Industry News
For better or for worse, we’re currently at a time where the days are numbered for small, family-owned resorts. The mega-corporations are intent on snapping up every spare acre of ski area available to inflate their pass offerings and give them the advantage over their competitors. Between the rising cost for the consumer, multiple season-long droughts, and a decline in participation right across the snow sports industry, this reality has, unfortunately, become the bitter pill we must swallow.
Well, today fans of independent resorts can rejoice! Maple Valley, VT has finally been purchased.
The resort, which sits just north of Brattleboro, VT, and a short drive from the New Hampshire border, has recently been acquired by Sugar Mountain Holdings, LLC for $745,000, reports TransWorld SNOWboarding. The selling price, which is drastically lower than the $950,000 asking price, comes as a relief to many after the resort sat idle for nearly two decades.
Maple Valley operated regularly from 1963-2000, and in its prime, was home to two double chairs, a t-bar, a tubing park, and even a halfpipe. The modest 374-acre plot of land even boasts lights for night riding, and a fully operational snowmaking system which can pump up to 800 gallons of water a minute.
At this point, Sugar Mountain Holdings has yet to issue a statement regarding plans for the coming season. And while speculation that the land may be used for housing developments continues to circle, we for one hope the lifts will spin again.
So keep those fingers crossed, and lucky stars counted. Here’s to passing on your resort’s $12 dollar beer, for a cold can in the parking lot at Maple Valley next season.
