Okemo Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Okemo Mountain | |
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| Location: | Ludlow, Vermont, US |
| Nearest city: | Londonderry, Vermont 12 miles (19 km) south, Rutland, Vermont 25 miles (40 km) southeast, Boston, Massachusetts 120 miles (190 km) southeast |
| Top elevation: | 3344 ft (1019 m) |
| Base elevation: | 1144 ft (349 m) |
| Skiable area: | 624 acres (2.52 km²) |
| Runs: | 117 |
| Longest run: | 4.5 mi (7 km) |
| Lift system: | 12 chairs, 6 surface lifts |
| Snow fall: | 16.6 ft (5.1 m) |
| Web page: | Okemo Mountain Resort |
Okemo Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Ludlow, Vermont. It is one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas. Before becoming a popular ski resort destination, Ludlow was originally a mill town, and was the home of a General Electric plant until 1977.
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[edit] History
Okemo was founded in 1955 by a small group of local businessmen. Operations officially began January 31, 1956 with four inches of snow, two Poma surface lifts, and lift tickets for 20 cents apiece. The early 1960s saw the introduction of four more Pomas, and the first chairlift was introduced in 1965. Snowmaking was first installed that year as well. Along with all of these improvements, Okemo began to offer slopeside lodging starting in 1961.
The 1970s brought tough times for Okemo. There were fires, floods, and competition from the West. In 1982, the owners decided to sell the resort rather than go into bankruptcy. Tim and Dianne Mueller purchased the resort on August 2, 1982. While the resort was in danger of going bankrupt and the facilities were outdated, the Muellers wanted to preserve the historic feeling. They kept the name Okemo, which is Native American for "All Come Home." Certain trail names also continue to preserve this sentiment, such as Chief, Tomahawk, Wardance, Sachem, and Arrow, all of which are present on today's trail map.
Since 1982, Okemo has grown in many different ways. The facilities have been expanded in every aspect, including new chairlifts, trails, lodges, and snowmaking. Since purchasing Okemo, the Muellers have also acquired Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, New Hampshire and Mount Crested Butte in Crested Butte, Colorado.
[edit] Mountain statistics
[edit] Elevation
- Base: 1,144 ft (348 m)
- Summit: 3,344 ft (1019 m)
- Vertical drop: 2,200 ft (670 m)
[edit] Trails
- Skiable area 624 acres (2.52 km²)
- 117 trails
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- 37 novice - 32%
- 45 intermediate - 38%
- 35 advanced and expert - 30%
- Longest trail - 4.5 miles (7.24 km) Mountain Road
The trails built as each new part of the mountain have had some sort of theme, such as the Native American names on the main mountain and the astronomy-related names at the top of Jackson Gore. The following lists all of the trails by rating and name, alphabetically:
| Easier | More Difficult | Most Difficult | Most Difficult (Use Extreme Caution) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Star Basin | Beeline | Black Out (m) | Big Bang |
| Buckhorn | Blue Moon | Blind Faith (t) | Black Hole (g) |
| Bull Run | Boomerang | Challenger (n) | Double Diamond (g) |
| Coleman Brook | Catnap (n) | Defiance | Forrest Bump (g) |
| Day Break | Chute | Eclipse | Loose Spruce (g) |
| Dream Weaver | Countdown | Exhibition | Nor'Easter Terrain Park (t) |
| Easy Rider | Cut Off | Fast Lane (n) (m) | Outrage (g) |
| Easy Street | Cutter's Folly | Ledges (m) | SoBe Super Pipe (t) |
| Expresso | Double Dipper | Nor'Easter (m) | Supernova (g) |
| Fairway | Drop Off | Punch Line (m) | The Dew Zone (t) |
| Galaxy Bowl | Escape | Quantum Leap | |
| Home Stretch | Express Lane | Searle's Way | |
