Jay Peak Conceptual Development Plan (2011-2016)

[JPTracker]

A couple additional items from the meeting:

The Snowline lodge is now being used for DEW construction offices. So conversion to medical facility is a ways off.

242 - Bill said the the Montgomery side should be repaved this year. On the Jay side there is a sewer project to be done which will dig up the road. After this is done then the Jay side will be repaved.

Tramside base lodge will receive minor upgrades this year including new carpet. Major renovation he did not really speak about but gave impression it is near the bottom of the list.

Burke - Will be some kind of combo pass available. For those who already bought next years passes there will be a upgrade available. I heard a number around $60 for the upgrade mentioned but nothing official.

 

[riverc0il]

JSP sent me to Morrisville. I should have just drove back to StJ, almost the same time.

 

[Sick Bird Rider]

Excellent reportage, Francois. You even scooped the JPR marketing engine:
http://www.pitchengine.com/jaypeakresort/jay-peak-resort-announces-30-million-in-upgrades

 

[Mpdsnowman]

This came out today.. i mean yesterday lol.

http://www.pitchengine.com/jaypeakresort/jay-peak-resort-announces-30-million-in-upgrades

I am going to miss ursula and laarz at the snowline lodge. So many years she yelled at me for bringing more people than I said were coming lol (some years I would rent the entire place) It really is a shame to destroy that bar in the basement. any of you who have been there should know what I mean by that.

I like the burke buyout makes sense. They picked up the group sales office (literally) last week and moved it out of the way so they can make the new store.

lots of progress,,,

 

[riverc0il]

This came out today.. i mean yesterday lol.

http://www.pitchengine.com/jaypeakresort/jay-peak-resort-announces-30-million-in-upgrades

I am going to miss ursula and laarz at the snowline lodge. So many years she yelled at me for bringing more people than I said were coming lol (some years I would rent the entire place) It really is a shame to destroy that bar in the basement. any of you who have been there should know what I mean by that.

I like the burke buyout makes sense. They picked up the group sales office (literally) last week and moved it out of the way so they can make the new store.

lots of progress,,,

Stenger says "visitor numbers were up" which is rather mis-leading when paired with one of the worst winters in recent memory. He is equating hockey rick and waterpark guests with skier guests. While I know that is the business model he is using, it is concerning to see that type of dubious wording. There is no way skier/rider visits were up. Stenger really spun his numbers because that is what it sounds like he is saying there.

It is statements like that one that keep me rooted firmly in reality with a critical eye towards how Jay is expanding. And it is a statement like that which might give me some pause about Burke's future with Jay. But I guess an open and sustainable Burke is better no matter how it is down. I can't see a "guest" being counted as anything other than a skier or rider at Burke, but I'm sure Jay will eventually change that somehow.

Would have liked to have seen a new lodge Stateside before a new learning center. The new learning center is going to bring a LOT more people stateside. Stateside was already way over crowded, especially with the new parking Stateside and lack of it Tramside. This can't help that situation. This is definitely putting the cart before the horse.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Hotel+water park+hockey rink = Newbies and families = need for a new learning center.

The lodge will come, hopefully the EB5 money keeps flowing or that their revenue is up enough that they can build a new lodge sooner than anticipated.

 

[luvinjaycloud]

I was at the meeting Sat. and Bill said "Skier visits were up slightly YOY". New England was down 20% on avg. I don't see anything misleading but naysayers will be naysayers. I can easily see the skier visits being that based on the crowd i saw this season and how they sustained their run after the rest of New England melted. Waterpark essentially saved the resort from having a terrible season. Jay has managed their transformation amazingly well and we'll all have the benefit of updated facilities at the best skiing terrain in the East.

 

[fbrissette]

Stenger says "visitor numbers were up" which is rather mis-leading when paired with one of the worst winters in recent memory.

