Electricians are probably $40/hour + in their check to attract them form a commercial/ industrial job right now, and that is nonunion position. You have to sweeten their pay to get someone to move to an overpriced, under supplied local housing market. Then, throw in hostel working conditions due to the weather...good luck
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
Castlerockrisk
Member
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2016
- Messages
- 36
- Points
- 18
The takeaway and simplicity of the lift issues is that Sugarbush and the Ikon pass willingly take our money early in the season with the promise of providing a service. If we were buying daily passes you have the option of paying for the current operational and skiable conditions, ie you make a decision to buy or not to buy that day, however the current model is for most guests to buy a pass in advance. As season ticket buyers we put trust into Sugarbush to deliver on their promises. The current Blog shows that management thinks that they are trying their best and suggests that the issues with their failure to provide the service that they promise is not their fault. Current management really needs to go back and access their operation and learn that the cause of these failures are 100% created by their failure to execute what they promised to us as pass holders. I also think that they need to look at these posts and respond. I appreciate Win’s efforts to communicate some of his thoughts on their behalf, instead management should respond on their own behalf and do a much better job than the Sugarblog.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
hostile. assess.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
its always been really nice that win is a poster here, but no ski area owes direct communication to a niche message board with 25 active posters
ducky
Active member
Last edited:
And of the 25, 1/4 of them live in Utah.
Plowboy
Member
NL is skied off (from yesterdays report) and It looks like they're possibly getting ready to open NR from the cam.
slatham
Well-known member
Correct. But they do owe it to their loyal season pass holders and local stakeholders. We are just the canary in the coal mine. Believe me the hundreds/thousands of said stakeholders that for some strange reason don’t post here are also infuriatied.
almost 50 pages of legitimate complaints from the hard core base (in 1 month) If they don't take notice, they should. Yeah, there are a few complaints that are kind of BS, but I think most are legit. It all boils down to lack of early snow making (or unwillingness to pivot to the summit chair) and lifts not being ready when they should have been.
urungus
Well-known member
what is it now? Johnston Rod? Kniviling Pin? Or the infamous Hemulator?
NewEnglander77
New member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2022
- Messages
- 9
- Points
- 3
Regular lurker and occasional poster here. Many locals I am friendly with express the same frustration and sentiment of those on the board.
I love this thread but am mostly here as a lurker since most of you know so much more about the details. (Special thanks to @WinS for participating and sharing such a unique point of view).
It’s been interesting to read some of the context from all of you on the nuances to the lift maintenance but, at the end of the day, our perception is that Sugarbush’s lift are not as reliable as other mountains and snowmaking infrastructure is several years behind the market.
Maybe someone is smart enough to comb Strava data to see which resorts and lifts have the most uphill variance, wait times, and stoppages.
Sugarbush is our home mountain and we still love the culture and terrain but since ownership/management change we’ve managed to skied at a handful of other places throughout New England and it seems like they all have much fewer stops - both load/unload issues and larger mechanical issues. From small places like Wachusett and Saddleback to Killington and the big Boyne’s resorts - they all run like clockwork and were inevitably jealous of their lift infrastructure.
This weekend at Sugarbush was rough, though, and in the absence of maintenance resources, other departments will need to adjust. For example, when Super Bravo was on wind hold, the line to Valley was astronomically large. Why didn’t they move ropes & employees up to help with crowd management? Or put an extra person at the top to help clear the ramp to decrease slow downs? Same for Gate House - why not use some of the extra lift crew to throw an extra person up top and help clear the space?
There is no doubt a lot of challenges for Sugarbush - we’re about 1/3rd the skier visits of Killington (ie smaller revenue to play with), there’s certainly still residual supply chain effects from Covid, Alterra’s ownership is probably still a change, climate change stinks… certainly a lot for any new president to tackle.
…but other mountains seem to be adjusting quicker and with greater transparency to their plans & timelines, sticking to them, and updating as issues come up, i.e. Boyne’s 2030 plans for Sugarloaf & Sunday River.
It’s been interesting to read some of the context from all of you on the nuances to the lift maintenance but, at the end of the day, our perception is that Sugarbush’s lift are not as reliable as other mountains and snowmaking infrastructure is several years behind the market.
Maybe someone is smart enough to comb Strava data to see which resorts and lifts have the most uphill variance, wait times, and stoppages.
Sugarbush is our home mountain and we still love the culture and terrain but since ownership/management change we’ve managed to skied at a handful of other places throughout New England and it seems like they all have much fewer stops - both load/unload issues and larger mechanical issues. From small places like Wachusett and Saddleback to Killington and the big Boyne’s resorts - they all run like clockwork and were inevitably jealous of their lift infrastructure.
This weekend at Sugarbush was rough, though, and in the absence of maintenance resources, other departments will need to adjust. For example, when Super Bravo was on wind hold, the line to Valley was astronomically large. Why didn’t they move ropes & employees up to help with crowd management? Or put an extra person at the top to help clear the ramp to decrease slow downs? Same for Gate House - why not use some of the extra lift crew to throw an extra person up top and help clear the space?
There is no doubt a lot of challenges for Sugarbush - we’re about 1/3rd the skier visits of Killington (ie smaller revenue to play with), there’s certainly still residual supply chain effects from Covid, Alterra’s ownership is probably still a change, climate change stinks… certainly a lot for any new president to tackle.
…but other mountains seem to be adjusting quicker and with greater transparency to their plans & timelines, sticking to them, and updating as issues come up, i.e. Boyne’s 2030 plans for Sugarloaf & Sunday River.
Had a great weekend before the rain. Hopefully that storm next week replenishes all the natural snow…
A few observations from my end:
1) Why are there so many employees staffed in the parking lot? I had 4 employees guiding me into the lot, before I had another 4 instructing me where to park in the lot and how far forward to pull up. I’m sure there was a boatload of other employees scattered around the parking lot as well. Seems like Alterra could realize some cost savings here…
2) Similar to my previous comment, looked like 5 lifties staffed at the base of the lifts. These guys were doing minimal work and any time the lift stopped, maintenance had to come by and start up the lift again. Seems like another area to realize some cost savings…
3) Appreciated the new heavens gate lift and how insulated it was from the wind. This saved Saturday when bravo was on wind hold
A few observations from my end:
1) Why are there so many employees staffed in the parking lot? I had 4 employees guiding me into the lot, before I had another 4 instructing me where to park in the lot and how far forward to pull up. I’m sure there was a boatload of other employees scattered around the parking lot as well. Seems like Alterra could realize some cost savings here…
2) Similar to my previous comment, looked like 5 lifties staffed at the base of the lifts. These guys were doing minimal work and any time the lift stopped, maintenance had to come by and start up the lift again. Seems like another area to realize some cost savings…
3) Appreciated the new heavens gate lift and how insulated it was from the wind. This saved Saturday when bravo was on wind hold
Snow report: "boomin’ early season snowmaking operation".....huh?
And they botched the spelling of Riemergasse, again. Come on...cut and paste the name if you can't get it right...
Yes, at least somepne reads the report...might as well get it right
And they botched the spelling of Riemergasse, again. Come on...cut and paste the name if you can't get it right...
Yes, at least somepne reads the report...might as well get it right
I think many of the lot people are ambassadors, so not paid, but I could be wrong
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