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Stenger and Quiros Ousted from Management of Jay Peak and Burke

thetrailboss

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You honestly think the radical eco-extremists in Vermont are going to allow a snowcat to the top?

The eco-extremists will be organizing to shut that down within 48 hours of Jay Peak announcing the plan.

Meh, say it will run on bioldiesel and be painted green. Problem solved. Or be like Snowbird and "give" the proceeds to an environmental charity.

Plus there is infrastructure at the top that has to be maintained by the State and other private entities (radio stations) so they're going up there as it is.
 

steamboat1

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So that lift NEW today is going to be significantly more than $19 mil.
I'd imagine.

Here are the capacity stats:

Squaw Valley Stats

  • 28 legal limit (This would be a crazy crush load)
  • 18 normal mixed load – 9 seated and 9 standing (this is pretty typical, if there is a small line this is about how many people naturally pack into a car)
  • 9 seated comfortably (kids sometimes squeeze 15 but adults who don’t know each other usually won’t sit more than 9)
  • 1,296 pphpd seated comfortably
  • 2,592 pphpd mixed seated and standing
  • 4,032 pphpd official capacity (crush load/legal limit)
  • Cable speed: 6 m/s (or 13.4 mph)
  • Headway: 25 seconds / 150 meters (in practice they space the cabs out a little more than this.)
 

BenedictGomez

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Last I checked they run a Cat operation at Sugarbush without issue.

That's on map though. I guess as long as they run the cat on the trail itself there wouldn't be a problem. I was thinking this would involve a freelanced path and/or some minor tree cutting, which I cant imagine them allowing.

Regardless, even if they run it on trail, I dont think this is a realistic solution unless you have a bunch of cats. They only hold about 12 people, right? So you'd need FIVE cats to replace the prior capacity in getting people to the summit.
 

deadheadskier

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Oh it would be less capacity no doubt, but for those willing to wait it would access the face and give skiers likely less tracked out snow. Im thinking of an operation kind of like the cat at Aspen Highlands. Not an ideal option, but better than nothing.
 

cdskier

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That's on map though. I guess as long as they run the cat on the trail itself there wouldn't be a problem. I was thinking this would involve a freelanced path and/or some minor tree cutting, which I cant imagine them allowing.

Regardless, even if they run it on trail, I dont think this is a realistic solution unless you have a bunch of cats. They only hold about 12 people, right? So you'd need FIVE cats to replace the prior capacity in getting people to the summit.

Right...wouldn't be economical at all. Sugarbush only uses the cat for special stuff (first tracks powder runs before the lifts open, sunset rides to the summit, etc).

Belleayare used to have a cat shuttle people along the ridge to the Cathedral brook trail. That was kind of neat...but also not a terribly long ride and it only accessed one trail so you didn't need much capacity.
 

thetrailboss

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Right...wouldn't be economical at all. Sugarbush only uses the cat for special stuff (first tracks powder runs before the lifts open, sunset rides to the summit, etc).

Belleayare used to have a cat shuttle people along the ridge to the Cathedral brook trail. That was kind of neat...but also not a terribly long ride and it only accessed one trail so you didn't need much capacity.

It would be a temporary stop-gap measure. Not ideal, but the "Jay Marketing" machine would spin it EXACTLY as DHS said (a "special" opportunity")
 

BenedictGomez

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What's the thinking on what this does to skiing next season?

A) Obnoxiously crowded lines, as the hundreds of folks normally on the Tram line will be on some other line.
B) Less crowded lines because some people will skip Jay altogether next season due to no summit skiing
C) Little to no impact as A & B partially offset each other
D) Other
 

mbedle

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What's the thinking on what this does to skiing next season?

A) Obnoxiously crowded lines, as the hundreds of folks normally on the Tram line will be on some other line.
B) Less crowded lines because some people will skip Jay altogether next season due to no summit skiing
C) Little to no impact as A & B partially offset each other
D) Other

how crowded is the tram at Jay Peak? Is it like a lift line sometimes or just in the earlier morning for first run? Don't ski there, so not sure without it, how many people it will throw into the other lift lines. Also guessing that they will down play the tram is not operational next season and just let some unsuspecting people find out when they arrive for there trip. In other words, I think they just might state each day on the daily report that the tram is not running, instead of coming out and saying that it will not run for the entire season.
 

thetrailboss

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D. Little to no impact because you are only reducing overall uphill capacity by 2.8%.

Yep.

I still think that they rent a cat or do "something" to fill the void if the Tram does not run. You can't have it just "not" run and not open that terrain.
 

cdskier

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D. Little to no impact because you are only reducing overall uphill capacity by 2.8%.

The reduction in overall uphill capacity isn't necessarily equal to the impact on other lifts though. If a certain number of people were always waiting in line at the tram and now are in line at other lifts, the impact will be bigger than just a 2.8% reduction in lift capacity. While those people were waiting in line for the tram they were essentially "off the mountain". (Hopefully what I mean comes across as it makes sense in my head but I'm having a hard time explaining it in words).
 

cdskier

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Yep.

I still think that they rent a cat or do "something" to fill the void if the Tram does not run. You can't have it just "not" run and not open that terrain.

Run a cat but charge extra for it and tout it as a unique "one-of-a-kind experience" to limited access terrain.
 

deadheadskier

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The reduction in overall uphill capacity isn't necessarily equal to the impact on other lifts though. If a certain number of people were always waiting in line at the tram and now are in line at other lifts, the impact will be bigger than just a 2.8% reduction in lift capacity. While those people were waiting in line for the tram they were essentially "off the mountain". (Hopefully what I mean comes across as it makes sense in my head but I'm having a hard time explaining it in words).

Oh, no doubt. You make perfect sense. And those folks most likely will get concentrated on Flyer, Bonnie and Jet; not all the lifts that make up the remaining capacity. It will have an impact, but not the same as a higher capacity lift going down.

Even if the Tram effectively absorbs double the amount of people than its capacity at say 700 skiers an hour instead of 360, I wouldn't think that amount of skiers would have that great of an impact when spread across the remaining lifts. The Flyer will likely take the brunt of the increase and the result may end up being people adjusting how they ski the mountain.
 
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