| Homeward Bound | French Connection (n) | Sel's Choice (m) | |
| Hot Dog Hill (t) | Heaven's Gate | Side Kick (n) | |
| Inn Bound | Jolly Green Giant | Stump Jumper | |
| Jack-A-Lope | Line Drive | The Plunge (m) | |
| Kettle Brook Trail | Link | Triplesec (m) | |
| Ledgewood Trail | Lower Arrow | Turkey Shoot (n) | |
| Lift Line | Lower Chief | Upper Chief | |
| Lower Mountain Road | Lower Fall Line | Upper Fall Line | |
| Mountain Road | Lower Limelight | Upper Limelight (m) | |
| Open Slope | Lower Tomahawk | Upper Wild Thing (n) (m) | |
| Promenade | Lower World Cup | Upper World Cup | |
| Rising Star | Moment's Rest | Vortex | |
| Sachem | Moonshadow | Wild Thing | |
| Ski School Slope | Off The Rim (n) | ||
| Snowtrak | Ridge Runner | ||
| Southern Crossing | Rimrock | ||
| Spur Line | Route 103 | ||
| Sun Dog | Rum Run (n) | ||
| Sunburst | Sapphire | ||
| Sunset Strip | Scooter | ||
| Switchback | Screamin' Demon | ||
| Tuckered Out | Side Out | ||
| Upper Mountain Road (n) | Sidewinder | ||
| Village Run | Sprint | ||
| Zip | Sprout | ||
| The Bends | |||
| The Narrows (g) | |||
| Timberline | |||
| Upper Arrow | |||
| Upper Tomahawk | |||
| Wardance | |||
| Whistler (g) | |||
- (g) - gladed trail with trees
- (n) - natural trail without snowmaking (not including glades), although many of these are groomed after a snowfall to have a solid base
- (m) - trail with moguls most of the time when conditions provide
- (t) - terrain park with various jumps and features including rails and halfpipes
See also: Okemo Snow Report
[edit] Lifts
- 18 total
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- 9 quad chairs
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- 5 highspeed detachable quads
- 3 triple chairs
- 6 surface lifts
- Uphill capacity - 32,250 people per hour
| Surface Lifts | Fixed Grip Triples | Fixed Grip Quads | High-Speed Quads |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-10 Carpet | Black Ridge Triple | Glades Peak Quad | Coleman Brook Express Quad |
| Skywalker Carpet | Green Ridge Triple | Sachem Quad | Jackson Gore Express |
| Snow Stars Poma | Morning Star Triple | South Ridge Quad A | Northstar Express Quad |
| Stargazer Carpet | South Ridge Quad B | Solitude Express Quad | |
| Starlight Carpet | South Face Express Quad | ||
| The Pull | |||
[edit] Lodges
- Main Base Lodge: located at the base of South Ridge Quads A & B at the main entrance of the mountain, with daycare, ski shop, rentals, tickets, and food from the cafeteria, Caffé Origins, and the Sitting Bull Restaurant & Bar
- Sugar House: located near the base of Northstar Express Quad, with many unique dining opportunities, including a deli, a grille, pizza, and a café
- Summit Lodge: located at the top of the main mountain, accessible from Northstar Express Quad, Green Ridge Triple, and Glades Peak Quad, with a cafeteria, bar, and Asian cuisine
- Gables: located at the base of the Solitude area and Solitude Express Quad, with a full-service restaurant and a small snack area
- Jackson Gore Base Lodge: located at the base of the Jackson Gore area and Coleman Brook Express Quad, with daycare, ski shop, rentals, tickets, and food from the cafeteria, selling more specialties than the other lodges, and Vermont Pizza Co.; also attached is hotel-like lodging and Coleman Brook Tavern restaurant
[edit] Skiing the Mountain
Many find that Okemo is a pleasant mountain to ski because of the 95% snowmaking coverage and nightly grooming of most trails. It is particularly well-suited for intermediate skiers because there are a lot of cruising trails. Expert skiers may feel limited when the resort is compared to other Vermont resorts like Killington, Sugarbush, or Stowe; however, there is plenty of mogul and glade terrain to keep advanced skiers and riders interested.
