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The 2020-2021 Ski season thread


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1 hour ago, Hitman said:

I don't think there are going to be a lot of day trippers regardless of the quarantine situation.  First of all, day passes will be limited and require advance purchase.  That eliminates a big segment of the day tripper population.  I doubt there will be any bus trips at all.  Can't imagine any school or organization dealing with a ski trip when they have their hands full otherwise.  and groups looking to party more than ski won't be booking trips if the lodges/bars are closed. Maybe i'm wrong (caveat-I thought this thing would be under control by now), but I think its going to be passholders skiing for the most part.

All good points..I was also thinking about the pass holders who won’t be able to do the day trip or overnights too.  As it stands right now, even many border counties with vt are under the quarantine rules, as well as that big chunk of pass holders who are people that drive a couple hours, ski and come back.  Demand though, is definitely there.

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17 hours ago, Angus said:

I'm of the opinion that Covid is going to make those small-medium size areas much busier as people seek some physical distance thinking they can escape lift lines, et cetera. As I said,= in this thread earlier when I bought my epic pass a month ago, I will ski the Okemo, Mt. Snow, Stowe areas mid-week when things in theory are less busy, Crotched at nite and Wildcat on weekends to avoid crowds. I guess one of my hopes is we have a good spring and I get lots of days in that way...do a lot of nordic at the height of winter.

It's an interesting debate, for sure.

We are a family of 5, and we typically downhill ski 8 or 10 days a year in a  good year.  Plattekill is our favorite local place.

My wife and I nordic ski 3 or 4 days a week.

Our kids are 10 and 12,  We usually get them a season ski rental for their downhill gear.

This year after looking at the downhill situation we elected not to get the kids ski rentals.

I don't envision us going more than once or twice.

 

 

 

 

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Plans are a making! Got the IKON pass and planning accommodations for Sunday through Friday for three weeks (mid-December, mid-January, early-February) in VT/NH/ME and then Sunday through Saturday for late-February in MT for a potential of 20 days of skiing. Aiming to utilize the pass to at least break-even, and venturing to other mountains as well. Accommodations will vary from hotel chains to local places. In my mind I'd like to ski 8 hours per day, but in practice it is usually 5 hours, which will work out fine as I need to work several hours each day. Windy days will be the safest on the mountain, as people will remain bundled up. Hoping for the best, and definitely going to spend money locally in each community to support the economy, including checking out mountains I've never skied, this will be the year to try them out!

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This week in 2016 was the best October skiing I have come across. Killington got 5-7" of slop on a Sunday/Monday that froze to make a great base then another 8-10" of heavy wet above 3000' at the end of the week. People were jumping off the stairs to ski Catwalk, ducking ropes off North Ridge to hit the Canyon area and trails off Snowdon. Most of the snow had settled in the East Fall to Royal Flush area and it skied more like 2' .Trails like Downdraft were skiable, just had to be careful around the water bars. Folks must have gotten hurt or patrol got chewed out because a few weeks later they got another 8-10" and the same could have happened but Killington put 3/4 staff members at every rope to keep people on the Ridge. Even keeping people from accessing Ridge Run and Poweline. Needless to say, people were pissed and many bailed after a run or two. My last time at Killington early season unless they actually list stuff as "open".

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I hear lots of discussion/rumors of how K used to blow snow on Dipper for early season, that would be an incredible early play and hard to beat...unless (and I'm dreaming) Sugarbush ever could open Heaven's Gate with Ripcord, Organgrinder, Jester, and Downspout then have folks download on Super Bravo. 

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7 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

We got a mailing from Smugg's the other day.  How can a Mass resident even stay there and follow the rules?

My wife and I were just discussing this and I'm looking into it.  Reason being, the Indy Pass has some new resorts being added and will be announced tomorrow. I'm sure Bousquet is one given Catamount and Berkshire East are on it. Given the Canadian border is closed and going to hurt some places, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a big VT resort like Jay, Burke, or even Smuggs. Plus Jay apparently sent out an email advertising the Indy Pass a few days ago.

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15 hours ago, mcglups said:

Plans are a making! Got the IKON pass and planning accommodations for Sunday through Friday for three weeks (mid-December, mid-January, early-February) in VT/NH/ME and then Sunday through Saturday for late-February in MT for a potential of 20 days of skiing. Aiming to utilize the pass to at least break-even, and venturing to other mountains as well. Accommodations will vary from hotel chains to local places. In my mind I'd like to ski 8 hours per day, but in practice it is usually 5 hours, which will work out fine as I need to work several hours each day. Windy days will be the safest on the mountain, as people will remain bundled up. Hoping for the best, and definitely going to spend money locally in each community to support the economy, including checking out mountains I've never skied, this will be the year to try them out!

