Okemo Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in the town of Ludlow, Vermont, United States. The resort experienced 600,000 skier visits in 2009. Parents Magazine rated it the Top US Family Snow Resort.
History
Okemo was founded in 1955 by a group of local businessmen. Operations officially began January 31, 1956, with four inches (102 mm) of snow and trails serviced by two Poma surface lifts. The lower poma cost 20 cents per ride, while the upper one cost 60 cents. The early 1960s saw the introduction of four more Pomas. In these years, Okemo had a reputation of operating with all Poma platter lifts, while other ski areas used double chair lifts to serve advanced ski terrain. The first chairlift, the Sachem double, was introduced in 1965. Along with all of these improvements, Okemo began to offer slopeside lodging starting in 1961. In 1963, Okemo purchased its first groomer, a Tucker Sno-Cat model. Snowmaking was first used, starting with the lower part of the mountain, in 1966.
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 While the resort was in danger of going bankrupt and the facilities were outdated, the Muellers wanted to preserve the historic feeling.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 they claim is Native American for "All Come Home", although there is no evidence as to which Native American language this comes from. According to the scholarship of John C. Huden, the name means Chieftain in Chippewa and a louse in Abnaki. 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.
On December 6, 2008, the Muellers sold Okemo, Crested Butte and Mount Sunapee to a REIT, CNL Lifestyle Properties in a lease-back deal valued at over 130 million dollars. CNL sold the properties to Och-Ziff Capital Management in 2016. Och-Ziff owned the underlying assets of the resorts, while the Muellers continued to run the resorts.
In June 2018, Vail Resorts acquired Okemo, along with the Muellers' other resorts, at a purchase price of $82 million and $155 million to buy out the operating leases.
Mountain statistics
The base of Okemo stands at 1,144 feet (346 m) above sea level, and the summit is 3,344 feet (1,019 m). This gives Okemo the largest vertical drop in southern Vermont, 2,200 feet (670 m). The mountain has a total of 123 trails spread across skiable terrain. Trail difficulty is almost evenly divided between novice, intermediate, and advanced/expert. A paved road, named Mountain Road, runs along the mountainside is used as a ski trail in the winter, making it Okemo's longest trail at . Mountain Road can be driven during the summer and has parking spots for scenic viewing of the valley.
98% (654 acres) of the trail area is covered by snowmaking; one of the highest percentages in the East. The snowmaking pond has a total water capacity of 155 million gallons. In addition, the quality of the grooming is ranked sixth in the nation by SKI Magazine readers.
Trails
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:
(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 regularly when conditions provide
See also Okemo Trail Map
Lifts
Okemo has 13 chairlifts, including four high-speed detachable quads, two 6-packs, five fixed grip quad chairs, and two triples. There are seven surface lifts, including six carpets and one t-bar that takes riders to the top of the halfpipe. Excluding carpets, these lifts combine to give the mountain a total uphill capacity of 29,850 people per hour.
South Ridge Quad B at the main base utilizes loading and unloading conveyors. This is the first unloading carpet to be used in the United States. The use of this system makes it easier for beginners to load and unload.