The "Sugarbush Thread"

[1dog]

I think we met him at the ticket window. Yes, it is was a very busy day yesterday. A record for us. But, when I timed the base area lines they were mostly under 10 minutes which for a Holiday anywhere is pretty good. The shortest lift lines are early and at noon. And that was without Castlerock or Slidebrook running. We need another foot of snow to get safe snowmobile access into SB for the lift mechanics. We also had parking still available in Lot G although Mount Ellen did fill up early. The vast majority of the skiers here as always were season pass holders. And, yes, the lodges on the Holidays get jammed because most people come in at the same time, and we do have future plans as I have mentioned in the past to expand our mid-mountain lodges to take the load of the base area lodges.

Thx Win,

Those of us who are pass holders expect this, plan for it, and don't get our panties in a twist when the place has record crowds. Skied both days, and frankly Sat wasn't bad because we had no wind. Kept the holiday 3-4 day a year skiers/riders down. They came out for the new snow and moderating temps - who'd of thunk it? Of course they did.

Got to the mountain early and skied 4 runs w no lines before 9:30 - VH was ski on and SB was reasonable- 10 mins maybe. Does anyone remember the 80's???

Went over to north at 10 Sunday - maybe a mistake- cars parked to German Flats. . . .dropped off my skis and found a front row - ok ok maybe not perfectly legal. . . .but lines there were not bad except 10:30-11:30 at GMX while Inverness was ski on.

Another 1' or two.

Glad the new owners were handed a gem, lets hope they keep it that way. Lodges are packed but most on this forum are here to ski. I ate my lunch on the lift. I didn't see a lot of unhappy people in lodges when I went to use restrooms, not Walts nor GH. They expect this.

Once that mid mountain odge gets built it might help, but I am sure it and the valley will draw more people. Thats the goal of a business. . . to expand and enhance its shareholders value.

 

[1dog]

PS

Also didn't hurt to have no northeast teams in playoffs. . . . . 1st time in a while

 

[WinS]

PS

Also didn't hurt to have no northeast teams in playoffs. . . . . 1st time in a while

Yes. That is a big factor too.

Cold today and no lines. The sun helps and the snow is really nice. Snowmaking on Stein's (after a groom last night) and Brambles at ME and moving next to Cliffs at ME and then building up the Spring trails at LP to get us to May again. Headed out to do a few more runs with the grandkids.

 

[mikec142]

I think you're right. It does appear to be intended to compel a subscription model by making the traditional day ticket unappealing. The next question would be: who benefits from this?

You keep moving the goal posts. Who benefits? Both skiers and resort owners. Skiers benefit because more revenue for the mountain will lead to more investment and improvements on the mountain. Owners hopefully benefit with higher profits.

 

[WWF-VT]

You keep moving the goal posts. Who benefits? Both skiers and resort owners. Skiers benefit because more revenue for the mountain will lead to more investment and improvements on the mountain. Owners hopefully benefit with higher profits.

Can we move this topic to it's own thread ? It's getting to be annoying and more relevant to the industry at large than just Sugarbush. Maybe the thread can be titled "I'm Stupid Enough to Pay the Walk Up Ticket Price and I Want to Bitch About It".

 

[mikec142]

Agree. However advanced purchase does shift risk to the consumer. It is a back door way of imposing a 100% cancelation fee on your ski plans.

Any purchase in advance comes with risk. But with risk comes reward. Purchasing a few days in advance comes with relatively low risk.

Frankly, I'm not sure what your concern is. It seems that you believe that day rates should be lower because you feel that they are cost prohibitive. But you haven't shown any logic that indicates that this would be better for the business owner.

 

[mikec142]

Can we move this topic to it's own thread ? It's getting to be annoying and more relevant to the industry at large than just Sugarbush. Maybe the thread can be titled "I'm Stupid Enough to Pay the Walk Up Ticket Price and I Want to Bitch About It".

I agree with you completely and apologize for furthering the conversation. Would love to see it as its own thread. Only I would want the title to be "I have a season pass, but that won't stop me from bitching about the day rates"

 

[Orca]

You keep moving the goal posts. Who benefits? Both skiers and resort owners. Skiers benefit because more revenue for the mountain will lead to more investment and improvements on the mountain. Owners hopefully benefit with higher profits.

It's not moving the goalposts when you ask a follow up question. I am not so sure everyone benefits. You are making assertions without backing them up. It is not at all clear that the skier benefits from the increased risk exposure.

 

[ScottySkis]

Can we move this topic to it's own thread ? It's getting to be annoying and more relevant to the industry at large than just Sugarbush. Maybe the thread can be titled "I'm Stupid Enough to Pay the Walk Up Ticket Price and I Want to Bitch About It".

