AZ Challenge 2011: Laszlo Vajtay of Plattekill

[Nick]

Laszlo Vajtay, President / Owner of Plattekill, has agreed to participate in the 2011 AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge!

The AlpineZone Challenge is your chance to offer up questions, suggestions or praise to the people who run the mountains in the northeast. For more information on the challenge itself, please see the stickied post at the top of the forum.

We will pick ten of the questions asked here and submit them for review and response, and post them in the Challenge area when complete!

Caveats: we may edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or something similar. Questions may be merged. If we don't get to all the questions, we will encourage followup from the representatives, but no promises.

Please be respectful as well to those answering questions - please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. as these may be confidential to the mountain.

Plattekill Profile

It's Plattekill's first time in the Challenge, so let's get some good questions for 'em!

 

[ScottySkis]

I love You have just enough people on weekends to keep the snow great,any improvements coming up that you can give, maybe have a few more workers in kitchen area during busy weekends but other then that i love your hill and the vibe is sweet, keep it up please

 

[tarponhead]

Awesome place. Maybe throwing in a sign or two on the roads directing you in would help (me). It's not like you follow a conga line of cars in ;-)

Also, you may wanna get rid of that phantom chairlift on your trail map. Other then that, don't change a thing!

 

[Nick]

Let me seed this q&a bit: no quesitons about seeded moguls / snowmaking / terrain expansion / infrastructure upgrades / new Piston Bullys? :lol:

 

[Black Phantom]

Will you have any new healthy additions to your menu? Are/will you be using locally sourced meat and produce?

 

[BenedictGomez]

Will you have any new healthy additions to your menu?

What a great question. Simple healthy things like Turkey sandwiches and Grilled chicken breast sandwiches are always appreciated.

 

[skiersleft]

No plan for a high speed quad? Locals will say that it will ruin the whole retro experience. I, on the other hand, find that the slow lifts are one of the annoying issues that Plattekill ought to deal with in the near future.

 

[Black Phantom]

What a great question. Simple healthy things like Turkey sandwiches and Grilled chicken breast sandwiches are always appreciated.

Thanks. The pizza and chicken fingers served by most cafeterias are very unappealing. Food needs to be healthy and should not be priced through the roof.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Thanks. The pizza and chicken fingers served by most cafeterias are very unappealing. Food needs to be healthy and should not be priced through the roof.

I dont mind a decent markup if it's not obscene, as the food/beverage operations shouldn't be a cost center for a mountain. Perhaps it's the ex-Wall Streeter (reformed) in me, but I'd bake in a decent margin on my food/bevy to cover the COGS + salaries of the cafeteria workers and pull in a modest profit.

Kids love pizza and chicken fingers, so they have a place in the world, but you're right in that the pizza and chx fingers arent exactly "top shelf" fare at most cafeterias, perhaps another reason why a turkey sandwich etc.. would be beneficial - it's pretty tough to screw up a sandwich. lol

 

[Nick]

As long as ski areas keep the chili bread bowls </ threadjack>

 

[2sons]

Midweek Powder Daize's with only 6" of snow, don't groom the left sides of Plunge and Blockbuster and a cleaner more updated kitchen up in the bar area. Thanks!

 

[Tin Woodsman]

No plan for a high speed quad? Locals will say that it will ruin the whole retro experience. I, on the other hand, find that the slow lifts are one of the annoying issues that Plattekill ought to deal with in the near future.

Wow - and here I thought there weren't any worse ideas than clear cutting Eastern mountain peaks to create an artifical open bowl skiing experience. Guess I was wrong.


I know you're like 12 or something, but it would help if you put some thought into your posts before your fingers hit the keyboard. Maybe think for a minute about the cost of high speed lifts in relation to modest skier visits at Plattekille. Perhaps consider the length/vertical of the current lifts to understand how much time could/should reasonably be shaved off of a 7 minute ride.

Awful job out of you.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Midweek Powder Daize's with only 6" of snow

This would be nice, but my guess is it's likely a P&L issue and it's probably not profitable enough for the day, maybe compromise between 6" and 12" and shoot for 9"? I know at least one person who would take off from work! ;-)

don't groom the left sides of Plunge and Blockbuster

Anyone think Blockbuster could be a top eastern mogul run if it were all moguls? That sucker's a pretty darn good run.

I know you're like 12 or something, but it would help if you put some thought into your posts before your fingers hit the keyboard. Maybe think for a minute about the cost of high speed lifts in relation to modest skier visits at Plattekille. Perhaps consider the length/vertical of the current lifts to understand how much time could/should reasonably be shaved off of a 7 minute ride.

Wow!!! I guiltily admit to having the same above thoughts upon reading his post, but just wasnt "mean enough" to type that out and absolutely ravage the poster. lol.

 

[Nick]

Wow!!! I guiltily admit to having the same above thoughts upon reading his post, but just wasnt "mean enough" to type that out and absolutely ravage the poster. lol.

Yeah I'll admit that was a *bit* harsh :uzi:

 

[skiersleft]

Wow - and here I thought there weren't any worse ideas than clear cutting Eastern mountain peaks to create an artifical open bowl skiing experience. Guess I was wrong.


I know you're like 12 or something, but it would help if you put some thought into your posts before your fingers hit the keyboard. Maybe think for a minute about the cost of high speed lifts in relation to modest skier visits at Plattekille. Perhaps consider the length/vertical of the current lifts to understand how much time could/should reasonably be shaved off of a 7 minute ride.

Awful job out of you.

I'm sure that deep inside you're a good person. Looking forward to meeting you at the AZ summit!

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I'm sure that deep inside you're a good person. Looking forward to meeting you at the AZ summit!

I'm warm and cuddly - at least that's what my baby daughters think.

Seriously though - sorry if I've been harsh. Neither of your suggestions pass the smell test for any sort of logic or critical thinking.

Other than "I think fixed grip lifts are annoying", what factual/logical basis would there be for Plattekille to consider this for half a nanosecond?

 

[skiersleft]

Seriously though - sorry if I've been harsh.

You clearly have been harsh, but apology accepted.

 

[2sons]

This would be nice, but my guess is it's likely a P&L issue and it's probably not profitable enough for the day, maybe compromise between 6" and 12" and shoot for 9"? I know at least one person who would take off from work! ;-)

Magic Mountain opens up with 6 inches of snow mid week so I don't think it's such a stretch.
Also how about Demo days?

 

[Black Phantom]

I'm warm and cuddly - at least that's what my baby daughters think.

Seriously though - sorry if I've been harsh. Neither of your suggestions pass the smell test for any sort of logic or critical thinking.

Other than "I think fixed grip lifts are annoying", what factual/logical basis would there be for Plattekille to consider this for half a nanosecond?

You were not harsh at all. Quite the opposite.

Thank you for your bluntness. It is well received .:flag:

 

[tarponhead]

This would be nice, but my guess is it's likely a P&L issue and it's probably not profitable enough for the day, maybe compromise between 6" and 12" and shoot for 9"? I know at least one person who would take off from work! ;-)

Magic Mountain opens up with 6 inches of snow mid week so I don't think it's such a stretch.
Also how about Demo days?

In our metric challenged society, 9" just doesn't ring out

If platty gets a 10" mid week dump, do they open? (edit: provided they can round up enough workers to open the place) Seems close enough