Alpine Room Redesign Finished and Karate at Liberty

The Alpine Room redesign is officially finished! The crew finished up the room a couple of weeks ago, but we've been waiting to show you updated pictures until we had an event or group actually use the room. Because we cannot wait to show you what the Alpine Room redesign looks like for a wedding (first one is August 8th), consider this a little sneak peek.

This past weekend, Liberty was host to the Annual Shorin-ryu Karatedo and Kobudo Association of America Karate summer camp - we'll use SKKAA for short. SKKAA has been coming to Liberty for quite some time and they always bring a unique feel to our summer resort activity. It's not everyday that our facilities are being used for a karate summer camp.

Instructors and participants spent three days and four nights in our Liberty Hotel, enjoyed meals inside and outside provided by our Food & Beverage catering staff, and held training sessions in the newly redesigned Alpine Room.

Just in case you've forgotten what the Alpine Room looked like before, here are two pictures of the SKKAA group using the Alpine Room for a training session from a few years back:

And here are some pictures of the SKKAA group using the Alpine Room during this year's summer camp:

How about the ceiling beams, wood-covered walls and warm orange color? Quite different than the previous look of the Alpine Room. The SKKAA leaders were very pleased with the new look of the Alpine Room and were surprised by the vast difference from last year.

So not only is the Alpine Room newly redesigned, warm, inviting, and lodge-like, but it's also multi-functional. Weddings, banquets, reunions, conferences, meetings, karate summer camps. What's next for the Alpine Room and Liberty Mountain Resort?

Eastwind Quad Chairlift Removal

We received exciting news yesterday from our Mountain Manager Ron Crozier - "The Eastwind Quad Chairlift towers are being taken down!" It's not every day that you see humungous, heavy, blue lift towers being torn out of the ground - about 3000 pounds being torn out of the ground to be exact. So we grabbed our marketing cameras and headed to the backside of the mountain for all the action.

When we arrived, the crew was removing one of the last two towers on the less-steaper side of the slope. They had already taken the tower out of the ground and were moving it with a crane. We didn't know exactly how they got the towers out of the ground, so we had to stick around to see the last one removed.

How many different types of machinery does it take to remove one tower?

We were surprised to find out that they don't actually "dig" the towers out of the ground. The towers are separated from their ground base by way of cutting with a torch. First, of course, they attach the top of the tower to a crane so as soon as the cutting is complete, the tower can be lifted into the air and then placed on the ground.

Tower being taken away by an old groomer.

Only three lift towers remain, and they will be the trickiest. Sitting on the steepest part of the slope, the remaining towers will be removed with a much larger crane in a couple of weeks. Wait until we get pictures from that exciting adventure! We've heard it's going to be quite a site to see.

Liberty Projects Continue

As we promised in yesterday's blog post, here are some updates on Liberty's projects!

The Alpine Patio that was redesigned last summer, is being expanded this summer! The Alpine Patio expansion will lay parallel to the fence that separates the swimming pool from the base area grass. The expansion will add a whole new section for seating and entertainment during the season, and during events. We may even see some colorful adirondak chairs with this new expansion which will be great for kicking back and watching the slopes.

Here's a closer look at the expansion: the round picnic tables are sitting on the existing patio; beyond the tables is where construction for the expansion is taking place.

This is where the Demo Center used to be located. The patio expansion will be just a few feet away from one of our base area snow guns, and from the base area snow in winter.


Here it is! The expansion! Just imagine yourself kicking back and relaxing on an adirondack chair, watching the slopes and taking in the wintery atmosphere. It's going to be grand!

Another Liberty project that is taking place this summer is the redesign of the Bakery. The area has been completely gutted to make room for new furniture, new decor, and new bathrooms. Here's what the Bakery redesign looks like today:

Completely different, right? The Bakery redesign will include warm, rich colors and inviting furniture to go along with the color scheme and atmosphere of the Alpine Market. Think Panera Bread meets the ski slopes and you'll have a pretty good idea of what our new Bakery will look like in a few months.

Our Bakery won't look exactly like a Panera Bread and won't be near as large, but it will certainly have the same feel. Here's what a typical Panera Bread looks like just in case you've never been to one:

Here's another Bakery example to help you envision what our new Bakery will look like come winter:

One feature of the Bakery redesign that we are most excited about is the arrangement of seating. Remember how the old Bakery was set up? You ordered your food at the various counters that laid parallel to the windows and you sat alongside the opposing wall. Well we're doing a little switch-a-roo! The Bakery itself, all its counters and other necessities will be alongside the wall and the seating area will run parallel to the windows, giving you a beautiful view of the mountain while dining. You can sit and enjoy your hot chocolate, yummy cinnamon rolls and Starbucks coffee all while taking in the beautiful outdoor scenery. It'll be a little bit like this, except with a beautifully snow-covered mountain outside:


Well, we hope that gets you excited for Liberty's summer projects and the improvements you'll see at the resort this winter. We've also got the replacement of the Eastwind Quad Chairlift to update you on so keeping checking the blog for the latest news! In the meantime, check out our Photo Gallery at skiliberty.com to see what's been going on at the resort over the past few months.

