Winter Wonderlands
THE GOLF-SKIING COMBINATION MAKES FOR A WINNING
FOUR-SEASON PACKAGE AT MANY COMMUNITIES
BY JOHN TORSIELLO
Freshly fallen powder, crisp blue skies and a pleasing nip in the air. No, this isn’t exactly what one would consider an ideal golf scenario. But for many individuals living at or visiting golf communities/resorts, strapping on a pair of skis and heading out into a winter wonderland is all part of the package. An increasing number of high-end, active-lifestyle communities, resorts and sporting clubs in both the western and eastern U.S. are including either on-property or access to nearby ski and snowboarding
areas, in addition to world-class golf courses, in their menus of amenities in order to attract outdoors-minded individuals and their families.
Montana’s Moonlight Basin features mountain chalets (above). Colorado’s Red Sky Ranch (opposite page) has two fine courses and nearby skiing.
“Because winter and skiing is such a large part of life here in Jackson Hole,” says Adele Zieman, marketing and sales assistant for The Snake River Sporting Club in Jackson Hole,Wyoming, “our Mountain Lodge has appeal to a wider variety of prospects and continues to be a popular amenity
for our members.”
And listen to Art Walton, general manager of the sprawling Crystal Springs Resort (seven golf courses) in the hill country of northwestern New Jersey, “The ski resort that we provide access to represents a strong marketing amenity, as well as the overall promotion of our property as a four-season resort.”
The Minerals Resort and Spa at Crystal Springs is located adjacent to the Mountain Creek Ski and Snowboard
complex, which is reputed to have the best snowboarding the Northeast. The resort offers accommodations,
a spa, and dining at the base of the mountain. Crystal Springs also has a thriving real estate component.
The Snake River Sporting Club boasts a wide variety of skiing options for its members. On the property, there is a Nordic Track for cross-country or freestyle skiing and a professional staff on hand to teach a variety of snow sports and lead members on adventures into the adjacent Bridge-Teton National Forest. In addition, the Club has one of only three helipads in the valley that is used for launching and landing of heli-ski excursions to the nearby mountains, where skiers can find the really deep powder and steep off-trail routes.
As a bonus, Snake River features Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s only private ski lodge in Teton Village. “The uniqueness of the Mountain Lodge comes with its location off The Snake River Sporting Club property at the base of the ski resort in Teton Village,” says Zieman. “With its location, members experience the top-tier quality of exclusive club service coupled with ski in-ski-out convenience.”
Members can reserve the Lodge for seated dinners and other events throughout the year, and an on-staff concierge helps with everything from arranging ski lessons to trips to the Club’s spa.
Jennifer L. Thorn, director of sales and marketing for Stowe Mountain Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, says that the resort’s ski amenities are a strong attraction for visitors from the Boston area, metropolitan New York, and the entire Northeast corridor, as well as Montreal and Toronto. The Lodge is the centerpiece of the new Spruce Peak at Stowe community, which features a Bob Cupp-designed golf course that opened in 2007, and the private Stowe Mountain Club.
Stowe bills itself as the East’s premier skiing and snowboarding resort and features the “world’s fastest eight-passenger gondola” that takes snow enthusiasts to Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak,
where they will find 39 miles of trails, ranging from beginner to expert tracks.
“The addition of a new inter-mountain transfer gondola, new trails, a new beginner area, two new high-speed detachable quad lifts, fully automated snowmaking, and Elite Fleet grooming has reinforced Stowe Mountain Resort’s position as the East’s premier ski and snowboard resort,” says Thorn.
At The Club at Spanish Peaks in Big Sky, Montana, there is a seemingly never ending list of activities members can throw themselves into, such as world-class fly fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding,
camping, and golf on a wonderful Tom Weiskopf Signature course that features panoramic vistas of the 3,500 acres on which the resort sits. But winter usually arrives early in the region and that means one
thing—skiing.
Spanish Peaks was able to take advantage of having Big Sky Resort right next door by building private ski lifts to bring its members practically from their doorsteps to great skiing at a resort which launched a10-year, $400-million upgrade of its facilities several years ago. With 400 inches of annual snowfall, a ski season that runs from November to April, and only 1.2 skiers per acre, club members and their guests can schuss to their hearts’ content.
In addition to skiing, New Jersey’s Crystal Springs Resort has seven golf courses (Ballyowen, above).
