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Saddleback Meeting
- Thread starter skicub
- Start date
Happy to hear they went HSQ. I would've been happy with anything that got them back open, but I really feel a HSQ is needed if they want to syphon off skier visits from their primary competition in Sunday River and Sugarloaf.
This maybe an unpopular opinion, but I also feel they should push hard to get on the Icon Pass. At least for the first few years they need to drive traffic there by any means possible and get word of mouth out.
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This maybe an unpopular opinion, but I also feel they should push hard to get on the Icon Pass. At least for the first few years they need to drive traffic there by any means possible and get word of mouth out.
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Edd
Well-known member
Agree. I hope they do that also. For a ski area in Saddleback’s position, that has a ton of marketing value.
Whitey
Member
I am so pumped to ski Saddleback with a HSQ instead of the Rangely double! I have said many times in the Saddleback threads that the replacement of the Rangely double was absolutely essential to bringing back Saddleback. But also that I thought I'd never see it happen. Glad to be wrong on that one. The amount of skiing you'll be able to get in with 2 HSQs there will be amazing. Such a great mountain.
100% agree that getting on Ikon or the independent pass is necessary to bring back the skiers.
Anybody know what happened to Salsgang? He should be dancing in the snow right about now.
100% agree that getting on Ikon or the independent pass is necessary to bring back the skiers.
Anybody know what happened to Salsgang? He should be dancing in the snow right about now.
?????
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
While IKon is a bad word around these parts, that would be a good angle for them. SB also fits their MO of "unique" resorts.
Edd
Well-known member
Pretty sure only one HSQ. 2 quads, though.
Whitey
Member
What's wrong with my statement? The Rangeley double was painfully slow and on weekends that would cause a long liftline. Not unusual for it to be a half hour or more to go from getting in line to getting to the top. With an HSQ there will be much smaller lines and a faster ride. Combined with the Kennebago quad - that's great capacity and speed to cover a large moutain. What's to question there?
The number of HSQs I believe is what's being questioned. The summit quad is fixed grip
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Whitey
Member
Sorry, you're right. Kennebago is a FG. It wasn't really my point anyway & I wasn't really thinking about Kennebago quad. Kennebago was never an issue for Saddleback. Removing the chokepoint of the Rangeley double will really change that mountain and allow you get a lot of skiing in. My point is still valid even if I mistakenly lumped the Kennebago quad in as a "HSQ". It's a newer and relatively fast chair.
Skiing Saddleback on weekends, even with the low # of skier visits, the Rangeley double was a bitch. With a liftline it wasn't unusual for you to get just 1 run/hr off of that lift.
bdfreetuna
New member
It's not a bad idea for them
However I *will* be purchasing an Indy Pass next year and Saddleback would the the cherry on top, and I'd be willing to pay more. I will likely *never* buy an Ikon pass or any pass that demotivates me to ski independent and low-crowd ski areas.
May my virtual vote be recorded by the new management... I want Saddleback to be a place I visit each year but for me that means getting on one or more of the popular combo & discount cards and/or Indy Pass which needs to get our support as well.
or deals like I had in 2014 with $79/night luxury slope side condos and tickets included at that rate
machski
Well-known member
Well, this is an interesting article. Tries to make the Berry's sound like the good guys. They may have held off of selling to buyers who may have pieced out the resort, but try telling that to the business owners in Rangley who have held on by threads the last several years.
https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/saddleback-sellers-buyers-say-rangeley-region-community-came-first
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https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/saddleback-sellers-buyers-say-rangeley-region-community-came-first
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bdfreetuna
New member
^
Good on them getting a chance to defend themselves and put forward a positive case on their behalf, including the historical perspective.
20/20 hindsight they made the right call with Arctaris and the mountain now has an apparently secure future. IMO if the locals want to blame someone for a few years of hurt income they should point fingers at Magella Group for essentially making a fraudulent offer and wasting a lot of time.
We all thought this would "happen quicker" but NELSAP was also a possibility.
Good on them getting a chance to defend themselves and put forward a positive case on their behalf, including the historical perspective.
20/20 hindsight they made the right call with Arctaris and the mountain now has an apparently secure future. IMO if the locals want to blame someone for a few years of hurt income they should point fingers at Magella Group for essentially making a fraudulent offer and wasting a lot of time.
We all thought this would "happen quicker" but NELSAP was also a possibility.
sull1102
Member
In the article the Berry family says they felt they needed another 10-15k skier visits annually to break even or at least be sustainable. With the excitement of new owners and the new detachable quad I think they have a real good shot at getting those additional visits in year two of being reopened.
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bdfreetuna
New member
idk maybe, depends how they market it. Keep in mind that closing for several years will see a loss in visits due to people changing their habits as necessary. How many of their "regulars" found a new home mountain in that time span? We'll see.
As someone who works in marketing/online advertising, they need to kick ass right out the gate with a strong campaign and a website that makes it look super appealing to various types of skiers. It would not be difficult to set Saddleback apart and convince people to go there with next-level web presence and cross-marketing. Unfortunately there are a lot of hacks in this business and even many of the major resorts get suckered by marketing hackery.
They will need it. If I wasn't booked out for the next year+ I'd have already made a call to Arctaris. Or maybe not, high maintenance accounts don't really help my bottom line.
This alone may not even be enough and IKON pass might be good business sense
As someone who works in marketing/online advertising, they need to kick ass right out the gate with a strong campaign and a website that makes it look super appealing to various types of skiers. It would not be difficult to set Saddleback apart and convince people to go there with next-level web presence and cross-marketing. Unfortunately there are a lot of hacks in this business and even many of the major resorts get suckered by marketing hackery.
They will need it. If I wasn't booked out for the next year+ I'd have already made a call to Arctaris. Or maybe not, high maintenance accounts don't really help my bottom line.
This alone may not even be enough and IKON pass might be good business sense
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Hawk
Well-known member
Based on the reaction of all my Maine friends, I think that Saddleback will see a huge uptick in visits. There are a ton of people that really miss Saddleback and are basically sick of Boynes legacy at the loaf and sunday river. If they play it right and don't cost themselves out, they could find themselves as the place the Mainers go. I would market that.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
i lived in a piece of shit random craigslist roommate apartment on metropolitan avenue at berry street in brooklyn. when i went to view the apartment for the first time, i noticed tons of grateful dead, disco biscuits, and saddleback stickers on one of the bedroom doors. i asked 'whose bedroom is this, whose stickers are these?' and the roommates all shrugged and said the stickers were there before any of them lived there. i took it as a sign and took the shithole apt. it also helped that i got to pay $850 a month in williamsburg for a year.
bdfreetuna
New member
Did you check under the floor board heaters for "rollaway" Purple Mitsubishis? Those double stacks just keep on truckin once you lose 'em.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
yea, that apartment was definitely full of bad behavior.
i saw pink heisenbergs less than a week ago. i havent seen a dang roll before that in like 5+ years.
i saw pink heisenbergs less than a week ago. i havent seen a dang roll before that in like 5+ years.
Hawk
Well-known member
Purple Mitsubishis HA! Wrong Era. More like Purple microdot or just plain Mushrooms.
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