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The 2016-17 Ski Season Thread


Skivt2

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3 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Wow.  That's pure panic right there from Win Smith.  I've never seen another competitor in the ski resort industry send out an email directly related to the happenings at another resort.

I don't think people understand the gravity of that email.  I would've sat and let it play out for a while.  He's spooked about losing seasons pass revenue would be my guess.  Then asks people to buy real estate.  

Theres a reason why you won't see Killington, Jay, Smuggs issue press releases because Stowe was purchased.  

It was reasonable until the ask to buy real estate. Then it became lol to me.

Anyway.... people will ski where they ski... I can't imagine this creating a situation so dire that other resorts begin dropping like flys 

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It's been a crazy week so far on the hill... conditions have unfortunately changed a lot. Best evah to spring.

Sunday was insane, we filled the lot and had to turn people away. ...I've never seen that before.

It's crazy how much snow we've lost this past week. Still a decent base and there's plenty to move around to fill in random spots, but I'm concerned for March. At some point there will be trail closures.

Berkshire east has really done a great job with mountain biking, and i have no doubt that they'll want to get the snow off the hill asap so they can change over to non-winter ops. While they've spent tons upgrading their snowmaking capabilities recently (and it definitely shows in the product on the slopes), I'm certain that they have become even more proactive in not wanting to spend a fortune making snow that outlasts the crowds.

Let's see what the place looks like by Sunday afternoon....

Btw, I haven't seen anybody up lately. I usually meet up with guys from here at least once a season.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

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8 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

It was reasonable until the ask to buy real estate. Then it became lol to me.

Anyway.... people will ski where they ski... I can't imagine this creating a situation so dire that other resorts begin dropping like flys 

I've never heard of another ski resort commenting like that regarding the business of another area.  At first it read like a Vail press release, haha.   

I'd wait at least until the sale is final (there's an agreement to purchase right now but lots of stuff still needs to be cleared) and then maybe once pass prices are listed before going crazy.  

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35 minutes ago, Albert A Clipper said:

Yeah, I think he's panicking over his season pass holders, the 'Sugarbush" "Mad River Valley" premium won't look very enticing if Stowe offers something right up the road for almost 1/2 the price. He sounds like a car salesman extoling the attribute of one brand/model over the other. Their big coin word this past year has been camaraderie lol....one big happy family, all resorts benefit. It sounds a little like he was changing his tune there a bit re: Stowe. #camaraderie #competition . He even gives s light dig to the traffic issues on the access road to Stowe versus Sugarbush #reaching.

I don't think the consumer in general, especially in a setting like this, appreciates this type of response. It's basically a nicely worded dig at Stowe during the entire article. Comes off as pretty sour grapes.

 

Generally, you are walking a thin line when you're argument becomes kind of petty like that.

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19 hours ago, Ginx snewx said:

I never worry, the beer is always cold, the pool hot,the skiing is secondary. Just a time to spend with friends of 40 plus years now. Only real downer year we had was in 99( I think) with 6 inches of rain falling in two days, oddly enough the rest of the week was stellar as 4 inches of snow fell on the backside. The amount of water pouring out of the Whites in Pinkham Notch was insane when we went for a ride during the rain out. Good times

1999 sounds right.  We had warm rains on March 1 and 4, totaling about 3.5", then the 6-7 weekend brought 14.5" with temps in the teens.

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3 hours ago, Albert A Clipper said:

Yeah, I think he's panicking over his season pass holders, the 'Sugarbush" "Mad River Valley" premium won't look very enticing if Stowe offers something right up the road for almost 1/2 the price. He sounds like a car salesman extoling the attribute of one brand/model over the other. Their big coin word this past year has been camaraderie lol....one big happy family, all resorts benefit. It sounds a little like he was changing his tune there a bit re: Stowe. #camaraderie #competition . He even gives s light dig to the traffic issues on the access road to Stowe versus Sugarbush #reaching.

Well it's a marketing switch that doesn't usually work well once your marketing turns to pointing out your competitor's weakness instead of staying on your brand message.  But it may become more cut-throat.  It's 

Thats why you know he's worried because it's a deviation from their normal marketing routine.  I mean maybe he could've mentioned it in passing in the weekly "Wins Word" but to send out a special email to everyone on their mailing list notifying them that Vail bought Stowe is pretty crazy.  Again, you won't see this from any other ski resort and it's not because they aren't worried, it's because it's not a good idea marketing wise.  Like this would be a great sales and marketing college class discussion.

 

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2 hours ago, radarman said:

Killington was in classic late March form.  Sun and big bumps... short sleeves, water bottles, and tanning lotion.  Laps and laps on OL.

Pretty good time, usually is.

Yeah its hard to be down on it when its so much fun.  Take it one day at a time and its a heck of a lot of fun skiing in this weather with a deep base.

