Schuss Mountain: Funky, Retro and 40 Years Old
By MIKE NORTON
Birthdays are a bit hard to pin down over at Shanty Creek, given the tangled history of the sprawling ski and golf resort.
Did it all start in the late Fifties, when Detroit steel magnate Roy Deskin decided to build a classy private club in the towering hills above Michigan’s Lake Bellaire? Or was it a decade later, when Chicago stockbroker Daniel Iannotti decided to create Schuss Mountain — his own personal version of a quaint European-style ski and golf village - on the other side of the hill?
Or would the best birthday year be 1984, when the two former competitors were merged into a single entity? Or 1998, when the third resort - Cedar River - was added to the huge hilltop complex?
In any case, this is the year when the folks at Shanty have decided to celebrate the 40th birthday of Schuss Mountain - certainly the most colorful and flamboyant of the three resorts. And they’re doing it with an appropriately flamboyant gesture by offering an avalanche of skiing and lodging specials - including a $10 lift ticket that resort officials are calling the most affordable in the country.
The best part of the deal is that it’s available at Shanty’s Summit Mountain ski area for the entire ski season, not simply on a few low-traffic days. (The same low rate, for instance, is available on Schuss Mountain on Mondays.) And since it also comes with an optional $15 rental package, it can really reduce the cost of a northern Michigan ski weekend. A family of four could rent equipment and ski all day on Summit Mountain for $100 - only $40 if they have their own skis.
“Whether you’re a beginner, a family or an experienced skier, this affordable lift ticket is available every weekend, creating the perfect opportunity to enjoy a day of skiing for little cost,” said Chris Hale, Shanty’s vice president for sales and marketing.
Shanty Creek is a sprawling 4,500-acre recreational complex of three separate “villages” - Summit, Schuss and Cedar River — in the beautiful Chain of Lakes region just northeast of Traverse City. Ski Magazine has rated it the Midwest’s number-one destination in value, dining, lodging, weather and après ski activities. Its ski areas feature a 450-foot vertical with 49 runs for every ability level, plus four snowboarding terrain parks and a tubing park.
Its other facilities include over 500 rooms, 72 holes of championship golf, a Wellness Spa and over 35,600 square feet of meeting space.
Although it’s not the most modern of Shanty’s three component villages, Schuss Mountain has always claimed a special place in the hearts of generations of Midwestern. Iannotti patterned Schuss after the small boutique resorts he saw in Vail and other Colorado towns, and ran the place with his own characteristic eccentricity. He liked to call it “The Kingdom of Schuss” (for a time it even had its own currency and its own time zone) and was known by visitors and employees as “King Daniel.”
In 1984, Schuss Mountain was merged with nearby Shanty Creek Resort. The third element in the complex, Cedar River, was added in 1998. In 2006, the entire complex was purchased by Trinidad Resort & Club, which embarked on a massive $10 million renovation and redesign program centered on the former Summit Village Hotel, reopened last year as the Lakeview Hotel & Conference Center.
Other packages and specials at Shanty Creek include:
A Summit Ski Package, which starts at $75 per person per night on the weekends. This package, which requires a two-night stay, includes lodging in a condo guestroom, two-day Summit ski slopes ticket, and complimentary skiing on the night of arrival.
A Midweek Ski Package starting at only $54 per person. Available Monday through Friday, it includes lodging in a condo guestroom, a one-day lift ticket good at any of Shanty Creek’s three villages, and complimentary skiing on the night of arrival.
A Family Ski & Fun Package, which offers two nights’ lodging, a Superticket on Saturday and Sunday, free skiing on the night of arrival, a family welcome reception, family movie, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, “pizza and pop” at Ivan’s restaurant, a one-hour tubing session, family sleigh rides, and dog sled rides for the kids.
In all three packages, children under eight ski for only $5, and children under 12 eat free.
A number of other ski packages are available during winter holidays and special events. To see them and to learn more about the 2010 ski and golf season, call 1-800-678-4111 or check their website at www.shantycreek.com
