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Ski Resort Closings 2014

bigbob

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Jul 10, 2007
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Yawgoo Valley is done for the season.

Why the hell did whaleback close so early? I passsed it today and there was a groomer out on the face..

As I passed by yesterday they were using a snowmobile to help strip the mnt of the fencing. I was also surprised to see it groomed out and closed.
 

steamboat1

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Does K allow Pico only pass holders to ski there when they shut Pico down for the season? If not I would think k it would be good form to maybe offer half off on the spring beast pass.
K Express card holders, K mid week pass holders & Pico pass holders can buy the spring pass for $20 off ($179). Not really a good deal if you ask me. Being a mid week pass holder the only thing I care about is if they go to a weekend only schedule in May they let us ski weekends. In the past they have.
 

gib

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Was at Mt Abram today and there is tons of snow, 100% coverage including the new snow they got today. They stated they will be closing the 5th of April. Seems like a short amount of time for them to close when they have a lot of snow they could probably stay open tip mid April or so. Just sad they will waste that potential business.


Gib
 

Quietman

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Crotched is down to Fri-Sun this week, unless we get snow on Wed which seems very unlikely. I hope that will allow them to try for the 4/5-4/6 weekend when Pat's will be closed.
 

mbedle

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Pico I can understand - Killington doesn't invest to much into that hill anymore. But Mt. Ellen is unbelievable to me. I can only guess that traffic/use goes down to nothing and it no longer makes sense to keep it open.
 

mbedle

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I'm just wondering if a lot of resorts located on public land have set operation periods built into their special use permits or leases. Other resorts have to deal with operational loses verses keeping a few skiers happy at the end of the year. It would be interesting to see how much a daily operations budget is for a said resort and then figure out how many ticket sales are needed to make a buck. Based on my experience last weekend at the local resort, they were operating at a loss. During the week, its got to be even worse.
 

steamboat1

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Was at Mt Abram today and there is tons of snow, 100% coverage including the new snow they got today. They stated they will be closing the 5th of April. Seems like a short amount of time for them to close when they have a lot of snow they could probably stay open tip mid April or so. Just sad they will waste that potential business.


Gib

If they said they are closing April 5th then they extended the season a week. Mt. Ellen was originally slated to close March 30th.
 

dl

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Jan 13, 2005
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Heard that Attitash is planning on closing the weekend of April 6 but that they may try to open weekends after that depending on weather, conditions, demand, etc. They are hoping to run Wildcat through the end of April and possibly longer. There is plenty of snow at both areas right now so unless things change dramatically, snow/coverage shouldn't be the issue.
 

yeggous

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Heard that Attitash is planning on closing the weekend of April 6 but that they may try to open weekends after that depending on weather, conditions, demand, etc. They are hoping to run Wildcat through the end of April and possibly longer. There is plenty of snow at both areas right now so unless things change dramatically, snow/coverage shouldn't be the issue.

That sounds about right. Attitash always throws in the towel early. If they go for the first week in April it will be because day ticket sales are still acceptably high. They will definitely have the snow to go well into April if they want to.

Wildcat is a different story entirely. Their manmade depths are not very deep on the upper mountain this year. If they try to go late it will likely be with just the lower mountain. It is very hard to predict what depths will be like at the end of April. Snow can melt very very fast at that time of year if the air is humid and night time temperatures stay above freezing.


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deadheadskier

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I'm just wondering if a lot of resorts located on public land have set operation periods built into their special use permits or leases. Other resorts have to deal with operational loses verses keeping a few skiers happy at the end of the year. It would be interesting to see how much a daily operations budget is for a said resort and then figure out how many ticket sales are needed to make a buck. Based on my experience last weekend at the local resort, they were operating at a loss. During the week, its got to be even worse.

Out west yes. In the east none that I'm aware of.
 

yeggous

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Out west yes. In the east none that I'm aware of.

I know that Wachusett does. They have a hard deadline set by their lease with the state after which time they have to cease operations and open the road to the summit.


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MadMadWorld

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Out west yes. In the east none that I'm aware of.

Well I think one of the biggest factors for some mountains are off season commitments. Mostly in the form of weddings. Good luck telling a bride that they are going to have to postpone their wedding because of skiers. Not sure when weddings start at Wachusett but I went to one in early May last year so I'm sure they want to give themselves a few weeks to clean up the lodge and what not.
 

dlague

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Lots of competing forces that cause ski areas to close - here are a few!

  • many of the part-time staff and already focused on summer employment (many start training in April)
  • families who have kids in Spring sports typically will lose the weekend or at least one day (we are in that boat)
  • not much new ticket based revenue since mostly pass holders are visiting
  • right now there is hardly any snow south of Concord NH (any new snow will melt fast) so golf, biking and other summer related activities have already started
  • resorts with summer events want time to switch over to summer mode
  • some people just do not like soft spring conditions (probably the same people who do not like early season conditions
  • not a big commitment to ski areas for April vacations
 

〽❄❅

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Elk Mountain my day tripping hill in PA closes for the season this Saturday March 29th.

As of today they're 98% open with a 3.5' - 6' base!
 

dlague

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Crotched Mountain

We are Closed Monday 3/24 through Thursday 3/27

*Check back often as operations this week may change. We are closely watching the developing storm this week.

Friday 3/28 (Weather Permitting)

Saturday 3/29: 9am to 5pm
Sunday 3/30: 9am to 5pm
 
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