Some people get so pre-occupied with worrying about the future that its hard for them to enjoy the fact that the snow is deep, its sunny, and mild.  Beach day on skis to me never get old.  Especially after a 3-week powder orgy haha...its a nice change of pace.

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9 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Well it's a marketing switch that doesn't usually work well once your marketing turns to pointing out your competitor's weakness instead of staying on your brand message.  But it may become more cut-throat.  It's 

Thats why you know he's worried because it's a deviation from their normal marketing routine.  I mean maybe he could've mentioned it in passing in the weekly "Wins Word" but to send out a special email to everyone on their mailing list notifying them that Vail bought Stowe is pretty crazy.  Again, you won't see this from any other ski resort and it's not because they aren't worried, it's because it's not a good idea marketing wise.  Like this would be a great sales and marketing college class discussion.

 

Agreed.  But he does that regularly with issues effecting the resort or valley.  I think, don't know this, that they have a big exposure from Burlington area residents who buy season tickets currently at sugarbush because it's somewhat cheaper than Stowe. I've met many on the lifts over the years. That epic pass could swing many of them to Stowe.  The weekend warrior crew won't switch because of a $200 difference in pass price.  You also have to understand that sugarbush is a much smaller operation than Stowe is in terms of revenue.  They may be comparable in terms of skiing terrain but that's another matter.

fwiw- can't upload photos from my ipad for some reason, but it is great out here in the kooteneys.  Deep dry powder.  Rain in town while snow at base elevation which is about 5k.  Staying at hotel in downtown Nelson filled with skiers from all over the world.  

IMG_2488.JPG

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14 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Yeah its hard to be down on it when its so much fun.  Take it one day at a time and its a heck of a lot of fun skiing in this weather with a deep base.

Some people get so pre-occupied with worrying about the future that its hard for them to enjoy the fact that the snow is deep, its sunny, and mild.  Beach day on skis to me never get old.  Especially after a 3-week powder orgy haha...its a nice change of pace.

Was chatting with a British couple who were staying at Stowe this week and wanted to try one other mountain... poor girl had brand new apparel fit for Antarctica and she was gonna wear it, damn the heatstroke.   Hopefully her chap understood that I had only the best intentions when I was encouraging her to strip.  It gets hot out there.

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Snowbasin has some great terrain...a little lower in elevation so snow isn't as good (relatively) as Alta/Snowbird but definitely need to go just to experience the amenities. The Sinclair Oil family developed the place and it's like a private ski club. Never been to Nelson but speaking to locals last year at KH, Revelstoke and Fernie they all raved about the area - the climate is amazing with temperate valley temps and tons of snow at higher elevations. Back here, it is simply amazing to transition in 7-8 days from deep powder skiing to spring conditions.

Speaking of Win's letter, when I received I didn't read that deep into his message. I took it as a acknowledgement that the acquisition was going to create some competitive pressures...which I think is going to help the consumer btw, he threw out the Fear card (as in FUD)...traffic, and then, and I stopped reading at that point, tried to hock some real estate which all his messages seem to end with...blah, blah, blah. 

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13 hours ago, Hitman said:

Agreed.  But he does that regularly with issues effecting the resort or valley.  I think, don't know this, that they have a big exposure from Burlington area residents who buy season tickets currently at sugarbush because it's somewhat cheaper than Stowe. I've met many on the lifts over the years. That epic pass could swing many of them to Stowe.  The weekend warrior crew won't switch because of a $200 difference in pass price.  You also have to understand that sugarbush is a much smaller operation than Stowe is in terms of revenue.  They may be comparable in terms of skiing terrain but that's another matter.

fwiw- can't upload photos from my ipad for some reason, but it is great out here in the kooteneys.  Deep dry powder.  Rain in town while snow at base elevation which is about 5k.  Staying at hotel in downtown Nelson filled with skiers from all over the world.  

IMG_2488.JPG

Damn that's beautiful dude.

Lets see some shots from the hill!  I've always wanted to go there.  Interior BC is on my list top with Japan.

I've done Whistler but want to try the interior.

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Having trouble posting pics.  Hopefully when I get back.

nelson is an awesome place for a skier.  Not your typical small mountain ski town, big from its days as a commercial center during the gold rush.  Great food and real skiers from all over the world hitting the various cat and heli ski operations as well as whitewater.  Funky vibe.  Some of the guys rented skis from a bike shop in town which stayed open late so we could pick them up.  Brought beers and they had an impromptu cocktail party in the shop to kick off the stay.

we didn't get dumped on quantity wise but 3" one day, 6" next, then 5" of light dry powder even though it was rain in the valley.  It was deep and consistent.  

Didnt make it to red mountain since it is lower elevation and the conditions were reportedly not as good as whitewater.  I really can't begin to describe how great whitewater is.  The trees and steeps are amazing.

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