AZ Challenge 2009: Stephen Kircher, Boyne Resorts

[Greg]

Stephen Kircher, President, Eastern Operations of Boyne Resorts has agreed to be the first to participate in the 2009 AlpineZone Ski area Challenge! This is your opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, or say some praise to the men and women who are in charge of the Northeast's ski areas. Please post some suggested questions in this thread and we'll select ten to present for official response.

Also please don't be offended if we edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or some other minor thing. In order to get in all of the questions we MAY merge some questions but we'll do our best to keep the substance of your question. If we don't get your question in, feel free to post a follow up after we get the results...we are encouraging the representatives follow the feedback threads.

As always, please be respectful of Mr. Kircher and keep it civil. Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Boyne needs to be discrete about certain information.

Ask away!

Sugarloaf Profile
Sunday River Profile
Loon Mountain Profile

 

[St. Bear]

Are there any plans to move Sugarloaf closer to civilization?

 

[WJenness]

Greg, thanks for bringing this back, it's one of my favorite features here.

Questions for Steve:

The Loaf:
1: There have been rumors that Boyne is looking to sell The Loaf. Do these have any foundation in reality?

2: The Loaf's aging lift infrastructure could really use an upgrade, as I'm sure we'd all agree. Assuming the economy turns around in the near future, where would Boyne look to make lift improvements?

The River:
1. How has the Chondola changed the summer experience at the River? Has it been a success thus far? I need to make it up there for a weekend, but it hasn't happened yet.

2. Has the slow economy impacted any plans to get an early start at the River like has been done the past couple of years?

3. There has been chatter on the SR discussion board about the need for a full top to bottom trail to be dedicated to Park skiing / riding. Obviously, the layout of the current trails makes this difficult as there isn't a great option to do this on... Have there been any discussions about possibly adding a trail for this purpose, or re-appropriating one?

Loon:

1. Has south peak development been paused for the economy, or will there be some new terrain opening over there this winter?

Steve, thanks for participating in this, and I can't wait to get back to SL, SR and loon come the late fall/winter.

-w

 

[deadheadskier]

What plans are there for future lift upgrades at Sugarloaf. My only complaint for the area are the antiquated lifts. Are future fixed grip lifts more likely than detachable technology considering they perform better in high winds, which is obviously a frequent issue at Sugarloaf.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

No specific questions here, since I don't make it out to Maine to ski that often. Just wanted to say thanks to Greg for bringing back this feature!

 

[Vortex]

1)Steve you have taken an active role in communication boards. How did you feel when originally invited to take partake, how do you feel about them now? Seems like you have expanded the use of boards beyond just Sunday River.

2)Will Boyne make a run at being the first open in the North East again and the last to close? I hope so.

3)How do you compare the new eastern resorts under your control to the western areas. Ie customer base, Terrain available and market share.

Thank you for you personal involvement in the Internet community.

 

[tjf67]

No question. tell them thanks for NY week. I was over and it great to see a big corp help to bring people in to suppor the local economy.
Will be back again in 2010

 

[bobbutts]

Loon
Any chance to see the terrain under the South Peak Chair and Upper Gondola designated as trails? They seem to be poached frequently and although rocky, are certainly less so than some other designated runs in the region like Tramline at Cannon.

 

[Geoff]

I'd be curious to hear what Boyne is thinking about transportation. Ski resorts are touting being 'green' but the dominant carbon source is your customers driving from the flatlands of metro-Boston to your Maine and New Hampshire resorts. The business is also vulnerable to spikes in gasoline prices. Is any improvement in public transportation on your radar?

Boyne dominates the metro-Boston market. What are your thoughts on addressing the much larger metro-NYC / Tri-State Region market?

 

[Riverskier]

Bob R beat me to it, but to emphasize the importance to many of your loyal skiers and riders I will mention it again. Season length! Should we expect to be skiing again on Halloween at Sunday River and into May at Sugarloaf (weather permitting of course)?

Thank you for participating and keep up the good work!

 

[deadheadskier]

There was a rumor that an old gondola from Big Sky found it's way to Sugarloaf. Truly just a rumor or fact? If so, what are the plans for it?

 

[bigbob]

Any chance of having you join one of the "Meet and Greets" that are held in the Sunday River parking lot. Pretty informal meeting spot, would be good to get out with your most loyal customers! Or at least join in with a ski with management day.
I'm sure you are spoiled by Big Sky's powder!