I will back LuvinJayCloud on this. Bill clearly said that skiers visits were very slightly up compared to an average of 20% down everywhere else. A lot of those visits were likely families that ended up in the waterpark after a few runs, but these are visits nonetheless. I skied 50+ days last season and was actually surprised at how many people there were even when the ski conditions were abysmal. Another thing I noticed was that families with young kids seemed to be sharply on the rise. My guess is this is where they picked up lots of ski visits.

Another interesting tidbit from the meeting is when Steve Wright talked about the families that booked rooms to come exclusively for the waterpark/arena without skiing. Average median income of these people was higher than that of skiing families. They are gonna go hard after these families to get them into skiing. The learning center and new lift is aimed at them in particular.

Francois

 

[Nick]

They are really doing quite a bit. I know there have been some concerns on them maintaining their identity. I've yet to ski Jay (hopefully this upcoming winter.... will bring new baby!) so I can't really comment on it myself but I like some of the things they have going on. The waterpark looks like fun. I'm still a kid at heart. That pic of Snowmonster riding the wave earlier had me sold.

 

[gregnye]

Yes, Jay peak has taken on a whole new atmosphere, It now appeals to a new type of people.

My Boy Scout troop had a tradition of going to Jay Peak every winter for 4 days. We would rough it out in some boy scout camp 30 minutes from Jay, and then drive there everyday to ski--sometimes having to push our cars up the hills because of ice!

At first, I doubted that the waterpark would be such a big hit, after all--those who want to relax in a waterpark are not going to push their car up the road when it is slippery with ice and snow in the early morning--however I was wrong.

It has changed the way my boy scout troop does things. When I was younger, after skiing, we used to do a sledding "adventure" that involved hiking and sledding (sometimes on lunch trays!) :smile:

Now that has all changed. When I joined my troop (as an older sibling) for the campout last this past winter, no one even brought their sled! In fact scouts told me that they would rather go down a waterslide than go outside after the skiing day ended.

Some scouts never actually went skiing during that 3 (or 4) day trip! They thought it was too cold (which I guess it was, being -23 degrees with windchill on the Freezer). But hey, in the past, everyone went skiing when it was that cold on the Freezer.

So there you go--real life example of how the expansion has changed my life, and the life of those around me.

(I just kinda felt like posting this)

 

[Mpdsnowman]

If you have kids the waterpark is a hit. But I gotta be honest here I believe the waterpark will turn into a fad and be very cumbersome to maintain...in the long run...Its like a pool except year around (anyone who owns a pool knows the work involved yet we only use them certain times of the year)

I will say for the package I put together to have the waterpark is a nice feature....I paid 15 dollars a day last year which was cheap. But I can see it being an albatross in the future.

lol,,,that was my statement to the robs at group sales lol..

 

[from_the_NEK]

Excellent reportage, Francois. You even scooped the JPR marketing engine:
http://www.pitchengine.com/jaypeakresort/jay-peak-resort-announces-30-million-in-upgrades

A fixed-grip quad chair will carry guests from the State Side base area, over the 720 terrain park, unloading just above the Taxi trail providing visitors easier access to the Tram side of the mountain.

So are they really going above Taxi or not? The initial length of this lift on the master plan does not go above taxi but you could still get to the Taxi/Goat/Queen's Highway intersection easy enough.

However, going above Taxi will make getting to the terrain park easier.
This intersection has the potential of being very congested with the lift dumping people into the cross traffic of taxi. Luckliy the speeds through there are slow.

Master plan in Google Earth:

The one thing that surprised me about this layout was how far up the slope the lift starts. That are is over 300 feet away and 30+ ft up from the current lodge, if the new learning center is built where the trees currently are behind the old lodge, the distance will be even greater (500+ feet). This is not really good to make novices walk a long way (and across traffic headed to the main Boneventure chair) to get to their lift. I suppose they could always ride the new carpet and then ski "down" to the new quad.

New Plan (with lower bottom terminal)?

 

[BigJay]

No one seems to remember that:

1- The new quad for the park... should be exactly where the old Queen's Highway T-bar use to be...
2- The new D-6pk on the powerline is going to be exactly where the old Bonnie use to be...

