AZ Challenge 2009: Chris Nyberg, Killington/Pico

[icedtea]

not sure why jersey joey has such and issue with chris nyberg. overall i think he has done a pretty good job so far. the new hi-speed quad is great, the dream maker park is better than anything we had in the past, the tree thinning and brush clearing that was done on growler last summer made it the best tree run on the mountain (ive heard they plan on doing the same to other tree runs that have been over grown)
and he is going to seed a couple mogul runs this season!!
the fact that the kids program is too expensive is not an issue for me (ill teach my kids to ski myself) or the fact that burgers cost too much, i can pack a lunch
i do however agree with the sentiments about the BMMC, it would be nice to come up with a way to bring it back to the way it was.

my question is... is there any way that outer limits could be open for christmas week without natural snowfall?
spending a week on flat groomers gets old. so im sure everyone that spends the week up there would enjoy having it open.

Last XMAS week I think I remember a lot of snow and being in the woods all day. No reason to be on the groomers.

 

[frankm938]

it rained, then got cold and the mtn was a sheet of ice xmas week.
what im talking about is under normal snow conditions in november and december when there isnt enough natural snow to open OL. ive spent the last 12 xmas weeks at killington and OL is only open when they get a big storm or two before xmas.

 

[mondeo]

Last XMAS week I think I remember a lot of snow and being in the woods all day. No reason to be on the groomers.

I wouldn't expect it to be like that again this year. I think that's why Frank specified opening without natural snowfall; what was it, like 5-6 feet of natural the week before Christmas? (maybe exaggerated, but it was a lot.) O.L. opened with hip-deep natural, fluffy powder a week or two early.

 

[frankm938]

exactly. that storm was about 48" a week before Xmas and it was gone by new years

 

[JerseyJoey]

not sure why jersey joey has such and issue with chris nyberg. .

1) Ski season shortened by almost 2 months

2) Not running key lifts during the week

3) Completely absurd kids program pricing (Although a bit better with the frequent kids discount card, but ya gotta give them thousands of dollars up front to take advantage of the discount)

4) Death of BMMC

5) Access road businesses getting killed

6) Not running PICO full time

7) Being flat out lied to about things like alcohol consumption at events (ie. BMMC et al)

8) Substandard grooming

9) Substandard recoveries from weather events

10) Piss poor customer service

11) Piss poor treatment of employees

12) Poor communication between mgt and core customer base

13) Complete disregard for the people that made Killington what it was.

14) Crackdown on skiing in the woods that are not marked (Nyberg himself has pulled passes. No I'm not kidding)

15) And on and on and on.................... Basically ignoring what made Killington what it was to begin with and what made it successful all these years.

 

[deadheadskier]

Okay,

complaints are out in the open. A little criticism can be healthy, but lets try and keep this thread on track. No need to argue back and forth in this particular thread regarding various differences in opinion. When it comes to Killington, there has to be at least 20 other threads kicking around to have such conversations.

Keep it within the guidelines of the challenge that Greg outlined in the initial post please.

 

[JerseyJoey]

When it comes to Killington, there has to be at least 20 other threads kicking around to have such conversations.

And why do you think that is? That's MY question for our fearless leader!!

 

[Highway Star]

14) Crackdown on skiing in the woods that are not marked (Nyberg himself has pulled passes. No I'm not kidding)

There has been a crackdown on skiing closed trails and permanently closed areas (liftlines). As far as I know, there has been no crackdown on skiing unmarked woods, which remain "at your own risk".

 

[RootDKJ]

except Root..he's on the ribs..

Holla!

 

[deadheadskier]

And why do you think that is? That's MY question for our fearless leader!!

noted

 

[icedtea]

There has been a crackdown on skiing closed trails and permanently closed areas (liftlines). As far as I know, there has been no crackdown on skiing unmarked woods, which remain "at your own risk".

The patrollers were also pretty cool about using the crossover last spring in order to hit up the needles area and such.

 

[sLoPeS]

The patrollers were also pretty cool about using the crossover last spring in order to hit up the needles area and such.

