Given the state of the national economy, it isn’t much of a surprise that ski areas across the country were apprehensive about making  multi-million dollar upgrades over the summer. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exciting things happening if you know where to look – here’s our list of the biggest capital improvements of 2009/2010 across the Northeastern United States.

Jay Peak, Vermont // Best Base Upgrades
Jay Peak takes the cake for biggest improvements to its base area. The February opening of the Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak will mark the end of a $20 million dollar base area expansion project that has been in the works for several seasons.

Adjacent to the current lodge and tram building, the Tram Haus Lodge will boast a 57 room hotel, brand new coffee shop, restaurant, rental and demo center, and a fitness center.
Part of the charm of Jay Peak for me has always been its intimate base area centered right around the lifts. Driving up to it at night is almost like approaching a space station – the only lights against a very dark sky deep in the woods near the Canadian border. But enough reminiscing – it seems like the folks at Jay Peak have taken this to heart, and are really working hard to maintain the character of the resort while bringing it some of the needed upgrades.

Okemo, Vermont
Okemo has a handful of small improvements planned for the coming season, including upgrades to the 450ft Ross Powers Superpipe. When all is said and done, its vertical pitch will be increased by 13 feet, upping the grade from its current 11 degrees to just over 16 degrees.

Stratton, Vermont
Most of the changes happening at Stratton this season will be taking place at the remote Sunbowl area – a beginners’ base that’s somewhat distant from the main village and lifts. The list of non-skiing activities will be growing a bit longer – construction has begun on a 750ft long, four lane tubing park at Sunbowl. A number of new freestyle terrain parks will be opening across the mountain, including an advanced park also at Sunbowl.

Killington / Pico, Vermont
Most of the changes happening at Killington this season are under the hood, so to speak. The resort is pumping $2.5 million dollars into snowmaking system improvements, a new warming hut on Killington Peak, and some re-grading at the unloading area for the Skye Peak Express.

Sugarbush, Vermont
There’s been a lot of work going on at Sugarbush over the summer – 75 acres of new wooded terrain on Mt. Ellen and Lincoln Peak are set to open when the snow starts coming down. According to resort officials, the new terrain will aim to make glade skiing less intimidating for those unfamiliar with it, with shallower grades and wider spacing between trees in some sections.

Saddleback, Maine
Saddleback is making considerable improvements to what is already an underrated hidden gem of a resort. One new trail and more than 44 acres of glades were cut over the summer, and three new Pisten Bully groomers (including one winch equipped cat) mean substantive upgrades to the resorts’ snowmaking capabilities. Expect to hear more from us about Saddleback over the season.

Sugarloaf, Maine
Saddleback’s neighbor to the south Sugarloaf has invested in the usual round of snowmaking upgrades, and put $600,000 towards much needed renovations of the base hotel, improving the comfort level at the only full service on-mountain hotel.

Sunday River, Maine
Both grand hotels (at the White Cap and Jordan base areas) have seen $1.4 million in upgrades, in addition to extensive snowmaking improvements across the mountain.

Gunstock, New Hampshire
In the second year of its ongoing $3.25 million dollar expansion project, Gunstock is touting a new fixed grip quad chairlift, 2 new trails, several trail extensions, and significant snowmaking upgrades.

Cannon, New Hampshire // Best Terrain Upgrades

Cannon’s Peabody Base Lodge is seeing some major upgrades and expansions this season, as the usual round of

snowmaking upgrades are happening out on the mountain. But what’s most exciting at Cannon this season is what’s going on just to the West, on an overgrown peak known as Mittersill that was served by a couple of lifts until the late 1980s.
Locals have been hiking and skiing Mittersill ever since – albeit illegally – and doing some amateur trail maintenance under the cover of darkness. But last year, an exchange of land allowed Mittersill to come under the ownership of the State of New Hampshire, which plans to reopen what’s left of Mittersill’s trails in the coming years.
For the upcoming season, Mittersill will be open as a “lift served backcountry area” – no snowmaking, very minimal trail maintenance, and extended rescue times mean the difficult lines here will remain for experts only. Cannon says that only minimal clearing of brush has been undertaken on the peak, and that all terrain on Mittersill carries the designation of “extra hazardous”.

The required uphill slog means it will probably stay relatively quiet until a proposed double chair opens in December of 2010 – so now is definitely the time to take advantage of what is something of a semi lift-served backcountry experience.