Mountain Creek

For other uses, see Mountain Creek (disambiguation).

Mountain Creek Resort
A view of Vernon from the top of the Fox Tail Run at Mountain Creek
Location	Vernon Township, New Jersey
Nearest city	New York City
Coordinates	41.181°N 74.513°W / 41.181°N 74.513°W / 41.181; -74.513 (Mountain Creek Resort)
Top elevation	454 m (1490')
Base elevation	137 m (450')
Runs	41
Longest run	Southern Sojurn (1881 m, 6170')
Lift system	8 total (1 gondola, 5 chairlifts, 2 magic carpets
Terrain parks	17 Terrain Park trails on South Peak, 1 Terrain Park at Vernon Peak
Snowfall	165cm/year (65")
Web site	mountaincreek.com

Mountain Creek is the ski resort closest to New York metropolitan area, located in Vernon Township, New Jersey, on Route 94, 47 miles (76 km) from the George Washington Bridge. It offers 167 skiable acres on four mountain peaks, 100% night skiing/snowboarding, and the region's highest vertical feet. Mountain Creek is also home to the region's only true all-mountain terrain park at South. Its terrain parks have been rated among the best in both the east and the nation. Mountain Creek South has 17 terrain park trails, 2 high-speed quad lifts, up to 80 features peak season, and a freestyle oriented base lodge with indoor skate bowl.

Mountain Creek was owned and operated by Intrawest through May 2010. The ski area is now owned by neighboring Crystal Springs Resort, which returns Mountain Creek to its previous ownership group- the ski resort was originally two separate resorts known as Vernon Valley and Great Gorge.

History of Mountain Creek

Great Gorge Ski Area

Great Gorge Ski Area was founded in McAfee, an unincorporated area of Vernon Township, in 1965 by a group of three families who worked at the Snow Bowl Ski Area in Milton, New Jersey. The founders sold $1,000 bonds to help cover the costs of the construction and land acquisition for the new Great Gorge Ski Area.

The original Great Gorge featured a large open slope with a platterpul tow. The current Ski Patrol building at Mountain Creek South was the original lodge for Great Gorge. Additional trails were built on what is now known as Mountain Creek's Bear Peak, with three double chairlifts manufactured by the Borvig Corp of nearby Pine Island, NY and installed by Dolomite Ski Construction, also of Pine Island. The large base lodge was designed by Alexander "Sandy" McIlvaine, who also designed the lodges at Stratton Mountain in Vermont and Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Olympic Valley, California. The alpine furniture for the lodge was bought from an exhibit at the 1964 World's Fair. Great Gorge was the first ski area in the United States to use a J65 jet engine purchased from Curtiss-Wright to power their snow making operations.

The trails of Great Gorge were designed by Austrian ski trail designers, Otto Schneibs and by Luis Schafflinger. Within a short time, Great Gorge expanded to the current South Peak. In 1971, the new Great Gorge North Ski Area was built on what is now Granite Peak. The original Great Gorge Ski Area then became known as Great Gorge South. They were two separate ski areas. Later a connecting trail was cut to join them together.

The building of the Great Gorge North Ski Area was part of a masterplan that included an Olympic ski-jump and training facility. The Olympic ski-jump and training facility were never built.

In 1971, Playboy opened their $20 million, 700-room Playboy Club Hotel (now Legends Hotel and Resort) on 1,000 acres (4 km²) of land a mile away from Great Gorge. Plans for the Playboy Club included a gambling casino and building a gondola from the hotel to the based on the Great Gorge North Ski Area. Unfortunately the gambling license was not approved and the gondola was never built. Had the gondola been built – the hotel and the ski areas might have had greater success.

In late 1971, Great Gorge was foreclosed by their lender after a number of seasons that brought little snow to the resort. This reduced revenue and left them with little money to operate and to pay off their debts. The lender then sold Great Gorge South and Great Gorge North to the owners of the Vernon Valley Ski Area.

Vernon Valley

In 1968, a new ski resort, known as Vernon Valley, opened adjacent to Great Gorge, to the north. Rather than invest time and effort into carefully designing their ski area, the investment group cut a number of trails straight from the top to the bottom of the mountain. Shortly thereafter in 1968, state wildlife officials demanded that the owners of Vernon Valley be evicted after the improper use of land leased to them by the state, causing much embarrassment to the investment firm.^{[citation needed]} After the foreclosure of Great Gorge South & Great Gorge North, they were sold to Vernon Valley, who merged the three ski areas forming Vernon Valley/Great Gorge (VVGG).

