Heading back toward the lodge at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.A couple of skiers contemplate where to go next at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
“I think this place could use a cash infusion,” said Nicholas Bellicini, a long-time Seven Springs skier from Pittsburgh. “It’s time for a change,” said Jason Kollar, also of Pittsburgh. The family has invested millions in the properties over the years, adding new lifts and terrain, updating hotels and lodges, building the sporting clays facility and Trillium Spa, among other improvements, according to Alex Moser, director of marketing and communications for the resort.
Visitors to Seven Springs, for example, do not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to dine indoors here, as they do at other Vail resorts . In addition, employees here aren’t required to be vaccinated. I spent only one day skiing on my recent visit, a Thursday in late January. A strong recommendation, if you’re able: Visit Seven Springs during the week, if at all possible. This place can get crazy busy on weekends, with day skiers descending from Pittsburgh, about 60 miles away. I talked to several passholders who said they never come on Saturday.
Along the route, I stopped to check out skiers and boarders playing inside The Alley, one of Seven Springs’ seven terrain parks. Renowned for its terrain parks and pipes, Seven Springs was named the top resort in the East for its parks in 2017 by Transworld Snowboarding magazine. For skiers trying to maximize their time on the snow, the more high-speed lifts, the better. The new four-person Avalanche lift, which debuted in January, cuts down travel time to the top of the hill by more than a minute – always a good thing when temperatures are hovering in the single digits.