The revival of Hidden Valley Four Seasons Resort in Somerset County has been an exciting experience for the new owners, their employees, home-owners and guests.

The Buncher Co., which bought the 1,500-acre resort for $12.4 million on Aug. 31, has done what it promised to do to upgrade the resort.

On-mountain improvements include 30 new automated snowmaking machines that have earned their keep by generating enough snow to cover most of the resort's 28 slopes and trails, and two new snowgrooming machines that transform the snow into a corduroy-style surface that makes for easy turning by skiers and snowboarders.

The company also has installed cushioned seats on the side-by-side triple chairlifts that serve the slopes and trails on what is known as the "valley" side of the resort. It also improved the other lifts -- a quad that serves the North Summit area and three doubles and two handle tows on the valley side.

		More information Information, go to myhiddenvalleyresort.com or call 1-814-443-8000.

It also bought new rental equipment -- Elan skis, Atomic snowboards and Solomon boots, bindings and poles.

And it hired Mike Demao to operate a new full-service ski and snowboard shop on the ground level of the Clock Tower Building. Mr. Demao operated Center Ski & Snowboard near Boyce Park for 24 years. Whether the improvements have brought more skiers to the resort than in past years is unknown because "we never got accurate numbers from the former owners," Ed Very, vice president of the Buncher Resort & Hospitality Group, said last week.

"But, based on the positive feedback we're getting from former guests who have returned because of all the improvements we've made, we're going in the right direction," he said.

When Buncher purchased the resort after years of neglect and sagging attendance, the company predicted it would take three to five years to restore the resort to its "glory days as a premier family resort."

Tom Balestrieri, Buncher's president and chief executive officer, declined to disclose how much the company has spent to improve the resort already or how much it intends to spend in the future.

The company did slightly increase some rates over the 2006 season, however. Adult weekday lift tickets were raised by $6 to $36 this season and group lessons went from $18 last season to $25 this season. The cost of the weekend passes remained the same.

Among other major improvements at the base facilities, Buncher has:

• Installed new roofs on four major buildings, refurbished restrooms, installed carpet and painted the interior and exterior of the ski/snowboard lodge, Clock Tower building, Conference Center and Sports Center. It also upgraded the Outback building at the base of the snow-tubing park along Route 31.

• Opened new restaurants: John Harvard's Brewhouse in the Outback building, John Harvard's Express in the ski/snowboard lodge and a cafe in the plaza.

• Painted all Four Seasons Condominium units and refurnished 38 rooms.

• Paved several roads: Parke Drive, Craighead Drive, Ski Area Drive and Outback Park, and regraded the parking lots.

"The changes have been quite remarkable in such a short period of time," said David Smail of Southwest, near Mount Pleasant. The new snowguns and the new grooming equipment "have really made a tremendous difference in the quality of the snow.

"The Web site now includes two live Web cams, the current conditions are updated on a daily basis, and in general, the Web site is very professional. Also, unlike the other local resort, lift lines are minimal on weekends."

Mr. Smail, 44, a part owner and software developer for SiGenix in Monroeville, said he and his wife, Denise, a quality analyst and patient safety officer for ExcelaHealth, both veteran skiers, also have been impressed with the friendly and helpful employees.

The employees are led by Mr. Very, 62, of Jefferson Hills, and Bill Doring, 27, of Whitehall, the controller of the Buncher Resort & Hospitality Group.

In addition to their "normal" duties, they can be seen helping guests in the parking lot with their bags and equipment, checking on the food service in the ski lodge or encouraging skiers and snowboarders to "triple up" as they line up to ride the triple chairlifts at the base of the Stingray slope.

When a lift that serves the beginners' area broke down recently, Mr. Very and Mr. Doring helped carry hot chocolate and candy to children waiting for the lift to be repaired. They and several other employees then carried the children's' skis and poles back up the hill and gave mini-lessons to the children as they came back down.

"It was a beautiful sunny day, and we wanted them to enjoy it," Mr. Very said. "And it was good exercise for all of us."

Brown baggers, who bring their own lunches, are still welcome at Hidden Valley, Mr. Very said. "I was walking through the Alpine room the other day and a woman had a crock pot and toaster oven plugged into the wall."

Mr. Balestrieri, Buncher's president, said plans for next season include a new four-person chairlift to replace a pair of two-person chairlifts, more automated snowmaking equipment and new slopes and trails above and beside the snowtubing park. Two more four-person chairs are planned for the 2009-10 season.

Preliminary work already has begun for the Village, a 200,000-square-foot base lodge/condominium complex that will be built near the bottom of the slopes. The new building, designed by architect Jack Johnson's company based in Park City, Utah, is expected to be completed in three years.

H. William Doring, Buncher's vice president and treasurer and father of Bill Doring, acknowledged all the progress that has been made at Hidden Valley in five months, but said there's always room for improvement.

"We're not there yet," he said.