Abubob
Well-known member
Grooming out Exhibition today.
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Ragged gets a new GM
- Thread starter drjeff
- Start date
Abubob
Well-known member
There was some talk about making more snow? Possibly at the top of Easy Winder but the compressor rentals must about done?
Newpylong
Well-known member
The Easy Winder snowmaking is disconnected. Do you mean on Blueberry at the top of Easy Winder? It usually gets scraped off but this storm coming should help. The only place they haven't made snow on yet that they do some years is The Pines. They typically are all done by the end of January though.
Abubob
Well-known member
Needs something for that long traverse between Blueberry and the knuckle of Upper Easy Winder. It’s awfully tough to keep your speed with all the bumps and ripples. Seems they could build up a whale and push through.
Newpylong
Well-known member
Yeah they could blade some snow down in there if they really wanted. I rather just see the line connected next year. I think the rising skier visits likely warrant snowmaking on it. The kids love that trail...
thebigo
Well-known member
Newpylong
Well-known member
I was still working on the inch of ice on my truck after work today. I am two towns over from Danbury and we really didn't start to get snow until a couple hours before dawn. Prior to that it was rain and then freezing rain. Quite the gross storm.
Abubob
Well-known member
Yeesh!
Newpylong
Well-known member
They've already exceeded expectations and now:
Snowmaking:
Our snowmaking team just completed Birches, Town Meeting and Lower Exhibition. Our next goal is Pines and Lower Chute BX Course.
Snowmaking:
Our snowmaking team just completed Birches, Town Meeting and Lower Exhibition. Our next goal is Pines and Lower Chute BX Course.
Abubob
Well-known member
It’s a shame they close it all down by the first weekend of April just so they can ramp up their wedding business.
Newpylong
Well-known member
That is not why at all. People stop coming even if there is snow. I've been there every closing weekend for the past 5 years or so and it's dead.
Abubob
Well-known member
I must disagree. If they were to market the spring skiing the way they market Xmas or their wedding packages people might see how enjoyable spring skiing is. The NIMBY factor can’t be all to blame. I’ve seen it well attended right up to closing.
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Newpylong
Well-known member
Your picture is of their big spring event, in beautiful weather, a week before closing. Of course there's going to be people...
I worked with them very closely when I ran WB and after March traffic tails off substantially. Who is left are passholders. They bleed money every day. There is limited demand for spring skiing and that demand heads to the proven spring players. No amount of marketing will change that unfortunately.
I worked with them very closely when I ran WB and after March traffic tails off substantially. Who is left are passholders. They bleed money every day. There is limited demand for spring skiing and that demand heads to the proven spring players. No amount of marketing will change that unfortunately.
Abubob
Well-known member
Yeah, it’s a big spring event because it is marketed that way. Why is Xmas so big when the skiing is marginal at best? Marketing. Why is going to the beach in Florida and the Carolinas so big in April? Marketing. Why are there no spring skiers when everything is filled in and it’s not bone chilling cold? Because it’s not marketed. Season pass holders bleed money? Where do they get money to ramp up all the snowmaking in early season? Season pass sales. Where do they get money for summer maintenance? Season pass sales.
Please excuse me if I rant a bit about the millions of tons of snow they make just to slam the door shut on the some of the best skiing of the year. And please excuse me if I think season pass holders are not leaches but the backbone of ski area sales.
So … that’s my soapbox speak o’ the day. Thank you and have a good morrow.
https://localfreshies.com/spring-skiing-tips/
Please excuse me if I rant a bit about the millions of tons of snow they make just to slam the door shut on the some of the best skiing of the year. And please excuse me if I think season pass holders are not leaches but the backbone of ski area sales.
So … that’s my soapbox speak o’ the day. Thank you and have a good morrow.
https://localfreshies.com/spring-skiing-tips/
thebigo
Well-known member
The mountain was genuinely busy today, first time this year. Spear was running something around 9 second intervals, presumably due to the ice.
Impressive they are going to make more snow, I agree it seems crazy this late in the year but I will happily ski it. It feels like I talk to a longtime sunapee family every week looking to check the place out. The mountain surely has numbers on first time visitors and likely wants to put their best foot forward with pass buying season only a few weeks away.
The thing with spring skiing is you can have awesome days and absolute duds with nobody there. I am sure they would stay open later if it made financial sense, people don't get married in April. There is talk of an outdoor bar near the firepit this year.
