Moss Glen Falls | 360 VR | Vermont, USA

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This is Moss Glen Falls in Stowe, Vermont.
The Von Trapp's were a family that did indeed relocate from the cowbell-resounding hills of the Salzkammergut region of Austria to the quaint New England ski and agricultural community of Stowe, Vermont. Though it may sound far-fetched, Stowe was founded by life insurance company American International Group President and CEO Cornelius Vander Starr--a skiing enthusiast of English-Dutch ancestry and possessor of one of the coolest names that I've heard in recent memory. At the time of Mt. Mansfield's founding (the precursor to Stowe) in 1919 personal injury law was not as "mature" a legal discipline as it is today, so maybe Cornelius did not adequately appreciate the contradiction of an insurance company titan owning a ski resort. Incidentally, part of the reason why skiing in America is comparatively so pricey is because of the advancement of tort law and the cost of liability insurance in the US. Like the Von Trapp's, I learned to ski in Austria, in a beautiful resort town just south of Salzburg called Bad Gastein (in fact, I would guess that Maria Von Trapp skied there).

To illustrate the financial bar for entry of European vs. US skiing, a lift ticket at Bad Gastein will cost you $61, whereas, a lift ticket at Stowe will set you back at least $110. Like many things in the US, tort is part of the price increases, but it certainly isn't the whole story. Stowe was purchased in 2017 by Vail Resorts, in part, to expand their "Epic Pass" offerings into the East Coast market. The problem is that consolidation almost always results in higher consumer prices (that is why antitrust law exists). It also leads to homogenized offerings. I've been to Vail, and Stowe is looking like it's much more modest, but very high-priced cousin. The other knock-on effect has been real estate prices. Real estate prices have gone up 6.7% in the last year and have been increasing year-over-year since the 2017 Vail acquisition. In my cursory research, I happened upon an Outside magazine article quoting a Stowe employee quoted anonymously for fear of reprisal that, “It’s priced out all the people that support this town. I know of resort employees living in tents in the forest. People here are really pissed off."

It is interesting the extent to which something as simple and as boring sounding as "consolidation" can put a very fulfilling and enjoyable activity out of reach of the middle class, but then again, judging by the preponderance of Arc'teryx and Canada goose ski apparel on my Stowe ski weekend, it's certainly no surprise.

#stowe #waterfall #VR #vermont #colors #beautiful #snow #winter #cold #mountains #hiking #skiing #travel #explore #adventure

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