Other NE opening dates

[Polarizor]

Dec 15 for Saddleback? I thought they were supposed to be attempting to be a REAL resort? I think it's pretty safe to say that since the master plan is still on step 1 years later and opening scheduled pretty much for Christmas that the money and hype have both run out.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Burke opens November 23rd. Earliest opening in about 15 years for them.

Function of early snows and weather forecast or function of new ownership?

 

[deadheadskier]

Dec 15 for Saddleback? I thought they were supposed to be attempting to be a REAL resort? I think it's pretty safe to say that since the master plan is still on step 1 years later and opening scheduled pretty much for Christmas that the money and hype have both run out.

I will give you that it does seem a little late for a "REAL resort" (whatever that means), but only by a week or so.

I personally don't think the money and the hype have run out at all.

The reality regarding a later opening is that Saddleback is the most remote 2000K vert mountain in New England and has very little bed base near the mountain. By comparison, look at Sugarloaf, which is the second most remote 200K vert mountain in New England. HUGE bed base at the mountain. I'd guess around a thousand privately owned vacation homes, which translates to probably at least 2-3K pass holders. I bet Sugarloaf's season pass sales are 10-1 that of Saddleback at considerably more money. It makes sense that a mountain like Sugarloaf opens early because they have more customers to please/keep and the potential to maybe make some money on the weekends and break even over all until Christmas. Until Saddleback builds a bed base and gets a larger core population of skiers, they'll lose money hand over fist before Xmas week.

Regarding your comments on the money and hype running out? I tend to disagree. Let's look at reality here. We've been suffering the worst economic times in decades over the past four years. Despite that, the owners still put in a summit quad (debatable by some if that's an improvement) cut vast glades and invested significantly in snowmaking and grooming equipment. Not bad for an area that probably doesn't break 100K skier visits a season and has been on the brink of NELSAP for much of the past 30 years prior to the new ownership. Their investment has been pretty impressive to me in light of the times and from what I understand the Rangely Double is scheduled to be replaced next Summer.

I think Saddleback is really doing all they can do until outside money starts rolling in. Major private investment really hasn't happened anywhere in the East over the past five year except at Jay through EB-5 capital. It appears Saddleback will be getting in on the EB-5 investment track shortly.

New Rangley lift, a couple hundred privately developed condos largely developed through EB5 money (and hopefully a market to buy them) and I think you'll see future Thanksgiving openings and maybe a new terrain pod. If the EB-5 goes through, I think it's realistic to expect all those things to happen in the next 5 years provided the economy doesn't get any worse.

 

[Polarizor]

It's the ole cart before the horse...horse before the cart though. They expected to sell a pile of condo lots etc and people just aren't interested because they're not even doing the little things that they COULD do with relatively minimal effort/investment like try to open up before the loaf etc. The problem with a late opening date is it puts your Christmas at risk. Resorts with late opening dates "wait out" temperatures and they don't always come. This past week could be "it" in terms of a decent snowmaking window until Christmas.....then what? Who the heck wants to buy into an operation that's run like that? They have an ideal location for early season skiing...and could blow the double which isn't much over 1000 vert and costs pennies to run.