By Greta Solsaa/VTDigger
Generations of cross-country skiers have flocked to Chittenden’s Mountain Top Resort to spend wintry days gliding along bucolic, snow-capped paths nestled in the shadow of Killington. As the popular cross-country skiing destination celebrates its 60th year in business, Mountain Top finds itself locked in a legal battle with its neighbors, John and Debra Gerlach, over the fate of two of its trails.
On June 4, the Gerlachs sent a notice to Mountain Top stating they had created new trails to replace the Interfield and Deer Run trails, which fall across their property. The new trails are part of the resort’s 60-kilometer network of routes for cross-country skiing and horseback riding.
Roger Hill, Mountain Top’s activities director, said beginner to intermediate skiers use the original Interfield and Deer Run trails that provide necessary links to other routes. Hill said the two new trails, as reconfigured by the Gerlachs, would be difficult to groom and pose safety risks for guests.
“The new proposed trails were as narrow as seven feet in some places. They had very abrupt terrain changes from large ravines where it went to a brook to a steep incline. Visibility on corners was very poor, fall lines were directing you towards immovable natural objects,” said Hill.
For their part, the Gerlachs maintain they were within their legal rights to alter the trails that pass through their property and say the work was done in accordance with the easement that allows the resort to use their land.
John Gerlach, a businessman who grew up in Rutland Town and now lives part-time in Florida and part-time in Chittenden, was involved in a previous land issue when, in 2020, the town of Proctor rejected his bid of $1.5 million to purchase 1,650 acres of watershed land that Proctor owned in Chittenden.
Christopher Roy, the attorney for Chittenden Resort LLC, which operates Mountain Top Resort, said that after reaching out to the Gerlachs to raise concerns and finding no immediate resolution, the team at Mountain Top turned to a judge to settle the disagreement.
“Unfortunately, what happened here was there was no collaboration about the new trails. Out of the blue, they received a letter unilaterally declaring that the trails had been relocated, and that, unfortunately, then sent us down the path that led to going to the courthouse,” said Roy.
When they bought their property in 2018, the Gerlachs signed an easement allowing Mountain Top to use the trails on their land. That easement, however, also stipulates that the Gerlachs have the right to relocate trails so long as the new trails are similarly accessible to Mountain Top’s guests, according to court documents filed in the case.
Mountain Top has similar easements with other property owners and an agreement with the Green Mountain National Forest to operate all of its existing trails.
William Meub, the Gerlachs’ attorney, said the trails were moved because skiers often wandered onto their property and they wanted to log their land.
“We are looking to get the trails, perhaps, revised. We may even talk about where the compromises are…to get the trail moved so it’s not where it is currently located so it doesn’t run through the center of their property, but it runs along the boundary,” said Meub. “Otherwise, the requirement of the easement that we have the right to move it would be meaningless.”
In an initial court ruling issued in late October, Rutland Superior Court Judge Alexander Burke agreed to the resort’s request for a preliminary injunction. That means Mountain Top Resort can use and maintain the original trails for the time being, and skiers’ experiences will not be impacted as the cross-country ski season begins, according to Hill.
In his ruling, the judge found enough evidence to establish the potential of “irreparable harm” to the resort — both financially and environmentally — if trail maintenance operations, and therefore skier routes, were obstructed.
Roy, the resort’s attorney, said the resort is worried that guests may not come back if cross-country skiers find that trails lack the same level of quality and safety that they have come to expect from Mountain Top.
“Once the season is gone, the season is gone, and it’s unknowable what impact that would have,” said Roy.
According to Hill, the concept of “substantially similar access” was crucial for the resort’s legal argument, as the easement requires replacement trails to serve the same role as the old trails. He said the replacement trails were too narrow for grooming equipment and would be less enjoyable for guests to use.
“I will not open a trail for skiing unless I can groom it,” said Hill. “When you come and give me money for a ticket, I want you to have an enjoyable experience on a prepared surface.”
Mountain Top hired a trail designer, John Morton, as a consultant to analyze both the current and proposed trails. Hill said he and Morton took measurements and surveyed the trail in person to create topographical maps, and Morton concluded that the new trails would not have been allowed at an Olympic-level race.
In response, Meub claimed the outside consultant never surveyed the trails on-site, so the measurements were imprecise. According to Meub, the Gerlachs plan to contract with another trail expert and submit more evidence in preparation for a future trial.
“We don’t believe that all of the testimony was particularly accurate. The trail is wider than what people testified and what the judge found, which is oftentimes what happens in preliminary matters,” he said.
Mountain Top’s motion raised several issues, but the court ruled that there was not enough evidence to answer all of their questions at a preliminary stage. Roy said the concerns were, namely, whether the Gerlachs can use motorized vehicles on trails and where the Mountain Top crew can access trails along the property boundary line.
“The court took a few weeks and, frankly, did a very comprehensive job with the judge’s written decision, really laying out the facts as he saw them (and) the law as he saw it,” said Roy.
But the ski trail saga is not over. The court has instructed both parties to agree to a timeline for future proceedings by Dec.10 so that the court can set a trial date.
Khele Sparks, the resort’s general manager, said Mountain Top is open to a resolution outside of court and even relocating the trails as Gerlachs desires. He added that Mountain Top has previously worked with neighbors to relocate trails. But the resort wants a compromise that ensures cross-country skiers have the same experience with groomed trails they have had for years, he said.
“I think it’s extremely important to say that we’re not against moving our trails,” said Sparks.
“We just need to make sure that we provide the same experience to our guests going forward that we always have,” he added.
Meub said the Gerlachs aim to reach an agreement in court on the relocated and revamped trails.
“The best result for everybody — which is what people are trying to obtain — is that the trails get moved and that they be safe ski trails,” he said.
