Basic (and not so basic) Base Lodges

[ski diva]

Here in the east, most base lodges are pretty utiitarian. We don't have resorts on the same scale as they do out west, so our base lodges have been pretty down and dirty, with very basic amenities and designed with all the charm of 1960's school cafeterias.

There are exceptions. The Jackson Gore Lodge at Okemo is very nice. And this past week I saw the new Spruce Base Lodge at Stowe. More Deer Valley than New England, this is one heck of a place! Modern, clean, spacious, soaring ceilings, huge bathrooms, killer views. And there's the new lodge at Sugarbush, too. A couple years old, it's designed to look like an enormous Vermont barn. It's an incredible change from the bunker-like building that was there before.

Are there any lodges you think are particularly noteworthy, either because of their over-the-top amenities or because they're so awful? What lodges do you love? And which ones do you hate? Tell us about them.

 

[Kimmyt]

I am not one for fancy base lodges. They just make it that much harder to go out after lunch if it's cold. That being said, I really like the base lodge at Jay off to the side. I just went to the website to look at the trail map and find the name of it but apparently Jay Peak has 'upgraded' their website and the only option for trail maps that i can find now is an interactive thing with no names of trails or anything on it!

Gah! I hate when websites go crazy with flash!

Anyway, the reason I like that lodge is because it's so basic. I can go with my brownbag lunch and not feel like a loser or an outcast. I can sit at those picnic tables and look out the window and realize that I should be out there and not inside.

 

[Jilly]

Stateside I think its called. Very 60's and family friendly!

 

[playoutside]

I think the award for worst base lodge could easily be won by Mountain Creek. The original lodge burned down and they erected a temporary lodge...10 years ago!! It is one of those awful temp shelters that look like a white blow-up dome, concrete floor, questionable ventilation. There isn't much about it that says come inside. This sort of structure is great in a pinch, but really 10 years of use with no real plans to replace it is absurd.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

New base lodge at Saddleback (Maine), completed before the 06-07 season, is really nice:

Inside (loft above houses a bar):

 

[Robyn]

You know, I don't use base lodges much. I get ready at my car usually and if I stop to eat it's at a mid or upper mountain lodge. That being said, Vail's Golden Peak base lodge is pretty nice and I love having a cup of coffee while I wait to coach at Camp Hale in Center Village at Copper. A-Basin's A-Frame has a great old school feel to it as well. Part of what I like about all of these is that if you go in the right door you do not need to use stairs to get to the bathrooms.

 

[Shannon D]

My very favorite "base lodge" is at Silverton. It's an old yurt with a woodburning stove in the center. It's filled with furniture that looks like it was retired from a frat house. The bathrooms are two outhouses and the "rental shop" is a converted school bus. At the end of the day, they roll a bar into the room that has two beers on tap and plenty of liquor appropriate for shots (think Jaeger). I have some pics at home that I'll try to remember to post later.

 

[skigrl27]

Too funny!! Coming from VT and the east coast, I was absolutely mortified to learn that Colorado and Base Lodges just don't seem to be friends!!

Aspen - no base lodge
Highlands - a glorified entry way with some benches and a fireplace
Snowmass - a $#it show of stuff, but no lodge
Buttermilk - has a lodge, but who cares

I personally LOVE putting my boots on INSIDE. Not out of my car, not anywhere near dampness or snow...inside, in a chair. So I can get everything situated. I've learned to make do with what everyone else does, but I'm not a fan of getting my stuff on outside my car.

Now...the Sundeck on the TOP of Aspen Mountain: that place is AWESOME.

 

[skimomma24]

Well considering I ski at a speed bump sized hill, the 'base' lodge IS the lodge. :ROTF: And is has been 'improved' since the years that I skied there as a teenager, but it is still fairly basic. But I like to bring my own lunch, I am content at the picnic tables, the bathrooms are clean and easy to get to, it's warm and they serve beer. That said, as long as the lifts outside are good and working, the hill is kept up and there is decent snow.... I'm happy.

 

[MaryLou]

I've never fallen in love with a base lodge! But my experience in limited to NE, and in the last 10 years Sunday River and Wachusett. Always badly laid out, not enough table space, stuff stored in every possible spot on floor. Before kids we'd avoid the lodges and eat in our car (prefer to pee off piste if possible lol). I have a strong sense of smell, and they always smell like feet to me. Last year I was eating lunch in the lodge with my kids and a guy pulled off his ski boots and sweaty socks and his feet were 1' from my body, I wanted to gag. And then the mother who was changing her baby on a TABLE next to mine. I guess if people had manners and consideration for others it wouldn't be so bad. We rent a locker in the lodge, so luckily we don't have issues with gear storage, etc.. I've heard it's a NE thing - storing bags and stuff under/around tables...

BUT...if my home mountain decided to replace the existing ones, I'm sure they'd be nice, but I don't want the hit in terms of ticket and pass prices - don't care that much. There were some nice upgrades at the SR lodges over the summer that make them a little more pleasant.

 

[RachelV]

I personally LOVE putting my boots on INSIDE. Not out of my car, not anywhere near dampness or snow...inside, in a chair. So I can get everything situated.