Also in Big Sky is Moonlight Basin, with a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course coming next year. That will
be added to the resort’s 1,900-acre ski area on Lone Mountain (when adjacent Big Sky Resort is included, there are 5,300 acres of skiable terrain and some nerve-tingling vertical drops). Moonlight Basin is a 25,000-acre property, of which 17,000 are protected. In addition to mountain chalets, luxury suites, and luxury duplexes, there is one area with 4-to-12 acre parcels and another with 160-acre ranches
for those who really want to stretch out.
Alex Kaufman, communications manager for Sunday River in Maine, believes most residents of that development enjoy both summer and winter activities.
“Nearly all of the people who choose to live here both golf and ski. That’s why they live here, to capitalize on the variety of seasonal outdoor activity.” In the winter, that includes skiing, snowboarding, crosscountry
skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing, and ice skating.
“The opportunity to have both world class skiing and golf [at a fabulous Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layout that opened in 2005] in one location has led to a revival of the resort’s real estate development.”
Sunday River Ski Area, one of the largest in New England, offers 131 trails and 18 lifts spread across eight
mountains. The winter season runs from early November through April, with the golf course usually opening within a week or two of the closing of the ski area, clearly demonstrating the very real and seasonal synergy that exists between the two main sporting amenities of the resort.
Snake River Sporting Club’s Zieman agrees that residents enjoy having golf and skiing at one site, especially those who live there full-time. “We see many of the same local members spending their days on the golf course as well as in the ski lounge all winter long,” she says.
Then there are those who come to Jackson Hole and the Snake River Sporting Club primarily as a vacation destination. “These members are split about evenly between the ones who prefer summer activities to those who come to enjoy the skiing in the winter,” says Zieman. Across the border in Canada, while golf has taken an increasingly important role in efforts to attract visitors from within the country and the United States, skiing is still an integral part of many resorts.
Mont Tremblant Resort, about a two-hour drive north of Montreal, is one of the top ski resorts in eastern North America, with 94 trails on four mountains. “Our location and snow making system allows us to have wonderful snow conditions all winter long,” says Annick Marseille, coordinator of public relations and communications for the resort. “And, the pedestrian village we have is the ultimate complement to both skiers and golfers who visit and for those who live here.”
There are plenty of ownership options at Mont Tremblant, with five neighborhoods and more than 30 individual communities offering single-family homes, homesites, condos, and townhomes. These homes may be put into a rental program, but you may want to use them yourself for significant portions of both summer and winter. The resort has two firstclass golf courses in addition to its ski facilities.
Close to the Canadian border in Jay,Vermont, is Jay Peak Resort, with an acclaimed new golf course by designer Graham Cooke. Residents and visitors also have access to a wealth of winter sporting options, at the center of which is a downhill ski area that offers 76 trails, glades, and chutes. The resort’s backcountry ski trails are reputed to be some of the most inspiring in the Northeast. There’s also a Nordic
Center on site with 20 kilometers of trails.
Back out West, Vail is a mecca for skiing in Colorado. If you’re looking for a golf-ski connection, there’s Red Sky Ranch & Golf Club. The purchase of a developer homesite there includes membership in the Bachelor Gulch ski club. As for the golf, it’s a private membership club with a separate resort golf operation. Member and resort play alternates daily between the Tom Fazio and Greg Norman courses.
Sunday River in Maine has 131 trails and 18 lifts spread across eight mountains for ski enthusiasts. Wolf Creek Utah’s summer activities include golf on a recently renovated course (below).
Wolf Creek Utah in the town of Eden offers residents and visitors one of the best learning ski hills in the state, which is located just minutes from major ski and snowboarding areas Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. While the club is privatizing its golf course and clubhouse,
the ski area will remain accessible to the general public. Also keep your eye on a couple of upcoming communities with big ski plans. The developer of Red Ledges in Heber City, Utah, will offer a private ski-in/ski-out chalet at Deer Valley Resort only a 10-minute drive from the resort’s front gate. The private community will also feature a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. And Shooting Star in Jackson Hole, located at the base of the Teton Village Ski Resort, will have a Nordic facility and a ski shuttle as part of its amenity package, along with a Tom Fazio golf course, when it opens in 2009
John Torsiello is Senior Editor of Fairway Living.