Just be ready to sign a legal document that you quarantined when you go to VT.  And be prepared for people in VT to assume you did not quarantine even if you did.  I expect that if there are massive numbers of weekender skiers and cases start spiking in Vermont there will be some unpleasant confrontations between those with green plates and those with other colored plates.  People up there have been very vocal this summer about wanting people from out of state to stay away.  I’m sure they will become more vocal and act more vigilante as The virus spikes and ski tourism spikes.  We are moving to Vermont for part of November, December and January.  We plan to change our plates which is going to be a big hassle but hopefully it will allow us to be comfortable and safe from any confrontations or vandalism while we are living there.  We are fortunate to live trailside so we have our own private base lodge.  That said, it would not surprise me in the least to see the whole thing shut down.  Don’t be the reason we lose our season.

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Jay on the Indy pass would be great.  Jay is going to really struggle this season without the Canadians.  I’m not complaining the slightest bit personally.  I’d hope a down season can maybe drop the asking price a bit to allow for Jay to be purchased next summer.  I don’t know how long they can be in limbo. 

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3 hours ago, PowderBeard said:

This week in 2016 was the best October skiing I have come across. Killington got 5-7" of slop on a Sunday/Monday that froze to make a great base then another 8-10" of heavy wet above 3000' at the end of the week. People were jumping off the stairs to ski Catwalk, ducking ropes off North Ridge to hit the Canyon area and trails off Snowdon. Most of the snow had settled in the East Fall to Royal Flush area and it skied more like 2' .Trails like Downdraft were skiable, just had to be careful around the water bars. Folks must have gotten hurt or patrol got chewed out because a few weeks later they got another 8-10" and the same could have happened but Killington put 3/4 staff members at every rope to keep people on the Ridge. Even keeping people from accessing Ridge Run and Poweline. Needless to say, people were pissed and many bailed after a run or two. My last time at Killington early season unless they actually list stuff as "open".

I hear lots of discussion/rumors of how K used to blow snow on Dipper for early season, that would be an incredible early play and hard to beat...unless (and I'm dreaming) Sugarbush ever could open Heaven's Gate with Ripcord, Organgrinder, Jester, and Downspout then have folks download on Super Bravo. 

I have to find my photos from October 2006 at Killington.  Hurricane Wilma and another nor'easter hit back to back I think?  There were two snow events that dropped like 30" across a wide swatch of the Greens (we skied the trees off Starr at Stowe that October), but Killington was the only one open and I was sent there to take photos and do a write up for a publication company.

After the 30" of snow, Killington had the K1 Gondola running and the Glades Triple... but they dropped the ropes on literally everything that you could get to off the top of the K1.... including over by Superstar and that pod.  The entire Canyon area was open, Snowden, etc.  Two lifts and if you could get to a trail from there they let you have it.  It was incredible.  I have photos of being one of the first skiers out to Superstar and hitting that with only natural snow in October was awesome.  They did end up closing some of it at the end of the day because it got beaten up too much.  Overall though, it was carte blanche on whatever you wanted to hit.  Memorable day for sure.

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41 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

VT sounds like a rough place. Confrontations and vandalism at the ski resorts? Sheesh @powderfreak chill bro. 

Hahaha, Killington must be like that lawless zone in Portland, everyone fending for themselves.  We have been inundated by tourist traffic for 4 weekends in a row and despite it being an annoyance from a traffic standpoint (3-way stops at an intersection are NOT that difficult) I haven't heard of any issues.  I think the biggest issue was just that due to COVID restrictions of businesses, restaurants, and the ski area doing reduced capacity that the town could not satisfy the number of tourists.  People expecting to be able to go out to dinner on vacation, couldn't find reservations, couldn't ride the Gondola or Toll Road, couldn't do the things they normally expected to do. 

Going forward, managing expectations will be interesting for people with COVID hangover or those who are just completely done with it has definitely started to be seen in the travelers this fall.  They truly expect everything to be running 100% capacity and like it would be any other year.  So things like not being able to eat out ("I didn't go on vacation to be forced to get take out Chinese food in my hotel room!"), maybe longer wait times or unavailability of their favorite activities are also frustrating, etc.  "Why are you turning me away?  You only have three small lots full and I see a ton of parking open and my family came to ride the Gondola."  "This is the capacity level we feel comfortable operating at." "Why aren't you running at 100%? We are here to give you money, you should take it."

I do think it's going to be interesting as much of the operating capacity of say restaurants and activities is geared to a much, much smaller number of visitors (built around the frame work that the quarantines will significantly limit travel), but we are seeing the normal full boat of travelers on the weekends anyway.  So there are a surplus of visitors who can't get service or experiences like they expect.  Like many seemed to have an expectation rooted in a pre-COVID world, but everything they want to do is operating in a COVID world still, causing this disconnect.

IMG_0785.jpg.47c435754a9be206e43b297f1aab60d7.jpg

 

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4 hours ago, mreaves said:

I haven’t heard of anything like that and haven’t seen it reported anywhere either. 

