The ALTERRA SUCKS Thread

[thetrailboss]

And Alterra has implemented dynamic pricing at Deer Valley. It's like LiveNation for skiing!

Dynamic pricing, in which prices soar or drop depending on demand, pushed tickets to more than $300 with taxes at both Deer Valley and Park City this season.

 

[kingslug]

Welcome...to the go...fuck yourself economy..
When will people realize...companies like this..don't give a shit.

 

[thetrailboss]

Welcome...to the go...fuck yourself economy..
When will people realize...companies like this..don't give a shit.

When the Tech Bros at Summit high-fived each other and bought PowMow about 12 years ago, I foresaw this bullshit coming. The fact that folks got 12 years of not much changes at the place is a hell of a lot longer than I expected. What I did not foresee was that Summit was shown the door and they aren't the ones being complete asshats.

Simply stated, what Summit and now Hastings is trying to do runs against what locals want. I get that they are trying to put things in the black, but the price increases and other BS they are rolling out right now is making those locals pissed off. And implementing dynamic pricing for a place like PowMow is downright hilarious. The only problem is that the prices will not drop at all despite what will now be lower demand. Amazing how dynamic pricing never favors the consumer!

 

[BenedictGomez]

Stowe is already on a premium tier. Same as Whistler/PC, only the full Epic Pass gets you unlimited access to Stowe with no blackouts.

I mean, you're literally talking about only 7 total blackout dates in a 150 day season! LOL

That's "unlimited" enough, and responsible for the crowding the other "95%+" of the time.

 

[kingslug]

As in most places...the locals dont matter anymore..

 

[BenedictGomez]

200k plus 10 k a year for windham.....

I wouldn't pay that for Windham even if I had Oprah money. I like skiing there 1 day per year just for variety. More than 2 days would be overkill.

 

[raisingarizona]

The ski industry is just getting started. If the climate science is correct the blue collar working man skier is mostly going bye bye.

 

[BenedictGomez]

what Summit and now Hastings is trying to do runs against what locals want. I get that they are trying to put things in the black, but the price increases and other BS they are rolling out right now is making those locals pissed off.

Are you sure this isn't a bug, but a feature? Does one of the richest people on the planet (literally) really care if they operate slightly in the black or slightly in the red?

Seems to me this is intentional to push out the locals & the poors. I mean, wasn't this reaction incredibly (like really predicatbly) obvious?

Hastings has only skied at PowMow for about 5 years, only since the elitist silicon CA tech bros bought it. Sounds like he's simply completing the vision.

Away with you filthy dirty non-Millionaires!

 

[kingslug]

 

[4aprice]

Yep. Alterra won't admit it, but they are quietly doing thing behind the scenes to mitigate the issues. Crystal now is pretty restricted in terms of parking and access. Solitude is now completely paid parking with reservations (except for carpooling). Deer Valley is off of the base.

I know this was posted several days ago and know your stated feelings about Ikon/Epic, but isn't this a good thing? I've always felt that instead of entirely going away that there was tweaking of this kind that could be done with these pass products. Restrictions on parking and the amount people on the mountains would not bother me at all. I've(we) have been buying the upper tier pass because we have been lucky enough to have a connection in Aspen. i have no problems spending the money for those trips. Reservations are required there (and at Loon were I'm skiing next weekend but I don't find them a hassle at all. I've even wondered about some sort of a la carte menu where you could get access to just the areas a person would ski at. I wonder if something like that would start to mitigate some of the crowding and traffic issues taking place.

 

[thetrailboss]

I know this was posted several days ago and know your stated feelings about Ikon/Epic, but isn't this a good thing? I've always felt that instead of entirely going away that there was tweaking of this kind that could be done with these pass products. Restrictions on parking and the amount people on the mountains would not bother me at all. I've(we) have been buying the upper tier pass because we have been lucky enough to have a connection in Aspen. i have no problems spending the money for those trips. Reservations are required there (and at Loon were I'm skiing next weekend but I don't find them a hassle at all. I've even wondered about some sort of a la carte menu where you could get access to just the areas a person would ski at. I wonder if something like that would start to mitigate some of the crowding and traffic issues taking place.

You're taking that one comment out of context. The question was not as to if I liked the restrictions or not. It was in response to someone claiming that the EPKON pass phenomenon was not creating crowding problems. The point I was making was that while Alterra, starting in 2018-2019 was using talking points that included that 'the IKON pass was not creating crowding', their actions speak louder (restricting access, etc.).

