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Haystack / Hermitage news

cdskier

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What does a fixed grip quad cost? I'm wondering what the minimum cost for re-opening Haystack looks like, it might be cheaper to buy the mountain and buy a different lift than to buy the mountain and buy the existing 6 heated seat bubble lift.

Off the top of my head, the 3 Quads that Sugarbush installed in the past few years ranged from $1.2M for their shorter Village Quad to $3.0M for their Valley House quad with a carpet loader.
 

mikec142

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Off the top of my head, the 3 Quads that Sugarbush installed in the past few years ranged from $1.2M for their shorter Village Quad to $3.0M for their Valley House quad with a carpet loader.

That is mind-blowing to me...$3mm for VH? Does that include everything? Or does that just include the equipment.

My hometown installed a children's playground with swingset and jungle gym and a few other things. Did some grading and drainage work. Cost $1mm. I was floored that it cost that much, but if VH was just 3x the price, our town got ripped off!
 

cdskier

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That is mind-blowing to me...$3mm for VH? Does that include everything? Or does that just include the equipment.

My hometown installed a children's playground with swingset and jungle gym and a few other things. Did some grading and drainage work. Cost $1mm. I was floored that it cost that much, but if VH was just 3x the price, our town got ripped off!

Everything apparently...here's from the SB press release: "The project is expected to cost around $3 million, including the lift purchase and ancillary costs related to the lift install and relocation of existing business areas."
 

icecoast1

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Off the top of my head, the 3 Quads that Sugarbush installed in the past few years ranged from $1.2M for their shorter Village Quad to $3.0M for their Valley House quad with a carpet loader.

The amount of work to save a buck would be insane. Anybody buying the mountain to actually operate it would be crazy to let an essentially brand new lift walk away for pennies on the dollar
 

drjeff

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The amount of work to save a buck would be insane. Anybody buying the mountain to actually operate it would be crazy to let an essentially brand new lift walk away for pennies on the dollar
If the property buyer, has any interest in operating the ski area again, in a way that would draw folks to it, they'd be crazy to let that lift go

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using AlpineZone mobile app
 

Method9455

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Well if you take these numbers at face value it's $4M for the property + $4.5M for the existing lift vs $4M for the property + $3M for a lower spec one. Does $1.5M (17%) off the purchase price matter? It depends on the business plan.

I think there are two paths forward with a chance of success. Haystack has to offer a unique alternative to Mount Snow in order to attract customers. One tack would be to optimize for lower cost. Lift tickets at Mount Snow list for $120, but the effective price with even a little forethought is more like $75. So to undercut them on price you need to operate like Magic Mountain and be frugal, a ticket probably needs to be around $65. So every dollar counts. I could imagine buying a used fixed grip lift and just letting the current lift get sold if trying this strategy.

The other path is to offer a less crowded mountain. Sure it's smaller and they make less snow, but no lift lines! A chance for fresh tracks! A Hermitage-light club or something like a higher tiered Epic pass would keep the crowds down. One way or the other it's going to be expensive, probably more per day than Mount Snow even though it's a smaller mountain. In this path the fancy lift is probably a requirement. This is how Hermitage ended up with one of the nicest lifts on the east coast to begin with.
 

icecoast1

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Well if you take these numbers at face value it's $4M for the property + $4.5M for the existing lift vs $4M for the property + $3M for a lower spec one. Does $1.5M (17%) off the purchase price matter? It depends on the business plan.

I think there are two paths forward with a chance of success. Haystack has to offer a unique alternative to Mount Snow in order to attract customers. One tack would be to optimize for lower cost. Lift tickets at Mount Snow list for $120, but the effective price with even a little forethought is more like $75. So to undercut them on price you need to operate like Magic Mountain and be frugal, a ticket probably needs to be around $65. So every dollar counts. I could imagine buying a used fixed grip lift and just letting the current lift get sold if trying this strategy.

The other path is to offer a less crowded mountain. Sure it's smaller and they make less snow, but no lift lines! A chance for fresh tracks! A Hermitage-light club or something like a higher tiered Epic pass would keep the crowds down. One way or the other it's going to be expensive, probably more per day than Mount Snow even though it's a smaller mountain. In this path the fancy lift is probably a requirement. This is how Hermitage ended up with one of the nicest lifts on the east coast to begin with.


Haystack will never be magic. They dont have the terrain and it's too upscale, unless you plan on knocking down the clubhouse too. Haystack will never succeed as a public ski area unless somebody like Vail wanted to buy it and connect it with Mount Snow
 

cdskier

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Can Haystack even reopen as a public ski area?

Good question...weren't deed restrictions added when it was previously sold off by ASC? Can deed restrictions be changed if the original seller doesn't even exist anymore? And since it was a restriction placed by ASC/Mt Snow, if the current owner of Mt Snow were to end up being the buyer, could they get the deed restrictions changed and re-open it as public?

Personally I have no idea how any of that works.
 

O09

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Pretty sure that if Mt Snow/Vail owned the deed restriction then they could remove it from the deed or choose not to enforce it. Not a lawyer.
 

thetrailboss

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LiftBlog is reporting that Boyne has said that if it gets the Barnstormer that it is going to one of their New England Resorts. Methinks Sunday River.
 

thebigo

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Given the marketing literature put out by dopp, it is likely loon is getting their 8. Another option may be bullwinkles access? Boyne has a history of using fancy lifts to access midmountain dining and the profile fits.
 

sull1102

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Def not going to Loon for the Kanc8 at least. Too much marketing has already gone out about the improvements. I did have the thought though about Lincoln Express. Having the second heated bubble in NH be over at South Peak might bring some more traffic that way and also fit the part if the luxury base area ever gets built out.

All that being said, Sunday River seems to need a new lift a lot more than Loon needs TWO this coming summer.
 

thetrailboss

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Def not going to Loon for the Kanc8 at least. Too much marketing has already gone out about the improvements. I did have the thought though about Lincoln Express. Having the second heated bubble in NH be over at South Peak might bring some more traffic that way and also fit the part if the luxury base area ever gets built out.

All that being said, Sunday River seems to need a new lift a lot more than Loon needs TWO this coming summer.

Agreed. Also, LiftBlog and others have reported that Big Sky's Swift Current HSQ is going to get refurbished and sent to Sunday River for their White Cap lift. So use the Barnstormer to replace the Barker HSQ and install the Swift Current and things at SR would be in good shape.
 
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