The tram had issues early in the season. Electrical something-something....I forget exactly.
Wonder if they are loading light because of that...
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Jay Peak bombshell
- Thread starter VTKilarney
- Start date
The tram had issues early in the season. Electrical something-something....I forget exactly.
Wonder if they are loading light because of that...
Hey, you guys that were at Jay recently - any sense about the woods snow pack surviving this upcoming shit show of weather?
I'm heading to N. Vt 3/3 and we're trying to weight options for Sat/Sun/Mon. Looks like it's going to be warm, so corn snow in the woods sure would be fun, but not sure what will make it through a week and a half of warmth and rain.
I'm heading to N. Vt 3/3 and we're trying to weight options for Sat/Sun/Mon. Looks like it's going to be warm, so corn snow in the woods sure would be fun, but not sure what will make it through a week and a half of warmth and rain.
Killington was a zoo according to my one buddy that was there with his family. He said he was happy that he managed to get in 10 runs on Saturday, although I don't know how long he was actually out. I heard they had around 17,500 people on the mountain Saturday.
My cousin was at Sugarbush with his family and said lines moved pretty quick. I looked at the web cams a couple times on Saturday and thought Lincoln Peak looked crazy, although my cousin was at Mt Ellen that day so that was probably the better choice for a bit less crowds. Sugarbush supposedly had around 9800 people on Saturday.
gladerider
Active member
if any mountain survives this upcoming tragedy, it's jay IMHO.
not sure how much rain they will get in the next few days, but the woods are deep.
i was in the everglades and staircase the past couple of days. the surface is hard and the main routes in the woods are showing rocks and stuff but in general the base is very deep. i was worried about the rain before coming up here but jay didn't get much rain at all. it is just the thawing and freezing that killed everything. the main arteries (goat & northway) are just sheets of ice. another foot will turn this mountain right back to its decent shape.
not sure how much rain they will get in the next few days, but the woods are deep.
i was in the everglades and staircase the past couple of days. the surface is hard and the main routes in the woods are showing rocks and stuff but in general the base is very deep. i was worried about the rain before coming up here but jay didn't get much rain at all. it is just the thawing and freezing that killed everything. the main arteries (goat & northway) are just sheets of ice. another foot will turn this mountain right back to its decent shape.
gladerider
Active member
my group comes to jay for its powder. we haven't been so lucky the last few years. we like sugarbush's terrain. we haven't been there in a while. time to go back.
I wouldn't count on Jay or any other major Northeast ski area capping ticket sales on a holiday weekend outside of extraordinary circumstances; like lack of parking.
It's a holiday weekend. If the weather is good, crowding will be a nightmare. I pretty much always skip skiing on holidays just like you'd never find me traveling to a beach destination on 4th of July. If I'm going to recreate during peak times, I'll seek out destinations way off the beaten path.
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BenedictGomez
Well-known member
I heard this from numerous other folks during the considerable "opportunities" I had Saturday to listen to people's lift line conversations, and that was a frequent theme. That's why I call it cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sure, they maximized revenue this year, but there's going to be an impact next year etc... I'll probably stay closer to home and do Plattekill, or maybe follow the advice of a large Canadian crew I talked to who planned to ski Jay Sunday as well, but decided instead to go to Mont Sutton due to Jay's crowds.
Tough to say. Woods I did do were all great on Saturday, but I didnt get to hit all of them due to lack of total runs from the lines. By Sunday they were spring conditions, but still fun with good coverage. I think I hit everything Sunday except Timbuktu, Kitz, Hells. Some of the lower glades like Bonaventure had some "holes" in them with streams poking though, so there was at least some minimal damage done. Evergreen was so icy at the steep section at the top that there were no moguls or troughs, the lines looked groomed because everyone was just side-slipping down until it gets less steep. They're going to take another hit this week for sure though, and unless there's a significant forecast change I wont be skiing this weekend.
Funny you should mention that!
Main lot full, parking garages full, creative parking outside the parking garage implemented, parking folks down by the golf course and I heard their overflow lots were full too. I have to imagine Stateside was full too, but I didnt go down there.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
But isn't the hope to have the resort sold by next winter? And if so, you can't really blame them for maximizing revenue this year. Perhaps I am being overly optimistic about the timing of a sale, but in any event maximizing revenue is understandable.
I've always thought that Canada was a great play for President's Day weekend. The Eastern Township ski areas aren't much farther than Jay. Mont Orford is almost the same drive time as Jay from I-91. Owl's Head is a pain to get to, but it's still not a whole lot farther than Jay.
