P-Okemo 2007-2008 Improvements

[Bubba]

Vermont's Okemo Mountain Resort will open its 2007-08 ski and snowboard season with enhanced snowmaking capabilities.

With 97 percent of its terrain equipped with snowmaking capabilities,
Okemo's emphasis this year is on making snow more efficiently and exploring
viable ways to make snow at temperatures closer to the freezing mark,
allowing the resort to open more lower-elevation terrain earlier in the
season. Thirty new HKD tower guns, designed to project snow with pinpoint
accuracy will be installed in areas like narrow slopes and real estate
access trails that require focused, directional throw. Okemo will also be
testing a variety of new snowmaking guns on its Open Slope, just above the
Clock Tower base area. Skiers and snowboarders will be able to sample the
snow from guns produced by Snow Economics with four different
configurations. Featuring adjustable water flow levers, nozzle versatility
and new valving technology, 15 of the HKD's premiere snowguns will be added
to the arsenal as demos so that Okemo's snowmaking team will have a chance
to thoroughly test the newest technology, providing feedback to further
develop this specialized snowmaking equipment.

Okemo's reputation for grooming quality continues this winter with the
introduction of another new grooming machine. Last year, four new Prinoth
B350 grooming machines, one outfitted with a Sherpa overhead winch, were
introduced to upgrade the fleet of nine machines. This year's upgrade will
ensure that the mountain is groomed out with those wide ribbons of corduroy
Okemo is known for.

Some would argue, though, that extensive grooming removes a ski trail's
character. This winter, Okemo's operations team will be devising ways to
create more terrain variety on alpine trails.

"A lot of the excitement of skiing is terrain change," says Vice President
of Mountain Operations Barry Tucker. "We're planning to build more character
into some of our trails."

In addition to allowing a few of Okemo's more difficult trails to take on
more natural characteristics by grooming less often, some trails will
receive some extra grooming attention to create gradual swales with subtle
fluctuations that will make the snow surface more interesting. On the Lower
Tomahawk trail, a "FamilyCross" park will offer intermediate skiers and
riders a chance to enjoy a playful assortment of big bank turns, rollers and
snow mounds as they wind their way down the trail. For more adventurous snow
sliders, Okemo features six terrain parks, ranging in difficulty from the
introductory Hot Dog Hill to competition-worthy Nor'easter and the Dew Zone,
as well as Okemo's SoBe Superpipe, the longest superpipe in the East with 18
foot-high walls.

Snowboarding legend Ross Powers has accepted the appointment of Okemo
Snowboard Ambassador. Owner of more halfpipe titles than any other rider in
history, including a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and a
bronze medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Powers now has his
sights set on making the U.S. snowboardcross team and competing in the 2010
Games. In addition to making numerous personal appearances at Okemo
throughout the season, Powers will be running snowboard camps and attending
events at the resort, to benefit the Ross Powers Foundation, a non-profit
foundation for athletes with financial need. Okemo's sister resorts, Mount
Sunapee Resort, in N.H., and Crested Butte Mountain Resort, in Colo., will
also host Ross Powers Snowboard Camps.

"Okemo is a good family resort with good terrain parks," said Powers. "It's
a place where I can train and raise my family." Powers has a four year-old
daughter, Victoria. He and his wife, Marisa, are celebrating the recent
arrival of their second daughter, Meredith.

A new 400-foot surface lift will offer additional access to the newly
extended and re-graded Bright Star Basin beginner trail at Okemo's Jackson
Gore. In addition to serving as an access lift for owners and guests of
Jackson Gore's new Adams House and Bixby House, the new magic-carpet style
lift will open up more teaching terrain for beginner skiers and snowboarders
at Jackson Gore. A long and wide trail, with a 10 percent grade serviced by
two novice-friendly surface lifts, creates an optimal learning environment.

With the completion of the Bixby House, 28 families will have a new,
slopeside vacation residence to come home to this winter. Slated for
occupancy starting in December 2007, the Bixby House is the first of two
whole-ownership buildings that are part of Jackson Gore's Phase II
development plan. The building's 84,000 square-foot layout will include 28
residences, heated underground parking and owner locker rooms. Residences
varying in size from studios to three-bedrooms sold for $378,000 to $2.181
million.

Forty years after it was built, Okemo's base lodge is receiving a retro
re-do with fresh colors, new carpeting, and Formica countertops. Okemo owner
Diane Mueller is the mastermind behind the base lodge retrograding. Skiers
and snowboarders who thought they'd never live to see avocado green again
are in for a hip trip down Memory Lane.

Although Okemo started offering snow tubing with a soft launch during the
middle of the season last winter, this year marks the official introduction
of inflatable fun at Okemo's Jackson Gore base area. Three contoured lanes
are accessed by the 400-foot long Stargazer Carpet surface lift. Snow tubing
is available starting at 3 p.m. on weekends and during holiday periods.
Inflatable snow tubes are available for rent at the Jackson Gore Mountain
Services Center.