K patrol is cool, just be cool to them. if u poach lower O when its closed, chances are u will get caught. dont duck ropes, go around them.

 

[thetrailboss]

Nobody has ever done to any ski resort in the history of skiing what Powdr Corp and Nyberg have done to Killington. They bought the best and turned it into the worst.

Why do you say that? I imagine that you were probably part of the vocal many who was upset with ASC. Killington was at its best before ASC.

All Powdr and Nyberg had to do was return Killington to what it was just before ASC started having issues. They would have been welcomed with open arms. Hell, I woulda led the welcoming parade myself!! It worked for 45 years. At the end of the ASC days, it was bent, but it wasn't broken. Fixing it was as easy as pie.

 

[andyzee]

1) Ski season shortened by almost 2 months

2) Not running key lifts during the week

3) Completely absurd kids program pricing (Although a bit better with the frequent kids discount card, but ya gotta give them thousands of dollars up front to take advantage of the discount)

4) Death of BMMC

5) Access road businesses getting killed

6) Not running PICO full time

7) Being flat out lied to about things like alcohol consumption at events (ie. BMMC et al)

8) Substandard grooming

9) Substandard recoveries from weather events

10) Piss poor customer service

11) Piss poor treatment of employees

12) Poor communication between mgt and core customer base

13) Complete disregard for the people that made Killington what it was.

14) Crackdown on skiing in the woods that are not marked (Nyberg himself has pulled passes. No I'm not kidding)

15) And on and on and on.................... Basically ignoring what made Killington what it was to begin with and what made it successful all these years.

Kind of hard to argue with that. So my question to Mr. Nyberg: will you be addressing any of these issues? This is not the first I hear of them.

(Then again, gotta figure this will be deleted since it may cost advertising dollars. But in all honesty, I believe these to be genuine concerns)

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

K patrol is cool, just be cool to them. if u poach lower O when its closed, chances are u will get caught. dont duck ropes, go around them.

times 2..the patrollers at Killington are alot cooler than the SuperTroopers at Blue..

 

[RootDKJ]

times 2..the patrollers at Killington are alot cooler than the SuperTroopers at Blue..

I've met cops that are cooler than the SuperTroopers at Blue...

 

[JerseyJoey]

Why do you say that? I imagine that you were probably part of the vocal many who was upset with ASC. Killington was at its best before ASC.

I was not upset with ASC. I was however upset with what happened to ASC.

ASC knew exactly how to run Killington but they lost their financial resources. Powdr has the resources but has no idea how to run Killington. Exact opposites.

I intend to spend much more time in the Mad River Valley this season than ever before even though I have a K pass. I have a lot of respect for Win and a lot of respect for the co-op at MRG and I will take much more of my skiing dollars to those 2 areas this season. I may know Killington better, but I've become very fed up with mgt decisions since Powdr came to town. Their treatment of employees is abyssmal as is their treatment of their core customer base. Bad for business. Bad for everyone.

Let's see if Chrissy has Tommy answer any of the "real" questions in this thread.
You can bet the mortgage he won't, or if he does, it will be a pack of lies. That's what sucks most about Powdr. The deception of the long time customers.

 

[deadheadskier]

Just so I have my ownership time line correct. Wasn't ASC responsible for creating the Canyon area? I won't call that area of the mountain completely ruined, but it used to be A LOT better. Wasn't ASC also responsible for putting in the Needle's Eye HSQ, which is just about the most pointless lift placement I've ever seen. Wasn't ASC also responsible for the closing of Sunrise Mountain, which was a GREAT alternative for day skiers outside of the long slow lift.

JJ, I certainly see reason for your displeasure with some of the actions of Powdr, but running out of money wasn't ASC's only problem. They carried on the long season tradition at K, but they had they're share of screw ups as well.

 

[mondeo]

What's with the hating on Needle's HSQ? Lapping Vertigo and Needle's lift line is sweet.

 

[andyzee]

What's with the hating on Needle's HSQ? Lapping Vertigo and Needle's lift line is sweet.

Was thinking the same thing.