VAIL SUCKS

[PAabe]

It's in Blue Knob State Park so they don't own the land it also creates some red tape for improvements

I think the resort owns a lot of the land themselves. There are also a lot of homes in the resort HOA along the ski trails.
The state does own the summit so I guess upgrading the lifts could run into red tape especially if it requires widening or regrading the lift line.

I am told it's currently owned by a group of dentists and doctors out of Pittsburgh who bought it a few years ago, they have been working on gradual improvements to snowmaking but don't have the capital to move very fast, especially with the # of skier visits they get. They aren't really trying to sell though from what I understand.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Interesting on the land I was always under the impression it was all on state land.

It needs better snowmaking for sure. I can endure slow lifts, but reliable snowmaking is a must.

 

[Smellytele]

Crotched delaying their opening from this weekend. Blaming mother nature. Wachusette says, "We are 50 miles south and have been open for weeks"

And Pats peak 10-15 miles as the crow flies opened last weekend and has been blowing snow as well this week.

 

[Smellytele]

It would have been better for Pirate fans everywhere if Vail bought the Pirates, too.

Red Sox already own the Penguins.

 

[deadheadskier]

Red Sox already own the Penguins.

Really can't believe John Henry did that. The Penguins are probably the most hated NHL franchise by Bruins fans other than the Canadians

 

[abc]

... all while leveraging central management for lower costs.

The hundred pound gorilla in plain sight?

 

[machski]

Anyone got some thoughts on that?

Back then there was what, ASC and maybe Intrawest for big conglomerates, but Intrawest was spread a bit between the US and Canada. In New England, ASC really got hammered when then LBO held Sunday River, Attitash, Cranmore, Waterville, Sugarbush and added Killington/Pico and Mount Snow. They may have had 50% of Sugarloaf at that point, don't think they had 100% quite yet. They got forced to divest Waterville and Cranmore (shockingly the two smallest at the time).

 

[IceEidolon]

View attachment 52364

Trail map has shrunk since 1982. Lifts are 60s and 80s vintage. 2nd tallest peak of any mountain in the state, and only 10' less vert than Blue Mountain. Longest runs and lifts in the state. They own a lot of land on all sides outside the ski area boundary, and the state-owned land surrounding it is also available to be used (they already use the summit). Somebody with money to update the snowmaking system, finish the trail build out, and put in a new lift could make it very competitive with the surrounding Vail properties.

Not that this should happen before, say, buying 50 - 100 low energy snowguns, but putting a trail from Stembogan bowl's skiers right edge over to just below the lodge complex, then down to meet up with an extension of Runout further down the gulley with a lift back to the lodge and a second trail pod... That's a solid ~500' intermediate pod with potentially two 1200+' beginner trails, easily the tallest ski area in PA with a ton of slopeside development down in the valley, Extrovert, Stembogan Bowl... Just three trails and a lift (and three decades of deferred upgrades) away.

 

[deadheadskier]

What's that bowl all about anyway? Just a wide trail?

 

[IceEidolon]

It's a teeny (relative to actual bowls) funnel that's maybe 300-400' wide at the top and pretty steep on the skiers left side. There's a bypass/cat track trail that goes around the rim and right edge. It looks like a ton of fun in soft natural conditions but not so much when it's iced over, bumped up, and not groomed.

 

[gittist]

3 more "Eastern" resorts coming into the Epic portfolio.

Vail Resorts to Acquire Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Pittsburgh Area

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – December 8, 2021 – Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania from Seven...

news.vailresorts.com

How does Vail possibly have cash to still be buying up resorts?
HV and LM are dinky but 7 Springs is a major major operation, hotel, conference center, spa, condos...
Vail now owns 6/7 resorts in Southern PA and 8/20 in PA.

Regarding antitrust, Nutting's 7S/HV/LM was the largest competitor to Vail in the Baltimore/DC/central PA market. This also neuters the Laurel Highlands pass, which cross honors with Wisp, Wintergreen, Ragged, Powderhorn, and Mt. Washington BC.

