Suicide Six name change

[deadheadskier]

Be curious what it ends up being

The Standing Mountain | Saskadena Six Ski Area

www.suicide6.com

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i always thought it was a silly name for a 500 foot bump of a hill, but its so historic that I'm gonna have to come down on the side of not liking this. i hear what they are saying about references to suicide being distasteful. but still.

 

[xlr8r]

I get why they are doing it, but the name Suicide Six is such a big part of the history, coolness, and identity of the area. So many people know of the place simply because of its history and its name considering its a medium sized hill amongst giants. In fact they did change the name to simply "six", decades ago dropping "suicide", but quickly put "suicide" back in after complaints. I bet they change it to something like Woodstock Ski Area or something similar considering, the Woodstock Inn owns it. Glad I got one visit in the past season with the cool name, and got a pin with the name on it.

 

[jaytrem]

Bit of a bummer with there being so much history. S6 would be my choice.

 

[deadheadskier]

Just don't call it QSix

 

[machski]

Like others said, I see why they might think this. But it's the same with changing Squaw to Palisades for me. Sure, the word root is in the name, but Squaw Valley conjured up steep, extreme terrain for me, not the root meaning of the word. It's a PC world now, just call everything ski area 1, 2, 3. Oops, snowboarders will be hurt if we call them ski areas. Snow sports areas 1,2,3,etc.....

 

[urungus]

Like others said, I see why they might think this. But it's the same with changing Squaw to Palisades for me. Sure, the word root is in the name, but Squaw Valley conjured up steep, extreme terrain for me, not the root meaning of the word. It's a PC world now, just call everything ski area 1, 2, 3. Oops, snowboarders will be hurt if we call them ski areas. Snow sports areas 1,2,3,etc.....

Has anyone close to you (spouse, parent, child) committed suicide ?

 

[Smellytele]

Has anyone close to you (spouse, parent, child) committed suicide ?

It isn’t committed suicide as that is no longer acceptable. It is died by suicide.

 

[machski]

Has anyone close to you (spouse, parent, child) committed suicide ?

No, you? If so, I'm sorry to hear that. Does this area's current name concern/offend you in that event?

 

[NYDB]

I wonder if killington will have to eventually change their name.

 

[RichT]

I wonder if killington will have to eventually change their name.

or HUNTER, Shawnee, Gunstock, Loon, Gore, Whiteface.....................

 

[kancamagus]

or HUNTER, Shawnee, Gunstock, Loon, Gore, Whiteface.....................

I'm confused by the inclusion of Loon here. It's a bird...

That being said, I don't have any concerns with the new Palisades name or S6 changing their name. Or if any other company wants to change their name. Or if a person wants to change their name. It's their name, they can choose to call themselves whatever they like, and don't need to justify a reason to anyone else.

If some completely neutral name ski area like Mountain Creek decided to change their name to Make Actioncreek Great Again and require you to wear red helmets would you care? If they changed their name to Light Beer Matters and decided to fly colorful rainbow-like flags with every light beer logo on them and change all their lifts to gondolas that reek of weed, would you care? Would your answer be different for either? Would either option (including no change versus status quo) affect your likelihood of going there? Heck, I'm sure even the existing Mountain Creek name would trigger some rando on Twitter that thinks the word creek negativly reflects on brooks and streams.

Maybe I'm just more culturally libertarian and don't see the need to try to force my views onto another company of which I'm not a shareholder or any person to either change their name, or resist their new name. If they think a new name is best, I accept their right to do so and move on. If you really hate the change, speak with your wallet and don't go there anymore.

However, if I was the major shareholder or in senior management of a ski area, I'd definitely reflect whether the name of the business reflected the values of the company, and whether it would cause undue harm to the companies reputation or local community. "We've always done it this way" is not a good enough reason to keep doing anything. But no pun intended, these are not black and white issues. All names exist on a gradient and have varying levels of baggage associated with them. And baggage can shift over time.