They had two scheduled events today and yankee was closed for training. I believe the race was a reschedule from last week. Yankee is the best cruising trail on the mountain but is closed one day per weekend, the result is excess traffic on cardigan. My kid was training on yankee, I get how great a trail it is to train on but not sure it is worth the disruption to the flow of traffic on the mountain busy mid-winter weekend days.
With an ever growing pass base the mountain will hopefully have some dollars to invest. Snow making capacity has to be number one, functional snow making on easy winder probably number two. Personally I would like to see them look into a modern t bar on wild ride and move race training to lower ridge on busy days. This approach takes the park crowd out of the 6 line, allows easy access for high school races on main Street, run in high winds, take the race club out of the lift line and off yankee on busy days.
Impressive they are going to make more snow, I agree it seems crazy this late in the year but I will happily ski it. It feels like I talk to a longtime sunapee family every week looking to check the place out. The mountain surely has numbers on first time visitors and likely wants to put their best foot forward with pass buying season only a few weeks away.
The thing with spring skiing is you can have awesome days and absolute duds with nobody there. I am sure they would stay open later if it made financial sense, people don't get married in April. There is talk of an outdoor bar near the firepit this year.
They had two scheduled events today and yankee was closed for training. I believe the race was a reschedule from last week. Yankee is the best cruising trail on the mountain but is closed one day per weekend, the result is excess traffic on cardigan. My kid was training on yankee, I get how great a trail it is to train on but not sure it is worth the disruption to the flow of traffic on the mountain busy mid-winter weekend days.
With an ever growing pass base the mountain will hopefully have some dollars to invest. Snow making capacity has to be number one, functional snow making on easy winder probably number two. Personally I would like to see them look into a modern t bar on wild ride and move race training to lower ridge on busy days. This approach takes the park crowd out of the 6 line, allows easy access for high school races on main Street, run in high winds, take the race club out of the lift line and off yankee on busy days.
Newpylong
Well-known member
At $349 a year IMHO we've more than gotten our money's worth after a 120 day average season. It's on the ski area to provide a good value, but not continue to operate in the red after that has been provided. If you do the $/day calculation I would be willing to bet there is not a better value out there.
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machski
Well-known member
That is far too simplistic and you know it. Christmas is busy because we advertise Christmas as being a winter wonderland time of year. It is also busy because kids have a week and a half or two weeks off around the Holiday making it easy to travel to the mountains and stay for an extended trip. Better chance in the mountains of that "white Christmas" than in the cities or burbs
Once March/April hits, the spring sports ramp up. Sure NE schools have an April vacation week but if your kids are in spring team sports, more often than not they are expected at practices throughout those vacation weeks. Many may go to Florida on April breaks as well not just for beaches, but for the theme parks. The rest of the country has spring breaks throughout March making April quite a bit quieter at the theme parks.
Finally, sure we die hard skier's love spring, don't mind the soft slushy snow. But many do hate that type of snow and skiing, regardless of the coverage. Priorities shift, the spring flowers come out at home and people forget/give up on skiing. Would not matter how hard you market it. (As an example, SL used to market spring hard, even added a Crown to their mountain triangle logo for king of spring. Always have had a blast ourselves, but regardless of the $$$ tossed at spring ski marketing, place was always dead quiet. Even the years they got feet of snow ahead of April vaca weeks).
Bumpsis
Well-known member
I am a huge spring skiing fan. Most of the time I just about never get to ski powder unless a good snowfall happens during a ski trip and I'm close to the slopes. But catching some prime corn is much easier, even for an eastern day skier. I don't mind doing a quick re-wax on the slopes to avoid the grabby, sticky snow. At that point though, I probably already have harvested my share of corn. And you can't beat spring moguls! Let them bake in the spring sun and all of the sudden I'm back skiing moguls with some form and dignity
Abubob
Well-known member
Sorry. I just don’t agree with the idea that marketing doesn’t matter. Sugarloaf is not a good example as it’s too far for most people to make a day trip. Ragged is an easy day trip for the most populous part of New England.
I‘ve been round and round with this with others and I’ve heard all the arguments and all I’ve got to say is if there’s no market for spring skiing why is it so hard to find a parking space in Pinkham Notch in May and June?
I‘ve been round and round with this with others and I’ve heard all the arguments and all I’ve got to say is if there’s no market for spring skiing why is it so hard to find a parking space in Pinkham Notch in May and June?
machski
Well-known member
You are comparing apples to oranges on that one. Maybe because Tuck's is only stable and skiable for the masses of core skier's in the spring? Just a thought.
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