Just because you have not heard of it does not mean it had not happened.  My Aunt and Uncle’s friend had their out of state car vandalized. These are rational adults in their 70’s who would not make something up.  I had several friends screamed at general stores.  I have been confronted as to why I was in Vermont by a guy who does maintenance in our complex. You have green plates. It’s like telling someone from a minority group that there is no such thing as racism because you have never experienced it.  I don’t think it’s really the ski area people as much as everyone else.  Let’s face it, the Burlington area is a bit more cosmopolitan than central VT.  The woodchucks are not liking seeing all the flatlanders coming up from infected areas.

Here is a relatively tame quote just yesterday:.  The existing locals vs out of stater bad vibes are there whether you want to admit it or not.  There is a ton of “territorial” “I have a right to be here and you do not”.  I only bring it up because there are folks who think it will be all fine to ignore Vermont quarantine rules because it’s not enforced by authorities.  Like PF is saying........people need to understand the situation and not have expectations that everything will be normal.  I keep bringing this up to help   people who may be reading this thread. I’m just stating a fact that people should be aware of before they visit Vermont. You guys keep negating my experience which is not helpful.  I’m not looking to argue with anyone about this. If you want to joke around and act like I’m making it up fine.  But I think folks who read this thread, who don’t spend much time in Vermont and may be planning on Vermont being a super place to visit this winter, should know the undercurrent of hostility to out of staters has gotten worse in Vermont since Covid hit.  It is what it is.  It’s something visitors have to deal with.

91EB0B4E-DCEB-4EB4-A8CC-5127178E0340.jpeg

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11 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

This issue must be localized to VT. I have had zero issues in NH and I stick out like a sore thumb amongst the locals there. Everyone seems really glad to see me. LOL

Don't generalize it that far.  It's the same as it has been all summer, it seems like it's Facebook and the Killington area.  I've had several people mention the same Killington FB group that Jen references as being extremely toxic.

Killington is also the most visited ski resort in the entire Northeast, so maybe there is some friction there given the scale of things in that area, who knows.

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7 hours ago, GCWarrior said:

Jay on the Indy pass would be great.  Jay is going to really struggle this season without the Canadians.  I’m not complaining the slightest bit personally.  I’d hope a down season can maybe drop the asking price a bit to allow for Jay to be purchased next summer.  I don’t know how long they can be in limbo. 

Jay def taking a hit with the border.  They apparently had it almost sold before covid hit.  According to their gm, cash flow is really not an issue tho; it’s the eb5 investors who will see a lower return once it’s sold, but the money to keep it running until then is there.  What surprised me was he said that they are doing full season rentals of some of their condos and he expected to sell a few to offset some of the losses at the hotel and as of about 3 weeks ago, they had sold almost $700,000 worth of season rentals, and had even sold a bunch during the summer.  I worry about all that lost traffic, but as a skier/rider, I’m really looking forward to what might be a once in a lifetime season there.  They might pick up some more day traffic too with no reservations required. 

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Just now, bwt3650 said:

Jay def taking a hit with the border.  They apparently had it almost sold before covid hit.  According to their gm, cash flow is really not an issue tho; it’s the eb5 investors who will see a lower return once it’s sold, but the money to keep it running until then is there.  What surprised me was he said that they are doing full season rentals of some of their condos and he expected to sell a few to offset some of the losses at the hotel and as of about 3 weeks ago, they had sold almost $700,000 worth of season rentals, and had even sold a bunch during the summer.  I worry about all that lost traffic, but as a skier/rider, I’m really looking forward to what might be a once in a lifetime season there.  They might pick up some more day traffic too with no reservations required. 

I'm jealous and might be up there for some day tickets, ha.  I think you are right about a once in a lifetime season there.  The border closed is going to make it feel like a private ski area most days, IMO.  That's taking 50% of their normal visitors and literally stopping them.  That's no state quarantine rule or anything, that's an international border, you aren't getting through LOL.

The most snow in the East coupled with 50% less customers.  That opportunity won't come around very often.

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9 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Don't generalize it that far.  It's the same as it has been all summer, it seems like it's Facebook and the Killington area.  I've had several people mention the same Killington FB group that Jen references as being extremely toxic.

Killington is also the most visited ski resort in the entire Northeast, so maybe there is some friction there given the scale of things in that area, who knows.

People love to talk shit on facebook.  I think the people who are acting that way, live their whole life offended and entitled.  

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Just now, bwt3650 said:

People love to talk shit on facebook.  I think the people who are acting that way, live their whole life offended and entitled.  

I truly think Facebook is the reason why so many people think this country is a complete dumpster fire.  If you spend a lot of time on FB you quickly lose any hope for humanity.  It used to be for photos of your kids, or sharing stuff with family and cool things.... but it's changed into one giant cess pool of "people speaking their mind" as they call it.  It's all the sudden cool to be confrontational and very opinionated on there in the last year or two. 

Instagram is what FB used to be... pictures of cool stuff and sharing pics of your kids, things you do, etc.  It's like a breath of fresh air after scrolling through FB.

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