Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

[thetrailboss]

Jay Peak's Snow Report lists a couple promos that are probably meant to offset this terrible month of skiing...thought you'd be interested.

*Six Pack Deal: $39 pp with each group of six, includes ticket and LUNCH As well as a deal for 2 for 1 skiing for any day left this season.

And the real deal...

* Get a group of 15 to Jay, get discount tickets and one FREE season pass for the rest of the season

Any other barn burner deals that you've seen which have risen as a result of this BAD season thus far?

 

[riverc0il]

Any other barn burner deals that you've seen which have risen as a result of this BAD season thus far?

i gotta disagree that the season has been bad. january was absolutely terrible from my arm chair, i can't even imagine how dismal it was for actual folks out there skiing. that said, i say two epic powder day reports from stowe during january so it wasn't a total waste of a month. all that said, october, november, and december were phenomenal beyond description (things went downhill fast christmas week, but overall a better than average december, imo). all and all, my impression of the season so far is slightly above average to be quite honest. it will turn bad if we don't get a good amount of snow in february and march, but i can not qualify a season as bad when i my powder to non-powder ski day ratio so far is 3:1. i know i haven't skied while conditions were bad, but if i judged the season based on only the days i could have skied, i would have given it a 10, so my rating of slightly above average considers the january i didn't get to ski.

mad river glen and stowe both recently offered discount days. i am sure many ski areas are offering specials during the warm weather to entice skiers.

 

[thetrailboss]

Any other barn burner deals that you've seen which have risen as a result of this BAD season thus far?

i gotta disagree that the season has been bad. january was absolutely terrible from my arm chair, i can't even imagine how dismal it was for actual folks out there skiing. that said, i say two epic powder day reports from stowe during january so it wasn't a total waste of a month. all that said, october, november, and december were phenomenal beyond description (things went downhill fast christmas week, but overall a better than average december, imo). all and all, my impression of the season so far is slightly above average to be quite honest. it will turn bad if we don't get a good amount of snow in february and march, but i can not qualify a season as bad when i my powder to non-powder ski day ratio so far is 3:1. i know i haven't skied while conditions were bad, but if i judged the season based on only the days i could have skied, i would have given it a 10, so my rating of slightly above average considers the january i didn't get to ski.

mad river glen and stowe both recently offered discount days. i am sure many ski areas are offering specials during the warm weather to entice skiers.

Conditions overall have been good, Riv, but that does not necessarily translate into $$$ for the mountains.

The resorts had a short Xmas holiday, and it rained TWO days during that short period. Cash was lost there.

Adding insult to injury, MLK, second most important for the resorts, was a wash. Rain on Saturday followed by freeze. Jay DID NOT open (or at least most of the terrain was shut) those three days due to rain and then wind closures. It sucked for them. More money lost.

December was great, November was good for conditions, and the first week of Jan was decent, but it seems to me that many have lost a lot of $$$.

Remember that the resorts are in the business, which is why they are trying to stimulate activity with these promos. I'm talking in revenue sense which does involve weather and conditions to some extent.

 

[riverc0il]

i did not interpert your comment about the season from the resorts' point of view, i know how the business works though and i know ski areas are likely hurting financially due to the weather. i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

 

[thetrailboss]

i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

True :wink: But what happens if it is so bad that we lose a ski area or two? That's not good for skiers, unless they are of the hiking variety.

 

[LVNLARG]

i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

True :wink: But what happens if it is so bad that we lose a ski area or two? That's not good for skiers, unless they are of the hiking variety.

I like my high speed quads to be built by Poma or CTEC Doppi.....not be an actual physical part of my body when it comes to gaining vert for the purpose of skiing... although the latter are better for you and cheaper :lol:

 

[riverc0il]

i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

True :wink: But what happens if it is so bad that we lose a ski area or two? That's not good for skiers, unless they are of the hiking variety.

even though i am of the hiking variety, i also like my lifts and agree loss of ski areas would be a terrible thing. that said, i think the notion that a bad january weather pattern would sink a few ski areas is a bit of a doomsday scenerio. that's wait and see what the rest of the season brings before we start bringing up the possibilities of ski areas going lost due to a bad weather season. bad management is FAR more likely to sink ski areas than a bad january, bad weather just tips the scales on ski areas that are poorly run. the last few years has seen a resurgence of small ski areas coming back from the lost. i think the scales may swing up and down one or two more times before we have equilibreum between demand and supply and fickle weather patterns.

 

[GadgetRick]

Hmm, I think there aren't a lot of people who really can consider this to be an average to an above average season. The season started off well. We had our mountain 100% open by Christmas. That doesn't happen very often. Then, the warm weather and rain came...

Basically, the pattern has been, cool during the week--make snow, get snow--get warm come Thursday/Friday. Rain Saturday, get cold overnight and freeze the mountain into a big sheet of ice then repeat.

Now, since MOST skiers can only get out on the weekends, this pattern certainly qualifies as a horrible season. It HAS been a horrible season for the industry as a whole in the Northeast. Also, remember most skiers come out between Christmas and President's Day. Before and after that, it's mostly us hard core powder hounds who get out.

