VAIL SUCKS

[deadheadskier]

Just don't look for the rest areas on your phone while you wait in line.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i think the no phone thing is meant to only apply to the people who are about to board the lift, and not the entire line. and i agree you should have your phone away while you're in the gate to move up for the next chair. I've definitely been guilty of fucking with my iPod as I'm shuffling up for my chair. i ski with a circa 2006 iPod and i love it.

 

[deadheadskier]

i think the no phone thing is meant to only apply to the people who are about to board the lift, and not the entire line. and i agree you should have your phone away while you're in the gate to move up for the next chair. I've definitely been guilty of fucking with my iPod as I'm shuffling up for my chair. i ski with a circa 2006 iPod and i love it.

I don't disagree. It's more how they sold it as part of their solution to reduce lift lines that was cringe worthy. Then again, with the insane lines that Epic Pass brings, making sure every damn seat is full matters.


.....or you know, they could sell fewer passes and lift tickets to deliver a better experience like much of their competition is doing.

 

[Edd]

….they could sell fewer passes and lift tickets to deliver a better experience like much of their competition is doing.

I’m told this is really working well for Gunstock. Passes aren’t cheap but the experience is less crowded than it used to be. You’d know better as a customer being there weekends.

 

[deadheadskier]

I’m told this is really working well for Gunstock. Passes aren’t cheap but the experience is less crowded than it used to be. You’d know better as a customer being there weekends.

I've got about ten days in so far at Gunstock with several of them being "sold out' and it's been stellar. It's never felt overwhelming as far as crowds go. They crush the snowmaking in terms of speed of expansion and aren't shy about resurfacing. Staff has been really great. If they're understaffed, you wouldn't know it.

I really only have noticed one problem and have only one operational critique

The one problem would be that the Panorama has been down for maintenance issues pretty often. Like 6 out of those 10 days. When that happens, the other chairs get pretty crowded. When it's running, it's mostly a three minute wait or less for Pistol, Ramrod and Tiger. And even the Panorama lines aren't terrible. Not sure if it's time for a full overhaul of the lift, but the down time has been excessive.

My operational suggestion would be to open the Stockade lodge seating area right away to start the day. They don't need the food court running, but having the seating open really would serve one big benefit. There are number of people who have kids in lessons who may not be skiers themselves. You can't see the carpet area from the main base lodge at all. From the Stockade lodge you can see the learning area well. I'm sure a number of non-skiing parents would take advantage of that indoor space on cold days to look out on their kids learning to ski. It sounds trivial, but as a parent of kids in the program who sees the flow of parents dropping kids off and trying to watch, this would be utilized.

That's really it. Otherwise it's a top notch operation. People question the expansion plans they have, but it completely makes sense to me now having settled into skiing there again after almost a decade lapse. If done right, that expansion would vault the place well past Sunapee as the top day trip destination for families in the Boston and Sourthern NH market. It would capture a number of the wealthy second home owners around the lake who many head north for a bigger skiing experience. I hope at least some of it happens.

 

[thetrailboss]

I've got about ten days in so far at Gunstock with several of them being "sold out' and it's been stellar. It's never felt overwhelming as far as crowds go. They crush the snowmaking in terms of speed of expansion and aren't shy about resurfacing. Staff has been really great. If they're understaffed, you wouldn't know it.

I really only have noticed one problem and have only one operational critique

The one problem would be that the Panorama has been down for maintenance issues pretty often. Like 6 out of those 10 days. When that happens, the other chairs get pretty crowded. When it's running, it's mostly a three minute wait or less for Pistol, Ramrod and Tiger. And even the Panorama lines aren't terrible. Not sure if it's time for a full overhaul of the lift, but the down time has been excessive.

My operational suggestion would be to open the Stockade lodge seating area right away to start the day. They don't need the food court running, but having the seating open really would serve one big benefit. There are number of people who have kids in lessons who may not be skiers themselves. You can't see the carpet area from the main base lodge at all. From the Stockade lodge you can see the learning area well. I'm sure a number of non-skiing parents would take advantage of that indoor space on cold days to look out on their kids learning to ski. It sounds trivial, but as a parent of kids in the program who sees the flow of parents dropping kids off and trying to watch, this would be utilized.

That's really it. Otherwise it's a top notch operation. People question the expansion plans they have, but it completely makes sense to me now having settled into skiing there again after almost a decade lapse. If done right, that expansion would vault the place well past Sunapee as the top day trip destination for families in the Boston and Sourthern NH market. It would capture a number of the wealthy second home owners around the lake who many head north for a bigger skiing experience. I hope at least some of it happens.

Their main summit lift has been down? That's not good.

 

[deadheadskier]

Their main summit lift has been down? That's not good.

Yes frequently. On some occasions it's been an hour or two. On others it's been for the rest of the day. Other than adding to lift lines, it's largely not an issue for us as my 3 and 6 year old are fine with the lower mountain lifts. Hopefully everything is sorted out. I didn't see any issues this past weekend

 

[thetrailboss]

Yes frequently. On some occasions it's been an hour or two. On others it's been for the rest of the day. Other than adding to lift lines, it's largely not an issue for us as my 3 and 6 year old are fine with the lower mountain lifts. Hopefully everything is sorted out. I didn't see any issues this past weekend

That knocks a fair amount of terrain out.

 

[deadheadskier]

That knocks a fair amount of terrain out.

It does. We'll see how it goes this weekend

 

[thetrailboss]

I don’t think anyone posted this….

For Skiers, a Winter of Discontent (Published 2022)

With resorts having trouble hiring and employees calling out sick, visitors have been frustrated by idled lifts, limited services and closed terrain. Some of the biggest complaints have come from Epic Pass holders.

www.nytimes.com

 

[skef]

A review of the podcast (in case you needed that…):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1486878295429943296

 

[ThatGuy]

I don’t think anyone posted this….

For Skiers, a Winter of Discontent (Published 2022)

With resorts having trouble hiring and employees calling out sick, visitors have been frustrated by idled lifts, limited services and closed terrain. Some of the biggest complaints have come from Epic Pass holders.

www.nytimes.com

Why they doing Magic dirty with that headline photo.

 

[deadheadskier]

Why they doing Magic dirty with that headline photo.

Hugh Conway a publisher for NYT?

 

[thetrailboss]

Why they doing Magic dirty with that headline photo.

If you read the rest of the article you will see that Magic actually looked pretty good. Killington, down 20-30% of staff, not so good. One might think it was a POWDR resort or something....

 

[jimmywilson69]

no mention of the Attitash Triple being replaced.

Vail Resorts Capital Improvements | Epic Lift Upgr | Snow.com

www.snow.com

 

[thetrailboss]

no mention of the Attitash Triple being replaced.

Vail Resorts Capital Improvements | Epic Lift Upgr | Snow.com

www.snow.com

I think that is their original announcement from the fall.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Good point

 

[Kingslug20]

Stowe..over a foot this week..over 100 inches...80% open...no front 4 top runs open.
Sugarbush...less snow..100% open
Vail...you suck.....bet a lot of Stowe people switch to SB next season...

 

[hovercraft]

Stowe..over a foot this week..over 100 inches...80% open...no front 4 top runs open.
Sugarbush...less snow..100% open
Vail...you suck.....bet a lot of Stowe people switch to SB next season...

That’s strange as all the front four were open on Tuesday when I was there……..

 

[Kingslug20]

The top of the runs?