Except for Killington-very weak effort to get open

[FBGM]

Feel bad for the Mt Snow peeps. Previous years they'd make top notch early season effort. Yesterday from Killington Peak it was clear there was a lot more snow on the north face of Stratton than Mt Snow. I get that its a business, but Vail may need to learn the ways of the locals. POWDR had to, and after some serious missteps, have become excellent stewards of the mountain.

You said it. Vail doesn’t care about locals. Vail cares about profit and bottom line. Mount Snow is finally going to get run like a real resort. Might take many years before it looks like one. But get used to change it’s here. And for the better.

 

[dblskifanatic]

That's Vail's MO. Welcome to the Epic family.

Funny out here Vail is going after the early and late season by opening Keystone early and closing Break later. My guess, they will never compete with Killington but I bet they will find the right opportunity. This their first go around with these resorts.


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[deadheadskier]

You said it. Vail doesn’t care about locals. Vail cares about profit and bottom line. Mount Snow is finally going to get run like a real resort. Might take many years before it looks like one. But get used to change it’s here. And for the better.

Maybe?

Thus far in the East, Vail has a small new parking lot at Stowe to their credit for capital improvements. Really haven't done or announced anything other than that so far at their Northeast resorts.

How soon until you think they bury the snowmaking pipes at all the mountains? That's very important ya know.

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[KustyTheKlown]

Funny out here Vail is going after the early and late season by opening Keystone early and closing Break later. My guess, they will never compete with Killington but I bet they will find the right opportunity. This their first go around with these resorts.


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That’s a patchwork solution after a-basin told vail to pound sand. a long season was always basin’s culture, vail reaped the rewards

 

[FBGM]

Maybe?

Thus far in the East, Vail has a small new parking lot at Stowe to their credit for capital improvements. Really haven't done or announced anything other than that so far at their Northeast resorts.

How soon until you think they bury the snowmaking pipes at all the mountains? That's very important ya know.

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They should. Looks like shit. Don’t see that garbage anywhere out west. Liability as well. Can’t go back and burry but should from here out. You really got me on that one. What a zinger.

 

[MikeDeJ]

As a passholder for years at Mt Snow they generally dont open till the week before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving week. The last season or two they did open earlier, it may have been more about showing off the new snowmaking system. I think it was the right call to wait until next weekend to open. It would have been marginal this weekend, they would have had to push out the snow too soon and dont have alot at the base. Not a fan of walking and really want top to bottom. Im not sure Vail had a lot to do with them waiting a week, my son works there and said really nothing has changed.

Not opening had more to do with the cold front a day too late. I do like that when they open they will be open 7 days a week to start (as of now), I'm sure Vail had something to do with this.

 

[deadheadskier]

They should. Looks like shit. Don’t see that garbage anywhere out west. Liability as well. Can’t go back and burry but should from here out. You really got me on that one. What a zinger.

You are quite literally the only person in my 35 years of skiing that I've ever heard/read complain about above ground snowmaking pipe. Hopefully Vail saves the day and alleviates your pipe fear and suffering.

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[machski]

You said it. Vail doesn’t care about locals. Vail cares about profit and bottom line. Mount Snow is finally going to get run like a real resort. Might take many years before it looks like one. But get used to change it’s here. And for the better.

And that shows in the East where Stowe dropped to #18 on Ski's reader survey. I suppose Mount Snow will be stopping in near future too. Yup, Vail runs a great ship compared to before!

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[FBGM]

And that shows in the East where Stowe dropped to #18 on Ski's reader survey. I suppose Mount Snow will be stopping in near future too. Yup, Vail runs a great ship compared to before!

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Those rankings mean nothing, fyi.

And if you’re seriously trying to compare Peak Resorts leadership to Vail then lol. You’re on crack.

 

[The Sneak]

I am pretty sure I skied Mount Snow on Veteran’s day in the 90s. Maybe 1993? I def skied Jiminy on Veteran’s Day 1992, half a trail in the pouring rain.


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[thetrailboss]

Those rankings mean nothing, fyi.

And if you’re seriously trying to compare Peak Resorts leadership to Vail then lol. You’re on crack.

True, but seeing that Stowe dropped that far was pretty interesting. I never would have guessed that.

