Rumor: Ragged to purchase Ascutney's Highspeed Quad

[deadheadskier]

Was chatting with a long time pass holder at Ragged today. Claims he road the chairlift last weekend with the banker who underwrote the loan.

This would be to replace the Spear Triple.

Speaking of the Spear. The lift was broken down today. Longest six pack lines I've ever seen. Solid 15 minute wait in the singles line. Skiing was incredible though.

 

[wa-loaf]

Hope they got it cheap.

 

[skifastinvt]

I hate to rain on the parade, but I'll believe it when I see it. I know the Spear triple is near the end, but Ragged really needs to invest in snowmaking first. Spear really doesn't need a hs quad. I would be really happy with a fixed quad (with conveyor). Operating costs of a second hs lift could sink Ragged. If the rumor is true, I hope they rebuild the showboat trail properly and add a culvert.

 

[tmcc71]

I hope they can.....

I hope they can afford the HsQ AND more snow making capability. I love Ragged for their less crowded lines, but they desperately need snowmaking for early season base building. I was there several weeks ago and the grooming was horrible. I will only go there late season in warm spring conditions when groom isn't as important. It's a shame too, I really want to like it.

ps.....If I went to ragged to avoid crowds and waited 15 minutes i'd start throwing the flamingo around and promptly have a stroke.....:razz:

 

[deadheadskier]

I hate to rain on the parade, but I'll believe it when I see it. I know the Spear triple is near the end, but Ragged really needs to invest in snowmaking first. Spear really doesn't need a hs quad. I would be really happy with a fixed quad (with conveyor). Operating costs of a second hs lift could sink Ragged. If the rumor is true, I hope they rebuild the showboat trail properly and add a culvert.

I have heard from a few folks that they will be upgrading snowmaking. The problem now is that they can pump 6 times as much water up onto the hill as they can draw from the bog to fill the snowmaking pond. Once the pond is drained, it takes 3 to 4 days to fill it back up. They are supposed to replace the pumps in the bog such that they can refill the snowmaking pond much faster for next season.

I'd imagine all these improvements will definitely drive the season pass cost up quite a bit. They've sold a record number of passes each of the past three seasons, so people obviously aren't balking at the price......yet.

 

[thetrailboss]

The HSQ is indeed sold, but Ragged is not the buyer of Ascutney's lift.

 

[riverc0il]

The HSQ is indeed sold, but Ragged is not the buyer of Ascutney's lift.

Oh my!

 

[deadheadskier]

The HSQ is indeed sold, but Ragged is not the buyer of Ascutney's lift.

I'm assuming you mean Burke. I brought that up in conversation. Guy claimed that Ragged outbid Burke.

I have no idea if any of this is true. Hence 'rumor' in the thread title.

 

[from_the_NEK]

I'm assuming you mean Burke. I brought that up in conversation. Guy claimed that Ragged outbid Burke.

I have no idea if any of this is true. Hence 'rumor' in the thread title.

My rumor sources say that Burke hadn't handed over a check yet. Since Ascutney's lift has been dormant for so long, they want to see the lift actually turn on a work before finalizing the purchase.
Maybe this allowed Ragged to sneek in the door at the last minute and buy the lift without requiring the demo?

 

[deadheadskier]

Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

IMO, a HSQ is overkill for that terrain at Ragged. Heck, I'd rather see Burke get the HSQ and Ragged buy Burke's Quad. This is especially true when looking towards Ragged's future plans for Pinnacle Peak. Now that terrain would be best served by a High Speed lift. I don't see Ragged ever having the skier traffic to support 2 HSQs and 1 Six pack.

 

[EPB]

Is there any chance that Ragged purchased Ascutney's triple that went to the original summit of the area?

 

[deadheadskier]

Depending on the age and quality of the lift, maybe. The Spear Triple was purchased used from King Ridge. It is quite slow and historically has had some reliability issues. If the Ascutney lift is in better shape and runs a bit faster, it might make sense.

 

[thetrailboss]

IIRC the Ascutney Triple is a CTEC Triple from about 1986 or so. I think that King Ridge's lift might be an old Hall and only a few years older.

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm not a lift expert. According to threecy's website the drive on the lift is a Von Roll. I have no idea if it was installed new at King Ridge, but it certainly seems a lot older than the Poma chairs installed at Okemo during the mid-80s.

 

[thetrailboss]

Yep, according to Skilifts.org it is a Von Roll base with Hall Chairs. The Hall Chairs are at least pre-1984 or so.

http://www.skilifts.org/old/nh-ragged.html

Looks like Hall towers as well.

 

[threecy]

Hall chairs/towers were installed new at King Ridge in 1972. Not sure about what year the drive is from, but I doubt it was from King Ridge, since that triple was a few hundred vertical feet less (vs. at Ragged).

Installed at Ragged in 1996.

 

[Masskier]

My rumor sources say that Burke hadn't handed over a check yet. Since Ascutney's lift has been dormant for so long, they want to see the lift actually turn on a work before finalizing the purchase.
Maybe this allowed Ragged to sneek in the door at the last minute and buy the lift without requiring the demo?

Burke would not waste their time and money performing their due diligence and inspections if they didn' t have an agreed upon contract to purchase. I know that there were some issues that Ascutney had to solve first.

 

[EPB]

Burke would not waste their time and money performing their due diligence and inspections if they didn' t have an agreed upon contract to purchase. I know that there were some issues that Ascutney had to solve first.

So you mean to say that you know for a fact that Burk would rather enter into a contractual agreement and then learn if they had made a bad decision?

On a different note, thanks TB and DHS for the info on the triples. I know it might be a long shot, but after seeing Shawnee Peak replace a Riblet 1984 triple with a CTEC 1984 triple, I figured it was at least something to consider.

 

[Masskier]

So you mean to say that you know for a fact that Burk would rather enter into a contractual agreement and then learn if they had made a bad decision?

On a different note, thanks TB and DHS for the info on the triples. I know it might be a long shot, but after seeing Shawnee Peak replace a Riblet 1984 triple with a CTEC 1984 triple, I figured it was at least something to consider.

No, It would be prudent for them to protect themselves by having a contract in place before they spent time and money on due deligence and inspections. That way someone else dosn't come in and buy it from under them. Language in the contract would specify what happens if they determind that the lift is not in the condition that was represented.

 

[from_the_NEK]

No, It would be prudent for them to protect themselves by having a contract in place before they spent time and money on due deligence and inspections. That way someone else dosn't come in and buy it from under them. Language in the contract would specify what happens if they determind that the lift is not in the condition that was represented.

Kind of the same process as buying a house...