Ascutney's Veteran GM And Wife Retire

With the twin retirements of John Plausteiner as general manager of Acutney Mountain Resort and his wife Lucille as manager of the hotel, one chapter has ended and a new one has begun at the venerable Brownsville ski area. The Plausteiners came on board in 1993 with the purchase of the resort at auction by their son and daughter-in-law, investment bankers Steven and Susan Plausteiner. Before coming to Ascutney, John's 50-year career in skiing included key roles in the start of Mt. Snow, and development of the Olympic venue at Whiteface Mountain at Lake Placid for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Lucille Plausteiner was first female director of a ski patrol in the country, and supervised 60 patrollers at Mt. Snow in the 1960s. The purchase of Ascutney by their children marked the beginning of the longest-running ownership in the area's 69-year history. When the Steve and Susan Plausteiner acquired Ascutney, it was in dire need of just about everything, and the family set out to provide it. "We played the part of the phoenix," Plausteiner said, referring to the mythic bird. "We raised it from the ashes."