In 1974, VVGG was purchased by Great American Recreation, under the leadership of Eugene Mulvihill Sr. Under Great American, VVGG invested in a large amount of snowmaking equipment, which allowed the new resort to avoid the unpleasant fate of the original Great Gorge. VVGG, which claimed 53 runs and the largest snowmaking system in the country.^{[citation needed]} In 1978, VVGG opened Action Park, an amusement park with over 75 rides and attractions including over 40 water slides, bungee jumping, go karts, bumper boats, mini golf, concerts, and shows.

The following years saw success for VVGG. During the 1980s, Coblestone Village was built, which included restaurants and shops including the "Vernon Valley Brauhaus" brewery. The decade also saw the development of Great Gorge Village, a condo development with hundreds of luxury housing units, and The Spa at Great Gorge, a 4-star luxury resort and spa complete with an 18-hole golf course and a number of indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Great American's developments along with VVGG became known collectively as the Great Gorge Resort. VVGG continued to upgrade their skiing operations, installing a number of new lifts, including a triple chairlift in 1981.

In the early 1990s, VVGG suffered poor attendance and poor management which led the Great Gorge Resort on a downward spiral.^{[citation needed]} Great American Recreation, which was fined by the SEC in 1984 after pleading guilty in 1984 to five counts of fraud, theft and conspiracy related to the unauthorized operation of an insurance company,^{[citation needed]} was traded publicly on the NASDAQ, under the symbol GRAR. The stock was traded through shady investment fronts and behind the scenes. Mulvihill and his partners were alleged to have skimmed profits and cut inside deals.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, the stock collapsed and in 1995 and GAR filed for bankruptcy. For a few years, the resort operated with no insurance policy, which led even fewer patrons to come.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, money became so tight that in 1996, Great Gorge North and South were unable to operate, and only Vernon Valley operated. The resort was never able to get out of bankruptcy and finally, in 1997, GAR shut down the Great Gorge Resort and Action Park, which had closed at the end of 1996 but was originally scheduled to reopen as normal in 1997.

In 1998, the remaining assets of Great American Recreation were divided and sold. Eugene Mulvihill, Sr. retained control of the Great Gorge area of the resort, which was renamed Crystal Springs Resort. The Vernon Valley ski area and Action Park were sold to Intrawest, a Canadian-based owner and operator of various ski resorts.

Mountain Creek

The Appalachian as seen from The Cabriolet Gondola February 23, 2008

Intrawest renamed its holdings Mountain Creek and began pouring money into its new investment to refurbish the resort. Intrawest removed 11 of the 13 lifts, replacing them with a high speed 8-passenger open air "Cabriolet" gondola and two high-speed detachable quad lifts, all built by Doppelmayr. The Great Gorge Lodge, which hadn't operated for the past few years and hadn't been refurbished in nearly 30 years underwent a major renovation, and was renamed Mountain Creek South. The refurbished ski resort opened in the winter of 1998.

Intrawest also went to work on the former Action Park property. The company got rid of the Motorworld section of the amusement park, as well as its bungee jumping tower and slingshot ride, and began work on the Waterworld section of the park. The Vernon Valley Brewery was also closed down. The park reopened as Mountain Creek Waterpark.

Intrawest drafted a master plan for the resort, whose centerpiece was a residential and shopping village, a staple of Intrawest resorts. Included in the village plans are a conference center, hotels, condos, townhouses, shops, and restaurants. On the mountaintop was to be a golf course surrounded by hotels and condos. This mountaintop development was scrapped however, as the land that it was located on was sold by the State of New Jersey to Mountain Creek's previous owners, Great American Recreation, with a deed restriction that stated that the land was to be used only for passive recreation, such as fishing, hiking, and camping. Intrawest therefore sold the land back to the state for 7 million dollars and permission to expand skiing on portions of the mountain where it was previously prohibited.^[1]

On October 10, 1999, the 31-year-old McIlvaine designed base lodge was destroyed by a fire. This event occurred only a few months before the 1999/2000 ski season would begin. To continue operations, a temporary complex of prefabricated tents with integrated trailer bathrooms was built by Sprung Instant Structures. Mountain Creek publicly stated they had intended to replace the temporary complex with a permanent structure for the following 2000/2001 ski season. For whatever reasons, those plans were put on hold. The temporary complex is still in use during the 2010/2011 ski season.^[2] There is a new lodge in the design phase, but Intrawest and the Township of Vernon have not approved any plans.^[3][4]

