New Okemo Book 
Okemo, All Come Home is now available at the Snowsports Shop at Okemo Mountain Resort( in Clock Tower Base) and the Corner Store at Jackson Gore Village as well as at the Book Nook Bookstore and Totem Pole and The Boot Pro shops in Ludlow; also at Annie’s Book Stop in Rutland, the Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock, and the Vermont Ski Museum in Stowe. Or by mail (click on Book Orders above). This limited second edition traces the story of Okemo from inception to the present day and is destined to become another collector’s item. (The first edition was published in 1996 and is out of print, having sold over 2,000 copies.) 
The updated and expanded 2010 book features 40 pages of color images and over 200 black and white photographs that illustrate the area’s history and people. The colorful jacket features Skye Chalmers’ photograph of skier Poli Nightingale from Woodstock on the front. A pen and ink sketch of Okemo as seen from the Ford Farm is embossed in silver on the book’s hardcover and was done by Vermont artist Maurie Harrington. The book has a Foreword by former Vermont Governor Thomas P. Salmon and was printed by Leahy Press in Vermont. It was smythe sewn and bound in a bindery in New Jersey — no binderies in VT—and proudly employed many U.S. workers. This product was NOT made in China. This is the definitive story of Okemo with interviews of the many founders, board members, and general managers as well as present day management and staff. This is a first-hand success story! The book is organized into thirteen chapters with the first presenting an overview of Okemo’s history. “For time-crunched readers who would enjoy knowing Okemo Mountain Resort’s entire 54 year history in one sitting, I have included chapter 1 as an overview that can be read with a cup of coffee. If you want to be surprised and learn as you go, skip it and proceed to chapter 2. But if you want to know the big picture first, those 54 years have been reduced to 10,250 words for a truly quick schuss!” Lorentz writes in the Preface. Chapter 2 features a look at the town of Ludlow and its people. Lorentz said, “Both have played a crucial role in the mountain’s development into a ski resort and set the stage for the success story that followed.” Chapters 3 through 8 trace the history of the ski area from a 1935 vision to become “New England’s Winter Playground” to the reality of becoming one of Vermont’s and the nation’s biggest success stories. Chapters 6 through 8 hone in on the Mueller years and trace how the young couple used their previous beach-resort experience to reinvigorate and expand the mountain with attention to service, quality, and technology! Chapter 9 profiles the growth of the “mom-and-pop” run Okemo Mountain, Inc. to Triple Peaks, LLC. under the Muellers’ leadership and vision. It covers their company expansion to New Hampshire and Colorado (Mount Sunapee and Crested Butte resorts) and profiles the management team who made acquisitions possible by operating the “mother ship” while Tim and Diane split their time among three ski areas. Chapter 10 pays homage to the many mountain men and women on staff who made a difference and today’s resort possible through their various contributions. “It has been a real team effort,” Lorentz notes. The mountain events and programs, past and present, are traced in Chapter 11, and there are vintage photographs that recall the fun of early Easter festivities as well as modern images that capture the excitement of today’s rail jams and the hilarity of cardboard box races. Chapter 12 shares stories from a sampling of skiers and riders who came to have a special connection with the mountain. Their stories show the meaning of mountain life, many in their own words. The final chapter covers the sale and leaseback with CNLLP, Okemo’s latest changes and plans, and the mountain’s legacy as “a place to come home to” year round. There are five 8-page color sections which capture the history of a particular period in full color, from the bent over learners and double chairs of yesteryear to the amazing snowboarding and skiing shots of today and the glorious year-round destination resort Okemo has become. WHY is Okemo so popular and one the nation’s most visited ski resorts? Okemo is a pioneering family ski area. The early years saw Okemo’s Board of Directors buy up land and establish a policy of developing lots for trailside and mountainside homes, lodges, and condominiums, making it one of the very first areas in the nation to offer slopeside housing as a convenience to families and to build in loyalty to the mountain! Okemo also pioneered in ski instruction by offering Natur Teknik in the 1960s and specialized in offering professionally taught children’s programs long before they became popular. The Women’s Alpine Adventures program is one of the most popular and successful ski-and-ride instructional programs in the East, now 20 years young and still going strong. Okemo was one of the first areas to take snowmaking to the top of a mountain in Vermont and was among the first to offer NASTAR and SKIwee programs. The resort was ahead of the pack when it embraced snowboarding and shaped skis long before most areas welcomed riders or utilized the new skis. Marty Harrison, one of the country’s outstanding and most forward thinking ski school “marms” supported both and contributed to both being welcomed at Okemo. When the Muellers came on board for the 1982-83 season, they introduced a service emphasis that not only earned them accolades but also put Okemo on the fast track to becoming the fastest growing ski area and the East’s number 2 resort based on skier visits. They also expanded the area (now over two miles wide with over 630 acres of skiable terrain), increased slopeside housing to the most ski-on/off in the East, built a new village, and added year-round activities with summer concerts, two golf courses, children’s summer camps, and a host of fun family things to do. But there is another reason that Okemo ranks among the top 15 U.S. ski resorts. People find Okemo Mountain Resort a very special home away from home. Find out why in this comprehensive and fun read.