VAIL SUCKS

[cdskier]

Likewise my desire to ski Gore and Whiteface and also check out Platty, Bell and even Hunter though less so the latter

Because Vail sucks

LOL. Hunter is one I probably was last at 15+ years ago and really don't have much desire to go back to (even before Vail owned them). Belleayre and Platty I was both at within the past several years and are my two favorites in the Catskills. Windham I just went back to a couple weeks ago for the first time in a while (free on Ikon so while the terrain isn't anything to write home about...the cost factor was hard to beat for a day trip ).

I need to go back to Whiteface one day. My one trip there was disappointing and I'm sure didn't really do it justice (it was "Iceface" that weekend). Gore is fantastic and I love it. My 2nd favorite resort behind Sugarbush.

 

[ctdubl07]

Holy Sh!t....... I woke up and it is possible, page 257 of this thread actually might be heading us back to Vail sucking.
Come on all you career cranky posters, keep it up!

 

[Kingslug20]

Vail sux

 

[Smellytele]

Have a friend with the epic military pass. I never ski with him anymore. He has no idea how much vail sux because it’s almost free for him.

 

[snoseek]

Have a friend with the epic military pass. I never ski with him anymore. He has no idea how much vail sux because it’s almost free for him.

Honestly for the active military people that pass is kind of a no-brainer. I think it's like 150 or something like that.

I bit on the veteran pass 2 years in a row. If they weren't so shitty in nh I would absolutely be a long term customer as it's an amazing deal but I'll go the dhs route and give them some time off until they either crash and burn or at some point figure out how to run the nh areas. If they could run the other nh areas like they run the vt areas or even sunapee I would be ok.

 

[gittist]

Have a friend with the epic military pass. I never ski with him anymore. He has no idea how much vail sux because it’s almost free for him.

Fail Vail still sucks for those that have the military passes, just not as bad.

 

[skimagic]

Here's VT which has the reputation of being a horrible place to do business with very restrictive zoning. Yet their major areas all exploded over the past 50 years.

Contrast that to NH which is widely viewed as more business and zoning friendly than VT and the ski area development has been paltry in comparison. Our largest resort is small by VT standards in 2022.

I suspect it's simply a matter of VT being closer to NYC money and larger population than NH is to small Boston in comparison.

The issue is also land ownership. Most of the VT areas were built on private or state land with the exception of the Lincoln side of Sugabush and the upper part of MT Snow , both USFS property. I think most of the NH White mountain areas are hemmed in by USFS land but significant expansion has occurred at BW Attitash and Loon. Cannon, on state land, absorbed Mittersill so that's an expansion too.

 

[snoseek]

HOLY FUCK THEY'RE BLOWING SNOW ON LYNX!!!!

 

[gittist]

Honestly for the active military people that pass is kind of a no-brainer. I think it's like 150 or something like that.

I bit on the veteran pass 2 years in a row. If they weren't so shitty in nh I would absolutely be a long term customer as it's an amazing deal but I'll go the dhs route and give them some time off until they either crash and burn or at some point figure out how to run the nh areas. If they could run the other nh areas like they run the vt areas or even sunapee I would be ok.

It started out at $99 but that was before they bought Peak Resorts. At one point the price rose to $199 but with COVID and the 20% off it's still not bad, IF you can ski with it. This year I probably won't even hit the break even point.

 

[pinion]

HOLY FUCK THEY'RE BLOWING SNOW ON LYNX!!!!

Is it sad that I had their webcam up almost all day yesterday on 2nd monitor? Snow visibly being blown on Lynx all day. And per WC's Twitter message, all night as well. AND STILL GOING NOW.

This does not make Vail suck any less, but snowmakers are becoming heroes in MWV at this point in the season.

 

[xlr8r]

E

Exactly. They’ve fallen behind. I also interpret installing a new flagship lift manufactured by a new no-name company to be to save costs. I certainly hope the cost savings outweigh the risk of having a lemon.

