Ski areas with buyer's remorse

[steamboat1]

Mount Snow put the conveyor in on the Grand Summit, not to increase the speed at which the lift operates (It's already at the maximum when it's running that the lift is rated for), but to help put 4 people on the load line at the same time. The "problem" with it that many people have, is that they don't read and follow the directions for it's use. If you lean on the gates, as it tells you to, and then just stand still on the conveyor, you're going to end up where you need to be, when you need to be to load the chair, and you WON'T slide off the front of the loading area (at least my in full gear, 250lb self, even on freshly waxed skis on a carpet that has some snow/ice on it, has yet to slide off the front of the loading area in the probably 250 or so times I've ridden in since the carpet was installed

Far too often, the cause of the "problem" is that people either hang back from the gate and then try to shuffle through it when it opens and get caught as it closes back up (the gates are only open for about 3 seconds so if you're not right there and ready, a problem can arise) and then once a person gets onto the carpet, rather than just standing still, they try and shuffle their feet, and unlike on a snow surface, that carpet is actually rather grippy, and people semi stumble and/or bump into who's standing next to them, which creates problems.

It's just getting people to be ready, and pay attention to the instructions, and then you get 4 people on the chair every 6 seconds via the conveyor belt

Putting a carpet load on a detachable quad has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

 

[steamboat1]

Lot's of lifts had mid stations in the past. Quite a few still do.

 

[MEtoVTSkier]

Putting a carpet load on a detachable quad has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Yeah, that just doesn't make any sense. There's no reason, with as slow as detach chairs move thru the lower station, that all seats aren't easily filled. If they aren't, it sounds like a liftie problem. They definitely work well on fixed chairs though.

 

[goldsbar]

I agree with some of the terrain park stuff. The resorts spent tons on half pipes and I hardly see anyone riding in them. On the other hand, how much can some rails cost? Most people don't ride the ones over 1 ft high, but they spend plenty of time thinking about riding them.

 

[mriceyman]

I agree with some of the terrain park stuff. The resorts spent tons on half pipes and I hardly see anyone riding in them. On the other hand, how much can some rails cost? Most people don't ride the ones over 1 ft high, but they spend plenty of time thinking about riding them.

Yea most rails dont take that much to build if you have an experienced welder which most do. The halfpipes i agree dont see the ROI as they can be very intimidating to novices


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[Jully]

A few places are beginning to remove their halfpipes ever so slowly realizing they just take up space and cost a lot of money

 

[steamboat1]

Pretty sure K gave up on their large half pipe over at Bear. They didn't build it last year & I haven't seen any signs of them building it this year. They did build a smaller half pipe over at Ramshead last year & heard they plan on doing the same this year. They also built a small half pipe near the Superstar chair going towards Snowshed which I saw last week. First time I've seen one there.

 

[MEtoVTSkier]

Visible from the umbrellas? Should be some good entertainment! :razz:

 

[joshua segal]

Pretty sure K gave up on their large half pipe over at Bear. They didn't build it last year & I haven't seen any signs of them building it this year. They did build a smaller half pipe over at Ramshead last year & heard they plan on doing the same this year. They also built a small half pipe near the Superstar chair going towards Snowshed which I saw last week. First time I've seen one there.

Their published comment was that they spent their snowmaking budget on multiple resurfacings due to early season thaw/freeze cycles.

I don't think it was a permanent decision, but I agree with several posters: I don't think halfpipes are cost effective - and in recent years, the interest has been more focused in parks.

 

[steamboat1]

Their published comment was that they spent their snowmaking budget on multiple resurfacings due to early season thaw/freeze cycles.

I don't think it was a permanent decision

Pretty sure you won't see one over at Bear again unless of course the Dew tour comes back & pays a couple of million bucks for it.

 

[drjeff]

Putting a carpet load on a detachable quad has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Main reason why it was done at the time is to facilitate getting groups of beginners and/or instructors with lower level kids to the proper space on the load line in groups of 4 more reliably - from that perspective, it worked. For the general public, it wasn't as well received

 

[machski]

Carpet load fixed grips do tend to be run faster than non carpet, but Okemo and Stowe's may not be run faster as they both serve beginner/novice terrain. (This would allow for an even easier load experience for newer skiers). I know Loon's seven brothers and Sunday River's spruce triples are run faster and they work great (along with the new purpose built skyline quad at Sugarloaf).
As for new snow guns, they do not necessarily work better than older guns at warmer temps, but they do save a ton of energy on the air side. The other reason much had been spent on them is that resorts have been getting energy efficient grants to offset some of the purchase costs over the last several years in many states.

 

[Rowsdower]

I agree with some of the terrain park stuff. The resorts spent tons on half pipes and I hardly see anyone riding in them. On the other hand, how much can some rails cost? Most people don't ride the ones over 1 ft high, but they spend plenty of time thinking about riding them.

The problem with the parks and pipes is that there was a push to build the biggest of each. But then you're spending the most money on features that the fewest riders will ever benefit from. Building smaller, progressive features that appeal to a wider range of skiers and snowboarders is still pretty good for business, it's just the over-the-top superparks and halfpipes that didn't make as much sense. Some places still have them, but only at the resorts which were known as terrain park destinations, and in my experience most of those mountains are out west where most of your pro and sponsored riders end up living. Otherwise the "superpark" idea seems more of a gimmick at most East Coast resorts.

 

[Blanton]

The problem with the parks and pipes is that there was a push to build the biggest of each. But then you're spending the most money on features that the fewest riders will ever benefit from. Building smaller, progressive features that appeal to a wider range of skiers and snowboarders is still pretty good for business, it's just the over-the-top superparks and halfpipes that didn't make as much sense. Some places still have them, but only at the resorts which were known as terrain park destinations, and in my experience most of those mountains are out west where most of your pro and sponsored riders end up living. Otherwise the "superpark" idea seems more of a gimmick at most East Coast resorts.

The 25 foot half pipe at Seven Springs comes to mind.

 

[ss20]

The problem with the parks and pipes is that there was a push to build the biggest of each. But then you're spending the most money on features that the fewest riders will ever benefit from. Building smaller, progressive features that appeal to a wider range of skiers and snowboarders is still pretty good for business, it's just the over-the-top superparks and halfpipes that didn't make as much sense. Some places still have them, but only at the resorts which were known as terrain park destinations, and in my experience most of those mountains are out west where most of your pro and sponsored riders end up living. Otherwise the "superpark" idea seems more of a gimmick at most East Coast resorts.

Exactly. The small feature parks are the ones most used, yet they're usually the smallest park on the mountain.

The "superparks" were like the battle in the 80s and 90s for "longest, widest, steepest" trail. They were both unsuccessful fads that every mountain tried, but only a few mountains actually benefited from.

 

[jerseydaze]

Mountain Creek
putting tower guns on granite view,cutting in a super pipe,cutting a trail halfway from south to granite and giving up,the hotel.