hilly” doesn’t make it a good candidate for a ski resort.  

Yeah SE Ohio doesn't have long enough of hills. It's a bunch of short steep ones. You could probably string some runs together with a lot of grading and blasting somewhere, but $$$. The only long steep run I can think of in the entire region was close to where Spice Run was. Then you're getting into SW Ohio instead.

That doesn’t cut it for “resorts”. its great for mountain biking though.  Or minor backcountry skiing after a storm. 

2 hours ago, audidave said:

Researched Athens county’s highest and lowest points. 719 ft and 538ft.  They cannot have a resort in Athens that would be profitable at 180’.  That assumes one can have those points right next to each other which rarely happens as its usually a river far from a high point. 
 So just because a county is “hilly” doesn’t make it a good candidate for a ski resort.  

I wouldn't pick Athens County as it's one of the "flatter" SE Ohio counties.  For example, Ross County (Chillicothe) goes from 1,300-ish feet to around 550-ish feet pretty quickly.  Scioto County (Portsmouth) goes from around 1,100 feet to about 450ish-feet quickly as well.  I'm sure the surrounding counties (including Adams) have such sharp drops as well.  It's just weird that, say, Shawnee State Park or Great Seal State Park never developed skiing areas.  They'd be far better candidates than anything currently in the state.

^In addition to natural landforms, the business case must be there as well. Ski resorts in CLE work because of the population even if the runs aren't very long. As there isn't much population in SE Ohio, the hills would have to be spectacular to get people to spend hours on the road to get there. 

5 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

Yeah SE Ohio doesn't have long enough of hills. It's a bunch of short steep ones. You could probably string some runs together with a lot of grading and blasting somewhere, but $$$. The only long steep run I can think of in the entire region was close to where Spice Run was. Then you're getting into SW Ohio instead.

Spicy Run had a 600' vertical which would have been pretty good for Ohio when it operated. It was small and too far away from population centers to effectively make it. 

 

Cleveland does it because of the snow belt. There were some other smaller resorts around Ohio that could not make it because it was just too expensive to make snow and provide the amenities of a ski hill. Sugarcreek in Dayton comes to mind here. 

 

Perfect North does a masterful job with its operation given how far South it is located. I remember reading somewhere that the Perfect family does consulting with resorts all over the Midwest because of their snowmaking technology.  It helps that they are also just outside the beltway of a major population center and also close to a few other population centers. 

9 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Spicy Run had a 600' vertical which would have been pretty good for Ohio when it operated. It was small and too far away from population centers to effectively make it. 

 

Isn't Aspen like 200 miles away from Denver? It's definitely in the middle of nowhere. I was watching a video yesterday about how skiing isn't nearly as popular as it used to be in the 80s. It was a baby boomer sport. Millennials enjoy it but can't afford it since all their money goes to student loan interest. 

1 minute ago, David said:

Isn't Aspen like 200 miles away from Denver? It's definitely in the middle of nowhere. I was watching a video yesterday about how skiing isn't nearly as popular as it used to be in the 80s. It was a baby boomer sport. Millennials enjoy it but can't afford it since all their money goes to student loan interest. 

Most of the good Colorado resorts about about 2 hours from Denver. That is not a great comparison though. In Colorado, it is about the experience where people plan a trip to a "mountain resort". It is much more about the experience. Furthermore, it is just part of the culture there that many Denver people keep ski cottages in some of ski towns in the region for their weekend winter trips. 

Aspen and Vail from what I have noticed is more of a destination drawing travelers from all over the world (mostly the states). It is not necessarily a local place. When I was there, it seemed like Winter Park (a little closer to Denver) had a lot more locals. 

 

Personally, I am a much bigger fan of Utah and Tahoe over Colorado. They are lower altitudes and closer to airports and cities than most of the Colorado resorts which require a car rental and 2 hour commute.