Mais non . . .It's Val Bialas . . . .
And while Steele Hill may not offer the alpine challenges of that famous French resort you CAN SKI here . . . and then have a nice dinner in town après ski. . . or have dinner first and then ski . . . or ski, have dinner, and ski some more. . . or work and then ski . . . or ski after school . . . because skiing is within city limits! . . . And you can ski at night, too!
Now how many other places can offer you that . . . without a lot of planning . . . without getting on a plane . . . or driving for hours . . . or paying a fortune for a lift ticket? Val Bialas is one of those little "gems" that really make Greater Utica a special place to live.
Val Bialas is about to get better . . .Snow-making machines are coming to city slopes. This is welcome news because it's been years since we had them. Now conditions should be better and the season should be longer. Hats off to Mayor Roefaro for using the contracting route to bring in some needed expertise . . . and for not committing the taxpayers to something long term.
So while you may not have the time or the money to pursue your Val d'Isère dream, you can still enjoy some skiing at Val Bialas . . . and a taste of the Good Life . . .
. . . In Utica.
3 comments:
Regardless of the bad press the Hanna building gets, it is a beautiful building with a lot of potential and great location These pictures are just a little of how nice it really is. This venture will bring a lot of people to enjoy this new venture Good job Mayor!!
I'd never been up to that park above Forest Hill Cemetery until this summer, and I went again this fall. It is sooo beautiful! I'm so impressed with the beautifications that Utica went through in the mid 1800s.
This is a good move for the taxpayers. It would have been much easier to simply save the $20,000 in future annual loses and simply close the Val Bialas ski operations altogether. Instead of taking the easy way out, Utica Mayor David Roefaro decided to keep this asset alive by turning over operations to Alpine Products LLC of Manchester Center, Vermont.
As with any deal, the devil is always in the details. Unlike another outsourcing deal entered into by Oneida County, this Utica deal was properly structured to be on a one year trial basis. This trial basis protects the taxpayers from future loses and the 6 percent snow tube rental and ski lift revenue sharing option will provide additional revenue for the City. This is a good deal all the way around.
Next, the City would do well to advertize this ski slope to skiing enthusiasts. Many of them pass by the Utica area as they make their way to the world class ski resorts located here in the North Eastern Unites States. The hotels and motels in the greater Utica area are first class facilities and bargain priced opposed to those located in the popular ski resorts. The shopping is great here and, as we all know, the area’s restaurants are superb. Even the Turning Stone folks may want to partner with the Val Bialas people in terms of promoting both venues to these new prospective ski enthusiasts.
What’s next? Perhaps the return of the Val Bialas outside ice skating rink will augment the ski slope operations. If promoted properly, this Utica gem could become an integral first step with the resurrection of Utica’s economic recovery.
Good Luck Utica!
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