My concern right now: the new mountain center... should be located where the actual bonnie sits... Anyone noticed that?

 

[from_the_NEK]

No one seems to remember that:

1- The new quad for the park... should be exactly where the old Queen's Highway T-bar use to be...
2- The new D-6pk on the powerline is going to be exactly where the old Bonnie use to be...

My concern right now: the new mountain center... should be located where the actual bonnie sits... Anyone noticed that?

1. I'm not quite sure exactly where the old T-bar used to be, but it didn't cross over Taxi did it? For what it is worth, I think crossing Taxi is a bad thing.

2. That I do know. Did the old Bonnie start that far up the Mtn away from the lodge(s)?

My theory is that putting those lift bases up closer to the trees will help shelter them from wind and sun.


Currently, from the information out there, it is hard to say where the new day lodge and small hotel are going to be located. Maybe near where the actual bonnie sits? IMHO having those buildings closer to the main upper mountain lifts is better than having the learning center there.

 

[BigJay]

Look at the map... when they say Taxi... they mean the lower one... i think... The one that slashes the bottom of Buckaroo Bunzai and that lets you unload either towards tramside or to the traverse for the Jet... exactly where the old t-bar use to go. Going to the "higher" taxi would be a waste and would be repeating the steep section that use to scare beginners away with the old t-bar on tramside.

As for the old double, it use to stand on the flat spot at the bottom of the northway... you could "circle" around the loading i hope the new alignment puts it further out so that you can cross in all direction without running into ropes... something JPR should make an assessment off before finalizing final location... they need to simulate where users will line up when lines are in effect... and midweek when there is no official line.

We need to still be able to access the Jet from the trails off the T-bar (yeah, t-bar will be gone... but traversing from Perry Merril will still hapen!

 

[JPTracker]

1. I'm not quite sure exactly where the old T-bar used to be, but it didn't cross over Taxi did it? For what it is worth, I think crossing Taxi is a bad thing.

2. That I do know. Did the old Bonnie start that far up the Mtn away from the lodge(s)?

My theory is that putting those lift bases up closer to the trees will help shelter them from wind and sun.


Currently, from the information out there, it is hard to say where the new day lodge and small hotel are going to be located. Maybe near where the actual bonnie sits? IMHO having those buildings closer to the main upper mountain lifts is better than having the learning center there.

I think the old t bar went up lower Can Am. Having the new lift cross Taxi I think is a misprint.

The lifts are being moved uphill to eliminate some of the flat runout and also give them more room for the base lodge and hotel without taking parts of the parking lot. Also those flats at the bottom are some of the first areas to melt out in the spring.

Remember when the Flyer went in and everyone wondered why it went so far uphill from the old double. That was to leave room for the Tram House lodge. The same is true here.

 

[from_the_NEK]

I think the old t bar went up lower Can Am. Having the new lift cross Taxi I think is a misprint.

The lifts are being moved uphill to eliminate some of the flat runout and also give them more room for the base lodge and hotel without taking parts of the parking lot. Also those flats at the bottom are some of the first areas to melt out in the spring.

Remember when the Flyer went in and everyone wondered why it went so far uphill from the old double. That was to leave room for the Tram House lodge. The same is true here.

I think you are right on the T-Bar. According to this old map:

And the current pattern of trees it looks like the old lift went here (green line):

[/IMG]


I was thinking the flat areas presented a melt problem which is why being up near the trees would be adventageous. According to that master plan there is more than enough room between the lifts and the lodge and hotel. Maybe the lodge and hotel are going to creep uphill a bit to get out of the parking lot like you said.

 

[BigJay]

Here's my view on this...

Main issue: that magic carpet will get in the way of a lot of skier/rider traffic.
Solution: Move it towards the alignment of today's t-bar.

 

[thetrailboss]

Who is doing the new lift? Poma or Doppelmayr?

 

[luvinjaycloud]

Doppel. Not sure i get the magic carpet issue you bring up. It will be to the right (looking up mountain) of the old T- bar, way away from mountain traiffic.