MAGIC AT HERMITAGE CLUB, FOR A PRICE
What if there was a magical place where it always skis like a Tuesday? Where the trails are always wide open and yet the staff is 100 percent on duty, the base lodge is cranking out top level food and the trails are always freshly groomed?
It exists – and while it has a price point that’s hard to meet for everyone, it’s a special experience – and lifestyle — for those who can.
I’m not one who can, to be honest. But I was lucky enough to get an invite to spend a ski day at Vermont’s Hermitage Club (www. hermitageclub.com) a beautiful, fun, unique and yes – magical way to spend a ski day.
The Hermitage Club is set on what was once Haystack Mountain Resort, a 1,400 vertical mountain with a classic New England trail structure. You’ll find long, narrow and winding, winder open carvers, lots of trees and a nice variety of terrain from beginner to semi-narly.
It’s all accessed by five lifts – one a modern bubble lift – all run by a super friendly staff.
We had our first wow moment, though, before we even hit the slopes. The Club’s 90,000 square foot Austin Design post-andbeam lodge is breathtaking. Centered with a huge floor to very high ceiling fireplace that’s always alive with a crackling fire, it has an open floor bar area, tables, comfy sitting areas, a guest locker room, a spa and some of the best dining you’ll find slopeside (lamb shank for lunch, anyone?)
Our day there I’m told had 72 skiers on the mountain. Total. And yet, staff was everywhere – taking our skis to and from the car, helping point us in the right direction and, after one time loading the chair, remembering our names each time we looped back.
And while to the average skier, that all sounds a bit posh – it’s not. Well, it is, but it’s posh in the right ways; in the ways that matter to skiers.
The trail surface is impeccably maintained and snow guns work hard to keep things great even in challenging times. The lifts run well and when they have a glitch (as all ski areas do), they make it up to you. Our day, we were told ahead of time the bubble lift may not be running. Fine, I thought. There are other lifts.
We arrived to find that it was indeed all set. But, just in case, the Club had booked a live band to play all afternoon to make up for that lift not running. It ran and still – the band played on.
The club currently has 406 member families who pay around at $80,000 initiation fee to be a part, and then annual fees around $7,000 or so. Sure, it’s a lot. But think about golf club memberships. To get the best ski situation every time you head out, what a dream come true.
I found the members to be super welcoming – they’re a small enough society to notice someone new. By days end, we not only knew folks by name; we knew their backstory and they ours. And they love sharing their special place.
You cannot just walk up and ski there. Should you be interested in joining, you go through a screening process before being invited to sample it all.
They do, however, share their luck: Each year, the resort opens its doors to all local residents for a day of skiing and other fun. It’s a fundraiser to support the community and for good reason, wildly popular.
As I was heading out when the lifts stopped spinning, a member I’d met approached me. “You can’t leave yet! It’s happy hour up on the loft!”
That’s a ski community for you.