Jay Peak

On thursday we headed out bright and early off to jay Peak Resort, There is a lot going on a jay peak right now with many construction projects taking place. Jay is building a huge start of the art hotel with every luxury you could think of including a big heated pool and hot tub that will be right out front slopeside. Along with the hotel, they are putting in an indoor water park with many water slides, a lazy river, wave pools and a wave rider. we got to the opportunity to speak with a representative from marketing which i found pretty intersting. The way jay markets themself is a way no other mountain could pull off. the posters of muddy boots and snotty beards really stand out in the industry next to other mountains marketing tools. jay peak gets away with marketing themselves as "hardcore" mountain rather than a family kind of vibe and with the type of skiing and terrain that they offer, it works really well for them. we also got to do a whole hard hat tour of all construction sites and existing facilities. we walked through the new hotel, the almost finished water park and got to see the ice haus, ice rink. The ice rink is really cool with the big windows look right out at the mountain. Jay Peak is expanding quickly with plans of more terrain on west bowl. They are putting themselves on a whole other level.

Burke MTN

On thursday we took a trip to our favorite ski hill, Burke Mountain. Burke has a lot going on at the moment with a new lift project going in to be opened this coming season. We were given the chance to sit down with Dick Andross, the manger of operations at Burke. Dick took us through The big plan for Burke mountian as well as their new lift. It is important for resorts to make a plan and follow it in order to make sure everything runs in conjuction with one another smoothly. Burke's new lift is a top drive Leitner/Poma detachable quad. the footings have been dug and most have been poured with concrete. the towers an sheave assembly's are there and almost ready to be installed. we also got to take a look at the lift profile and tlak about waht permits were needed and why the lift is going to be located where it is. Burke Mountian also completed another project this summer in their new wind turbine. We took a ride up to the top of the mountain to check it out and there it was spinning away, creating energy. i was surprised about how quiet it actually is. Also surprised to learn that it only will take two years to make back the money to pay for the turbine. seemed like a pretty quick turn around for a project of that size. Burke has a lot going on and little time to get it done. these are big improvements and will hopefully attract guests to Burke Mountain.

LOC Meeting and Cannon/New England Ski Museum

Class on tuesday consisted of us meeting with Thom Andersons Program planning class to coordinate the Chili Cookoff and our Fall Festival. We discussed which aspects each group would be in charge off and many details of the whole event. Thoms class is taking care off all the money and everything involved with the chili cookoff while we are putting on all of the games and skatejam taking place outside the building. We talked about how much to charge for our skatejam and the best way to get a lot of people participate in the jam while still making some money for LOC. Matteo as our spokesman presented our ideas to the other class and for the most part, they approved of our plans. All final decisions were made as far as pricing and the actual games and events that will be taking place, so we can finally get the ball rolling to plan this event.
     On thursday our class took a trip to Cannon and the New England Ski Museum. The New England Ski Museum is located near the base of the tram at Cannon. The museum has all kinds of ols ski equipment and photos that tell the story of how skiing got started and continued to progress in the east. My favorite peice in the museum is Bode Miller's Olympic Medals, I thought it was pretty exciting to be able to hold something like that in my hands. Also while at the museum we sat in on a presentation on the history of Skiing in New Hampshire and Franconia Notch. The presentaion explained the first surface and chair lifts in the state and the notch. Also learned that the first ski trail cut in New England was at cannon and was all cut by hand. Skiing was being done before chairlifts and all terrain had to be hiked, there a lot of places in the notch where this early skiing took place. After we visited the Museum, Sean pulled some strings and we were able to take a ride on the tram. we took a cloudy, misty ride to the summit and had lunch in the lodge. We were able to see the tram work at the top station where all the mechanics are visable.