Uncategorized – Vermont Life's Ski Industry

Category: Uncategorized

November 1, 2018

“Here Vermonters and guests alike may stake out their own claims to the white gold which is so abundantly provided for winter recreation.” – Vermont Life Vol. 1 Iss. 2, “White Gold”

The rapid expansion of Vermont’s ski industry in the 1930s and 1940s was one of the primary subjects of Vermont Life magazine’s first four winter issues. From its first publication in 1946 to 1949, the magazine speaks of the rising ski industry with spirited enthusiasm and emphasizes the vigor and ingenuity involved in the technological progress and economic development of Vermont’s early ski resorts. The very first article in the first winter issue of the magazine, entitled “White Gold,” is an ode to the virtues of skiing as a sport that also makes Vermont’s case as the birthplace of the American ski industry. The piece, written by A.W. Coleman, argues that the expansion of the industry stemmed directly from the love of skiing, and resorts were “developed by skiers, for skiers.”

In subsequent issues, articles such as “Pico: a Personal Narrative,” “Woodstock: Cradle of Winter Sports,” “Brattleboro: Birth of the Winter Idea,” and “Mad River Glen” promote a clear argument by Vermont Life magazine that skiing has deep roots in Vermont, but only with modern development and ingenuity are people learning how to commodify its snowy winters. These articles all tell stories of how the old-time ski culture that existed in Vermont was reinvigorated by outdoor enthusiasts who saw potential in the mountains. These outdoor enthusiasts envisioned Vermont as the premier ski destination of the east coast, taking inspiration from European and western American ski resorts to install modern infrastructure and amenities in an attempt to develop the Alps of the East.

The portrayal of the ski industry in Vermont Life during the 1940s is overwhelmingly positive. The magazine applauds the virtues of the sport including its physical challenges, amateur spirit, and distinctive camaraderie. Beyond this, the magazine characterizes the people behind the industry’s development in Vermont as genuine outdoor enthusiasts who possess the determination and ingenuity to take elements of world-class resorts in Europe and the western US and install them in Vermont, whose harsh winters once were feared by the community but now could be taken advantage of and commodified. In the magazine, local Vermonters are portrayed as willing participants in the development of the ski industry and surrounding hospitality infrastructure. This decade of coverage of the ski industry is characteristic of a postwar attitude of progress, technological advance, and economic development based in a distinctly American way of life.

The 50’s: Promotion and Tourism

November 1, 2018 / Benjamin Manoukian / 0 Comments

“. . . It’s only common sense to ski in Vermont. You may try a few inferior places first, but pretty soon you’ll come to it. It therefore only remains for me to show you how to get the most from your Vermont ski vacation when you finally give in to the inevitable.”- Vermont Life Vol. 13 Iss. 2, “How to get the most from Vermont’s Skiing”

If the purpose of the ski industry’s representation in Vermont Life magazine during the 1940s was justification of the activity and its ascendance in Vermont, the purpose of its representation in the magazine throughout the 1950s was the sport’s outright promotion. Though the magazine dedicates less space per issue to ski-related articles than it does in the 1940s, the articles throughout the 1950s attempt to lure readers from the more populated areas of the northeast to the slopes of Vermont as a nearly year-round vacation destination. The infrastructure and development applauded by the magazine throughout the 1940s was finally being put to use in the fostering of a strong tourist economy in the 1950s.

The first ski industry-related article of the 1950 winter issue, “Why Ski?,” chronicles the week-long all expenses paid trip undertaken by ten northeastern college students who won a Vermont Development Commission essay contest on why they wanted to ski. This article clearly aims to draw more young people to the area to try such a fun and youthful outdoor activity. By the time the subjects of that article were presumably salaried consumers in the major metropolitan areas of the eastern US in 1958, Vermont Life ran “How to Get the Most from Vermont’s Skiing.” This article is the most overtly tourist-oriented promotional piece to that point in the magazine’s history. It details all of the notable ski areas throughout the state, how to get to them for a weekend trip, what types of rates and deals to look for, and even an explanation of the amenities like restaurants and day-care centers available to the traveling family.