Jcb890
Active member
For an outside company only looking at numbers, that makes sense I guess to help boost Jay's revenue #s. From a customer service and customer confidence standpoint, it doesn't make nearly as much sense for the new company/owner. Is someone who is disheartened by how they feel Jay is being run going to automatically return next season just because ownership has changed? Maybe, but maybe not. The majority of the skiing and snowboarding public may not even know ownership changed. This possibly hurts the new owner in terms of customer satisfaction and # of visits.
Just in this thread alone, there has been what, 3 or 4 people who have said they won't be returning to Jay until they see positive changes? I'm sure there's many more than that, this forum is a very small percentage of the skiing/riding public.
As an example of my question about the public not knowing ownership has changed - I have 2 co-workers who both ski regularly, one of which lives minutes from Smuggler's Notch. Neither had any idea about Stowe being purchased by Vail. The general public isn't nearly as hardcore as the demographic on a forum like this one.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
I understand their plight, and I also realize there's no motivation on the part of the receiver to do anything but bring in $$$$. Lesson learned; but this guy wont be back for MLK or PDW until I see changes made to alleviate...........whatever exactly that was, on Saturday.
machski
Well-known member
Look back through this thread, the Tram issue has been well documented. Basically, it was not engineered thoroughly and state tram board limited the capacity in recertifying it this summer with some work done, more that was allowed to be deferred to this coming summer.
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PDW set records all across New England. You can bitch all you want, but there is not a ski area in the region that did not need this weekend's shot in the arm. After last year's hemorrhaging of $ there is a steep hill to climb.
As for the sale of Jay Peak &/or Burke, the word on the street is that this may not be possible until the civil claims are resolved. The Q family seems to be fighting this the whole way so it may take a guilty verdict to unravel ownership etc. At the Burke pass holders meeting they indicated that they were not currently entertaining offers to buy. As a practical matter, that means each resort NEEDS to generate cash in order for the receiver to keep the operations alive.
As for the sale of Jay Peak &/or Burke, the word on the street is that this may not be possible until the civil claims are resolved. The Q family seems to be fighting this the whole way so it may take a guilty verdict to unravel ownership etc. At the Burke pass holders meeting they indicated that they were not currently entertaining offers to buy. As a practical matter, that means each resort NEEDS to generate cash in order for the receiver to keep the operations alive.
.....and if they turned business away last weekend, they'd be regretting it this weekend coming up when it will undoubtedly be much less busy due to weather.
from_the_NEK
Active member
Note to mother nature for next year. Please DO NOT dump multiple feet of fresh snow on the mountains of Vermont next year the week leading up to President's Day Weekend. It will make too many people excited to get out to the resorts to have fun in it and the resorts really don't need the income. :roll:
Truth
I was kind of figuring this was going to be the case. Q is still a thorn in the side to us all.
Correct on your counts here-each and every. When you combine 100% retail occupancy across 650 or so rooms, 100% ownership occ across another few hundred and a quantitatively fantastic multiple week stretch of natural leading into the period-you get heavy compression; it was the same at every and any resort in New England--and actually a bit less-so here (the aforementioned Saturday as an aside) given the reality that many from Canada stay away during the Sat/Sun stretch of PDW. That said, Saturday was damn busy and I empathize with anyone caught up in whatever line they were caught up in. We actually sold more tickets Sunday but because of arrivals it felt much more manageable. Mon-Weds has been fantastic. Aside from lift line conversations in the heat of wait-times, the only reliable predictor of following year business tends to be daily surveys, and people who reserve their spots for next year upon checking out of this one. Both, at least thus far, have been very, very positive.
As to the likelihood of being sold prior to next year, I certainly have my thoughts, but what I don't know could fill a library.
As to the likelihood of being sold prior to next year, I certainly have my thoughts, but what I don't know could fill a library.
Jcb890
Active member
He's been great all season providing feedback. Where's the "like" button when you need it? :smile:
I agree. I love seeing management jumping into the fire so to speak and publicly addressing topics in a forum when needed. You don't see that too often. I know Win from Sugarbush does that in the SkiMRV forum, but offhand I don't know of any other than Steve and Win.
Jully
Active member
Chris Farmer has a presence on the Sugarloaf forum. Less relevant now that Saddleback is in prolonged hibernation though...
Either way I also love it when top resort brass has a presence on forums! Way to go Steve!
from_the_NEK
Active member
So when is the EB5 money coming in for the West Bowl expansion so that these crowds can spread out a bit?
;-);-)
;-);-)
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