 

[deadheadskier]

Are you sure this isn't a bug, but a feature? Does one of the richest people on the planet (literally) really care if they operate slightly in the black or slightly in the red?

Seems to me this is intentional to push out the locals & the poors. I mean, wasn't this reaction incredibly (like really predicatbly) obvious?

Hastings has only skied at PowMow for about 5 years, only since the elitist silicon CA tech bros bought it. Sounds like he's simply completing the vision.

Away with you filthy dirty non-Millionaires!

If I had that kinda money, I'd buy Wildcat and not care if it lost 8 figures a year

 

[thetrailboss]

Are you sure this isn't a bug, but a feature? Does one of the richest people on the planet (literally) really care if they operate slightly in the black or slightly in the red?

Seems to me this is intentional to push out the locals & the poors. I mean, wasn't this reaction incredibly (like really predicatbly) obvious?

Hastings has only skied at PowMow for about 5 years, only since the elitist silicon CA tech bros bought it. Sounds like he's simply completing the vision.

Away with you filthy dirty non-Millionaires!

Millionaires? He wants fellow billionaires!

 

[urungus]

I mean, you're literally talking about only 7 total blackout dates in a 150 day season! LOL

That's "unlimited" enough, and responsible for the crowding the other "95%+" of the time.

My point was that Stowe is already on the same ‘premium’ tier as Park City. (EPB had said: I'm surprised it hasn't gone onto a premium tier yet. Seems like a candidate to get the Whistler/PC treatment.). Whistler, unlike Stowe and PC, does have a 10 day limit on the Epic Local pass. Also there is already a 10 day limit for Stowe on the Epic Northeast Value Pass.

 

[BodeMiller1]

When the Tech Bros at Summit high-fived each other and bought PowMow about 12 years ago, I foresaw this bullshit coming. The fact that folks got 12 years of not much changes at the place is a hell of a lot longer than I expected. What I did not foresee was that Summit was shown the door and they aren't the ones being complete asshats.

Simply stated, what Summit and now Hastings is trying to do runs against what locals want. I get that they are trying to put things in the black, but the price increases and other BS they are rolling out right now is making those locals pissed off. And implementing dynamic pricing for a place like PowMow is downright hilarious. The only problem is that the prices will not drop at all despite what will now be lower demand. Amazing how dynamic pricing never favors the consumer!

All costs are variable in the long run. PowMow is not a real mountain. Eventually, the mountains will lower prices as skiers "vote with their feet" and ski somewhere else.
Meanwhile in a properly regulated industry, the JetBlue XXX airline merger is not going to happen. Regulators shut it down as anti-competitive. The problem is skiing is not an essential industry (although it should be). This is what they don't tell you on WMUR.

 

[BenedictGomez]

My point was that Stowe is already on the same ‘premium’ tier as Park City.

Blocking out a few holidays in a 150+ day ski season isn't "premium" tiering.

Premium tier is when you can only ski at a place like 5 or 7 days total, like a Deer Valley or a Snowbird.

The former does nothing to prevent crowding 95% of the time; while the latter at least helps address IKON megapass hoards (at least theoretically, POMV if it works).

 

[kingslug]

 

[letitsnow1]

View attachment 61469

I would rather hike up the mountain. I would never wait in a line like that

 

[kingslug]

Nope...ide be at targhee

 

[EPB]

Blocking out a few holidays in a 150+ day ski season isn't "premium" tiering.

Premium tier is when you can only ski at a place like 5 or 7 days total, like a Deer Valley or a Snowbird.

The former does nothing to prevent crowding 95% of the time; while the latter at least helps address IKON megapass hoards (at least theoretically, POMV if it works).

Yeah I was thinking it shouldn't be on the Epic Local or Eastern Epic at all - so evidently more onerous than current Whistler/PC/Vail treatment. If they felt like being somewhat generous, they could maybe introduce a premium Eastern Epic that includes Stowe. I think my back of the envelope math on weekenders with blackouts holds. The 10 days of non-blackout dates have way too few opportunities to be used between inevitable bad weather weekends, and all but forces the pass base there on the few good non-blackout peak weekends one would want to be there.

Alterra seems to have this element of their pass down better.