VAIL SUCKS

[deadheadskier]

I don't think Vail will sell resorts for business market value. They'll calculate the price based upon how much they think the stock price drops due to investors perceiving the sale as there are problems with management. It might honestly be better for Vail's stock to just close a resort all together than sell a small area like Wildcat for say, $10M.

 

[FBGM]

Part of my career the past 4-5 years was heavily analytical work. Would kinda love to see the full access/behind the scene numbers /info that drive these metrics and resorts. As a skier, I’d puke. As a finance and analytical person driving EBITA I’d shit my pants with my bonus.

 

[zyk]

I don't think Vail will sell resorts for business market value. They'll calculate the price based upon how much they think the stock price drops due to investors perceiving the sale as there are problems with management. It might honestly be better for Vail's stock to just close a resort all together than sell a small area like Wildcat for say, $10M.

Agree but that's depressing

 

[PAabe]

I'm concerned that when Vail sells off areas, they'll be stripped of their best assets - snowguns, snowcats, potentially even lift removals. The loss of cash would be easily offset if they maintain their regional monopoly with fewer competitors. Take Roundtop or Liberty out of Southeast PA or one of the three NH resorts out of the loop. Move the working lifts and the snowmaking assets to another regional location, leave just enough to pretend the remaining resort is viable, pass off the next five years of stagnation/closure on the new owners.

All of the Vail ski areas are IMO too big and popular to shut down a la Toggenburg or Brodie without massive public outcry

Roundtop/Liberty/Whitetail go together. Roundtop is early season & steeps, Liberty is closest to DC, Whitetail has bigger vert. There is not enough room at the 3 to shut down 1 with the number if people skiing there from Washington & MD, and, with 3 relatively small places, it is easier to sell a pass with the wider variety of terrain. All 3 should be far and away profitable on their own though

Wildcat and Sunapee being owned by the state I would imagine could not be shut down in that way

Laurel Mountain is owned by the state, cannot be shut down if there is another bidder for operator

A lot of people thought Vail would try to shut down Big Boulder or Hidden Valley but they have new lifts going in so evidently not. Both have slopeside communities which would be very angry if they were closed

 

[Smellytele]

All of the Vail ski areas are IMO too big and popular to shut down a la Toggenburg or Brodie without massive public outcry

Roundtop/Liberty/Whitetail go together. Roundtop is early season & steeps, Liberty is closest to DC, Whitetail has bigger vert. There is not enough room at the 3 to shut down 1 with the number if people skiing there from Washington & MD, and, with 3 relatively small places, it is easier to sell a pass with the wider variety of terrain. All 3 should be far and away profitable on their own though

Wildcat being owned by the state I would imagine could not be shut down in that way

It isn’t owned by the state. Sunapee is

 

[PAabe]

It isn’t owned by the state. Sunapee is

So they just lease land at the summit from the state rather than the state being the ski area owner or is that just Attitash?

 

[deadheadskier]

So they just lease land at the summit from the state rather than the state being the ski area owner or is that just Attitash?

Sunapee is state park land and the lease is with the state.

Attitash summit and all of Wildcat are on US National Forrest lands and the lease is with the feds.

 

[PAabe]

Sunapee is state park land and the lease is with the state.

Attitash summit and all of Wildcat are on US National Forrest lands and the lease is with the feds.

Oh I had that mixed up thanks

 

[FBGM]

 

[Dickc]

View attachment 52597

Looks like a superspreader potential in process as Omiocron is supposed to be so contagious that you can catch it if you get into an elevator just after someone who just sneezed exits.

 

[slatham]

Where is that?

 

[RichT]

So how do you find out where the New England Vail resorts are making snow? I’m used to Killington where it’s an icon on any trail they’ve blown snow on in the last 24 hours. The Epic Mix iPhone application is pretty useless. Same for the individual resort web sites.

I guess it's a secret?? Just another thing for the long list of fails! Yesterday I got an email from Vail asking for my "experience" at Hunter I listed just about 15 things that they sucking at! Probably never hear from them again.

 

[PAabe]

Where is that?

Park City I think I saw on Harvey's site version of this thread. 1.5 hour line

 

[JoeB-Z]

I went to Sunapee on Friday afternoon because Magic was not running to the top. I was closed out from Okemo due to my cheapo pass. One look and I turned around after a piss. I thought it might empty out for football.

 

[ss20]

Park City I think I saw on Harvey's site version of this thread. 1.5 hour line

I believe it. They got 2ft+ over the holiday week but it was on top of essentially nothing so the resort is around 50% open. Website says 29/43 lifts spinning today. So pretty much 70% capacity on a day where you'd expect demand to be 120%+ of normal holiday.

 

[FBGM]

I believe it. They got 2ft+ over the holiday week but it was on top of essentially nothing so the resort is around 50% open. Website says 29/43 lifts spinning today. So pretty much 70% capacity on a day where you'd expect demand to be 120%+ of normal holiday.

They don’t have enough staff to open all the lifts. Or groom at 100%. And they are close to not having any ski patrol because they are going to strike. I was hoping they would during Christmas weekend.

 

[ss20]

They don’t have enough staff to open all the lifts. Or groom at 100%. And they are close to not having any ski patrol because they are going to strike. I was hoping they would during Christmas weekend.

I'm sure they are hurting. Rumor is Snowbird doesn't have enough help to open Mineral.

Meanwhile....we've got bigger issues... patrollers were swept up but were OK....

 

[machski]

I'm hesitant to defend Vail, but I have to point out that closing the mountain is actually better for snowmaking. 1. If your snowmakers were pulled to other departments or pulled from other departments, they're now at least in theory available to work. 2. Assuming you have someone available to make snow, they won't have to shut down trails to groom them out, they won't have to worry about guests getting in the way, generally it's far easier making snow on a closed section/closed mountain.

If I thought Vail had done it for operational reasons and not staffing, I might be fractionally more sympathetic. At least their horrible mismanagement should make it a little easier on their Mtn Ops crews, or whatever's left of them.

Agreed. I could totally see Tomorrow and Tuesday closed to recover from Crap weather post Holiday week, especially given the snowmaking opportunity window. The fact that it is Mon/Ties closed period moving forward, they lose any wiggle room I'm willing to give.

 

[eatskisleep]

Park City I think I saw on Harvey's site version of this thread. 1.5 hour line

Link?

 

[Mainer]

Skied attitash this afternoon, spring skiing in the rain. Every lift open has just one trail to ski (1.33 off the triple) It requires a skate to lap flying bear. It requires a skate to get to the yankee from a triple run. No flow. Looks like mountain hosts are being used as lifties. the triple kept stopping and going. It was empty and fun though. Thought about getting a beer at ptarmigans but my phone died with my vax card pic on it. Took a piss at the bear peak lodge. They have the cafeteria side where you used to boot up roped off, there is a security guard checking vax cards to buy overpriced food there. It didn’t seem welcoming and was completely empty. I’m going to be so frustrating when the yankee is closed midweek again and they have a security guard in each lodge (3 total) and not enough staff to run lifts. I’m not buying anything from a vail resort again this year, I’ll walk across to Matty bs if I don’t have a pocket beer.