There are four main areas at Okemo, each with at least one high speed detachable quad. The main mountain is serviced primarily by the Northstar Express Quad and two older fixed grip triples. The 1700 vertical foot cruisers, such as Chief, World Cup, and Jolly Green Giant are accessed from the Northstar lift. Lines accumulate often, starting early in the morning, on weekends and holidays in this area. Intermediate skiers and riders will particularly enjoy Sapphire, a classic New England cruising trail, with great views of the valley. The main area also includes runs directed at more advanced skiers, such as Searle's Way, Sel's Choice (moguls), Nor'Easter (moguls and jumps), Defiance, and the Dew Zone (Mountain Dew sponsored halfpipe and snowboard park).
Solitude, to the right of the main mountain as one looks uphill, offers about 1100 vertical feet. The Solitude area also has its own base lodge, hotel accommodations, and private trailside homes. Most of the trails in this area are intermediate (blue) cruisers, though some blacks exist, such as Exhibition and The Plunge (moguls). The Solitude Express Quad usually has short lines, especially after the new Jackson Gore opened, as many skiers and riders stay at the Northstar Express Quad or Jackson Gore.
The South Face area, to the left, has the highest peak on the mountain, faces the sun in the morning, and is served by a 1100 ft high speed lift. This area is known for its more difficult terrain, including most of the double-black diamond trails. While some of the main thoroughfares are groomed nightly in this area, trails like Outrage and Forest Bump remain natural. There are also mogul trails in this area, such as Punch Line, and Okemo makes sure to mark mogul trails. Okemo is also known for their bailout lanes, groomed sections on bump runs where one can escape from the moguls. While the Northstar Express Quad sees crowds early, the South Face Express Quad has short lines most of the time, save for crowded weekends in January and February in the middle of the day.
The final area, on the far right, is the newly-developed Jackson Gore, complete with its own access road, lodge, ski school, and most other amenities also found at the Base Lodge. This area, served by two high-speed quads, has some of the steeper terrain on the mountain, as well as the standard green and blue trails. Lines are unlikely to be found here, although there is often traffic on the Lower Limelight trail as skiers move from the main mountain over to Jackson Gore. While many of the original trails have Native American ties, many Jackson Gore trails are related to the sky and space.
As Okemo claims to have five areas, a fifth, smaller one would be Glades Peak, between the main mountain and the South Face, serviced by one fixed grip quad. It provides access to most trails on the mountain, including a couple that are exclusively served by its lift. As it is just an in-between lift, the Glades Peak Quad has barely any lines, and can be bypassed totally when access to the South Face is open through the Catnap trail.
Although the East Coast ski experience has been known to be icy, Okemo does a credible job in controlling the issue with frequent snowmaking and grooming. One can see where fresh snow was blown in the last 24 hours and what trails have been groomed by checking a map at any of the ticket offices each morning. After a significant snowfall, Okemo tends to leave several trails ungroomed so skiers can experience the fresh powder. These trails are marked as ungroomed so skiers that do not enjoy thick powder can avoid them.
[edit] Hiking trail
The 2.9 mile (4.7 km) Healdville Trail starts at a small parking lot off State Route 103 and makes a relatively easy ascent to the fire tower at the top of the mountain.
[edit] Wind power
During August 2006, the Muellers announced they were switching to wind power for the upcoming ski season at their three resorts, Okemo, Mount Sunapee, and Crested Butte.[1] The Muellers have bought 27 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy certificates from Sterling Planet, through a contract with Gunnison County Electric Association in Colorado, for about 15% more money than they were paying previously. It is estimated that this will prevent 18,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions on a yearly basis.
[edit] References
- ^ Larkin, Daphne. "Okemo owners to switch to 'green' energy", Times Argus, August 19, 2006.
