Alpine-X plans on track for indoor ski resort in Lorton

Alpine-X says its plans to build an indoor ski facility and resort in Lorton are on track, with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors set to act on the next phase of the development process in October. 

“We have made substantial, timely progress on the project this year,” Bradley Ryan, an Alpine-X partner and investor, told InsideNoVa. 

The McLean-based company submitted plans to Fairfax officials in late 2018 to build the indoor winter sports venue, to be called Fairfax Peak, on a converted segment of the Fairfax County Recycling and Disposal Center next to Interstate 95.   

The county board approved a provisional agreement with Alpine-X in November 2020, giving the company access to the landfill site for geotechnical testing and a traffic review. The agreement also established an exclusive period through Dec. 31 to negotiate and finalize the company’s lease of the site. 

Fairfax supervisors plan to hold a public hearing Oct.19 on a proposal to extend the company’s access to the landfill site, as well as the exclusive negotiation period, until December 2023. Ryan said the company expects both measures to be approved. 

Ryan said the original date at the end of this year was set so the county could assess the company’s progress and ensure planning was on track.   “This extension is a confirmation of the project’s progress to date and provides us with the ability to continue the development process.”

Wendy Lemieux, marketing director for the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, said that if Alpine-X decides to seek land-use approvals for the project, additional public hearings would be required, along with informal community outreach and coordination. 

However, Alpine-X has already begun hosting information sessions for local residents, including last Saturday during the Workhouse Community Market Day at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. At the event, John Emery, CEO of Alpine-X, told InsideNoVa that the company’s vision is to create an affordable recreational destination that skiers and non-skiers can enjoy.

“Most resorts are seasonal and exclusive in the sense that they're extremely expensive and they take a lot of time,” Emery said. “We've taken a different approach. We’re really building where everybody lives. So, we’re going to be super affordable.”

Emery said the company does not have exact prices yet, but he said the plan includes designated areas for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing, among other activities. Similar to outdoor ski resorts, Fairfax Peak will also have a terrain park with rails and jumps. 

Ski slopes would range from easy hills to the most difficult, or black diamonds, he added.  

“We expect our black runs to be competitive – from a skill standpoint – with traditional regional ski resorts,” Emery said. “Not the same as a black run in Colorado or Utah, but similar to the quality of a black run experience in Mid-Atlantic skiing.”

Although several areas would be designated for more competitive skiers, Emery said the facility will be designed to take the “intimidation out of people learning.”  For example, the learning area will be separated from the ski lifts. 

“That's the beauty of building something that's open all year,” Emery added. “It literally will have experiences for the completely uninitiated, the skiing and boarding people that want to develop those skills, and people that have those skills and want to improve them. It has enough space and enough time throughout the year to accommodate everybody.”

Visitors who don’t want to ski would have access to a community center with an indoor adventure area, multiple food and beverage options, a gravity-powered mountain coaster, zip lines, stores, trails, open space and more, he said, although specifics have not been determined.  

During the Workhouse event, Deborah Kiser, a resident of Fairfax Station, told Inside NoVa she was excited about the indoor ski facility because of the positive impact it could have on the community. 

“I think that’s an important point that you do not have to be a skier to enjoy the potential of what it can bring,” Kiser said. “And also to young people here – high school students and little kids have a place to play in the snow year-round. I think it’s a positive thing for the community.”

Kevin Black, who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., but has another home in Lorton, said he also thinks the project could be positive for the community but is concerned about traffic congestion on I-95.

“All along between the Beltway and 95 is a miserable traffic area,” he said. “If they can do something to minimize it, I have no problem with it at this point.”

Emery said he does not believe residents should be too concerned about traffic because the resort will be open 16 hours a day with visitors coming for varying periods of time. 

“So, there is no start-stop time for our experiences,” he added. “People come and go all day, all evening long, in very small increments because we don’t put too many people in the facility at one time…So, we really don’t generate big blocks of traffic.”

Fairfax officials on hand Saturday included Supervisor Dan Storck and County Executive Bryan Hill. 

Storck, who represents the Mount Vernon District, noted that nothing is set in stone.

“We’ve been working with [Alpine-X] for many years,” he added. “They have been spending many years studying and making sure that this will potentially work for them; they still have a little bit more work to do.”

Once a formal proposal for the project is submitted, Storck said, “then we will be bringing that formal proposal out for you that the community and all of us can look at and consider and quickly discuss and ultimately find the balance to ensure that it’s right for our community.”

If approved, the 450,000-square-foot facility would include a 1,700-foot indoor ski slope — the longest in North America. The county has estimated that the complex could draw up to 400,000 visitors per year.

Emery said Alpine-X has identified three other potential indoor ski locations across the country but noted there has been no official announcement yet. Forbes reports that Alpine-X plans to open 20 such snow sport facilities throughout the United States in the coming years.