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The Storm Skiing Journal and PodcastEveryones searching for skiings soul. Im trying to find its brains. Author: Stuart Winchester
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Storm Skiing 11/2/2026: Big Ski Wants Lawsuit Dismissed; Sutner on Ski Area Consolidations, Expansions
Monday, 2 November, 2026
WhoShaun Sutner, Snowsports columnist for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette & Telegram.com.Date RecordedNov. 2, 2026The take up topI referenced a Snow Brains article covering the big SkiCos motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed this summer accusing BigSki of collusion in pricing and business practices. I wrote about this lawsuit back in August:The update is that the ski area operators think this lawsuit is dumb and without merit. The non-update is that while I agree with them, I also believe that this is a problem of their own making in that pricing walk-up lift tickets as though they’re Fabergé eggs is bound to make people hate you enough to take legal action.But also if you think Epic and Ikon are overpriced then maybe check your crack intake:Why I interviewed himSame as it ever was – Sutner is a great journalist and a great interview, and he’s always keyed into what’s happening in New England. We spend a lot of time discussing new ownership groups and expansions:TranscriptsThere are two transcripts. Both are generated by robots. Both are helpful and defective in their own unique ways. I do not proofread either of them.Transcript 1: Click the “transcript” button at the top of this article. You can only see this transcript on a computer. Because I don’t know why exactly but everything is getting better and dumber all at once it seems. Anyway, this is the transcript that the robots create when I upload the podcast to the internet. The cool thing about it is that you can click on any block of text and the audio will teleport there instantly. The uncool thing about this transcript is that it does not indicate who is talking at any given moment.Transcript 2: You can read this below. This is the transcript that Zoom creates as we record the podcast. The cool thing about this transcript is that it indicates who is talking at any given moment. The uncool thing about this transcript is that the timestamps do not match the audio. Also, you cannot click on this text to move to the associated point in the audio.ZoomStuart Winchester: My guest today is a very good friend of the Storm, appearing now for the sixth consecutive year. He has been covering New England skiing as the snow sports columnist for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:37.000Stuart Winchester: and Telegram.com for more than two decades. He also does a bunch of AI stuff, which he can tell you about if he wants to. Sean Sutner is my guest. Sean, awesome to have you back. How you doing? How hyped are you for ski season?00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:47.000SutnerS: Oh man, I think I’m the most hyped I’ve been in like 10 or 15 years for some weird reason. I don’t know why. I mean, it just, maybe it’s all this dumb warm weather we’re having.00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:42.000Stuart Winchester: No.00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:54.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, I mean, I think you also had a couple truncated seasons, right? So this is your chance… are you healthy?00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.000SutnerS: Yes.00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:59.000SutnerS: Yeah, yeah, I couldn’t ski last, uh, October, November, or December.00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:01.000Stuart Winchester: Right, okay, okay.00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:06.000SutnerS: So I tried to make up for it in January. I had an injury from the year before, but yeah, I’m healthy and ready to go. More than healthy.00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:19.000Stuart Winchester: Alright, let’s talk real quick about next weekend. I’ll put this right up top for our guy Doug Fish. We’re both gonna be at Snovana New England, the inaugural one, next weekend. I will be…00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:35.000Stuart Winchester: 30, interviewing Eric Mogensen, the owner of Indy Pass and Black Mountain and Entebeni Systems. Then Saturday at 2:05, I’ll be interviewing Phil Gross and Mike Solomano, uh, in order they are the owner.00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:41.000Stuart Winchester: or sort of managing partner and president of Killington, and then tell us about your session on Sunday.00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:58.000SutnerS: I got the prime slot on Sunday at one o’clock. I am interviewing Chris Dempson and Courtney Crowley, who the so-called next gen leadership of Wachusett. They’re the children of the current owners and their cousins.00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.000Stuart Winchester: John?00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:13.000SutnerS: They’re young and a lot of fun, and they’ll really get into the spirit of Snowvana, which always reminds me of Nirvana, which is where the founding father, Doug Fish, is from Pacific Northwest. And the main thing is get it done before the Pats game at four.00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:24.000Stuart Winchester: That’ll be done. You know what, Sean? I’m gonna… now that you need any more admin, I’m gonna hassle Doug here, uh, because check this out. On, uh, on your speaker slot…00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.000SutnerS: No, no, it’s okay.00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:38.000Stuart Winchester: What’s wrong with this, Sean? So I’m showing my screen for those watching on YouTube at Storm Ski Journal, and on StormSkiing.com. Apparently, Sean Suttner is with the, uh, billed as being with the Storm Skiing Journal. Um, so I…00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.000SutnerS: Oh!00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:44.000Stuart Winchester: I guess I… I guess I get more flex than, uh, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette these days.00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:47.000SutnerS: Wait, wait, sign me up for this. Yeah.00:10:47.000 --> 00:11:03.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, no, I’m teasing. They can fix that. I also have a promo code for my listeners, THESTORM2026, or THESTORM26. I’ll make sure it’s correct on this podcast, but they can get a free ticket to Snovana. So let’s stay on what you said here.00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:13.000Stuart Winchester: Sean, so last year, they put in a six-pack, it opened a little late, but talk about… because we’ve seen this a lot around skiing, where you have a family-owned ski area.00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:30.000Stuart Winchester: First generation passes along, maybe the second generation loves it, maybe the third generation does or doesn’t. It looks as though Wachusett is going to stay family owned. What’s your read on it? What do you think about everything going on at Wachusett? I guess start with the Lyft and tell us about the ownership.00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:46.000SutnerS: All right, starting with the Lyft. I mean, Lyft actually was a surprise success, even among most naysayers, which was really a positive development. I mean, no Lyft lines. What’s this? It went from Lyft lines to no Lyft lines.00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:39.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.000Stuart Winchester: Really? Even on busy periods?00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:47.000SutnerS: Wow.00:11:48.000 --> 00:12:07.000SutnerS: Oh, yeah, that was kind of the point of it, of the new lift. Well, nights, early night skiing, no lines, at least in a single line. And then Saturday and Sunday, like up until noon, really no lines to speak of. It worked really well. They have a funny little problem up at the top.00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:52.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.000Stuart Winchester: Okay. Okay.00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:04.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:24.000SutnerS: where the down ramp is actually not steep enough. So I think they might have regraded a little bit this summer, not sure. They also have a big chair barn that they have some problems with the manufacturer and getting that thing operational. So the chairs never went under there last year.00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, okay.00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:40.000SutnerS: So hopefully they will go in this year. As far as the succession or will it stay in family hands, I’ve heard 0% chatter that it will not stay in family hands. It’s going to sta… Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe
