Snow Valley was a small mountain that operated until the 1980s in between Stratton and Bromley. Occasionally, there is talk of revitalizing the area as a private resort. I believe they have one double lift still standing. (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1969954,-72.968313,1929m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 if anyone wants to view on Google Maps)
They withdrew their act 250 permit a little while ago. The borvig they had has been invaded by trees and is probalby very deteriorated. Would require great restoration, plus a new base lodge. Still possible, but will likely suffer the same fate as haystack.
Snow Valley was only really able to survive due to the then-lack of competition in the area. There was no Stratton or Magic, and Bromley was merely a J-Bar ski area when they opened. With the Golden Triangle already sporting just about every kind of Eastern terrain and doing a good job of it (Stratton has good groomers, glades, occasionally ungroomed stuff, a big village w/ amenities; Magic has perhaps the best ungroomed terrain in South VT; Bromley is good in terms of terrain diversity if you have skiers of far different levels in your group), there isn’t much of a place for it anymore. The double in my view sorta seems to be a last-ditch effort to bring skiers to the area, after they all flocked to the other 3 resorts in the area which were developing much faster (All 3 had chairlifts 15+ years before SV, despite two opening 20ish years after it), and it still didn’t help, the area closing in ’84
I’ve hiked around there and have seen the lower portion of the double chair. Give it 5 years and that chair will be done for. The only thing keeping any tension on the line is the fact that the bullwheel/tension carriage is resting against the end of the return terminal. It could easily collapse and several parts of the line have deroped from the sheave assemblies. It’s quite a surreal site so enjoy an intact abandoned double chair in the middle of the woods while you still can.
Snow Valley was a small mountain that operated until the 1980s in between Stratton and Bromley. Occasionally, there is talk of revitalizing the area as a private resort. I believe they have one double lift still standing. (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1969954,-72.968313,1929m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 if anyone wants to view on Google Maps)
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They withdrew their act 250 permit a little while ago. The borvig they had has been invaded by trees and is probalby very deteriorated. Would require great restoration, plus a new base lodge. Still possible, but will likely suffer the same fate as haystack.
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Snow Valley was only really able to survive due to the then-lack of competition in the area. There was no Stratton or Magic, and Bromley was merely a J-Bar ski area when they opened. With the Golden Triangle already sporting just about every kind of Eastern terrain and doing a good job of it (Stratton has good groomers, glades, occasionally ungroomed stuff, a big village w/ amenities; Magic has perhaps the best ungroomed terrain in South VT; Bromley is good in terms of terrain diversity if you have skiers of far different levels in your group), there isn’t much of a place for it anymore. The double in my view sorta seems to be a last-ditch effort to bring skiers to the area, after they all flocked to the other 3 resorts in the area which were developing much faster (All 3 had chairlifts 15+ years before SV, despite two opening 20ish years after it), and it still didn’t help, the area closing in ’84
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Snow Valley: https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/Vermont/snowvalley.php
Their Borvig double (bring a chainsaw): https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=486
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I’ve hiked around there and have seen the lower portion of the double chair. Give it 5 years and that chair will be done for. The only thing keeping any tension on the line is the fact that the bullwheel/tension carriage is resting against the end of the return terminal. It could easily collapse and several parts of the line have deroped from the sheave assemblies. It’s quite a surreal site so enjoy an intact abandoned double chair in the middle of the woods while you still can.
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