It's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. Ain't got nothing better to do. The consensus over at
www.dcski.com was that I should "Get A Life" though not actually phrased as such. What' inspired it was the deception. What kept it going was the bald-faced lying and stubbornness in the front office. It's a small meaningless little battle but it's more than a fudged trail report it's the attempt to propagate a
myth supported by a phalanx of lies and that is why I may prevail in the end. The biggest fights and the most important fights...guess I'm one of the chickenhawks. Cheering the whole process on from my living room but would I want to be standing in the mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Iraq. Guess it depends on you level of personal outrage. If my brother died in one of those WTC towers it would certainly be more personal.
Back to skiing ...that's what this forum is supposed to be about. By the time I get to Wildcat I have passed. the far more expensive pastures of New York and Vermont. It's a little austere and few amenities but a $30 motel room in Gorhan or North Conway is enough for me. I don't read the trail report beyond "Is the quad running?" Last year I settled in and bought a three day pass...very reasonable. Had just come from Stowe...one night of lodging and one day of skiing cost almost as much as three nights & days at Gorham & Wildcat. The second day the closed the quad because of the wind at about 12:00. Added an extra day to my lift ticket...no questions asked after I made it quite clear that I came there for the quad. That day I drove around Mt. Washington. Stopped in the AMC facility in Pinkham Notch...nice model of the mountain in gift shop. In North Conway tried to get a two broken boot buckles on a pair of 14 year old Dachsteins fixed. First shop I stopped in said they couldn't do it but they directed me to someplace that did that kind of work. At Stan & Dans Ski Shop I had two black Lange boot buckles put on those boots. Even offered to paint them orange to match the existing...told him not to bother. Cost me $30 with an extra buckle thrown in for good measure. I had tried to have these boots fixed in more than ten other shops in NY & VT and everybody was trying to sell me boots. Wasn't going to give up the most comfortable responsive ski boots I ever owned.
Ultimately I don't care who owns a ski area but I recognize when genuine customer service in English has been replaced by phony glossed over corporatese. The hot knife through butter to cut through this nonsense is to always focus on the truth when confronted by lies. I will venture a guess that I will never get my refund but the cat is out of the bag as far as the
myth is concerned. Just no way Sugarbush can ignore that festering wound if there is somebody who is picking at the scab.
Glenn Stephens
