Vermont Ski Lodge with NJ Attitude

Still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy which hit my home state of NJ pretty hard last week...I'm  encouraged by the New Jersey attitude toward rebuilding.  And in honor of that NJ attitude, today's Ski House of the Day is one that is not only owned by a group of New Jersey skiers, but was overhauled, renovated, rebuilt, and updated by New Jersey skiers - with attitude.  It's the High Life Ski Club's Ski Lodge, near Killington, Vermont:

The High Life Ski Club, based in northern New Jersey, purchased this 1844 Vermont farmhouse forty years ago (1972).  The place had been sitting vacant for years, and was in need of a complete overhaul.  With determination and New Jersey attitude, the lodge was quickly made ready for that first 1972-73 ski season.  And, major renovations continued through the following years, too.  As the club's website points out, "There was a drive on the part of the club in the 1970's to create something good to be passed along to future members.  They have succeeded."

The first thing you might notice in this spacious ski lodge is its large stone fireplace in the living room.  I stayed in this ski lodge in the '80's, and remember warming my frozen feet in front of this fireplace, which looked exactly the same way back then!  There's also a large quasi-commercial type kitchen with lots of space for food storage and cooking by multiple people simultaneously:

The lodge sleeps 50 people in 11 bedrooms...

...it also has a third floor dorm, and has 5 bathrooms.

In addition, there's a boot-room with shelves for drying 50 pairs of ski boots!  (Hmmmm....You smell that?...Nothing else smells like that...I love the smell of ski-boots in the morning...).   

Another skier-friendly feature here is the ski tuning bench in the basement.

Here's something that I was surprised to see in this ski lodge (and I absolutely love)...the newest feature and, it seems, the club's pride and joy, is the architecturally stunning "Barn" rebuild/renovation that has created an amazing social space, and includes a bar, dance floor, gorgeous spiral stairway leading up to a loft, beautiful woodwork, and even some really nice snow-theme decor on the walls:

...plus a really cool game room area:

....and a comfortable-looking loft for tv and/or reading (...reading? Really?):

The Barn is beautiful, and is perfect for a ski club's lodge - it's an awesome renovation!

Although the fireplace retains its original charm, much of the rest of this lodge looks so much better than it did way back in the day!  Although I have good memories of the time I spent in this ski lodge...the renovations and improvements have made it better than it was back then.   And so, in its own way, this ski house is proof that New Jerseyans, when challenged, will rebuild/renovate something of value and make it better than before.  And surely that's the way it will be with the New Jerseyans currently challenged to rebuild our beloved Jersey shore so devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week.  Just like this ski lodge...I look forward to the Jersey shore being rebuilt, with NJ attitude, and emerging even better than before.

As so well said on the Lodge's web page,

"History does not end with the present...we have the opportunity to build on the past and to create a new legacy for (the) future..."