 

[thetrailboss]

They should. Looks like shit. Don’t see that garbage anywhere out west. Liability as well. Can’t go back and burry but should from here out. You really got me on that one. What a zinger.

A lot of western mountains have limited snowmaking when compared to the east. And most of them are relatively new to snowmaking and have adopted systems with fan guns that only require electricity and water. Thus only one line is needed. Additionally, we have this thing called avalanche out here that would wipe out a lot of lines if they sat above ground.

And "burry" a line?

 

[machski]

Those rankings mean nothing, fyi.

And if you’re seriously trying to compare Peak Resorts leadership to Vail then lol. You’re on crack.

They are not the end all, be all. But when a resort like Stowe drops that far, it should cause several eyebrows to be raised and question why. Could it be the day ticket price is ridiculously high for having pretty much ZERO investment in improvements to date from Vail? Probably a good bet.

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[crazy]

good times at Killington yesterday
lines were long, but it’s a the first Saturday of the season, nothing else in the state is open, it’s a beautiful day, and it snowed 2 days ago. lots of people complaining about the lines and crowds, and it’s like “hey man you’re a part of the line and crowd you’re complaining about, what did you expect, just enjoy the day and relax”

That's a good bit of wisdom. When I start to get sick of crowds, I try and remind myself: I am the crowd. When you start to get annoyed by all of the "other people" crowding the lines or the slopes, realize that you are one of those "other people" to every other person besides yourself. And if you are ever wondering why there are so many people in line, ask yourself why you're in line, and that might be your answer.

 

[crazy]

Im not sure Vail had a lot to do with them waiting a week, my son works there and said really nothing has changed.

My impression is that Vail tends to be a hand-off owner for the first year of a resort's operation so that they can observe how the mountain is run, and then plan on making changes for the second year. That was their model at Stowe and Okemo. I kind of doubt that Vail told Mount Snow to open later than local management wanted to. Remember that the acquisition didn't close very long ago. Vail doesn't have any experience with Mount Snow, they need to rely on the existing management and staff to learn the ins and outs.

 

[deadheadskier]

They are not the end all, be all. But when a resort like Stowe drops that far, it should cause several eyebrows to be raised and question why. Could it be the day ticket price is ridiculously high for having pretty much ZERO investment in improvements to date from Vail? Probably a good bet.

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Those issues yes, plus the insane traffic too and from the resort that the added pass base has caused.

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[urungus]

Killington opening advanced terrain tomorrow. Does “Downdraft - Headwall + Downdraft - Upper” mean “From the top of the gondola to Great Northern” ?

 

[Zand]

Yes...Downdraft Headwall is the steep, often frozen solid section that drops off the peak lodge to High Traverse. "Upper" Downdraft shouldn't count as a separate trail as its only a few hundred more feet down to Great Northern and rather uninteresting.

This is the best time of the season to ski the Headwall until soft spring days. After it gets rained on once, bring your ice skates.

For the record, Killington splits Downdraft, which really isnt very long, into 4 sections lol.

 

[icecoast1]

My impression is that Vail tends to be a hand-off owner for the first year of a resort's operation so that they can observe how the mountain is run, and then plan on making changes for the second year. That was their model at Stowe and Okemo. I kind of doubt that Vail told Mount Snow to open later than local management wanted to. Remember that the acquisition didn't close very long ago. Vail doesn't have any experience with Mount Snow, they need to rely on the existing management and staff to learn the ins and outs.

The same thing happened last year Pre-Vail. Mount Snow opened earlier than normal but after Killington. Mount Snow might have a bigger snowmaking system, but they are at a huge disadvantage compared to Killington in terms of temps, elevation and being able to utilize old snowmaking tech that does better in warmer temps. Mount Snow not opening this past weekend probably had little to do with Vail and everything to do with the weather

 

[MikeDeJ]

The same thing happened last year Pre-Vail. Mount Snow opened earlier than normal but after Killington. Mount Snow might have a bigger snowmaking system, but they are at a huge disadvantage compared to Killington in terms of temps, elevation and being able to utilize old snowmaking tech that does better in warmer temps. Mount Snow not opening this past weekend probably had little to do with Vail and everything to do with the weather

100% agree