I am sure Vail wants nothing to do with Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain and will neglect them even worse before. Or else they will ruin the whole Laurel Mountain schtick with fat groomers and changes to the lodge. LM is owned by the state of PA - maybe they will terminate their contract?

1. In regards to (IRT) Vail buying more ski areas in PA. OHHHH Fudge! I shouldn't say what I'm thinking other than they can't run the eastern places they already own!!

2. IRT to the cash question. Vail is getting the cash from idiots like me that bought EPIC passes :-(

 

[jaytrem]

What's that bowl all about anyway? Just a wide trail?

It had a fun drop-in when I was there last year. Almost like jumping off a cornice. After that just a semi-steep bump run for a short distance. Trees were a lot more interesting than the "bowl". Super fun place if you can time it right.

 

[tumbler]

Vail is going to destroy skiing. These small hills will never recover after the years of neglect they will go through. If they even stay open.

 

[deadheadskier]

Snow sports: Reborn, rebuilt Attitash Mountain Resort ready for action

General manager Greg Gavrilets has led improvements in his 14 months at the New Hampshire ski area

www.telegram.com

“The rumor mills have been swirling, but we have a full crew of snowmakers, and they’re going 24/7 right now,” he said.

 

[snoseek]

Snow sports: Reborn, rebuilt Attitash Mountain Resort ready for action

General manager Greg Gavrilets has led improvements in his 14 months at the New Hampshire ski area

www.telegram.com

“The rumor mills have been swirling, but we have a full crew of snowmakers, and they’re going 24/7 right now,” he said.

I'm about halfway through this and it seems fluffy but am intrigued about the rehabbed shack up top they wanna sell drinks. Slinging drinks up there on the weekend would be a pretty fun little gig and probably rain tip $$$. I'm not jumping back into that meat grinder but it would be fun for sure.

 

[Harvey]

I'd bet that Bristol Mtn and Holiday Valley in western NY (Rochester / Buffalo / Cleveland) are both on the Vail radar.

Ugh.

 

[Edd]

Snow sports: Reborn, rebuilt Attitash Mountain Resort ready for action

General manager Greg Gavrilets has led improvements in his 14 months at the New Hampshire ski area

www.telegram.com

“The rumor mills have been swirling, but we have a full crew of snowmakers, and they’re going 24/7 right now,” he said.

Efficiencies, cross-training staff. Doesn’t sound like corporate-speak at all.

 

[Cobbold]

Efficiencies, cross-training staff. Doesn’t sound like corporate-speak at all.

mt snow used ski school people a lot in the lift lines last year I noticed, two years ago they seemed to use new ski patrol hires in the lift lines early season, at least what one liftline/ski patrol guy told me.

 

[drjeff]

mt snow used ski school people a lot in the lift lines last year I noticed, two years ago they seemed to use new ski patrol hires in the lift lines early season, at least what one liftline/ski patrol guy told me.

That was simply a staffing thing. They didn't have the H1B foreign employees who usually did that job. They had more instructors than they had classes that they were allowed to fill under the COVID guidance they were operating under last season. A lateral movement of staff was done to help deal with the employee shortage in certain situations last year. This season, from what I have heard thusfar, there aren't any current plans for instructors to be out working liftlines.

There were plenty of staff last season, and frankly from time to time for a long time in the past, who under specific circumstances, would be doing jobs that typically they weren't hired to do in a pinch, at ski areas all across the country. The reality is that the vast majority of ski areas never have all of their "ideal" amount of staff to do everything involved with running a resort the way the GM and various department heads would ultimately like. That's just the reality of the ski industry, and many other "seasonal" type industries as well

 

[2Planker]

mt snow used ski school people a lot in the lift lines last year I noticed, two years ago they seemed to use new ski patrol hires in the lift lines early season, at least what one liftline/ski patrol guy told me.

OK until they' run low of patrollers up top, ready to respond to calls coming in