Your Own Private Mountain

Imagine skiing an epic powder day with just your friends on the mountain. At these Vermont ski areas, you can do just that this season. 

Last Valentine’s Day, Lycored, maker of wellness-products and nutraceuticals, showed Vermont skiers a lot of love. The New Jersey-based multinational rented Magic Mountain, set up a booth for “love letters” and gave out free skiing to all as part of its #rethinkbeautiful campaign. In a, um,  sweetheart  of a deal, anyone who showed up at Magic was treated to a free day of skiing.

Lycored isn’t the only company that’s taken advantage of Magic’s policy of renting out the entire mountain to groups or individuals midweek (Monday through Wednesday) when the lifts are typically closed. Manchester building supply company RK Miles also booked Magic to throw a party for its customers.

You can book Magic, too. For $5,000, ride the lifts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., without ever standing in a liftline or having anyone (other than your invited buddies) poach your pow.

Other mountains are also up for rent. Suicide Six in Woodstock pulls out all the stops in a deal that’s targeted at corporate retreats. If you “Buy Six For a Day,” for $7,500 you get exclusive use of the mountain for 200. You also get ski and boot rentals, an activity director to help organize races or events, coffee and hot chocolate, cross-country skiing (and equipment), meeting and banquet rooms and shuttles to the Woodstock Inn & Resort, where guests can stay at group rates.

New this season,  Pico Mountain has a private mountain rental option on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. “This is a unique destination to host your next fundraiser, corporate event or family outing,” says Lee Cohen, group sales manager at Killington Resort and Pico Mountain. “It’s a guaranteed way to get you first chair, fresh snow and no lift lines.” The private mountain rental, with two lifts (Golden and Summit) and a chance to ski  1,967 feet of vert is $6,500 for up to 250 guests (more than that and you’ll get charged $15 a person) and is available from January 8 through April 4, 2019. Food, beers and drinks are extra, so maybe ask your buddies to buy a round.

Photo Courtesy Pico Mountain. Caption: Tired of crowds? You can have Pico Mountain all to yourself (and 250 friends) this winter.