Nope. I thought that. Turns out it was Jay's guy and he's going back to Jay because he was not Q material. Surprise, surprise.
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Big Burke announcement
- Thread starter the original trailboss
- Start date
Nope. I thought that. Turns out it was Jay's guy and he's going back to Jay because he was not Q material. Surprise, surprise.
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the original trailboss
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Steamboat 1 - Burke the community, Burke the ski mountain, Burke the people are all awesome - you will love it here. The majority of the issues here are directly related to an owner who managed to diss a community, a ski community, the Kingdom Trails community, the entire history, personality and character that make (made) Burke so unique in the marketplace, etc in the name of whatever I am not sure. In addition, the planned build-out was geared towards beating the EB-5 program expiration date, not a right-sized project. And the q is just a bonus....
vermonter44
New member
Quick side track: What's Burke like around Christmas? Im considering getting a hotel up there for a few days but wasn't sure how the skiing is there so early in the season
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Burke isn't known for rushing to open, and last year they had some serious snowmaking hiccups early in the season. But assuming they get their act together with the snowmaking, I would recommend Burke if you prefer low crowds over amount of terrain open.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
It's too bad that they don't offer a Jay-Burke combo multi-day ticket. (They don't, do they?) That would take a lot of the risk away from an early season Burke visit.
vermonter44
New member
I was at jay peak for for a couple of days around Christmas 2 years ago and I think they did let you transfer tickets between mountains, with the stipulation that you can only ski one mountain or the other per day
VTKilarney
Well-known member
One thing that concerns me is that they have posted their lift ticket prices for this coming winter, but they have not posted anything in the "specials" section. For as long as I can remember they have had a Sunday afternoon cheap ticket - although I was under the impression that it was for locals originally.
Do they normally wait to post this type of special, or is the fact that it has not been posted yet a sign that things may be changing? If they are going to continue the standard specials, they really should get those posted since people are starting to make plans for their winter travel.
I also see that, on a separate webpage, they have posted a 2-for-1 offer for Quebec residents. I'm surprised that they don't get more people from the Eastern Townships with an offer like that, even if they don't have the beds for people from farther away. One problem, though, is that Owl's Head is less expensive through Liftopia, and Burke isn't really much different than Owl's Head. The owner of Owl's Head is also very much part of (and invested in) the local community, and has probably kept the long-term picture in mind.
Owl's Head has got to be one of the best deals out there for those who don't want to spend a lot of time chasing deals around. If you go to Liftopia you'd have a very hard time paying more than $26, even on the weekends. Owl's Head has been very frugal with their infrastructure investments, and I am willing to bet they the aren't losing money at that rate. And while they have been frugal, they still have lots of detachable quads, plenty of snowmaking, etc. They just don't buy things that are new and fancy. They are VERY good about taking advantage of the used market.
Do they normally wait to post this type of special, or is the fact that it has not been posted yet a sign that things may be changing? If they are going to continue the standard specials, they really should get those posted since people are starting to make plans for their winter travel.
I also see that, on a separate webpage, they have posted a 2-for-1 offer for Quebec residents. I'm surprised that they don't get more people from the Eastern Townships with an offer like that, even if they don't have the beds for people from farther away. One problem, though, is that Owl's Head is less expensive through Liftopia, and Burke isn't really much different than Owl's Head. The owner of Owl's Head is also very much part of (and invested in) the local community, and has probably kept the long-term picture in mind.
Owl's Head has got to be one of the best deals out there for those who don't want to spend a lot of time chasing deals around. If you go to Liftopia you'd have a very hard time paying more than $26, even on the weekends. Owl's Head has been very frugal with their infrastructure investments, and I am willing to bet they the aren't losing money at that rate. And while they have been frugal, they still have lots of detachable quads, plenty of snowmaking, etc. They just don't buy things that are new and fancy. They are VERY good about taking advantage of the used market.
dlague
Active member
NEK Sundays has been around for quite some time. At least the past ten years or more. It also has been open to general public not just locals. We used to ski Jay Peak or Owl's Head on Saturday then hit Burke on the way home. They are always tight to the vest with that and often is not mentioned until the ski season actually starts or close to that.