In 2002, Mountain Creek opened the first phase of their master-planned resort village, Black Creek Sanctuary, a luxury townhouse community built on the site of Action Park's Motor World. In the winter of 2003, construction began on The Appalachian, a luxury condominium/hotel property built in the parking lot of Vernon base. The hotel opened for the 2006/2007 ski season. The loss of parking at the base of the ski area has greatly affected skier and boarders easy access to the mountain. Parking is now located at the former location of Action Park's Motor World and bumper boat area. People now take a long walk up a steep hill and then cross over Route 94 using an elevated walkway.

The Chevy U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix was held at Mountain Creek in both 2004 and 2005. The centerpiece of this event was Mountain Creek's Superpipe, one of the only superpipes in the east. The Superpipe went quiet after this.

Mountain Creek opened their 2007/2008 winter sports season with a few notable changes to the trail map. The eastern side of the Vernon Peak (including the Great Northern, Khyber Pass, Independence Pass, Indian Pass, Bridge Run, Sayonara, and Half Moon trails), which used to be home to their freestyle terrain park, was converted into intermediate slopes. The ‘Superpipe’ trail is all that remains of snowboarding specific terrain on the Vernon Peak. The entire Mountain Creek South area (South Peak and Bear Peak) houses the new terrain park, displacing the previously intermediate and advanced trails. Most ski racing groups that had raced at Great Gorge South since the resort's inception were moved over to the Vernon base to the Zero G trail. After several difficult seasons – most ski racing groups opted to move to another local mountain in Vernon. All slopes off those peaks are single diamond trails with additional ratings for the kind of freestyle terrain from small to extra large. Additionally, a long intermediate trail off the Granite Peak called Granite View, was removed from the trail map entirely. Minor changes were also made in the dining structure; including that the red one-time use rental lockers were moved outdoors and replaced with a more compact bag-check station.

Intrawest planned to build hundreds of resort condo-hotel units with extremely well-appointed amenities. Their first condo-hotel property opened on July 31, 2006 and welcomed its first guests and residents. Plans were to build numerous buildings housing condo-hotels, luxurious five-star mountain lodge hotels, conference center, and many cobblestone streets filled with designer boutiques and cozy brasseries. Much will depend on the restriction placed by the town of Vernon under the Town Center restrictions. In 2006, the town of Vernon approved three additional buildings to the project.^[5]

In 2008, Intrawest representatives stated that during the previous two years Intrawest and the resort industry in general experienced a significant softening of the real estate market, which included Mountain Creek. Intrawest could not commit to completing the village.^[6] As of winter 2010, Intrawest / Fortress Investments was in significant financial trouble^[7] although deals are being developed to allow the company to continue operating.^[8]

In 2010, Sojourn Double, the chairlift that transported people from South to Granite Peak, has been retired after 40 years of service. While the chairlift was known for connecting people from the South and Bear Peaks to Vernon and Granite Peaks, the entire lift is being taken down with no plans to replace it. People must take the shuttle bus now in order to get to from South to Vernon. However, a trail that will allow people to ski and snowboard from South to Granite Peak, is being developed but due to large capital improvements for the 2011–2012 season (mountain coaster, north lodge, zipline...etc.) it won't be open until the 2012–2013 season .^[9]

Future of Mountain Creek

Crystal Springs Resort purchased Mountain Creek in May 2010, returning the entire resort to its previous ownership. The acquisition creates the region's largest and most comprehensive four-season resort destination. Spanning five miles (8 km) through four townships (Vernon, Hardyston, Hamburg, Franklin), the combined resorts fill the historic Vernon Valley region with 15,000 acres (61 km²) of world-class, year-round amenities including award-winning golf courses, spas, hotels, a globally renowned 80,000-bottle wine cellar, ski and snowboard venues, a waterpark, and mountain bike park.

Mountain Creek had been under the ownership of Canadian-based, Intrawest ULC for the past 12 years, during which time the resort invested significant capital installing five new lifts and ongoing snowmaking upgrades including at the time, the largest single installation in North America. In the non-winter seasons, the resort is home to the Mountain Creek Waterpark and the world-renowned Diablo Freeride Mountain Bike Park. The principal owners of Crystal Springs were the original builders of the existing waterpark.