I read somewhere that LST have been giving Chris Sununu political donations. One big problem Waterville has is the terrain sucks for the most part. Lots of trails were cut too wide and very few have any real identity. Loon, Bretton Woods, Cannon, Sunapee, Ragged, and Gunstock all have better cut trails, especially for intermediates.

 

[pinion]

I read somewhere that LST have been giving Chris Sununu political donations. One big problem Waterville has is the terrain sucks for the most part. Lots of trails were cut too wide and very few have any real identity. Loon, Bretton Woods, Cannon, Sunapee, Ragged, and Gunstock all have better cut trails, especially for intermediates.

Add Cranmore to that list. North side trails (Kandahar, Skimiester, etc) - cut a million years ago - have a ton of character and when the snow is good are some of the most fun and fluid blues in New Hampshire IMO.

 

[Mainer]

I had the threedom pass all through college. We would occasionally go to Waterville. I always found it dark icy and boring. They did have a great park though. But loon was always far superior in every way.

 

[thebigo]

What’s the deal with installing the t-bar to the sunmit? I love T-bars but…

Rode up with a WV patroller opening day at SR this year. He said their business plan was to blow the upper mountain and rent lanes to race teams early season. He gave some stupid number on the early season cost to rent a lane, maybe $5K / day? don't remember.

 

[snoseek]

I read somewhere that LST have been giving Chris Sununu political donations. One big problem Waterville has is the terrain sucks for the most part. Lots of trails were cut too wide and very few have any real identity. Loon, Bretton Woods, Cannon, Sunapee, Ragged, and Gunstock all have better cut trails, especially for intermediates.

I think they were trying to replicate western areas like breckinridge when they cut that place.
I've not been in many years bit that Sunnyside area was sorta fun as was the trails on the lookers right.
Overall the place seemed like it would work great for racers and families

 

[pinion]

I had the threedom pass all through college. We would occasionally go to Waterville. I always found it dark icy and boring. They did have a great park though. But loon was always far superior in every way.

There was a time - late 90's - that their park was incredible at WV. Small but really well laid out. The Boneyard!

Not quite as crazy as Sunday River at that time (a double-barreled half pipe at Barker. And the terrain park at White Cap had a broken down bus you could bank off of - or smoke up inside of), and nothing compared to stuff like Carinthia now. But those were the days. Lots of technical stuff. Before big air was king.

My old fat body would break into a thousand pieces trying to replicate that stuff I did in the 90's. I was so malleable back then

 

[Mainer]

I remember the broken bus at sr. So sketchy with the broken and sharp metal. So much fun as teenager.

 

[drjeff]

There was a time - late 90's - that their park was incredible at WV. Small but really well laid out. The Boneyard!

Not quite as crazy as Sunday River at that time (a double-barreled half pipe at Barker. And the terrain park at White Cap had a broken down bus you could bank off of - or smoke up inside of), and nothing compared to stuff like Carinthia now. But those were the days. Lots of technical stuff. Before big air was king.

My old fat body would break into a thousand pieces trying to replicate that stuff I did in the 90's. I was so malleable back then

WV still is on the schedule most every year from some high level, usally later in the season championship/finals type USSSA slopestyle competitions.

And while my kids aren't slopestyle competitors, numerous Mount Snow friends of mine have kids that are and have been to comps at WV and have almost unanimously been impressed with what they put on. And given that their home training facility is Carinthia, that says a bunch about what WV has/can do, even if it doesn't get a ton of notariety for their park facilities

 

[kendo]

HOLY FUCK THEY'RE BLOWING SNOW ON LYNX!!!!

think they shanghaied Stowe's crew.

No snowmaking noted in yesterday or today's report and no activity (on yet to open Hayride) on the webcam the last couple of days.

 

[MogulMonsters]

think they shanghaied Stowe's crew.

No snowmaking noted in yesterday or today's report and no activity (on yet to open Hayride) on the webcam the last couple of days.

Can Attitash please borrow some of their snow groomers? They have trails with whales that need to be pushed out.