Mueller’s Okemo Resort in Top 10

Good morning readers,

SKI Magazine just released this season’s reader rankings for ski resorts and the Mueller’s resort at Okemo, Vermont made the Top 10. Calling it the "Mueller Touch" and the "Okemo Difference", the evolution of services and capital improvements at the resort have delivered Okemo to high standards in overall quality and customer experience.

Its this kind of track record that will help Crested Butte compete directly with other resorts around North America. While Crested Butte has ranked high in the magazines for things like steep terrain, small Colorado ski town ambience and most recently the quality of our on hill grooming (Muellers bought a new fleet of modern sno-cats and updated the entire snowmaking infrastructure in 2004), ski resort aspects like our scope of services, family attractions and non-skiing amenities have never been referenced when ski editors and their readers write about Crested Butte.

Now that the Muellers are heading into their 3rd season at Crested Butte with so many improvements completed (Terrain Park, Superpipe, New Hi-Speed Quads), underway (Lodging, Restaurants, Retail) and planned for the near future, we should see Crested Butte cracking the Top 10 in similar categories to Okemo very soon!

Thanks for visiting today,

Channing Boucher

SKI Magazine Readers Rate Okemo in East’s Top Ten
http://news.alpinezone.com//

Sep 28, 2006 – 12:49 PM

By AlpineZone News

LUDLOW, Vermont — In its annual Top 50 Reader Resort Survey, SKI magazine named Okemo Mountain Resort one of the top ten resorts in the East, and one of the best in North America for Grooming, Family Programs and Terrain Parks. Ranked eighth in the East, the popular southern Vermont resort also made the top-ten list in ten of the Reader Resort Survey’s categories: Grooming, Snow, Family Programs, Service, Lifts, Terrain Parks, Weather, Lodging, On-Mountain Food and Overall Satisfaction.

"The ‘Mueller touch,’ bestowed by the owners, has meant a steady improvement in service and details," writes SKI magazine in its review of Okemo. The review continues with a quote from a magazine reader, "They know their stuff cold and are not afraid to spend money to make it right."

Okemo takes great pride in its grooming and snow quality. The readers of SKI recognized the resort’s commitment to providing an excellent snow surface by rating Okemo number one in the East for Grooming, and number two in all of North America – second only to Deer Valley. In the Snow category, Okemo placed third in the East – nipping at the heels of second place category winner and sister resort, Mount Sunapee, in N.H.

In the category of Family Programs, Okemo was rated third in the East and fifth in North America. Owned and operated by a family, for families, Okemo has long been a favorite with moms, dads and kids. Okemo owners Tim and Diane Mueller raised their two children on skis and snowboards, so they know what families look for in a resort.

Okemo was recognized as number two in the East for Terrain Parks and ranked sixth overall in North America. With six well-maintained parks and the East’s longest superpipe, producing the likes of Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter, the news about Okemo’s commitment to jibbing junkies is no longer the resort’s best-kept secret.

With 18 lifts serving 624 acres of terrain, it’s no wonder Okemo ranked seventh in the Lifts category of SKI’s survey. Nine four-person chairlifts, including five high-speed detachable quads, plus three triple chairs and six surface lifts, give Okemo an uphill capacity of 32,250 skiers/riders per hour.

Top ten standings in Service, Lodging, Weather and On-Mountain Food, round out the experience that is known simply as "The Okemo Difference." It’s why skiers and riders choose Okemo and rate the resort in the top ten for Overall Satisfaction.

This year, a record 6,000 skiers responded to SKI’s survey. Subscribers of two or more years were surveyed by an independent research firm for the Top 50 Resort Survey. It is the most comprehensive and longest-running ski resort survey in the winter sports industry.

For more information about Okemo Mountain Resort, please call 802-228-1600 or visit www.okemo.com.