[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4408-4409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING MOUNT SNOW'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is a pleasure to point out that 
we are completing another brisk ski season at one of Vermont's fabled 
slopes, Mount Snow. This year marks the 60th anniversary of winter 
sports at Mount Snow, and while the temperatures dropped well below 
zero for many weeks, outdoor enthusiasts of Vermont and from far beyond 
have descended on Dover, VT, to embrace Mother Nature's challenge, and 
they have enthusiastically embraced the joys and challenges of our 
gorgeous mountainous terrain.
  Mount Snow was born in the 1950s as Alpine skiing solidified itself 
as a popular American sport. It has been a vital contributor to the 
economies of Vermont and New England ever since. Since its birth as one 
of Vermont's go-to ski slopes, Mount Snow has been an innovator and a 
pioneer, staying ahead of the industry and adding features to the 
resort that are now commonplace at ski areas throughout our country and 
the world.
  As Mount Snow enters a new phase in its development, its future will 
include state-of-the-art advancements with a new ski lodge to meet 
skier needs and an expanded snowmaking infrastructure to ensure 
snowmaking is available across the mountain. As the closest mountain to 
Boston and New York City, these improvements will only encourage more 
people to choose Vermont as their primary destination for skiing and 
riding.
  I want to congratulate the entire team at Mount Snow for 60 years of 
great and vibrant winter activity, and I look forward to all they have 
planned for the future. I ask unanimous consent that an article from 
the Manchester Journal sketching Mount Snow's history and planned 
growth be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Manchester Journal, Nov. 22, 2014]

                 Mount Snow To Make Major Improvements

                         (By Brandon Canevari)

       Dover.--Mount Snow--which is celebrating it's 60th 
     anniversary this year--is about to undergo some significant 
     changes.
       The resort has had a master plan in place for a while now, 
     which is now in motion.
       ``We're seeking financing for a couple of major capital 
     projects,'' said Mount Snow Communications Director Dave 
     Meeker. ``Thus far it's been very successful and we're well 
     on our way to reaching our goal. It's a total investment of 
     about $52 million dollars.''
       One of the two major projects that resort is looking to 
     begin is the construction of a 20 million gallon snowmaking 
     water reservoir called West Lake.
       ``That is really going to be the biggest step towards our 
     goal of having 100 percent snowmaking coverage on the 
     mountain,'' said Meeker.
       Once they begin the project, Meeker said that it will 
     probably take about two years to complete.
       ``It will take a couple years to get it completed because 
     it's not just excavating the pond. It's installing the new 
     pipes, installing the new facilities to push the water to the 
     mountain,'' said Meeker. ``There are just a lot of other 
     components that go along with constructing a reservoir that 
     size and with all the machinery and stuff that goes along 
     with it.''
       The other components to the project are installing 
     snowmaking pipes, pump houses, booster houses and the other 
     components that are needed for snowmaking.
       The other major component to the first phase of the plan is 
     the construction of a 36,000 square foot base lodge at 
     Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow.
       ``It'll have skier services, food and beverage, retail, all 
     sorts of stuff. So, it will be a great improvement over to 
     the base area at Carinthia,'' said Meeker.
       Depending on how financing goes, Meeker said that the 
     resort could break ground on West Lake as early as next 
     summer. When they will be able to build the base lodge and 
     make some of the other improvements that they are planning 
     though is still uncertain.
       ``The timeline really depends on financing,'' said Meeker. 
     ``Our planning director, they've been globe-trotting 
     basically, going

[[Page 4409]]

     out and seeking investors and we've been very successful so 
     far. So . . . if we had all of the investors today we'd be 
     making plans to break ground as soon as possible. So, it 
     really hinges upon when we are able to get enough investors 
     to secure the financing to begin these projects.''
       The mountain installed 645 new low-energy snowmaking guns 
     this year as part of their master plan as well.
       ``That would have been a big component to the improvements 
     that we would be making in future after building West Lake, 
     but we had the opportunity to take advantage of a program 
     that was offered by Efficiency Vermont this year to upgrade 
     our snowmaking system to all low-energy guns,'' said Meeker. 
     ``A lot of other resorts took advantage of it, but we took 
     full advantage of it. It was the largest single snowgun 
     update of any resort in Vermont's history and that was a big 
     step in the right direction for our snowmaking system to run 
     as efficiently as possible and also make the best product 
     possible.''


                              Anniversary

       Mount Snow's 60th Anniversary is right around the corner 
     and Meeker said that a weekend of festivities have been 
     planned in celebration.
       The celebration is going to be on Friday, Dec. 12, which is 
     known as ``Founder's Day.'' The date is the first day Mount 
     Snow opened back in 1954, Meeker said.
       ``Since it's on a Friday and it is our 60th we're going to 
     celebrate all weekend long. So, we're going to have stuff 
     going on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we're going to 
     have a party at the Snow Barn with Orange Crush, which is an 
     80s band, so we're going to have a throwback party. We're 
     already encouraging people to wear retro gear all weekend 
     long; whatever time period in which they have some clothes 
     from the past.''
       Part of what the resort will be doing to celebrate is 
     offering $12 lift tickets when the tickets are purchased in 
     advance online. The resort is also going to have a big 
     historical display of Mount Snow memorabilia.
       There are also going to be parties at Cousins and the Main 
     Base Lodge.
       On Sunday of that weekend, Meeker said they are also 
     probably going to have an ``old school'' bamboo gate series.
       ``Back in the day when people would run gates they would be 
     made of bamboo and so we're going to set some of those up. 
     We're going to have a straight ski category,'' said Meeker. 
     ``It's just going to be a real focusing on our history.''
       While the Dec. 12 weekend is going to be the big 
     celebration of the resort's 60th Anniversary, Meeker said 
     that they will be celebrating throughout the winter with some 
     other events as well.
       ``We love to celebrate things here at Mount Snow,'' said 
     Meeker. ``It's one of the things that we do so hopefully 
     folks will come out and help us celebrate because it's not 
     just about our history this season, it's about our future and 
     we have a lot of great stuff to talk about with that.''

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