While still preliminary, Crystal Springs' plans include a rainforest-themed indoor water park hotel, a base area village with entertainment, dining and retail, as well as a "main street" with venues such as artisan food makers, a winery, brew pub, cheese maker, ice creamery, bakery, chocolatier, and more. Also contemplated are several internationally branded resort hotels. On the recreational menu are other mountain outdoor play elements such as mountain luge, zip lines, and lift-accessed water slides as well as a renewed focus on festivals and entertainment.

The Mountain

Mountains

• Vernon Peak
  • Vertical: 1,040 ft (317 m)
  • Base elevation: 440 ft (134 m)
  • Summit elevation: 1,480 ft (451 m)
• Granite Peak
  • Vertical: 848 ft (258 m)
  • Base: 600 ft (180 m)
  • Summit: 1,448 ft (441 m)
• South Peak
  • Vertical: 1,000 ft (305 m)
  • Base: 450 ft (137 m)
  • Summit: 1,450 ft (442 m)
• Bear Peak
  • Vertical: 630 ft (192 m)
  • Base: 450 ft (137 m)
  • Summit: 1,080 ft (329 m)

Trails

• 41 total trails
• 9 lifts
• 16 miles (26 km) total of trails
• 7 beginner trails, 18%
• 24 intermediate trails, 51%(14 of which are terrain park trails)
• 8 advanced trails, 29% (4 of which are terrain park trails)
• 1 expert trail 2%

Terrain parks

• 64 skiable acres
• 18 total freestyle terrain park trails
• 47% total skiable area is terrain parks
• Up to 80 features installed peak season

Snowtubing

• 8 tubing lanes
• 180 tubes
• 1 tubing lift
• lighted for night tubing

Lifts

Lift Name	Type	Manufacturer	Installed
The Cabriolet	8 Passenger detachable open-air gondola	Doppelmayr	1998
Sugar Quad	Fixed-grip quad chairlift	Partek	1998
Vernon Triple	Fixed-grip triple chairlift	Borvig	1981
South Peak Express	Detachable quad chairlift	Doppelmayr	1998
Bear Peak Express	Detachable quad chairlift	Doppelmayr	1998
Granite Quad	Fixed-grip quad chairlift	Doppelmayr	1998

• 8 total lifts
  • 1 eight-passenger detachable gondola
  • 2 high-speed detachable quads
  • 2 fixed grip quads
  • 1 fixed grip triple

• • 2 magic carpet surface lifts

Snowmaking

• 100% trail coverage
• 1,000 snow guns
• More snowmaking capacity than any resort in the region

See also

• History of Action Park

References

1. ^ Brown, Matthew (April 1, 20024). "The Bergen Record; N.J. buying back land from builder". The Bergan Record. http://www.nynjtc.org/externalnews/2002/hamberg.html. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
2. ^ Pennington, Bill (December 16, 1999). "The Ski report; Fire on the Mountain Puts Resort on Plan B". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E2DE1730F935A25751C1A96F958260. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
3. ^ Pennington, Bill (March 14, 2008). "Boarders and Free Skiers Get Own Peak in New Jersey". New York Times. http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/travel/escapes/14ski.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=f8b005e7c6493098&ex=1205553600. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
4. ^ Kasper, Rosa (March 6, 2008). "One more year until proposed center replaces tents". Straus News. http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2008/03/07/advertiser_news/news/7.txt. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
5. ^ Kasper, Rosa (November 16, 2006). "Mountain Creek gets planning OK". Straus News. http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2006/11/16/sparta_independent/news/38.txt. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
6. ^ Martin, Antoinette (January 6, 2008). "Condo Confections Hit a Snag". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/realestate/06njzo.html?pagewanted=print. Retrieved March 11, 2009. 
7. ^ "Lenders threaten auction of Olympic ski resort but officials say Games to go on". http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/Intrawest-May-Auction-Off-Resorts,60. 
8. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-27/fortress-said-to-be-near-intrawest-debt-restructuring-deal.html
9. ^ Mountain Creek closes Sojourn chairlift, accessed October 22, 2010

External links

• Mountain Creek
• Mountain Creek Water Park
• The Appalachian
• Black Creek Sanctuary
• Mountain Creek Realty
• Intrawest
• Vernon Township
• Forum for Vernon by NJ..com
• History of Action Park
• History of Great Gorge Ski Area