Check out the Events Calendar!

Planning for the 2009-2010 winter season is well underway at Liberty Mountain! We just recently updated our Events Calendar on our website so make sure you check it out and start planning your skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing trips to the mountain.

Before the winter season arrives, though, there are plenty of upcoming summer and fall events that we'd like to mention...

• August 20th - 23rd - Gettysburg August Bluegrass Festival at Granite Hill Campground


• September 26th and 27th - Fairfield's up and coming Pippinfest


• October 3rd and 4th, 10th and 11th - 45th Annual National Apple Harvest Festival in Ardentsville, PA


• October 10th and 11th - Catoctin Colorfest in Thurmont, MD


• October 18th - Liberty Mountain Fall Fest and Customer Appreciation Picnic featuring the Cannonball Chili Cook-Off

The resort and local events listed above are some of the best in the area so make sure you start planning your late-summer and fall getaways now! With all the local events so close to our resort, it's easy to turn your festival or event visit into a weekend getaway by staying at the Liberty Hotel. Check our website often over the next few months for special lodging packages.

And just to keep you updated on our resort projects, here's a picture of the latest construction of the Alpine Patio expansion. Remember when the Demo Center building was moved? This is where the building used to be, and this is where the newly expanded patio will reside. More slopeside seating in the winter - awesome!

There will also be updates on the Bakery and Alpine Room redesigns coming up in the next blog post! Keep reading!

Cooler Summer Could Lead to Snowier Winter

Have you noticed the lack of heat and humidity so far this summer? People are saving on their energy bills because air conditioning has been turned off more than usual. Others are disappointed that their normal summer activities like swimming have been compromised because the need to cool off in a pool is less than usual. Earlier this week temperatures were in the high 80's, but with the lack of humidity the temperature readings seemed hard to believe.

So what does all this mean for winter? Accuweather's Expert Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi thinks the cooler summer will lead to a snowier winter. To be exact, "The heart of winter will be centered over the area from Boston to Washington, D.C.", says Bastardi.

(Here's Bastardi!)

Bastardi begins his forecast predictions by stating that for the Northeast, "this has been the coolest summer in more than a decade." This cool trend has been referred to as the 'Year Without True Summer.' Kind of a scary thought, right? A year without summer? Are you crazy!?! That's unthinkable!

This crazy, unthinkable lack of summer, however, could lead to a very promising and exciting winter season, especially for those involved in the ski, snowboarding and snow tubing industries. Past and recent weather trends all point to this prediction of a very snowy winter for the Northeast. New York City did not see a day in June where temperatures were over 85 degrees. Records show that below 85 degree temperatures have only occurred three times in NYC - each time was followed by a snowy winter.

This past June, Chicago had 12 days of temperatures under 70 degrees. This has happened only one other time, which was also followed by a snowy winter.

So how snowy will the Northeast actually be this upcoming winter? Bastardi predicts that the hardest hit areas "will be from New England through the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic." Since Liberty Mountain falls into all three regions, the following numbers are important to note.

Bastardi's snowfall predictions for 2009-10 winter: 50 to 100 inches
Inches of snow received during 2002-03 winter (our most recent snowiest winter): 80 inches

And just to remind you of how snowy 2002-03 was...

While the Northest is expected to receive lots of snow this winter, the midwest, central Plains, and Pacific Northwest are predicted to have much milder temperatures with below-normal precipitation.

More snow for the 2009-10 winter? We welcome it with open arms! More snow means more open days for our mountain and our slopes. Let's check back next March and see if Mr. Bastardi was right.

Read Joe Bastardi's full predictions here. Check out Joe's recent video here.

Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge at Liberty

Liberty Mountain is excited to announce that the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge will be part of the 2009-2010 winter season calendar of events! The Challenge is scheduled to take place at Liberty on Monday, December 28th. Liberty will be one of the Challenge's first stops of the Eastern Tour, and with the winter season less than five months away, it will be here before we know it!

The Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge is a special race series that is open to all ages and ability levels. We don't have specific details as to how things will happen at Liberty on December 28th, but still wanted to share this exciting news! Click on the image below to check out photos and results from last year's Eastern Tour.


Whether you're a competitor or a spectator, we hope to see you on December 28th! Mark your calendars!