Gore, yeah, one dictionary definition is not great. Another dictionary definition is a generic cartography term (and the definition from which it was named). Another definition is a common enough last name. I'm sure someone would get offended, but you can't make decisions based upon one person on Twitter. Was "gore" ever used as a term to denigrate any group of people for a prejudiced reason? Would continuing to use the name honor local culture or heritage, or would it cause undo harm to the local community? Is the cost benefit of continued name recognition higher? Those decisions are all for Gore management / shareholders to decide.

I can see why S6 decided to change their name. There's growing evidence that suicide and mass shootings are actually somewhat "contagious", especially from the media attention that surrounds them, and the "highlight" and "prestige" that it brings to folks who may not have stellar mental health to start from. There have been studies that showed over the past 10-15 years, when there was a massive natural disaster immediately after a mass shooting, where the natural disaster television and internet coverage pre-empted a lot of television/internet coverage of the shooting, mass shootings were lower in the subsequent weeks. 13 Reasons Why lead to higher rates of teen suicide after it came out. Anything that brings glamor or 'positive' media attention to these concepts could very well likely lead to more of them. If you run a resort for families, given the recent increase in deaths of despair, you may not want to associate your business with that.

It's not up to me as to whether Killington should change their name. But I'll just add one caveat: the name fairly well described all of their crossover trail junctions.

 

[deadheadskier]

Loon = crazy person

I'm in your camp though Kanc. I don't particularly care about name changes, only provided those who change the name of a "place" doesn't make it about themselves, such as Q Burke. Unless you are the founders like a Cochran's, Pat's etc.

I do appreciate the history aspect too though. What if the Park Service decided Acadia was no longer appropriate and changed it to "Ocean Mountain National Park." That would be weird for me.

I suspect that's the cause for disapproval from most who oppose the Suicide 6 or Squaw names being retired.

 

[ss20]

*check's website*

Yep, Mohawk still has the trail Indian Crossing on the map. Good thing we don't adhere to the Europe/Asia/Southern Hemisphere coloring scheme of trail difficulties.... Indian Crossing could be rated "red" then... the outrage!!!

 

[thetrailboss]

Just don't call it QSix

“Reporting for duty.” (And prison.)

 

[drjeff]

Heck, among others in the just waiting to offend the woke names can have Yawgoo Valley, RI and Wachusett added to the "offensive" list category!

 

[NYDB]

Cannon should have to change their name like the Washington bullets did..

 

[jimmywilson69]

all of this is just more confirmation that the internet has ruined society

 

[machski]

Loon = crazy person

I'm in your camp though Kanc. I don't particularly care about name changes, only provided those who change the name of a "place" doesn't make it about themselves, such as Q Burke. Unless you are the founders like a Cochran's, Pat's etc.

I do appreciate the history aspect too though. What if the Park Service decided Acadia was no longer appropriate and changed it to "Ocean Mountain National Park." That would be weird for me.

I suspect that's the cause for disapproval from most who oppose the Suicide 6 or Squaw names being retired.

I get the Squaw name change and can see it, after they and Alpine Meadows will now be for the most part fully merged (granted, you cannot slide completely between the two but can ride a lift to do so). So in a way, they are rebranding the linked resort. Same with Big Squaw in Maine. It has been a non profit shell of its former self for quite a while. If the new group pulls off their plans and reopens the full mountain, rebranding it would not be a terrible idea.

In S6's case, that name has been around for darn near a century. The area has operated continuosly and has merged with another nearby area. They tried once to drop the lead name 20 or 30 years ago and got so much negative feedback, they gave up on that idea. So I guess if this sticks this time, does that mean society is more woke or more soft now? I suppose history will decide that a century from now.

 

[deadheadskier]

When is the world going to give up on this whole derogatory "woke" statement? It's really quite lame IMO.

Same goes for people complaining about "political correctness."

It's like being polite and considerate, which is almost always the driver of change on these types a things, is somehow such an awful thing in this world. I don't know how being polite and considerate is now considered "soft."

I don't own Suicide Six. I only ski there. I really don't care so much about them deciding to rebrand. If it works, great. If it doesn't and they wish to switch back the name, that's fine too.

To be honest I don't think any of this will really impact business much at all. Suicide Six is a niche family ski area and probably will always have a fairly consistent business for what they are regardless of the name.