+100000

 

[Orca]

I agree with you completely and apologize for furthering the conversation. Would love to see it as its own thread. Only I would want the title to be "I have a season pass, but that won't stop me from bitching about the day rates"

Or we could title the thread "F*ck the casual skier, I've got mine", which is the prevalent attitude here.

 

[djd66]

Orca - just curious,... how do you feel about the airline industry charging significantly more for the price for a ticket that you purchase in the airport VS the guy that plans ahead (months ahead) and buys a ticket at the lowest rate?

 

[tumbler]

I think we met him at the ticket window. Yes, it is was a very busy day yesterday. A record for us. But, when I timed the base area lines they were mostly under 10 minutes which for a Holiday anywhere is pretty good. The shortest lift lines are early and at noon. And that was without Castlerock or Slidebrook running. We need another foot of snow to get safe snowmobile access into SB for the lift mechanics. We also had parking still available in Lot G although Mount Ellen did fill up early. The vast majority of the skiers here as always were season pass holders. And, yes, the lodges on the Holidays get jammed because most people come in at the same time, and we do have future plans as I have mentioned in the past to expand our mid-mountain lodges to take the load of the base area lodges.

It was jammed for sure but was not unbearable, at least for me. Congrats on the record day, hopefully some good $$$ from it. Give the staff a rest, they deserve it.

Now that the closing has happened, when do you think the capital plan for the next 5 years will be revealed? We know what you would like, will it be funded?

 

[AbominableSnowman]

Heard a report today [Monday, 1/20/20] that someone fell off a chair on the Gatehouse lift yesterday. Anyone know if that is true? Also heard that it took a while for a proper response (which I fervently hope is NOT true).....

 

[cdskier]

Sounds like a truly IKONic day!

Nice try, but Ikon base was blacked out...(and base supposedly sells far more passes than the full Ikon).

At any rate, as crowded as it was on Sunday, I still never waited more than 5-10 minutes max at ME (and it was probably the most crowded day I've personally ever seen at ME). Saturday felt like a busy weekend day at LP, but it wasn't too bad as LP can handle a lot of people. I really don't recall waiting more than a few minutes in any lift lines. And today was downright empty and ski on to the lifts. Most of the time I wasn't even sharing a chair with anyone today.

As for parking, what do people expect on a holiday weekend that includes fresh snow? Get there early and you'll have no problem.

 

[Smellytele]

Agree. However advanced purchase does shift risk to the consumer. It is a back door way of imposing a 100% cancelation fee on your ski plans.

Actually you can call up and move your ski day to another day. If It is cheaper you get a credit. If is is more expensive, you pay the difference. I have done it twice this year. So only risk is you have to use it this year. This is different than something like liftopia.

 

[Orca]

Actually you can call up and move your ski day to another day. If It is cheaper you get a credit. If is is more expensive, you pay the difference. I have done it twice this year. So only risk is you have to use it this year. This is different than something like liftopia.

Didn't know that. Very good information. Thank you.

 

[Orca]

Orca - just curious,... how do you feel about the airline industry charging significantly more for the price for a ticket that you purchase in the airport VS the guy that plans ahead (months ahead) and buys a ticket at the lowest rate?

That is a reasonable comparison. I suppose the relative penalty of buying last minute is similar.

One could argue the virtues of variable pricing based on a combination of demand and risk that is facilitated by the online model.

You guys make some good points.

 

[CastlerockMRV]

Heard a report today [Monday, 1/20/20] that someone fell off a chair on the Gatehouse lift yesterday. Anyone know if that is true? Also heard that it took a while for a proper response (which I fervently hope is NOT true).....

We came by shortly after it happened I believe and saw patrol and others on the scene as we skated over from Bravo. Happened about 150ft from the loading area. A good ~20ft drop. SB team made the call to shut the lift down and send everyone back to Bravo and VH so they could provide some privacy while treating the injured person. We didn’t linger so I don’t know much else. I hope whomever fell is alright.

 

[WinS]

We came by shortly after it happened I believe and saw patrol and others on the scene as we skated over from Bravo. Happened about 150ft from the loading area. A good ~20ft drop. SB team made the call to shut the lift down and send everyone back to Bravo and VH so they could provide some privacy while treating the injured person. We didn’t linger so I don’t know much else. I hope whomever fell is alright.

Yes, fortunately, he is fine. And help was there very quickly.

 

[cdskier]

Any issue with snowmaking at LP? This morning when I woke up the website listed several trails at LP (including Stein's and Pushover) with snowmaking. There was even a note in the snow report to be careful at the top of Pushover with the guns/piles or something like that. By the time I got to work and refreshed the snow report, all mention of LP snowmaking was gone.