 

[wa-loaf]

Any chance of a more direct way up to the snowfields in any of the lift shuffling?

 

[MonkeyBrook]

Steve, thanks for taking the time to participate in this forum. Here are a few questions about SR.

1) Are there any plans underway to further develop the relationship betweeen the resort and the town of Bethel?

2) When driving around the SR area, you cannot help but notice the many new housing developments in the area....it seems as though the supply of lots / homes, etc far outweighs the demand. We love that Boyne wants to become a true "4 season resort"...do you have any thoughts on what might drive folks to buy up these properties?

3) Can you comment on any future plans involving the South Ridge Base area (new lodge, improvements, etc)?\

4) Any updates on the proposed bike path / leveling of the access road?

Thanks again

MB

 

[Skimaine]

Steve, let me say thank you for the improvements at Sugarloaf and Sunday River. My season was cut short last year due to injury, but I really appreciated the great early season skiing at SL and the addition to Bullwinkle’s.

Question 1. Early in you ownership of Sunday River, your team developed a long-term vision for the resort. I thought the plan was well conceived and played to the property’s and the community’s strengths. After two years with Sugarloaf in the family, I wonder if you could articulate a long-term vision for this resort property and specially what you perceive as the property’s strengths and how you can make best us of them?

Question 2. Skiing has become increasing expensive. Skiing enthusiasts can manage this cost by purchasing season passes. Because we are skiing 20+ days a year and we are skiing junkies, the value proposition is met. It seems to me the entry cost for beginners is very steep and presents a barrier to reaching the level of enthusiasm that turns beginners into season pass holders. Is Boyne considering any programs to make the learning process more affordable to those new to the sport?

Lastly, my opinions on various Sugarloaf topics.

Old lifts (e.g., Spillway et al). Ok with them as they are. They provide adequate service to the Mid mountain.

Wind holds. They are a downer. Please continue your efforts to minimize.

Burnt Mountain Development. Lower impact (e.g., surface lift) would be interesting.

New Base /Lift to Bullwinkle's. I like this idea, particullary if it would open up addition beginner / intermediate terrain. I would love to see Timberline lift extended to Bullwinkle's as well.

 

[deadheadskier]

Question: I thought Burnt Mountain expansion was essentially 'dead' at current skier visit numbers. True?

 

[poe]

Do you have any timeline for further implementation of the "vision" for Sunday River? When will more more details be made available? Where are you in the planning stages?

 

[SLyardsale]

1) Your labor pool, especially at SL, is essentially local. I like that and it is one of the many reasons I enjoy Sugarloaf. Since Boyne has taken the reigns, it seems local employees (with the exception of your managment team) have turned over at an ever increasing rate. Any explanation for that?

2) - a bit related but an entirely different Q: As a flat lander from MA's South Shore, I invest in a 4+ hr drive every weekend to SL (family of 5, all with passes) and the local vibe that the MT once had is fading. Do you believe that a local vibe actually hurts skier visits and/or the bottom line at a remote area such as SL i.e. "cheap" labor is needed to make the MT viable?

and

3) Saddleback has gotten nice reviews and has been noticed since the Berry family launched their upgrades. As your nearest geographic competitor what notes have you taken on their activity?

 

[Razor]

As an owner at SR, I echo many of Monkey Brook's concerns. I'd be interested to know how much of the "Vision" is in the works and how much the current economic conditions have impacted your plans. As for skiing, I'd like to see more natural areas and glades developed, both within the current footprint and perhaps out past Jordan.

Being year round visitors, we'd like to see the mountain biking increased and improved, although I will say that you've done a good job with it thus far. My frame of reference is Kingdom Trails in East Burke, VT. I think that Sunday River has the potential to become a mountain biking Mecca, but you need more trails for people like us who like single track but aren't ready for full body armor. Cutting new trails for biking is mainly labor-intensive and could be done relatively cheaply, I would think, especially as compared to something like an indoor water park. Also has anything been done with the proposed bike/recreation trail from the mountain into Bethel?

One additional thought concerns the roads up into the SR area from the turnpike. RT. 26 has seen much improvement over the years, but it still could be much better. Road improvement seems like a project that would be tailor-made for economic stimulus money, as would the recreation trail.

Good job so far with SR, SL and Loon.

 

[Newpylong]

Bring back the ski train!!!