Forget Snow: Alta is for $$$$$

[raisingarizona]

They break days down into a few 3-4 hour segments and it's $59-$72 for a ticket for one segment. Reservations required and it's $25 to cancel or change your reservation. If they aren't busy they're kind enough to let you ski two segments for *only* $20 more.

So 79-92. So at best a $9 savings per outing

That’s like what? A quarter of a hamburger at a ski lodge?

 

[Tonyr]

This is why I stay on the mountain at Snowbird or Alta when I visit. It's no fun paying the premium to do so but there are no parking worries and it's not just the cost. On a powder weekend you need to get a spot well before the lifts open and that means sitting in the lot for an hour or two wait until the resort opens. No thanks.

 

[Kingslug20]

Staying up there is always the best option if you can go for the price...to me its worth it to avoid the ride up shit show..and its fun when the room lights up and BANG..avi control time..

 

[thetrailboss]

Update. Apparently the Town of Alta will ALSO be charging $25.00 per car Friday-Sunday in its public spots on the north side of SR210.

 

[thetrailboss]

And as predicted, parking reservations opened and despite assurances from Snowbird, we do not have parking codes as Alta/Snowbird passholders. All the meantime Alta passholders are right now making their reservations while we have not gotten what we paid for.

 

[Harvey]

$$$$ is clearly the goal.

The definition of a business.

 

[thetrailboss]

The definition of a business.

Of course. There's nothing wrong with that. If you're not familiar with Alta, this would be like MRG overnight charging its focus. So charging for parking, increasing prices a lot, and completely changing the locals low key feel to it all being about money and only money. Major change.

 

[ss20]

Of course. There's nothing wrong with that. If you're not familiar with Alta, this would be like MRG overnight charging its focus. So charging for parking, increasing prices a lot, and completely changing the locals low key feel to it all being about money and only money. Major change.

I heard some jackass is going to be driving a penske truck up there just to move his ski stuff into a locker in the coming weeks... what a shmuck

 

[Harvey]

Skiers as a group seem surprised when ski areas try to maximize profits. Demand is up (in the east anyway) supply is down (or was last year), skiers are complaining about crowds and labor is hard to find. Costs for everything are rising. Prices rising is at ski areas is a logical reaction.

What is your business? Do you work to be more profitable?

We do. We had a client (company) since 2007. The client (person) retired and a new person came in. She asked us to repitch the business against competitors. We hadn't raised our hourly rate since the beginning. We killed it and they hired us back. (That almost never happens.) We raised our hourly rate by 20%. We saw our chance, we had some leverage and we went for it. We are hearing from them they are getting less work out of us for the same budget. It's true, they are. It's business.

 

[thetrailboss]

Skiers as a group seem surprised when ski areas try to maximize profits. Demand is up (in the east anyway) supply is down (or was last year), skiers are complaining about crowds and labor is hard to find. Costs for everything are rising. Prices rising is at ski areas is a logical reaction.

What is your business? Do you work to be more profitable?

We do. We had a client (company) since 2007. The client (person) retired and a new person came in. She asked us to repitch the business against competitors. We hadn't raised our hourly rate since the beginning. We killed it and they hired us back. (That almost never happens.) We raised our hourly rate by 20%. We saw our chance, we had some leverage and we went for it. We are hearing from them they are getting less work out of us for the same budget. It's true, they are. It's business.

That's all great and dandy, but you completely miss the point of what I have said here. If you've been to Alta anytime prior to 2018 you'd understand that it was pretty low key place that was not commercialized. In fact, they marketed themselves as that. Now it's not. A pretty stark change. This is not about merely raising prices--it's about a complete change of their identity.

 

[Harvey]

Okay maybe my example is lame.

So a business, Alta, is now commercialized. Got it. They are acting like the rest of the capitalist system.

Bummed I get. But are you surprised?

Gore, my home mountain, was alway very chill. Then they started to charge for parking. We don't like it. But it is what it is. Capitalism.

Capitalists raise your hand. Socialists raise your hand. If you like something in the middle, you should be at home in America.

 

[thetrailboss]

Okay maybe my example is lame.

So a business, Alta, is now commercialized. Got it. They are acting like the rest of the capitalist system.

Bummed I get. But are you surprised?

Gore, my home mountain, was alway very chill. Then they started to charge for parking. We don't like it. But it is what it is. Capitalism.

Capitalists raise your hand. Socialists raise your hand. If you like something in the middle, you should be at home in America.

You're again not getting the point and it's clear that you don't understand the whole story so it's hard to have a constructive conversation. This is not a case of merely increasing the cost a little bit due to costs increasing. It is fundamentally changing the brand and the value the brand delivered.

ALL weekends and holidays are now $25.00 per car per day at Alta for ALL parking. Parking at Gore, from I see, only charges for "Premium" Parking at $20.00 per day unless you have a pass. To make it similar, it would be as if Gore had free parking one season and the very next season charged every car $25.00 per day. That is a big change. Huge change.

