Can Okemo overcome 30inches+to open more then 1 lift???

[abc]

Since all the other Vail owned mountains managed to open and have lifts running top to bottom. I'd say it's not Vail's fault but Okemo's management.

That said, the storm timing is a disadvantage for the mountains in general. The peak of the storm was early morning, during a time the mountain would have been doing all the preparation for opening. Obviously, all that snow coming down is going to impact the work.

The fact Okemo didn't expect the big dump was the cause. Given the forecast didn't call it, I'd give the management a little slack for yesterday.

Today? That remains to be seen. No more excuses. They need to step up to the plate!

 

[Slidebrook87]

To be completely fair here, it’s not often that eastern ski resorts deal with 40 inches of snow. You can’t just “clear snow” like you would with 10 inches. You need special equipment and a lot to of manpower to get it done.

 

[deadheadskier]

I think some of you are cutting Vail too much slack. Killington managed to spin six lifts yesterday. Granted they "only" got 25". However, their employees come from the same labor market for the most part. Not all of Okemo's employees live right in Ludlow and couldn't make it to work. I bet dollars to donuts Okemo simply didn't schedule enough people due to a zero based staffing model by Vail.

What is becoming abundantly clear is Vail cares much more about their shareholders than their customers. IMO Peaks ran the resorts I frequent much better than Vail over the available sample size thus far.

I'm basically quickly forming the opinion that Vail = the Walmart of the skiing industry.

 

[skimagic]

I think some of you are cutting Vail too much slack. Killington managed to spin six lifts yesterday. Granted they "only" got 25". However, their employees come from the same labor market for the most part. Not all of Okemo's employees live right in Ludlow and couldn't make it to work. I bet dollars to donuts Okemo simply didn't schedule enough people due to a zero based staffing model by Vail.

What is becoming abundantly clear is Vail cares much more about their shareholders than their customers. IMO Peaks ran the resorts I frequent much better than Vail over the available sample size thus far.

I'm basically quickly forming the opinion that Vail = the Walmart of the skiing industry.

Completely agree about today. If customers can get to the mountain, so can the workers.

 

[Slidebrook87]

I think today and yesterday are 2 completely different stories. Today, they should’ve had more open, but yesterday was unexpected and as I mentioned earlier, eastern ski resorts don’t have to deal with 42 inches very often...

 

[deadheadskier]

I think today and yesterday are 2 completely different stories. Today, they should’ve had more open, but yesterday was unexpected and as I mentioned earlier, eastern ski resorts don’t have to deal with 42 inches very often...

Newpylong confirmed only 3 lifties and one mechanic showed up.

Skiers did. Killington employees showed up. Same labor market.

If the issue was simply the mountain couldn't dig out then fine. That apparently was not the case.

 

[ss20]

Eh...25" and 40" are very different. 25" is storm-of-the-year kinda stuff you have to expect/prepare for. 40" is record-breaking and more than just a PITA.

Also K gets labor from Rutland and the state treats Rt 4 a a major major route...I'm sure they had a lot of plows out. Ludlow is pretty tough to access from the South on 100 and 103. Very steep/twisty roads.

 

[kingslug]

How many people actualy work at these places now?
Will be interesting to see how many lifts they run.
Thousands show up to ski..but they have no one to run a lift?

 

[deadheadskier]

Eh...25" and 40" are very different. 25" is storm-of-the-year kinda stuff you have to expect/prepare for. 40" is record-breaking and more than just a PITA.

Also K gets labor from Rutland and the state treats Rt 4 a a major major route...I'm sure they had a lot of plows out. Ludlow is pretty tough to access from the South on 100 and 103. Very steep/twisty roads.

People from Rutland work at Okemo too. People from Ludlow work at Killington. I know this as a fact. My family had a home in Ludlow for twenty years. I lived there full time for some of it. Bartended at the Pot Belly pub. Route 103 south from Rutland to Okemo is actually a MUCH easier drive during a storm than route 4 to Killington.

It was December 17th. 9 days before the busiest holiday week of the year. To be certain it's been a bad start to the season and not much terrain open, but it's time to start over scheduling by December 17th and get people trained up. I'd love to see the staffing schedule. I'll bet it was very light, just like Vails call center.

 

[giantfan]

Check out this line at the sunburst six -

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1339959560279363584

 

[NYDB]

Going to be a crazy busy weekend there. School is done for holidays, people DGAF about Covid, and they just got 3+ feet.

Epic weekend.

 

[Newpylong]

I think some of you are cutting Vail too much slack. Killington managed to spin six lifts yesterday. Granted they "only" got 25". However, their employees come from the same labor market for the most part. Not all of Okemo's employees live right in Ludlow and couldn't make it to work. I bet dollars to donuts Okemo simply didn't schedule enough people due to a zero based staffing model by Vail.

What is becoming abundantly clear is Vail cares much more about their shareholders than their customers. IMO Peaks ran the resorts I frequent much better than Vail over the available sample size thus far.

I'm basically quickly forming the opinion that Vail = the Walmart of the skiing industry.

I don't like Vail but this isn't the case. Lift staffing is in local control. I mentioned this a couple times now but a good friend of mine is the Lift Operations Manager (that's who hires and controls lift staffing) there and it certainly was not about scheduling. 3 lift attendants were able to make it in by mid morning and 1 mechanic. He personally didn't make it in until yesterday afternoon. 45" is a hell of a lot different than 24". That's the difference between needing a tractor / large snowblower / triaxle vs being able to plow with a pickup. There was so much snow they couldn't resume snowmaking until last night because the valves, hydrants and tower brackets had to be dug out.

We got about 30" here in the Upper Valley for comparison and the side roads were impassable until around 2PM Thursday.

 

[FBGM]

Yo let’s be real. Vail sucks a fat one and we all know this.

I’m off to ski Alta and I’m not a Natzi or a Hipster. Just happy to go ski with my 10,000 closest Cali friends.

If Alta got 40” they would open depending on Avy Mitigation.

Trump skis and Jeans and Fuck Vail. Looks for the stickers.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Lots of white knighting for vail and okemo by suckers with epic passes

 

[Newpylong]

Lots of white knighting for vail and okemo by suckers with epic passes

Hope you're not referring to me, I have a $279 Ragged Pass. I'll never buy Epic.

I'm just being realistic and after running a ski area for nearly 5 years trying to provide perspective from the inside.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Nah not you specifically. I still think it’s a lame excuse re:staff. As previously mentioned by others every other resort in the region got it done and Killington staff and okemo staff travel the same roads. I’m also just being a dick bc vail is really a piece of shit, and okemo has always been a piece of shit before vail bought it. Now it’s a double shit!

 

[KustyTheKlown]

According to OpenSnow Stratton's final total was 37". 2" more than okemo. They got open just fine. Okemo didn’t even try.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Check out this line at the sunburst six -

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1339959560279363584

I think the ship has sailed, the cat's pretty much out of the bag, the horse has left the barn, they're a day late and a dollar short, and any other idiom suggesting it's too late.

Sure, all things being equal it would still be best if people didnt move around mainly for contact tracing purposes, but in the context of the people who think it's to "keep COVID19 out" of an area, it's mathematically already present everywhere in substantial numbers. Vaccination + Infections is now the only way to end this.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Look at the PNW today. New snow. Saturday.

Crystal (Alterra), 9:05 am: all lifts open. 2,600 acres open.

Stevens (Vail), 9:40 am: 3 of 14 lifts open. 300 acres open.

 

[jaytrem]

Stratton does do a good job of getting stuff open. Kicked Mount Snow's butt after the ice storm last year.