LMSC March Newsletter
BROADWAY BULLETIN
News and Updates from Laurel Mountain Ski Club
Vol.1, Issue 4
End-of-Season 2025
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Members, Friends, Supporters, and Ski/Board Family,
The 2024-2025 ski and snowboarding season at Laurel Mountain has come to an end, and what an incredible season it was! I want to thank you all for such an amazing season on the slopes. Seeing smiling faces, having long talks about the history of our mountain and the potential for the future, and sharing so many warm laughs and cold evenings with you makes it even harder to say “goodbye” to Winter.
As you know, this was our first season back in operation as a club. The last year has been a whirlwind of organizing, incorporating, getting our 501(c)3, establishing our brand and website, forming a board, building a membership base, running events, and sponsoring Youth Slope Days programs. You have all been a huge part of these efforts, and the successes we have from this first year position us nicely for a productive off-season, and an even more epic 2025-2026 season!
What We’re Working On This Off-Season
This Spring, Summer, and Fall, club leadership will be working on several things, some of which are outlined in more detail later in this newsletter.
2025-2026 Season Events
The board is working on plans for the 2025 Barn Bash, as well as the 2026 Spring Carnival, among other events like Poker Runs and bandsMidway Cabin
Since the last member’s meeting, LMSC Leadership met with DCNR and Vail Representatives to talk about plans for saving Midway Cabin. Much of this work will kick off once all the snow on the mountain has melted. More details on this belowWestern Pennsylvania Ski Council
LMSC is officially a member organization of WPSC, a federation of regional clubs and ski organizations. Some of the benefits of this are detailed later in this newsletter.Off-Season Events
We heard interest in holding off-season events, so that we don’t have to wait 9 months to see each other. The board and events committee are working on this currently, and will communicate details soon.Season Retrospectives
Club leadership is working on ways to commemorate and look back on the past season, and will be looking for input from you all as well on this initiative.
As we look forward to a productive off-season I want to offer the chance for any of our members to engage in club business and planning. Many of you have offered your talents and time, and the board would love for you to help plan activities, events, and programs with us. If you aren’t already on a committee, or if you have ideas you’d like to share, please email us at info@laurelskiclub.org and we’ll begin the conversation.
Keep your tips up!
Zach
Zach Simons, President
Laurel Mountain Ski Club
MIDWAY CABIN UPDATE
Restoration Of Historic Lodge A Possibility Once Again!
In February, club leadership met with DCNR, and local Vail management to discuss potential renovation and restoration of Historic Midway Cabin. For anyone unfamiliar, Midway Cabin was the original lodge at Laurel Mountain, and operated in many evolving capacities over the decades since it was first built; sources vary, but it seems Midway was in place, operating as a lodge and ski shop for the 1940-1941 season.
Historic Midway Cabin
Over the years, Midway has operated at a lodge, warming hut, bar/restaurant, and even (at one point) a bunk house. Each operator of Laurel Mountain used Midway Cabin until the most recent re-opening of the mountain in 2016. By that time the building had fallen into significant disrepair, and wasn’t in usable condition. A group of passionate people banded together to try to save Midway, and thanks to their efforts, the building was shored up to mitigate further deterioration, but the funds and organization weren't available to fully restore the structure, and so it has sat as-is since.
A few months ago, DCNR approached Tom Anthony, a long-time patroller, Laurel Mountain Advocate, and engineer who was part of the 2016 Midway effort, inquiring about the club and whether there was interest in revisiting the efforts to restore the historic structure. Tom presented to the club at the January Member’s Meeting, and it was agreed that an exploratory committee be formed.
The meeting with DCNR and Vail went well, with all parties agreeing that restoration is in the best interest of the best interest of the mountain and the community. Next steps will be a Spring site visit to assess the building, and begin formal discussions on a phased approach to this project.
While we aren’t sure what the ultimate use of the building might be, we agree that the first order of business is saving the historic structure. It is likely that the work needed to restore Midway will take several years, and we will be communicating more as plans develop.
