Fabius, N.Y. -- The owner of Song and Labrador mountains has purchased the Toggenburg Mountain ski resort in Fabius and plans to close it.
Peter Harris, president of Intermountain Management (also known as SkiCNY.com), owner and operator of Song Mountain in Tully and Labrador Mountain in Truxton, said Tuesday that Toggenburg will not reopen this winter and that its operations will be absorbed by those of Song and Labrador.
“Unfortunately, it’s a very hard decision, but there are a number of reasons,” Harris said.
Among them, the labor shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a lack of business to support three ski resorts located within a 12-mile radius, he said.
Toggenburg has been part of the Central New York ski scene since 1953. By closing it, Harris said he will be able to make investments in infrastructure and equipment at Song and Labrador that will improve the overall experience for skiers and snowboarders.
“I really think this is going to be best for Central New York skiers,” he said.
Harris acquired Toggenburg from Togg Holdings LLC and its sole members, John and Christine Meier, for an undisclosed price on Tuesday.
The Meiers, who are also owners of Greek Peak Mountain Resort in the Cortland County town of Virgil, and Elmira businessman Marc Stemerman bought Toggenburg in 2015 from Jim Hickey, whose family owned the Fabius resort since its opening 68 years ago. The Meiers bought out Stemerman’s 50% share of Toggenburg and Greek Peak two years ago.
John Meier said he sold Toggenburg so he can he can focus on building the business at Greek Peak, a much larger resort that, in addition to its 42 ski trails, has 17 mountain bike trails and offers a year-round water park, alpine slide, zip lines and lodging.
He said he bought Toggenburg with the hope that it would drive more business from the Syracuse area to Greek Peak. It did that, but not to the degree he had hoped, he said.
He said Harris approached him a year ago about buying Toggenburg.
“It’s really a bitter-sweet moment for us,” said Meier. “Obviously, our big focus is Greek Peak down the road in Cortland. It’s a much larger resort, a four-season resort.”
He said he will be issuing refunds to anyone who has purchased a season ticket to Toggenburg.
Harris said he encourages anyone who worked for Toggenburg to apply for jobs at Song and Labrador, which employ about 300 full- and part-time workers during peak times in the winter and 35 during the summer. Toggenburg, with 21 trails, employed about 75 to 90 people in the winter.
Both Song and Labrador have excess capacity, so an anticipated increase in traffic will have little to no impact on their operations, according to Harris.
Harris said he has no immediate plans for the Toggenburg property.
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