Other articles throughout the 1950s, like “Appointment with Champions,” “The Story of Bromley Mountain,” “Dutch Hill: Haven for Trail Skiers,” “Mt. Snow Skiing,” and “Spruce Peak” profile newly developed ski areas that hope to provide accessibility to more novice skiers and newcomers to the sport. These articles treat the development of these areas in a much different manner than the articles of the 1940s, detailing demolition of rock faces, bulldozing of underbrush, and erosion control measures taken to construct ski trails. This is a departure from the idea peddled in the 1940s issues that Vermont was already ideal for ski operations, just underdeveloped and underutilized. In general, the 1950s issues of Vermont Life magazine begin to paint a picture of Vermont as a modern ski destination, no longer a collection of small operations built “by skiers for skiers” but rather a series of vacation areas catering to the modern family man from out of town looking for an all-encompassing winter escape.

The 60’s: Abbreviation and Critique

November 1, 2018 / Benjamin Manoukian / 0 Comments

“The tougher the battle for the skier’s dollar becomes, the further the sport will move from its simple origins… Divested of its frills, skiing is fresh air and snow and the good feeling you have after the last run and, above all, the intangible that there is between a mountain and yourself. This is still around. You just have to look for it.”- Vermont Life Vol. 24 Iss.2, “Skiing in Vermont Needn’t Cost all Outdoors”

In the 1960s, Vermont Life magazine begins to slow down its coverage of the ski industry in the state. Tourist promotion and ski area profiles flooded the pages of the magazine’s winter issues during the meteoric rise in the sport’s popularity during the 1940s and 1950s. However, the 1960s see a steep drop in both quantity and depth of articles about ski areas, tourism, and accommodations. Early in the decade, articles like “Sugarbush” and “Ski 100” provide barebones informational tourist promotion, and are the only articles to cover skiing between 1960 and 1963. Regardless of this reduced frequency of articles concerning the ski industry, there are some important shifts in promotional strategy and attitude that take place in coverage during the decade.

One such key shift in the magazine’s tone is increased references to skiing’s past and the history of the industry’s development in Vermont. Where articles in the 1940s and 1950s dealt with technological and economic progress as new and exciting phenomena that were sweeping the state, a variety of articles during the 1960s take a look back at the rapid changes of the three prior decades with nostalgia. Clear examples of this are “Fifty Years of Skiing” and “Came the Revolution”, which both celebrate the history of skiing in Vermont and the vast technological advances achieved in the preceding decades. Further articles, like “Brattleboro’s Winter Carnival” and “Young Vermont Racing Skiers” harken back to the days when the magazine embraced the youthful vigor and camaraderie at the core of the sport. These articles all have a tone of nostalgia and a historical perspective that is unique in Vermont Life to this point.

Another key change comes in 1969, when the magazine runs its first piece to directly criticize the ski industry in any way. “Skiing in Vermont Needn’t Cost all Outdoors” is the first article in the magazine to characterize ski areas as too expensive for many to enjoy. The article claims that a family of four could rack up a bill of over $400 for a weekend ski trip, and that this cost is simply too steep. It then details some smaller ski areas that are more affordable for those who cannot afford the Mansfields and Stowes of the world. For the 23 preceding years, the magazine had only praised skiing’s accessibility, approachability, and development, emphasizing how it was being pursued “by skiers, for skiers.” This 1969 article is the first to contradict that sentiment.

It is important to note that while changes in the coverage of skiing occur during the 1960s, there remain some typical examples of promotional tourist material. “Two Days of Sun and Snow” gives a full description of the out-of-towner lifestyle, that by which working men from New York City or Boston can travel up to Vermont to escape daily life on the weekends. One other promotional piece, the “Official 1968 Vermont Skiing Guide”, is an entire packet of information bound in Volume 22, Issue 2 that gives basic details on all of the ski areas, lodges, restaurants, accommodations, transportation, and ski shops available to the ski tourist. The roughly fifteen-page packet demonstrates that Vermont Life had not abandoned it’s promotional strategies or capacities altogether during the 1960s.