BTW Owl's head Tuesday, Wendnesday deal is pretty good - $20 for everyone from January 6th, 2015 until the end of the season**including all school break.
Also, Ride & Ski Cardholders always pay:
$29 for an adult lift ticket
$24 for a student lift ticket
$20 for a junior or senior lift ticket
All season long, including holidays.
Boardguy
Member
I have seen Christmas be really good and other times watched the grass grow. More often the latter. I think I would wait. Presidents week was very busy last year so avoid that if you can, conditions were excellent though. Also keep in mind it was crowded for Burke so crowded is a relative term. I don't think I would plan a Christmas trip anywhere in New England due to iffy conditions that time of year. Save your money for a bit later. Now that I said that this Christmas will be epic.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Q-Burke posted on Facebook that on Thursday they are discounting season passes by $200. It appears to be a one day "throw back Thursday" promotion.
Translation: they have not sold a lot of passes. Will the new discounted price be the same as the price this spring? Hope so.
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VTKilarney
Well-known member
The problem with offering a promotion like this is that you discourage early purchasing. If they are smart, the promotion will not be cheaper than an earlier price. I wish I could recall what the earlier prices were, but I can't off the top of my head.
from_the_NEK
Active member
Somewhere in the mid-$500 range I think.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
It could be a reflection of summer business rather than winter pass sales. Or it could just be a promotion. But... promotions are not supposed to be random. They are supposed to have a reason. Assuming there is thought behind this promotion, I think it's reasonable to surmise that they are not content with the number of passes that have been sold.
I find it hard to believe that the number of passes sold varies by a whole lot, though. As far as the locals are concerned, Burke does not have a competitor that is in their back yard. That's the main reason I went with Burke rather than Bretton Woods. Although, from St. Johnsbury the drive to Cannon is only about 10 minutes farther. When my boys are a little better skill-wise, Cannon is going to be a real contender for our business.
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VTKilarney
Well-known member
This lowers the pass to $699, so that's a big enough difference to still encourage early purchases.
But weren't there two tiers? One expired in April, IIRC.
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OK, $699 is not the $499 that they started out with, so it should not be a big issue.
Well, the hits just keep on coming from the Q-man. I spent the last few days up in the ‘Kingdom and caught up with a lot of friends and family. Talked to a lot of folks about the Mountain and what is going on. I will update the thread with some things over the next few days, but first topic is jobs and employees.
Next to a good “product”, ski areas need to have good service. Good employees are key.
Burke had their first round of orientation on Monday night and one longtime employee told me that the crowd was very small, the meeting was short, and the food and coffee were the pits.
Speaking of food, as I mentioned, Q let the food and bev manager go. The guy found out by hearing from folks that his job was in the newspaper.
It is also not a good sign when any company has a lot of job openings. Say, openings for the entire company, top to bottom. Looks like a lot of folks are not coming back: http://www.skiburke.com/index.php/jobs/
Some of the job descriptions are very interesting to read.
Next to a good “product”, ski areas need to have good service. Good employees are key.
Burke had their first round of orientation on Monday night and one longtime employee told me that the crowd was very small, the meeting was short, and the food and coffee were the pits.
Speaking of food, as I mentioned, Q let the food and bev manager go. The guy found out by hearing from folks that his job was in the newspaper.
It is also not a good sign when any company has a lot of job openings. Say, openings for the entire company, top to bottom. Looks like a lot of folks are not coming back: http://www.skiburke.com/index.php/jobs/
Some of the job descriptions are very interesting to read.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
I didn't realize that they are also in need of a ski-school manager. It seems that if the word "manager" is part of a job title, the position has had recent turnover.
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