YES. Other benefits:
- your feet don't get preemptively cold
- you don't have to hop around on one foot and then end up getting your socks wet anyways (maybe that's just me)
- at the end of the ski day you can put on some shoes and take off your extra stuff and be ready to hit the bar in comfort

That said, I hate the Bear and K1 lodges at Killington. It's like they went out of their way to make them as cramped as possible.

 

[skidaup]

I like Indianhead in Wakefield, MI. The parking lot is at the top of the hill. There is a lodge at the top where you put your stuff on and get your ticket, food, shops, fireplace, bar, ordinary base lodge stuff. It's not a big place but its cool and there is a bar/restaurant (smaller) at the bottom of the hill. At the end of the day ski patrol greets you as you get off the lift and says.."have a nice evening". In another words saying "time to go home or you can walk up the hill to your car later". I have liked it ever since I was a kid, I only get there a couple times of year though.

 

[marta]

Bubble Village

I think the award for worst base lodge could easily be won by Mountain Creek. The original lodge burned down and they erected a temporary lodge...10 years ago!! It is one of those awful temp shelters that look like a white blow-up dome, concrete floor, questionable ventilation. There isn't much about it that says come inside. This sort of structure is great in a pinch, but really 10 years of use with no real plans to replace it is absurd.

Hell yeah, that thing stinks! PU! They say it comes down end of this year. I hope...

When going to Mountain Creek, always base yourself at South, the terrain park. A real lodge, better parking, better food, and a fireplace.

 

[Severine]

My very favorite "base lodge" is at Silverton. It's an old yurt with a woodburning stove in the center. It's filled with furniture that looks like it was retired from a frat house. The bathrooms are two outhouses and the "rental shop" is a converted school bus. At the end of the day, they roll a bar into the room that has two beers on tap and plenty of liquor appropriate for shots (think Jaeger). I have some pics at home that I'll try to remember to post later.

That sounds really cool!

The worst base lodge I've been to is at Southington. Nothing about it screams, "come inside here and relax!" It's a very sad building.

I never used to notice base lodges all the much; stuck close to home at small places and booted up at the car mostly. But I've had to play lodge mom a few times now so it is something I look out for these days, especially if we're going to try a daytrip where DH and I will be switching off watching the kids so we both can ski. I really liked the day I spent in Mt Snow's lodge. The fireplace was quite cozy. It wasn't fancy, but it was nice enough and clean. Plus with the complimentary bag check, the place wasn't cluttered up with people's stuff either.

 

[Jilly]

OMG I can list soooo many worst both for Ontario and Quebec.

But bests:

Mont St. Saveur!
Owl's Head - except for the 3 legged chairs in the bar! Yup 3 legged!
Calabogie Peaks
Mont Ste Anne base and top!


Tremblant doesn't have a base lodge anymore really. Back in the 80's they did and it was the place!! They actually picked up and moved the Chalet de Voyageurs down the mountain to its place by the parking lot. And the Octobar went with it. Now its not the happ'in place it was!

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Oh, Shannon D., I was going to post about Silverton. I haven't been there yet (going in March), but I am absolutely "turned on" by all that I've read about the tent and total lack of amenities. Please post pics!

 

[Shannon D]

We were pretty tired, so there aren't many decent pics, but here are a couple that I found. I'll make sure to take some more this year. What you can see in these pictures is literally half of the lodge. To the left is the heat source, the wood burning stove. It's the only lodge in Colorado where you can see your breath first thing in the morning.

The Apres Ski at the end of the day. The bartender is Jen Brill, one of the owners.

And my hubby happy to have a beer after I forced him to have a shot of Jaeger.

 

[skibum4ever]

We really love the Outpost at Keystone. Not a base lodge, but at the top of North Peak and Outback. It has high wood-beamed ceilings and is my ideal of a ski lodge. Up to a couple of years ago it had a wood-burning fireplace which is now unfortunately changed to gas. Some of the food is decent too (try the Udon soup with seafood!)

We also like the small lodge at the top of Blue Sky Basin in Vail. It has outside grills and people bring everything from hotdogs to filet mignon and salmon to grill, along with all the trimmings. This is done more in the spring, of course. A great place to take a break when you want to do a few more laps in Blue Sky before heading back to the rest of the mountain.

 

[ski now work later]

Shannon, cute hubbie. :D



I love Big Sky's only on mountain restaurant, Pinnacle, top of Ramcharger lift. Great burgers. Problem is that when I eat a large lunch, it's hard for me to ski afterwards....

 

[gardenmary]

Being a ski newbie, I've only experienced 2 base lodges - Snow Summit at Big Bear in SoCal, and Snowbasin in the Upper Wasatch, Utah.

There is just no comparison between the two. It's like comparing a clean but moderate motel with the Waldorf-Astoria. Snowbasin is GORGEOUS:

https://www.snowbasin.com/winter/wallpapers.asp

The restrooms are amazing; unpolished granite floors, solid oak doors, brass fittings - and that's EACH STALL. Plus, warm water comes on automatically at the sinks!

The food is great, the views are great, they have Blue Moon beer on tap - it's all good. I'm afraid I've been horribly spoilt by starting at Snowbasin!