So, from your point of view, I can understand you may have been able to take advantage of the stuff we HAVE gotten but, overall, this season has been a bust. It's a damn shame...

 

[AdironRider]

Just because we had a better than average December doesnt make a crappy otherwise season average. Its been awful this year. While we may have been skiing some trails earlier than expected (in my case the summit of Whiteface) the recent month and a half have been atrocious. Im hoping we ahve a good February like last year to make up for this garbage.

 

[KingM]

I agree about the bad season. October and November may have been good by the standards of these poor months but losing six weeks from Christmas through the present adds up to a bloodbath for not just the resorts but the ski shops, the restaurants, the hotels, etc. If some of these places go out of business it's going to hurt the resort during the good snow years.

For example, I own an inn in the Mad River Valley and I know there are times when conditions are good and there simply is not a room to be had in the Valley. Those would-be skiers either ski somewhere else or stay home, costing SB and MRG money.

Now, speaking personally, we're certainly not going out of business, although we'll be cutting back on spring projects after this tough season which following the foliage season wash-out. But there are a couple of other properties I know who might be struggling if things don't turn around in a hurry.

 

[thetrailboss]

Getting this topic back on track :roll: , do any of you know of any other good deals that resorts are offering to get people to hit the slopes? Sunday River was running a deal....

 

[trackbiker]

Here in the banana belt, I haven't seen any deals yet. But I have notice increased advertising, and since I watch mainly Public TV, that's saying something. The ads are mainly saying, "Please come out! While there's no snow on the ground, we still have great coverage on our slopes!" Which may or may not be true after the monsoon this weekend! But temps are finally getting back to snow making levels.
Here's hoping for a great February!

 

[Terry]

I skied yesterday at Shawnee Peak after the rain stopped and the skiing was awesome! Soft spring corn and no one there. There is still plenty of base left, and it should have dried out pretty good before the cold got here so shouldn't be to icy today. Sounds like winter is back now so lets hope for some snow. Going to go to Attitash today so will be curious as to how conditions are! :beer:

 

[skibum1321]

I consider this season to be the WORST in recent memory. A good November doesn't really mean much to me. Base depths are so low in the woods that they are unskiable and most resorts don't have any worthwhile terrain open. Skiing groomers on good snow just doesn't do it for me. I had a couple of good days in December where the woods were really nice. January is usually when the woods start to get really good, but this Jan has been so bad that the streambeds are still running and the coverage is low. I will take a slow start to the season and a good mid season over what we got this year. I find it hard to believe that people still consider this to be an above average year. Any year when I have about 2/3 of my ski days in the rain can't be called a good year in my book.

 

[Greg]

Any other barn burner deals that you've seen which have risen as a result of this BAD season thus far?

i gotta disagree that the season has been bad. january was absolutely terrible from my arm chair, i can't even imagine how dismal it was for actual folks out there skiing. that said, i say two epic powder day reports from stowe during january so it wasn't a total waste of a month. all that said, october, november, and december were phenomenal beyond description (things went downhill fast christmas week, but overall a better than average december, imo). all and all, my impression of the season so far is slightly above average to be quite honest. it will turn bad if we don't get a good amount of snow in february and march, but i can not qualify a season as bad when i my powder to non-powder ski day ratio so far is 3:1. i know i haven't skied while conditions were bad, but if i judged the season based on only the days i could have skied, i would have given it a 10, so my rating of slightly above average considers the january i didn't get to ski.

mad river glen and stowe both recently offered discount days. i am sure many ski areas are offering specials during the warm weather to entice skiers.

I agree Steve. The first three weeks of December were awesome, at least in Southern NE. Two powder days in at my local hill and a few other days on some nice packed powder and LGR. I was also out yesterday and despite being on the tail end of this crappy weather pattern, I still had a great day. True it was an April surface rather than a February one, but there was still plenty of snow. Should be sketchy when it al freezes up though...

 

[Greg]

i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

True :wink: But what happens if it is so bad that we lose a ski area or two? That's not good for skiers, unless they are of the hiking variety.

If a ski area closes because of 6 weeks of crap weather, they were probably going to close eventually anyways...

 

[thetrailboss]

GETTING BACK on topic....what deals have you seen to get people on the slopes?

 

[thetrailboss]

Jay is running a 3 for 1 deal through 2/13 with the coupon from the Killington Zone website

Details here:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=7857

 

[billski]

i guess the moral there is that a bad season for ski areas is not nessicarily a bad season for skiers.

True :wink: But what happens if it is so bad that we lose a ski area or two? That's not good for skiers, unless they are of the hiking variety.

If a ski area closes because of 6 weeks of crap weather, they were probably going to close eventually anyways...

And that's too bad. I fear the McSki phenomena. I like diversity and personality; I like Mt. Snow one day, Bush the next, Cannon the next, Loon the next. Er, uh, scratch Nashoba .

 

[skibum1321]

Jay is running a 3 for 1 deal through 2/13 with the coupon from the Killington Zone website

Details here:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=7857

There is also a link to the coupon in the Jay snow report emails and the 242 newsletter.