thebigo
Well-known member
Not hard to connect the dots. If I recollect you have posted that you are friends with LBO and he is one of the few people that meet the description.
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VAIL SUCKS
- Thread starter thebigo
- Start date
True, Good guess, But No. His hands are pretty full right now.
Plus Les is 72. These guys are in their late 50's
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ss20
Well-known member
I'm skeptical. This would be like Walmart selling an underperforming store to a few local guys to turn it into a bowling alley. Not saying it won't or can't happen but it certainly doesn't happen often or at all.
Vail also isn't the obvious top choice in the Northeast over Alterra like they are in other regions. It's a pretty even split. I'd think they want every resort they can get; profit be damned.
Vail also isn't the obvious top choice in the Northeast over Alterra like they are in other regions. It's a pretty even split. I'd think they want every resort they can get; profit be damned.
Wildcat moves the needle on very few pass sales. I'd be one of those very few, but not while Vail owns it. You're talking about a ski area that averages around 85k visits per season over the past ten or so. Losing Cat as part of the Vail portfolio probably does very little to Epics pass sale business.
These guys have climbed the ladder in the industry, and held almost every type of position at a ski resort, both on & off snow.
Couldn't be more different from what they have now. Dedicated hands on mgmt. from people who live/ski there
every day.
Sell off Wildcat and focus efforts on running Attitash better. I could see it.
Wildcat as a standalone resort would be rad. I feel like at some point they could team up with another mountain (Cannon please) to increase pass sales.
Wildcat as a standalone resort would be rad. I feel like at some point they could team up with another mountain (Cannon please) to increase pass sales.
thebigo
Well-known member
Cat with a long season on the WMSP would make for a compelling product. Crannmore/bw/Cat from the valley? Not sure I can think of a better combo in the east.
ss20
Well-known member
Damn. You really do love NH don't you lol. My dream would be living halfway between Killington/Pico and Sugarbush on Ikon base with an MRG midweek pass and I'm set for roughly the same price.
I'd rather see Cat join Indy. Cat Pass with Indy add on is a more compelling product than WMSP to me due to greater geographic diversity and more options.
If the snow is bad at one WMSP area, it's likely going to be bad at all of them. Indy gives you the option Magic for Southern VT storms and Bolton/Jay for Northern VT storms and sometimes those tracks don't do much for the Whites. Plus having Saddleback available, which IMO is the best overall ski mountain / experience in the East now with the High Speed Rangeley chair.
If I lived less than 3 hours from Saddleback, securing a seasonal rental or vacation home there would without question be my goal. It's just a bit too far of a drive for me to want to commit to each weekend.
Black Mt in Jackson was also trying to promote interest in the MWV for joining the WMSP
Why kinda resources does this group have? Personally, i wouldn't think Cat is worth more than $7-8M and given their financial track record I wouldn't commit to something like that unless I had at least $20M in reserve.
I still can't see it. Sure, Wildcat doesn't make a bunch of money and it's a tiny pimple in the Vail empire. But, at the same time, it is an iconic resort with a high base elevation and good natural snow (rare commodities in the East, particularly NH). If Vail lets it go, I expect it to become part of Ikon Pass, one way or another. The big dogs tend to compete real hard against each other, and I am sure they don't want to see Wildcat in Alterra hands, directly or indirectly.
Whitey
Member
For Vail, it's all about the "package" of mountains that VR can offer Epic Pass holders in a geographic area. So they are looking at their package of northeast mountains and if there are enough and they are spread around the northeast. I could see them unloading 1 of the 2 mountains that they have in the Conway area as I doubt that would really impact pass sales. As long as they have something to offer pass holders in that area of NH they would probably be OK with just one area there.
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
other than the triple at Attitash what other problems are there (not withstanding the previous season operations)?
If I was in the market for a ski area , why not two?
If I was in the market for a ski area , why not two?
They have both the resources and the financial backing.
That's about all that will be said until a reply has been received.
dblskifanatic
Active member
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jimmywilson69
Well-known member
Me too but maybe they look at selling the cat as a way to fund a new summit lift at Attitash. 
The challenge with Attitash is the overhead to run it. Improvement wise it really only needs the triple replaced and to cut some additional glades as they have minimal. And use the snowmaking firepower they have to it's full capacity.
But between the two base areas and the quantity of lifts to run at full capacity midweek is tough for the amount of skier visits they get.
machski
Well-known member
Perhaps Vail sells Cat to position to buy Jay. That resort much more fits the Vail profile than the Cat with ZERO base lodging/village.
ScottySkis
Well-known member
Vail sucks less now lol
Buy peaks pass 20 % less than last season
Dreaming of crisp sunrises and fresh snow.
Pass prices have been reduced 20%. Get your pass for the 2021-21 season now.
#huntermountain #sunrise. #tbt
Buy peaks pass 20 % less than last season
Dreaming of crisp sunrises and fresh snow.
Pass prices have been reduced 20%. Get your pass for the 2021-21 season now.
#huntermountain #sunrise. #tbt
