Snow sports: Central Mass. Ski and Snowboard tour group carries on in wake of corporate takeovers on the slopes

For more than 40 years, Bruce Teittinen has been working to keep skiing and snowboarding affordable and fun for Central Massachusetts skiers and riders.

The Fitchburg resident co-founded what is now the Central Mass. Ski and Snowboard group in 1987, back when cheap deals were still easy to find and skiing was more affordable than it is today.

But the job of running a regional ski club has been getting ever more difficult in recent years with the incessant waves of consolidation that have rolled over the industry, driving up ticket prices and winnowing the number of ski areas willing to give significant discounts to clubs such as the one Teittinen has led over the decades.

For the few who haven’t heard about it, Vail Resorts, the world’s biggest ski area owner, and Alterra Mountain Company, the Aspen subsidiary that is close behind Vail, have been on a buying spree in New England.

Over the summer, Vail grabbed Peak Resorts’ former holdings Mount Snow, Crotched Mountain, Attitash and Wildcat. Earlier this month, Alterra bought Sugarbush to complement its other iconic Vermont resort, Stratton.

Now the war between Vail’s mega-ticket brand, “Epic” and Alterra’s “Ikon,” is the dominant narrative in the ski business. The passes are good deals for those who can afford their $800-plus multi-ski area passes before the season starts, but they also spawn day ticket prices that are basically out of reach for nearly everyone else.

I’m sure I’ll be writing about this all season.

Meanwhile, Teittinen, a retired IRS revenue agent and Army veteran, these days is officially the “trip coordinator” for Central Mass. Ski and Snowboard, but he really is the longtime unquestioned top guy at the group — with a lot of help from his wife, Linda. The group has about 800 members. Many are families, which brings the total to about 1,800 people, he said.

Teittinen told me he isn’t thrilled about the conglomerates’ rule, though he still does business with Mount Snow, Stowe, Sunday River and others owned by the “big two.”

“We’re running out of ski areas in New England,” Teittinen said. “They’re making it harder and harder on us, but we’re doing the best we can.”

While it draws some far-away members, the Fitchburg-based group really is, at its essence, a Northern Worcester County club — a fixture in a region that has long been a skiing hotbed centering on Wachusett Mountain ski area, and in earlier years, the former Mount Watatic Ski Area in Ashby, and any number of long-closed rope-tow and T-bar hills.

For cheap dues, members still get great discounts on weekend trips to New England ski areas and expeditions to the West and Europe. Members can also take advantage of decent ticket discounts on weekday “member appreciation days” at New England ski areas by buying tickets online and punching in a code.

Due mostly to a nagging back injury, Teittinen doesn’t ski as much as he used to or would like. But he still loves skiing.

“It’s just the camaraderie and adventure of it. You get out and get some fresh air,” he said. “It’s not a sport, it’s a way of life. It’s got the mountains, the physical aspect of it, the equipment. It’s got everything rolled into one. It’s like a microcosm of life.”

Skiing already

Speaking of Mount Snow and Stratton, I’ve had a chance in this young season to ski both of the southern Vermont institutions.

Also Killington, the perennial early-season standby in central Vermont that is owned by the feisty independent chain Powdr Corporation. I hit the “Beast of the East” with a friend on Killington’s first top-to-bottom day Nov. 10.

What fun, complete with the awesomely scenic K-1 summit lodge bar.

Meanwhile, the U.S. ski community is wishing Killington good luck staging its fourth annual women’s ski racing World Cup slalom and giant slalom Thanksgiving weekend races Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

The event has drawn thousands every fall and become a big international success. We are again cheering on U.S. Ski Team megastar Mikaela Shiffrin, the New England product, reigning World Cup champion and three-time Killington slalom winner.

Interestingly, the southern Vermont resorts now represent the big ski conglomerate standoff: Mount Snow is Vail Resorts, and Stratton is Alterra. Epic versus Ikon: a 30 minute drive on Vermont Route 100 from each other (and just about two hours from Worcester).

Only a few weeks into Vail’s operation, Mount Snow seems like it’s in good hands. Guest services was packed with skiers and riders the last few weekends waiting to get or upgrade to their new Epic passes (Vail is honoring the old Peak passes for this season only).

On the hill, the snowmaking was as robust as ever, and it seems not much has changed yet. Vail said it will be consolidating and laying off people at the corporate level in New England. It’s unfortunate for the employees who are let go, but that happens in any acquisition as the owners try to minimize overhead.

I’ll point out that, to its credit, Mount Snow under Vail is so far retaining its wide-open uphill policy for alpine touring. Buy an uphill pass ($10 for the day, $49 for the season), slap on your climbing skins and ski up and down any route you like. I’ve skinned to the summit a couple of times this fall (once before the mountain opened for the season), and the uphill conditions were surprisingly good.

Mount Snow is also home to the legendary Carinthia terrain park complex. Vail Resorts appears to recognize how important it is to keep offering a top product to the throngs of ardent young freestyle snowboarders and skiers who make Carinthia one of the most happening and creative scenes in the East.

Over at Stratton, it seems like Alterra is succeeding in maintaining the mountain’s classy reputation and long, immaculately groomed cruising slopes.

Stratton also has a unique snowboard heritage. It was the first major resort in the country to allow members of the then rebel culture to ride on its slopes after Jake Burton Carpenter — who died Nov. 22 of complications from testicular cancer at age 65 — founded Burton Snowboards and invented what would become an enduring world-class sport.

Burton’s first manufacturing plant was in nearby Manchester, Vermont, and he and many other early riders progressed the sport at Stratton for years.

In an incredibly heartfelt gesture, Stratton on its opening day last Saturday, sent the first chairlift up occupied solely by one of Burton’s original boards.

Oh, and the skiing there that day was pretty damn good, too, even in the rain.

—Contact Shaun Sutner at s_sutner@yahoo.com.