Alta went from $0.00 for parking to now $25.00 per day weekend and holiday. So if you are using an IKON pass and want to ski your 7 days on weekends, you now are paying $175.00 that you were not paying last year. And this is not Aspen where one paid to park to begin with. This is Alta. Alta, again, was all about locals and skiing. Not charging an arm and a leg for parking and other items.

 

[Harvey]

You're again not getting the point and it's clear that you don't understand the whole story so it's hard to have a constructive conversation. This is not a case of merely increasing the cost a little bit due to costs increasing. It is fundamentally changing the brand and the value the brand delivered.

ALL weekends and holidays are now $25.00 per car per day at Alta for ALL parking. Parking at Gore, from I see, only charges for "Premium" Parking at $20.00 per day unless you have a pass. To make it similar, it would be as if Gore had free parking one season and the very next season charged every car $25.00 per day. That is a big change. Huge change.

Alta went from $0.00 for parking to now $25.00 per day weekend and holiday. So if you are using an IKON pass and want to ski your 7 days on weekends, you now are paying $175.00 that you were not paying last year. And this is not Aspen where one paid to park to begin with. This is Alta. Alta, again, was all about locals and skiing. Not charging an arm and a leg for parking and other items.

You're right I don't understand. They raised the price of skiing by a lot. You don't like it because it's drastic and changes the brand. You're probably right. For a passholder it's probably a big percentage if you have to park in that lot every time you ski. How much do you spend per year on skiing, all in and how much will this raise it?

Gore added paid parking in 2008, after the pass deadline and at the beginning of the economic freefall. My pay was cut 40% at the beginning of the season. It was $10 for the best 15%(?) of spots. Gore is subsidized by my tax dollars. I didn't like it, and I feel the same way. It changed the brand.

I didn't know Gore paid parking was $20 now. I've never paid it in hundreds of days. I get there an hour before the lifts spin, park in the best free spot and walk. It's a lot less exercise than skinning 2000 feet of vert. And premium parking is not free for passholders.

None of that changes my opinion that it's a business. If the price is too high, don't pay it. If you based your whole life on living right next to Alta, and paid parking undermines your life plan, that's a bummer I guess. Ski somewhere else, or stop skiing, or walk from the outer lot, or have your wife drop you off, or car pool or live with it. I don't pay too close attention but it seems like one of your consistent messages is that being an Alta local is awesome. So this is one part that isn't awesome.

If Gore puts in 100% paid parking and charges $100 a day everyday including weekdays, then maybe I made a bad choice too. I'm building a house up there. It's still skiing and as a skier I feel incredibly lucky. If parking gets too expensive at Gore, I'll do backcountry or McCauley on weekends.

Not trying to be a dick. Skiing is an expensive sport and skiers love cheap tickets, don't like lift lines, or revenue shifting.

This is your forum, I'll be quiet now.

 

[jaytrem]

That's all great and dandy, but you completely miss the point of what I have said here. If you've been to Alta anytime prior to 2018 you'd understand that it was pretty low key place that was not commercialized. In fact, they marketed themselves as that. Now it's not. A pretty stark change. This is not about merely raising prices--it's about a complete change of their identity.

You've been to Discovery, so you you know what true low key is. I haven't been to Alta in over ten years, and I would not have called it low key back then. I guess it might have been lower key a few years ago, but not really low key. Not to mention, to be truly low key they would have to remove the stick that's up their ass and allow snowboarding.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

lol @ alta being "low key" pre 2018. its been a world famous heavily advertised destination ski area 30 minutes from a major american city since and before i was a 7 year old reading ski magazine.

 

[thetrailboss]

lol @ alta being "low key" pre 2018. its been a world famous heavily advertised destination ski area 30 minutes from a major american city since and before i was a 7 year old reading ski magazine.

"No frills" is a better term.

 

[Smellytele]

"No frills" is a better term.

What frills does it have now that it didn’t before?

 

[Cobbold]

What frills does it have now that it didn’t before?

This is the first I have heard gore has paid parking, is that true? If so it‘s humorous to me about all the crap vail has taken about paid parking at mt snow, but gore has it(if true) and lots of people talk about gore as if its some holy place that can do no wrong, paid parking, so funny

 

[jimmywilson69]

LoL @therailboss

I moved out west and it is still getting popular and I can't handle it.

Maybe you should move back to Burke

Alta and Snowbird were World Class before you dude

 

[Harvey]

It's a fact. Gore has had paid parking since December 2008. It's not nearly on the scale of Mt Snow. Maybe half or 2/3rds of Lot A.

lots of people talk about gore as if its some holy place that can do no wrong,

Not sure where you hang out but Gore gets a fair share of abuse. Some of it is even deserved.

The fact that they don't have it totally together is part of the appeal. And no slopeside. At Gore we have an expression. "If Gore was Stratton... it would be... Stratton."

Gore is awesome. Especially if you like tree skiing.