Plan For Today I Like Coffee Hunter Beer Fucking Shirt
Mandi Tofolla
With Covid restrictions starting to loosen up in the Fall of 2021, I set a goal of visiting all three Vail Resorts in Vermont. My mission? I wanted to determine if, under new ownership, they have been stripped of their culture.
The loss of culture is one of the major gripes against Vail Resorts. The common perception is that ultimately, through corporatization, they "Vailify" each and every resort they own. That is to say that Vail, essentially, makes each resort, more Vail and less, Mount Snow, Okemo, Stowe, etc.
Having skied at all three Vermont Vail Resorts on many occasions prior to their sale, I knew the vibe at each very well. That said, I felt that I could offer an unbiased take on how any changes disrupted the culture that had been established under years of different ownership.
Having a full-time job that has nothing to do with the ski industry while being a father of three daughters who play winter sports that, in some cases, I coach, makes getting away challenging at times. I know it did this winter season. Combine that with other media trips that I was fortunate enough to be involved in and thus my mission blew away like a snowflake in the wind.
Despite not being able to visit all three of the intended resorts, I was able to ski at Mount Snow a decent amount this season. For a long time now, Mount Snow has been my home mountain. To say I know it well would be an understatement of epic proportions.
I have kept myself abreast of the many complaints about Vail Resorts that have been logged on various social media channels and media outlets this winter. Believe me, there were many. However, I am hoping that I can offer some insight into the good and the bad results of some of the changes that have been made at Mount Snow.
Let me preface this all by saying that I don't love or support all that Vail Resorts does. I get angry with some of the decisions they make just like everyone else. However, I view bitching and complaining about many (not all) of these decisions as the height of white privilege. Let's keep this in perspective. We are, after all, sliding down snow on really expensive sticks and if you are able to do that, then the $30 parking fee probably doesn't mean that much to you.
Saying so does not make me a Vail apologist. I just want to make it known that the world of skiing and snowboarding is pretty awesome. I feel privileged to be a part of it and cannot bring myself to bitch and complain about what many deem as a luxury.
Maybe and maybe not. Many resorts charge for parking these days, even ones that are not under the Vail umbrella. Maybe I just missed it, but I don't hear people whining about having to pay for parking at Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, etc. Those resorts are on the Ikon Pass and, oh, by the way, instituted paid parking. The goal was to encourage carpooling and minimize the traffic in and out of the Cottonwood Canyons.
The idea of carpooling to reduce traffic was the very premise behind charging for parking at Mount Snow (at least to my understanding). And, you know what? That didn't work either. Why? Because Mount Snow is a family mountain and families of 4 or more can't really carpool with other families of a similar size. That is unless they drive a Sprinter Van. So many skiers and snowboarders just ponied up and paid for parking through the app.
Me? No chance. Despite most of the good parking being taken up as paid lots, the one where I parked regularly was not really that bad of a walk. So walk we did. My biggest issue with this was that I could no longer roll into the Sundance lot mid-morning, find parking and walk to the lift that was steps away. That part was a huge bottle of suck for old-schoolers like myself.
What was a huge deal, at least for a craft beer lover like me, was Vail's beverage program. Over the years, I have lauded Mount Snow for its extensive craft beer selection. I even went so far as to say that no other ski resort in America even came close to offering such an ample amount of top-flight local craft beers.
Having two bars (Canned and The Station) specifically dedicated to serving great craft beer, it was never hard to find something new and exciting to try. In fact, I'd often spend hours at each Mount Snow bar doing some of my best research, then report my findings to you so that you too could partake.
Pre Vail, Canned and The Station were not the end of their sudsy limits. Mount Snow even had the infamous Hill Farmstead brewery on tap at the Bullwheel. Once named the best brewery in America, Hill Farmstead beers are extremely challenging to come by and to have them right at your fingertips at a ski resort was unprecedented.
Yes, Canned and The Station still focus on craft beer but their selection of local craft beers has been severely reduced by Vail's wonderful (insert sarcasm) beverage program. Sure, you can still find a good local beer or two like the Green Empire Brewing Side Business and Four Quarters Brewing Dollar Dollar Pils that I had there this winter. However, their once-great selection has succumbed to the Vail Resorts beverage program that requires 80% of the beers they serve to be from said program.
