Great Ski Weather So Where Are The Skiers?

KingM · Mar 22, 2006

We haven't had any big dumps in Vermont lately, but the last 10 days have seen continued cold weather and a few inches of snow here and there. There have been sun and blue skies during the day and nothing too cold or warm. Mad River Glen even opened back up again and Sugarbush is still running most of their trails. There are some good late-season deals to be had here in the Mad River Valley and elsewhere in the state. All in all it adds up to some pretty decent conditions.

So where is everybody? The inn was packed last weekend partly because of the Future Stars camp and race but this week it's as dead as it's been since November. I only have a handful of reservations this week and I can't figure out why. Have people just packed it in after a decent ski season?

thetrailboss · Mar 22, 2006

The folks in S-NE are playing golf or dragging their kids to soccer practice. For them, ski season is over because it is past the Feb Vacation.

SkiDork · Mar 22, 2006

thetrailboss said:
The folks in S-NE are playing golf or dragging their kids to soccer practice. For them, ski season is over because it is past the Feb Vacation.

you got that right...

Get this - the Killington Ski Club rescheduled their year end BBQ and awards ceremony for the same day as BMMC. I called them up and they said that was the day with the least conflicts. I said "what about the following wekend" and she said nobody would have come.

WTF? This is the freakin ski club. Isn't spring skiing the best anyway? What gives?

riverc0il · Mar 22, 2006

So where is everybody?

further north or staying home. unless MRG posts better conditions today, i am looking else where. yesterday it didn't even look worth driving 1:15 to burn a mad card. but by the looks of things at jay peak last saturday and this past monday, a LOT of folks are still skiing.

smootharc · Mar 22, 2006

Mostly crummy season until now....

...I think leaves the "average" skier with "psychological skier burnout" and the boards get packed away. It happens anyways when the grass pokes through and takes over on the lawns of the folks who travel to ski, and I think this season it would be worse. You could probably have 5 days in a row with 12" and these folks wouldn't re-engage.

Just a bunch of regular powderhounds would be standing in line looking at eachother with big, drooly grins like a dogs....

Vortex · Mar 22, 2006

I think a few more people may come out when it warms up a bit and sun shine is in the forecast. Quite a few people save up for the big weekends, Reggae--Parrot Head- Spring Flings. I have 4 Long weekends planned in a row including this one A couple involve getting lodging.
One big Central VT and Central NH storm may bring folks back out also.

Bumpsis · Mar 22, 2006

I think that a lot people have called the season over not just because the backyard is bare but because most of the time, when they did get out to ski the conditions just sucked. So if it sucked for most of the season, how good can it be now, really.

Let's face it, for those of us who did not manage to catch the ocassional 12' powder dumps I heard about, the conditions have been consistently bad. It was either frozen crud, ice sheets or thin cover.

Man made is at best a poor substitute for the real stuff, and all that's out there is man made. Paying upwards of $ 60 for ticket and additional $ 40 for roundtrip gas just to slide on some groomed out intermediate, hmmm.

I will get out this weekend in hopes of finding sun treated moguls and corn but I'm really not that hopeful.

Sky · Mar 22, 2006

For folks with kids...it's soccer, baseball, etc. Golf season for those addicts...biking for others.

I've got a pal who goes to Cannon every Wednesday. He's there today with a few pals. When I was there on the 8th ( afew days after they got 20" of fluff), the gondola was still 1/2 full and the parking lot had plenty of room.

My mid-week escapes are over. Time to get the office work done. On weekends, with the snow out of the yard and the temps moderating...the cleanup begins.

I was @ Wachusett Sunday. Got there @ 5PM and parked in row 3 of the parking lot. Great snow, NO body there. Mild temps. I know Wa Mgt is always amazed at the lack of skiers and the amount of snow this time of year. They, certainly like MRV and plenty of other locations, run out of skiers before they run out of snow.

It must be tough for resort owners...and this year more so than usual.

JimG. · Mar 22, 2006

KingM said:
Have people just packed it in after a decent ski season?

Most skiers are still waiting for the season to get "decent"; at this point they figure it isn't happening, so it's off to do other things.

Sorry to rub salt in the wounds, but I was planning to come up and stay and ski MRG with some free vouchers...until they closed last week. Even though they re-opened, it's just not worth the 4 1/2 hour drive up.

Hope the season wasn't a total disaster for the Golden Lion. All I have to moan about is the lack of natural snow south of rt89.

bvibert · Mar 22, 2006

JimG. said:
Sorry to rub salt in the wounds, but I was planning to come up and stay and ski MRG with some free vouchers...until they closed last week. Even though they re-opened, it's just not worth the 4 1/2 hour drive up.

Same here....

thetrailboss said:
The folks in S-NE are playing golf or dragging their kids to soccer practice. For them, ski season is over because it is past the Feb Vacation.

Please don't generalize like that. This S-NE'er is neither playing golf or doing the soccer thing. As a matter of fact I'm still working at my local ski area this week and I plan to head North somewhere this weekend...

JimG. · Mar 22, 2006

bvibert said:
Please don't generalize like that. This S-NE'er is neither playing golf or doing the soccer thing. As a matter of fact I'm still working at my local ski area this week and I plan to head North somewhere this weekend...

Yeah TB! I'm off tomorrow to ski and will be skiing both Sat and Sun for the next few weekends after that. Then it's up to Tucks.