The ’70s: Development and Perspective Shift

November 1, 2018 / Benjamin Manoukian / 0 Comments

“Dennis Stevens, the owner of one of the two drugstores in Lyndonville, is loquacious in his bitterness towards the developers of the local ski area… Investors in the Ski Burke Stock Company now own worthless paper. The predicted boom in land prices and real estate sale lurks stubbornly around an as yet unturned corner.”- Vermont Life Vol. 32 Iss.2, “High Status…High Expectations”

The 1970s see a sharp departure from past coverage of the ski industry in Vermont Life. There is a striking absence of articles on ski tourism and ski area promotion. The magazine also only features only about one article per issue to do with the ski industry. These articles, in strong contrast with those from the 1940s to the 1960s, are much longer and detailed and more adequately engage with the nuances, developments, and challenges within the ski industry. Rather than the barebones promotional profiles of ski mountains and poetically-written tales of larger-than-life figures behind the sport’s growth, the articles from the 1970s gather a range of perspectives on a variety of aspects of the ski industry from failing ski areas to clothing manufacture and the sport’s cultural impact.

The only basic promotional profiles to be found in the decade are “Burke Mountain”, “Norwich University’s Ski Area”, and “It Happens Once in a Lifetime”, all falling in the mold of past articles about new ski areas that feature great ski terrain. However, these articles all were featured in 1970 and 1971 winter issues. After 1972’s winter issue, which did not contain any articles on the ski industry, the magazine only focused on the narrative pieces described above. For example, “C.B. Vaughan, Proprietor” details how a former Vermont ski racer founded a successful ski apparel brand. “Skiing Without Seeing” shines a light on the BOLD program at Madonna Mountain that facilitates ski lessons for the blind. “The Other Side of Skiing” profiles Vermont’s growing presence in the manufacturing of ski apparel and equipment, with brands beginning and basing themselves in the state.

However, the most interesting of these long narrative articles in the context of Vermont Life magazine’s portrayal of the industry is 1977’s “High Status…High Expectations.” This article examines Burke Mountain, which was featured positively in a 1970 promotional article, and its failure to live up to expectations. This article grapples with local opinions on ski areas, investor confidence, mismanagement, and concerns about over-development. This is a sharp departure from the overwhelmingly positive profiles of ski areas seen in the past, which contain no mention of hardship, failure, or tension with locals. In a far cry from the “by skiers, for skiers” vision peddled by the magazine for over 30 years, this article opens with a statement by a local business owner and investor in Burke Mountain: “I’ve been burned too many times. Put money into it to get it going and watched it all go down the drain with the snowballs.” This article exemplifies the more well-rounded approach Vermont Life has in the 1970s to covering the ski industry in the state.

The 80’s: A Clash of Ideals

November 1, 2018 / Gray Kline / 0 Comments

“The new skier, we are told, comes for four or five days, even a week, and wants a wide choice of ski trails, accommodations, and activities for his off-the-slope hours. The ‘destination’ ski resort being designed by Sugarbush is a resort for this new skier.” – Vermont Life Vol. 35 Iss. 2, “The Mad River Valley: Facing the Question of ‘Acceptable’ Growth”

In the 1980’s, Vermont’s ski industry was at a crossroads between traditional values, technological advancement, and economic development. The ski industry was growing rapidly and had changed much since its inception at the beginning of the century, but much of the rest of Vermont was struggling to keep up with these changes. Vermont Life Magazine offers a look at both sides of this issue through several articles about the ski industry in this decade.

One such article, “Closing an Open Winter,” talks about the multitude of benefits that come from machine-made snow. In the piece, writer Paul Robbins mentions how if it weren’t for snowmaking, ski mountains would have suffered greatly the year before due to the lack of natural snow. Although snowmaking wasn’t a new invention in the 1980’s, it was being adopted at a fast pace by mountains big and small. Resort executives such as Foster Chandler, Vice President and Director of Marketing at Killington and Mt. Snow, realized that “Snowmaking has become a ski area’s insurance policy…The snowmaking which we’ve installed in the last couple of years is our guarantee that we’ll have snow for our skiers.” (Closing an Open Winter, pg. 8) The fact that ski resorts were finding ways to beat Mother Nature at her own game is pretty impressive, but not everyone in Vermont was thrilled about it.

