New ski lodge set to open
HOME PAGE SLIDE SHOW PHOTO: Workers install stained glass windows in the Loft area of the Mad River Mountain Ski Resort on Wednesday afternoon. Despite some final details of the work, the Valley Hi ski resort is scheduled to open for the 2017 ski season in its new 46,000-square-foot lodge on Friday. The new lodge was built this year after a Sept. 16, 2015, fire destroyed the structure that had been the cornerstone of the Valley Hi community for 50 years. ABOVE: The resort’s new lodge sits at the base of the trails. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | REUBEN MEES)
Skiers and snowboarders eager to get out on the fresh-fallen snow will get a chance to do that this weekend with Friday’s official opening of the Mad River Mountain Ski Resort.
This year also marks the opening of the new 46,000-square-foot lodge, which was built as a permanent replacement for the lodge that was destroyed in a massive blaze that overtook the structure on Sept. 16, 2015. The Alpine-style structure stood at the base of the Valley Hi ski resort for more than 50 years.
“The old lodge was a favorite amongst guests and locals,” Tom Price, general manager of Mad River Mountain, said in a statement released late Wednesday. “While this new lodge will feature a ton of new amenities, better views, and more space, it was important for us to pay homage to the old lodge and the many characteristics we knew and loved.”
In addition to being a more efficient use of space, marketing director Mike Mihnovets said the architecture includes nods to the resort’s history, including exposed trusses and colored glass clerestory windows high atop the Loft area as well as a concrete bar top — which has not yet been installed, but will include the Mad River Mountain logo, elements of its swooping design and aggregate stone from the Mad River itself.
Read complete story Thursday’s Examiner.
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