Regarding revenue in general... I've always been curious about a ski resorts balance sheet and where most of the profit comes from. Are they happy "breaking even" on the lift tickets and generated most of the profit from all the other stuff? Lessons, rentals, $4 gatorades etc etc
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Does Mad River Scare You a Little? NO!
- Thread starter billski
- Start date
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
I got a free sticker at Stowe on Tuesday. Surely the only thing that's free at Stowe.
On a serious note, and perhaps my memory is wrong because I was little, but didn't most mountains typically used to give their stickers away? It's free marketing for them.
In addition to Stowe, Gore and Whiteface (NY run) still give their stickers away.
Edd
Well-known member
Almost positive I saw them for sale at Stowe this year. I wonder if they have free periods and paid ones.
Most places seem to be free when I go.
Tin
Active member
MRG is scary and sneaky in that it has more open wooded areas that funnel into small chutes and you come around a bend and there is a 6 footer with no way around.
Old Duderino
Member
Well I guess this shows my ignorance of MRG, I used the think the "ski it if you can" slogan was taken literally, as in we're so old school we don't even make snow here so we may not be open, rather than a challenge to a skiers ability to ski it.
ThinkSnow
Member
St. Bear
New member
I always thought this was the case and lift tickets were loss leaders, especially out West, but a couple years ago I read an article that interviewed the CEO of Vail, and they had a breakdown of revenue, and lift tickets were something like ~50%.
joshua segal
Well-known member
I don't get to MRG often, but when I go, there is no question in my mind that there is a vibe, a mystique and a history, that make it a special place. And I don't know any area in the east that has steeper, gnarlier or more difficult skiing (even if you don't go on trails that are not on the trail map.)
I dont expect to ever ski there unless they change there racist ways and allow snowboarders. While I ski my girl boards and 99% of my days on the mountain are with her so I wont be going there. Like someone said in this thread it seems like a lot of old people there which is probably why they dont like boarders which I do believe is there right I just wont be giving them any of my money.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Somebody needs to learn the definition of the word, "racist".
joshua segal
Well-known member
At MRG, the skiers blame the telemarkers for all the evils that skiers blame snowboarders for at other areas. Perhaps if those who want snowboarders allowed would join (or lobby members of) the co-op, you might make some headway.
Cannonball
New member
"Snowboarder" is not a race. It would be cool if it was though!! I just had to fill out some employment info. I should have checked "other" and written in "snowboarder"
And proper usage of "their."
Scruffy
Active member
It's a brilliant piece of marketing, that has stood the test of time. Ending in the transitive verb "can", the " if you can" asks the reader the question, "Can you ski it?" What does "can" mean is left open to interpretation.
Can you get away to ski it? - give yourself permission, or get permission, from work or wife, to ski it.
Since we don't make much snow, does your schedule line up with mother nature's schedule? Again, permission, but at the right time.
Ability - Do you have the ability to ski at Mad River Glen? Open to interpretation at any level, but since the mountain has green and blue runs, certainly all levels have the ability to ski it. But this is where the marketing magic occurs. Without actually stating, "Are you skier enough?" The sentence plays on our human insecurities to measure up. It's read as a silent challenge to many.
And "Ski it", what does it mean to "Ski it?" To some, it means - I arrived, put skis on my feet, rode the lift, and slid down the slopes. To others, it means - you haven't actually "skied it", until you've achieved an expert level of skiing and sampled the entire mountain, and all it's hidden expert gems; again the challenge appears.
KevinF
Member
I'm sure your well constructed rant will cause the MRG shareholders to change their ways and open their doors to everyone next season. Congratulations.
billski
Active member
To me, the positioning of the store is emblematic of their desire to remain retro. Attaching the store to the main lodge just makes it convenient for the company to empty your pockets of money. MRG makes it convenient to ski - the lodge gets you on the slope with a minimum of fuss, rentals are on your way in. You don't see people lounging around all day or people reserving tables for the day. Can any other resort be have lifts any closer to the lodge?
If they wanted to reap more bucks from the store, they'd probably stay open later than 30 minutes after the lifts close. I suppose the staff needs to get home for supper.
Old Duderino
Member
I ski and snowboard so maybe I could check "other" and write in "bi-boardinal".
I skied Deer Valley and Alta way back in the day before snowboarding was allowed anywhere. I'm firmly in the "meh" camp for those resorts that continue to ban snowboarding. I could never go back to either of those places again and not feel like I've missed anything I can't get elsewhere or pack skis and go if I was with a group that was gung-ho to hit either of them. Unlikely that I'll ever hit MRG since it's a days drive and my kids are firmly in the snowboarder camp.
billski
Active member
Finkel calls the sticker the "pirate flag of the ski industry". I can't think of a better way to put it. Can you do it without your Starbucks? Gourmet meals? Massage? Slopeside lodging?
Puck it
Well-known member
Look like it is to me.
Attachments
billski
Active member
It's more complicated than that. On the weekend I consistently see little kids crawling around and pouring in and out of the lodge. I see more little kids than I can count popping in and out of the woods without adult supervision. There are a lot of young families, so it's not fair to characterize the shareholders as "old". I have seen some rather curmudgeonly types show up at the shareholder's meeting on Saturday; I'd argue the demographic is broad. Some of it is simply the "be different" mentality.
The "no snowboarders" is a rule that goes back to Betsy Pratt, former owner. She had MRG up for sale for more than a decade, but would only sell it to a concern that agreed to hold it to her tenets. While the resort has reformed a little (some grooming, some snowmaking), most of her reasons have prevailed. It's also part of their "pirate flag" thinking. You don't have to come; you don't have to like us. We don't care, we are doing just fine without growth, and that includes boarding.
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