Around this time, Sugarbush was looking to make some major infrastructural improvements, and not everyone in the area was happy about it. Many residents in Mad River Valley had gotten tired with the crazy development going on in the region, and yearned for the days when it was a quaint Vermont community. As detailed in “The Mad River Valley: Facing the Question of ‘Acceptable’ Growth,” there’s a constant back and forth between Mad River Valley Residents who believe that the increase in skiing and tourism is ruining the traditional way of life and those who say that it’s good for the economy and wellbeing of the community as a whole. Vermont Life does a good job at showcasing different perspectives without leaning one way or another, which makes sense given that their readers are both Vermont locals and tourists.

Sugarbush Resort’s proposal describes the difference between skiers in the early days and at the time the article was written well. The old fashioned skier “drove up the valley from New York or Boston every Friday night and headed home Sunday afternoon after hitting the slopes, a few bars, and a cheap pillow.” On the flip side, the 1980’s skier “comes for four or five days, even a week, and wants a wide choice of ski trails, accommodations, and activities for his off-the-slope hours.” (The Mad River Valley, pg. 13) This contrast between the ski industries in these different eras shows just how much skiing had changed and how much skiing had subsequently changed Vermont over the course of the century so far.

The 90’s: Returning to your Roots

November 1, 2018 / Gray Kline / 0 Comments

“‘I want to preserve the mountain,’ she says. ‘It’s the mountain that brings us together, not the sport. Fifty or 100 years from now there will be new ways to enjoy the mountain, ways we haven’t yet dreamed of. I want the mountain to be there for those generations.’” – Vermont Life Vol. 45 Iss. 2, “An Old-Fashioned Mountain”

The 1990’s was a great time to be in Vermont according to Vermont Life. Although the ski industry was quickly advancing, it still held on to many of its traditional roots throughout the state. Vermont Life Magazine showcases this in several articles throughout the 90’s.

One of these, “An Old Fashioned Mountain,” was about one particular ski mountain in Vermont, something that it would claim is not at all a resort and has no desire to be one. This mountain is Mad River Glen, nestled in the heart of Mad River Valley in the center of the state. Mad River Glen is a unique mountain because it makes a point to maintain the traditional way of skiing in Vermont while also maintaining a loyal fan base and being very popular among both residents and skiers from out of state. Mad River Glen is a ski-only mountain (no snowboarding is allowed) with minimally cut trails, almost no snowmaking and grooming, and a single chair lift right up the center of the mountain. One thing that draws its crowd in is the fact that it’s not a resort, and the people who ski there don’t want it to become one.

The magazine describes a scene at Mad River where a “young warrior” that’s skiing through the woods and takes a digger after catching his tip on a hidden branch who “gets up smiling, and as soon as he’s cleared his mouth of snow, exclaims ‘Awesome!’” This is a great example of the type of skier you’d see at Mad River, and something Vermont Life would love to illustrate about the state of Vermont.

The 2000’s: When Tradition and Corporate America Collide

November 1, 2018 / Gray Kline / 0 Comments

“‘We felt it was important for the business, Powdr, to succeed and to have a good ski area,’ says Fred Coriell, owner of Peak Performance ski shop, who had to buy his first pass last season. ‘We were not happy, but we were willing to buy a ski pass. In the end [Killington] delivered a good product all year.’” – Vermont Life Vol. 62 Iss. 2, “Killington at a Crossroads”

As Vermont Life Magazine ushers in the 2000s, they enter a similar yet different era of coverage on skiing in Vermont. While the 1990s focused on the more traditional, classic ski culture with pieces about Mad River Glen and telemarking, the 2000s offer a glimpse into how this traditional ski culture is surviving in what has become a heavily commercialized industry. At times, Vermont Life even seems to offer its own opinion and perspective on the commercialization of skiing, which can be seen in its coverage of Killington Resort’s buyout by Powdr Corporation.