First-time or beginner skiers and snowboarders visiting Okemo Mountain
Resort early in the season are welcome to take part in a complimentary
beginner program to learn to ski or snowboard absolutely free. This unique
offer is designed to generate excitement for snow sports and encourage
beginners to broaden their experience at the start of the winter season.
Okemo's beginner package includes a combination lower-mountain lift ticket,
a level 1 or 2 beginner group lesson at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. and introductory
level rental equipment (skis, boots, poles, or boots and snowboard). This
program is available for ages 7 and up at no charge every day, Monday, Nov.
26 through Friday, Dec. 21, 2007. Beginners should arrive at the Okemo
Express Rental Shop located in the Okemo Clock Tower base area about an hour
before lesson time to register and be fitted for equipment. As an added
bonus, participants also qualify for a free First Tracks Plus card entitling
them to continued discounts and benefits all season long on group lessons,
lift tickets and rental equipment.

[RustyK]

Sounds good.
Man it's REALLY gonna be crowded there this year..

[TLonginotti4KTon]

Speaking of snow guns....START USING THEM OKEMO! Let's see pics.

[pcgrantham]

if only K was run the way Okemo is run, with less grooming of course. I did my first snowboard jumps at okemo's hot dog park. There was me and 10 others all under the age of 8. I was the 11th best that day.

[Dr. NO]

if only K was run the way Okemo is run, with less grooming of course. I did my first snowboard jumps at okemo's hot dog park. There was me and 10 others all under the age of 8. I was the 11th best that day.

They would open the week before Thanksgiving and close the week after Easter. yep, way to go!

[pcgrantham]

if only K was run the way Okemo is run, with less grooming of course. I did my first snowboard jumps at okemo's hot dog park. There was me and 10 others all under the age of 8. I was the 11th best that day.

They would open the week before Thanksgiving and close the week after Easter. yep, way to go!

and those dates are different how?

[ski the trees]

what a fantastically run business from both a profitability *and* customer satisfaction standpoint.

[newpylong]

more importantly though, does anyone care about Okemo?

[dansbusy]

So true. Bad lift configuration, and cookie-cutter trails. I've been a few times and was not impressed.

[skidogg]

i'm sure the people useing okemo care but they ain't on this board

[Dr. NO]

3 reasons to ski P-Okemo-N.

1) You love groomers and don't ski past 1 PM when the ICE appears.

2) you are a boarder or jibber and love the parks and sit on your ass a lot

3) you love bumps and know they seed several areas and maintain them for just that purpose. If they ain't solid ice, the bumps are GREAT!

After those three, I'm bored after about 5 or 6 runs. Good place for the grandkids, and even they like the bumps now.

[pcgrantham]

more importantly though, does anyone care about Okemo?

I actually go to Okemo around once a season. It's nice to be a resort that is actually run properly. I go there for the parks and sit on my ass a lot. Which is better than falling on my ass a lot which I do to.

[madskier]

Vermont's Okemo Mountain Resort will open its 2007-08 ski and snowboard season with enhanced snowmaking capabilities.

Okemo's reputation for grooming quality continues this winter with the
introduction of another new grooming machine. Last year, four new Prinoth
B350 grooming machines, one outfitted with a Sherpa overhead winch, were
introduced to upgrade the fleet of nine machines. This year's upgrade will
ensure that the mountain is groomed out with those wide ribbons of corduroy
Okemo is known for.

Some would argue, though, that extensive grooming removes a ski trail's
character. This winter, Okemo's operations team will be devising ways to
create more terrain variety on alpine trails.

"A lot of the excitement of skiing is terrain change," says Vice President
of Mountain Operations Barry Tucker. "We're planning to build more character
into some of our trails."

In addition to allowing a few of Okemo's more difficult trails to take on
more natural characteristics by grooming less often, some trails will
receive some extra grooming attention to create gradual swales with subtle
fluctuations that will make the snow surface more interesting. On the Lower
Tomahawk trail, a "FamilyCross" park will offer intermediate skiers and
riders a chance to enjoy a playful assortment of big bank turns, rollers and
snow mounds as they wind their way down the trail. For more adventurous snow
sliders, Okemo features six terrain parks, ranging in difficulty from the
introductory Hot Dog Hill to competition-worthy Nor'easter and the Dew Zone,
as well as Okemo's SoBe Superpipe, the longest superpipe in the East with 18
foot-high walls.

BLO-Kemo! It's nice that it keeps a lot of the pretenders away from K and points north though...

[andyzee]

Anyone gotz the cliff notes for that?

[madskier]

No cliffs at Okemo. ha.