Gone is the Hill Farmstead. Bye, Bye Upper Pass and Bay State Brewing. Hell, I couldn't even get a damn Switchback (a local beer legend). But, Thank God they had Sierra Nevada (again, this is sarcasm)
Don't get me wrong, I love Sierra Nevada and many of these other craft breweries would be nowhere without them. However, I can drink that anywhere, anytime. Part of the attraction of coming to Vermont is that they brew some of the best beer in the country and for years, Mount Snow featured it. Now they serve fucking White Claws in all flavors at Canned, a bar that was created with the premise of serving good craft beer by the can.
When I visited Sugarbush, an Alterra resort, this winter, you know what I drank? A wide assortment of Vermont Craft beer, not Bud Light. Why? Because they are not shackled by a dumb program that forces them to sell drinks you can get anywhere. Sugarbush, in contrast, is able to offer good local beers.
In fairness to Vail, I have been told by people within the food and beverage services at Mount Snow that this was a research gathering year for them. That ultimately, the numbers will show that patrons want back the craft beer selection they have come to appreciate over the years.
My fear though is that, with so many new pass holders visiting Mount Snow with little to no recollection of this former staple within the resort's culture, the data won't warrant a change and ultimately, this limited local selection will become the status quo.
I'm not sure if you have ever had them, but the eggplant fries that were on the menu at Cuzzins were sneaky good. So good that one order was never enough. Light, flaky and perfectly cooked every bite was an explosion of savory goodness.
Both are gone now. Victims to a trimmed-down menu. So trimmed down that they don't even make nachos anymore. Not that Mount Snow's nachos were legendary or anything but to not have nachos at a ski resort is blasphemy.
I'm going to give Vail the benefit of the doubt on this one and hope that these menu changes are not permanent and just a byproduct of Covid. There is a work shortage and it definitely has hurt the service industry. Thus slimmed-down menus with simpler food items have become commonplace countrywide.
If you don't have the workers to execute the dishes and keep up with the demand, it is probably better to keep it simple stupid. It appears that is what Mount Snow has done here at Cuzzins. I'm not so sure that any of the three dishes that I mentioned above are really that tough to handle but, for the time being, they are gone. Hopefully, it is not for long.
Vail Resorts recently announced that they upped their pay to $20 an hour for resort employees. In theory, this should attract more workers which in turn will make Mount Snow run a bit more like it did in the past. And, with some luck, we'll see eggplant fries back in our lives again really soon.
While I'm on the subject of Cuzzins bar at Mount Snow, let's address the reservation situation for Bruce Jacques. The reservation system itself is a bit annoying. However, I deal with it because I have not had any problems and the people working in the lodges are always so accommodating. There have been countless times this winter when I did not have a reservation and due to cancelations, they were able to seat me, my family and my friends right away.
I am not sure how far out you have to book them but I tried anywhere from 2 days to a week, to even two weeks out and had ZERO success. What's the damn deal? I know his show is legendary, but how far out does one have to book their reservation for this?
To be honest, I'm mostly just pissed off because I couldn't get in. Every weekend I was there, I sat at Canned and watched a bunch of lodge bunnies dressed to the nines in their fur pom pom beanies and heeled boots walking in to see the show while I continuously got canceled. Maybe we can make a prerequisite that requires one to ski or snowboard at least one run prior to seeing Bruce?
I also have to imagine that, there were some other issues that came along with the reservations for Bruce's show. For example, did tables that were seated in Cuzzins prior to the show have to be closed out and asked to leave? If so, that probably required enough time to turn them over for the Bruce crowd to come in ultimately leaving downtime where potential food and beverage sales were lost.
In the end, this is more of an annoyance than anything. Nonetheless, I do hope it will be resolved in the future. As we move away from the pandemic it would be nice to see Vail Resorts do away with the reservations altogether or at least the ones for the Bruce Jacques show.
Given my disdain for the Bruce reservation system, you can imagine that I was elated to see that there were no reservations required at the Bullwheel nor The Station Taproom this winter. This was a welcome surprise and one that I have to believe was well received by many who visited the resort this winter. Consequently, I actually found both Mount Snow restaurants easier than ever to get into.
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