Despite Corporate America setting up shop in the Green Mountains, Vermont’s ski resorts are still home to many skiers who remember when skiing was much simpler and less commercialized. Vermont Life illustrates this in its article “Slalom Back in Time at Ascutney’s Antique Ski Race,” where many of these skiers, including some who learned on wooden skis, meet up every year at Ascutney Mountain Resort in Brownsville for the Antique Ski Race. In this competition, skiers from all walks of life are challenged to ski down a slalom course at Ascutney using skis that are at least 30 years old. While former Olympians and World Cup skiers partook in the race, there were also less experienced skiers, such as electrician Red Lussier, who gave the course their best shot. For most participants, it was less about winning, and more about having fun and enjoying a good laugh or two at skiing on wooden slats. In this article, Vermont Life delves into the stories of a handful of participants, many of whom skied at Ascutney back when a lift ticket cost a quarter. Vermont Life’s coverage of this event illustrates the fact that there are many elements of traditional skiing that are still alive and well in Vermont, and the magazine really wants to show this off to its readers.

While Vermont Life likes to emphasize the importance of tradition in its coverage of skiing, it doesn’t shy away from the reality that Corporate America has its hand in the majority of ski resorts throughout the state. The magazine dives into the issues that this can bring in its article “Killington at a Crossroads,” a piece about the change in ownership of Killington/Pico Resort. After Powdr Corporation had purchased the resort from soon-to-be defunct American Skiing Company, they implemented sweeping changes to turn Killington into a money-making operation. Many things they did, such as severely cutting back on free lift tickets, shutting down lifts and all of Pico during slower midweek times, cutting jobs, and ending the tradition of being the first to open and last to close for the season angered many longtime skiers. The magazine does note, however, that ownership under Powdr isn’t entirely bad. The new President and General Manager at Killington, Chris Nyberg, was known to personally check lift tickets and do other manual labor when needed, something that the top brass of American Skiing would never do. Nyberg and Powdr were also pleased to report that Killington had finally started making money, and that they were getting plans together to replace some of the aging lifts.

It’s certainly worth noting that this feature article was split up in the magazine, with pretty much all of the positive things that Powdr was doing being mentioned in the second section 20 pages later. Although one could argue that this is simply a coincidence, it seems that that Vermont Life is choosing to emphasize the negatives of corporate skiing to its readers, as the featured part of the article focuses on these negatives. Regardless of where the magazine stands on Killington, it still deems Corporate America’s involvement with the ski industry important enough to merit an entire feature article.

The 2010’s: The Corporate Face of Skiing

November 1, 2018 / Gray Kline / 0 Comments

“Throughout the history of Burke, there are moments of robust optimism running headfirst into the harshness of fiscal reality…Bankruptcies and various ownership changes have scarred the area’s history since it opened in 1955 – the most recent investment scandal only the most high profile of them all.” – Vermont Life Vol. 72 Iss. 2, “Restart”

As Vermont Life magazine entered its final decade in the 2010’s, they continued their coverage of skiing and the ski industry throughout the state, albeit at a slower pace than in the past. Although the Winter issues of the magazine continued to feature articles about the ski industry, there were less overall articles published this decade. There was a running theme throughout the decade about the commercialized and corporate nature of ski resorts throughout the state. Even if Vermont Life chose to not make this theme the main focus of their pieces, it was still an important aspect in all of them.

In one of Vermont Life’s last issues, the magazine published an article, “Restart,” about two different yet very important stories about Burke Mountain Resort in the Northeast Kingdom. Several months earlier, the owners of Burke were charged with securities fraud and were supposedly operating a Ponzi scheme. Apparently the $200 million the owners had collected to fund a new hotel, tennis facility, aquatic center, along with general on-mountain improvements, had been mishandled and the new infrastructure was still missing.

On the other hand, Burke Mountain Academy, which is just down the road from the mountain, raised $3 million to build a state-of-the-art indoor training facility and gym for the 65 students there. The amount of money flowing into and out of the Burke Mountain Resort area shows just how commercialized skiing has become. Skiing has been put in the center of financial scandals, and also has academies dedicated to the sport that have no problem raising several million dollars quickly. Although Vermont Life doesn’t focus on the financial aspect of these stories, both of them ultimately revolve around it. This goes to show just how important commercialism is to the ski industry in the present day.

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October 30, 2018 / Benjamin Manoukian / 1 Comment

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Category: Uncategorized

“Here Vermonters and guests alike may stake out their own claims to the white gold which is so abundantly provided for winter recreation.” – Vermont Life Vol. 1 Iss. 2, “White Gold”

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