SUNAPEE SMOKIN' WITH SUPERPIPE
It was late in the summer and Tim and Diane Mueller were entertaining a bunch of ski writers at their home beside Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire. Their son, Ethan, was showing off the hydraulic lift their boat was sitting on, but his demonstration was interrupted by a loud thud. The lift had broken and the boat slammed into the water. After several attempts to figure it out underwater, Ethan summoned his dad, who, with the help of a few writers, wrestled the craft off the lift and secured it to the dock.
Tim Mueller’s reaction?  “Guess we’re going to have to get that fixed.” It was calm, cool and matter-of-fact, and sort of symbolic.

It’s the same approach he and his family have taken while running the mountain down the road the past five seasons for the state. Yes, Mount Sunapee never ceases to amaze. For example, for a while this season it had the biggest superpipe in the country. “Yeah, then Steamboat decided it was going to beat me out,” says Dyke Shaw, Sunapee’s marketing director.  Forget about Colorado for a moment, even though the acquisition of Crested Butte should be finalized by next week and the Colorado Court of Appeals recently overturned a 2002 lower-court decision against the Muellers’ Holding Company, Triple Peaks LLC., that effectively reopened negotiations between the Muellers and the American Skiing Co. for Steamboat. Sunapee’s superpipe is a perfect example of mountain’s transformation into an eastern player.

The thing is 650 feet long, 50 feet wide, and the walls are between 18 and 19 feet. Not bad for a state-owned mountain with a reputation for day skiing. The advanced skiers and riders are not the only ones being pampered this year. Earlier this season, Sunapee unveiled its new learning center that centralized the entire beginner operation at the mountain. First-timers not only have their own lifts and meandering hill for lessons and practice, but have easy access to the green trails at the South Peak area. In all, South Peak now has five lifts and 13 trails. “It has become a huge advantage,” Shaw says.

Sunapee has been growing steadily since the Muellers took over the operations five seasons ago. They inherited a mountain 2,743 feet above sea level with a vertical drop of 1,510 feet that catered to the Boston day-trippers to the tune of 110,000 visits a season. The terrain has always been varied enough to keep skiers and riders of all abilities very happy. But infrastructure was another story. The Muellers have put $14.5 million toward capital improvements and the mountain now has a spacious lodge, 65 trails, and 10 lifts. The year the Muellers took over, skier and rider visits jumped to 165,000. Sunapee has since drawn 190,000 in 1999-2000, 258,000 in 2000-01, 232,000 in 02-03, and last year, the mountain drew 273,000.

Because Sunapee gets so much day traffic, parking is premium. Therefore, a plan is in the works to add a new lot next year. Most of the state and local zoning permits have been secured, and it will be located along the access road. That is not to say the Sunapee can’t be a destination resort, because the area can certainly support it. In the summer, it is a virtual paradise. Boats — from small ski craft to larger sightseeing vessels — are everywhere and the lakeside shops are interesting.

Celebrities like Aerosmith rockers Joe Perry and Steve Tyler make their homes on the lake, so the scene can be something right out of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” But there are also enough average Joes to go around, whose main priority is finding slip space at The Anchorage pub. Lodging is plentiful, from the large best Western to the stylish Sunapee Harbor Cottages. The latter is one of the more unique hotels in New Hampshire. Each two-level unit faces the water and is a short walk to the lake. Sheila Thomas Whitcomb bought the place a short time ago and turned what resembled a battlefield into a clean, comfortable environment. In all, Sunapee has 32 lodging properties within a 20-mile radius.  But even Joe and Steve understand that Sunapee is not all about the summer. Each year, they make sure they get to the mountain at least once to ski.

“We are seeing more people come for the entire weekend,” Shaw says. “We are also seeing more and more cars from Connecticut. A lot of people are visiting here, seeing what Sunapee is all about, and buying second homes.” He credits the Muellers for some of that, because of the reputation they carry over from Okemo. That has drawn many people from the Interstate 91 corridor to Sunapee, he says. Business has been good, but Shaw admits is can be better. He thinks cold January temperatures scared some people away, but he also thinks the mountain can be victimized by the weather hype. Translation: The lunatic weather people on television cause too much trouble. All too often, they rant and rave about these “dangerous” storms that will kill us all unless we sit home and watch them. In reality, they only produce a small amount of snow that can easily be handle by simply slowing down. “We’re still primarily the Boston market, and the weathermen have convinced everyone that the entire state has the same weather as the top of Mount Washington,” Shaw says.

Remember, Mount Washington is generally considered to have the most extreme weather in the world. “We’re encouraging the media not to say that,” Shaw says. “That is not the type of weather we receive on a daily basis.” Overall, with base depths of between 18 and 54 inches, the snow is pretty good. What’s a little cold going to do if one dresses properly? What this will all shape up to is a pretty good March. “We’re making way for some incredible spring skiing,” Shaw says. Who knows, Steve and Joe just might be belting out a few tunes while riding a lift.

Chris Dehnel is an associate editor for the Journal Inquirer in North Central Connecticut. His ski column appears weekly during the season.