Golf? WTF? Too young to play golf or shuffleboard.

Drag my kids to soccer? My 2 oldest love to play and they're both good at it too. And since they're the best players on their respective teams, I have no shortage of parents living vicariously who are willing to drive them to games and practices. So off they go to soccer while Dad goes skiing. Sweet!

Give me a little more credit TB!

riverc0il · Mar 22, 2006

Don"t Knock Shuffleboard!!

edit: wow, the BB software is smart enough to reduce a line typed in all caps!!

KingM · Mar 22, 2006

JimG. said:
Hope the season wasn't a total disaster for the Golden Lion. All I have to moan about is the lack of natural snow south of rt89.

We'll survive. We've had to scale back some of our spring projects but we've got some money set aside for a couple of bad winters. Next year could be fabulous snow--you have to be prepared for major uncertainties when your business is so dependent on the weather.

Greg · Mar 22, 2006

JimG. said:
Yeah TB! I'm off tomorrow to ski and will be skiing both Sat and Sun for the next few weekends after that. Then it's up to Tucks.

Golf? WTF? Too young to play golf or shuffleboard.

Drag my kids to soccer? My 2 oldest love to play and they're both good at it too. And since they're the best players on their respective teams, I have no shortage of parents living vicariously who are willing to drive them to games and practices. So off they go to soccer while Dad goes skiing. Sweet!

Give me a little more credit TB!

Likewise. Sheesh. Wasn't TB a flatlander like us until recently?

Saturday may be in fact my last day though. I hope to end it on a high note at the Bush. Had a much better than expected season, but now it's time to concentrate on working around the house. I have PLENTY to keep me busy until November...

thetrailboss · Mar 22, 2006

bvibert said:
Please don't generalize like that. This S-NE'er is neither playing golf or doing the soccer thing. As a matter of fact I'm still working at my local ski area this week and I plan to head North somewhere this weekend...

Sorry if you are offended, but as you can see from the other responses here, it is the truth whether we like it or not. :roll: The majority of the New England ski market, who live in Southern New England, are not skiing for one reason or another. There are exceptions obviously, but the market that most ski areas go after (families, the "average Joe") are not skiing.

thetrailboss · Mar 22, 2006

JimG. said:
Yeah TB! I'm off tomorrow to ski and will be skiing both Sat and Sun for the next few weekends after that. Then it's up to Tucks.

Golf? WTF? Too young to play golf or shuffleboard.

Drag my kids to soccer? My 2 oldest love to play and they're both good at it too. And since they're the best players on their respective teams, I have no shortage of parents living vicariously who are willing to drive them to games and practices. So off they go to soccer while Dad goes skiing. Sweet!

Give me a little more credit TB!

As said in response to bvibert's comments, we are not the typical ski market. The "average person" who skis a few days a season is not in here talking about skiing in July. We are. Tough as it is, we are not the typical skier/riders.

To state that "I'm an exception to the statement" does not change the fact that, revenue and numberswise, this is a slow time of the ski season. We can't ignore the fact that ski areas usually close for lack of people rather than lack of snow. I know this because I live up here and have friends that work in the industry. And that lack of people is due in large part to those in the populated areas (again Southern New England) not making the trek. A lot of off-season skiers are golfers and a lot of families have kids in sport's programs (baseball, softball, soccer) that take up weekends and free time.

Are there a handful of exceptions? Sure there are. But judging by the overall reaction in here as well as the hard facts from the industry, it is a real phenomenon and largely due to the reasons cited (warm weather activities, golf, family committments).

hammer · Mar 22, 2006

thetrailboss said:
Sorry if you are offended, but as you can see from the other responses here, it is the truth whether we like it or not. :roll: The majority of the New England ski market, who live in Southern New England, are not skiing for one reason or another. There are exceptions obviously, but the market that most ski areas go after (families, the "average Joe") are not skiing.

I'd agree...unless you are an enthusiast, the season's over about now.

I made it out this past weekend, but it was obvious to me that the rest of my family was ready to call the season over...I'll likely be on my own for any further trips.

(BTW, soccer doesn't start for a few weeks yet where I live, and I can only afford one expensive sport at a time so golf's not a priority...)

thetrailboss · Mar 22, 2006

Greg said:
Likewise. Sheesh. Wasn't TB a flatlander like us until recently?

I lived in the flatlands, but I will never be a flatlander :wink: :lol: :lol:

loafer89 · Mar 22, 2006

Speaking about atypical skiers, my brother is on his way back from Hawaii, He told me he was skiing, but the weather was awfull. If he shares some pictures with me, I will post them for all to see.

As for me, I am trying to decide what to do this weekend, the options at this point are:

1) Stay home and rest- still tired from last weekend.:flame:

2) Ski at Mount Snow and use my pass (imagine that)

3) Ski Jay and Sugarbush this weekend (my son really likes this option)

thetrailboss · Mar 22, 2006

hammer said:
I'd agree...unless you are an enthusiast, the season's over about now.[I made it out this past weekend, but it was obvious to me that the rest of my family was ready to call the season over...I'll likely be on my own for any further trips.

Which is my point: like anything, there is a small core of "hard-corps" skiers and a lot of folks who are not as interested. Once ski areas lose too many of the larger "ski sometimes" market, they close.

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