To inquire about joining the Midway Cabin Exploratory committee, please email us at info@laurelskiclub.org
SKI CLUB JOINS WESTERN PA SKI COUNCIL
We are excited to announce that The Laurel Mountain Ski Club has officially joined the Western Pennsylvania Ski Council, a federation of local ski + snowboard clubs and organizations that has been pooling resources and supporting each other for many years.
In addition to the wealth of knowledge on offer at the table from others with many years of experience, this affiliation has numerous other benefits for the club, and for you - our members. Among those benefits are access to multiple ski trips each year. Please check out the WPSC website at wpaskicouncil.com to learn more about this org and explore what they have to offer.
ENTER THE MOUNT GARY SNOWMELT CONTEST
Our snowmaking team led by the intrepid Gary Wiltrout outdid themselves this year, and left several piles of snow on the slopes, in particular the massive “Mount Gary” which is sure to endure for several weeks.
To celebrate the incredible amount of snow we were able to enjoy this year, the club is holding a contest to see who can most-accurately predict when the snow pack will be fully melted.
To enter the contest, head over to our website and submit the form on the homepage with your contact information and your guess for when the last of the snow will turn into water and run off the mountain into Rolling Rock Creek. The winner will be contacted once the snow melts, and sent a gift card and some LMSC swag!
SLOPE DAYS PROGRAM 2025 RECAP & 2026 DATES ANNOUNCED
Laurel Mountain Ski Club ran our first two Youth Ski & Board Program sessions this past season to great success. The program is offered to groups like ours, and includes a group lesson, a lift ticket, and equipment rental, all for one discounted price. Several youth participated in the January and February sessions we held and feedback was positive.
The rest of the board extends a heartfelt “thank you” to Vice President Matt Weaver and Zoe Weaver for all the work that they put into making sure LMSC is living up to this part of our mission.
The club’s Slope Days & Youth Programing Committee met on March 12th to discuss the program and plan for next season. Dates set with Vail are:
- Session 1: January 8th, 22nd, and 29th.
- Session 2: February 6th, 20th, and 27th.
Lesson start times for 2026 will be changed to 5:30, per feedback from 2025 participant families.
Sign-ups for the 2026 program will be available on our website once all the details have been finalized. For now, mark your calendars, and get ready to experience all that that our mountain has to offer for kids and families!
2025 BARN BASH DATES ANNOUNCED
The board of directors of Laurel Mountain Ski Club is pleased to announce that we have officially secured the Barn at Ligonier Valley for this year’s “Pray For Snow Barn Bash” Season-Kickoff Party. More details will follow as the event takes shape over the coming months. For now, please mark your calendars for Saturday, November 29th, 2025.
If you are interested in joining the Events and Fundraising Committee, email info@laurelskiclub.org
REQUEST FOR PHOTOS
We are in the process of pulling together some year-in-review content for everyone to enjoy as we reflect on the season that was. If you took photos while on the mountain this year, we would love to include them in our look-back! Please email us at info@laurelskiclub.org and write “year-in-review” in the subject line. If you have too many photos to email, please let us know in your email, and we can share a link for you to upload photos to a shared drive.
Laurel Mountain Ski Club
is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania
Our Vision
is a thriving, multi-generational community, eagerly engaging in outdoor recreation at Laurel Mountain.
Our Mission
is to expand community access to outdoor recreation at Laurel Mountain, creating a lifelong love of the outdoors by offering programs for all ages and educational opportunities for kids, to learn, grow, and carry their passion into adulthood, so that we all may serve as stewards of this place and community for future generations.
Board of Directors
Zach Simons, President
Matt Weaver, Vice President
Amanda Barnhart, Treasurer
Heather Rogers, Secretary
Tom Sandor
Derek Smith
Zoe Weaver
To contact the club, please email info@laurelskiclub.org