Which resort do you think has done the best this year?

[Vortex]

No polls. I hate them.

I have to go with the River. (No suprise here)

Making snow for a couple hours a night early seson to get open for turkey day sticks out. Opening up Locke mid station...to get open as early as possible is in the same thought.
Snow making and Grooming always. The staff... marketing down to lifties and maint. They care.:beer: (The message board allows resort interaction and some times results.) The season extension was the icing on the cake.

I'm sure others have good feelings here and elswhere also. Explain why.

I skied Ragged, Loon, Cranmore, Wildcat, Attitash, Waterville, Sugarloaf, Waterville, Cannon and Sunday River. oops forgot Pats.

 

[Rushski]

On my S-O-S pass, Sunapee and Okemo made the best that they could for the lousy early season by blowing huge amoounts of snow.

They battled hard and made my decision to get the pass again obvious.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Sugarbush..they were the first to be 100% and stay 100%.

 

[derek]

I am going to agree with Rushski. Sunapee didn't disappoint this year.

 

[Newpylong]

Okemo expanded so rapidly early on the snow they produced sucked and was thin. As you would say, it was not "Okemo Snow"...

Sugarbush can't be given credit for 100% open, thank the clouds for that...

The resorts up north got blessed quite a bit later on in the year... if anyone deserves credits its the places further south that hung in there. I would give Jiminy Peak credit... they are re-opening this weekend long past when surrounding places are closed, and even many others. They consistently battled back many times this year to get the place covered.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I am going to agree with Rushski. Sunapee didn't disappoint this year.

I guess it depends on your expectations. My worst weekend of the year, skiing-wise, was Presidents weekend after the big Valentine's Day storm. I was invited to my friend's place on Lake Sunapee, which was great. The skiiing? Not so much. By far the worst I had experienced this year, even compared to early season at the Bush. There simply is a VAST difference between areas relying on manmade snow with high skier densities vs. areas with a natural snow focus and lower skier densities. By 11:00 each day, I was bored out of my skull and disappointed in the increasingly skied off conditions. Perhaps Sunapee did a good job with what they had, but they don't have much to begin with.

I will concur with SRO - Sugarbush did a tremendous job this year. They had a lot on their plate - opening a $50MM condo building, the new lodge, new base layout, new fancy restaurant, and one of the worst early seasons in recent memory. They were first in VT to open. First to 100% open, and last to remain 100% open. They continued to make snow well past the Valentine's Day storm when, in all fairness, they were pretty much set for the year in terms of natural snowpack. There's been some hiccups along the way, but these guys have done a great job under sometimes challenging conditions.

My only gripe was moving spring skiing to Lincoln Peak. Yeah, it worked out this year b/c they got 7' of snow since April 1, but that won't happen more than once a decade, if that often. It's a silly decision from a pure skiing perspective, designed only for the convenience of Claybrook homeowners.

 

[andyzee]

Killington, of course. Early season, they had the most terrain open.

 

[awf170]

Jay Peak is still 100% open...

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Sugarbush can't be given credit for 100% open, thank the clouds for that...

Wouldn't the same hold for Jay, Stowe, Smuggs, Bolton, Burke and K-Mart? Fact is, SB made a major commitment to snowmaking this year, blowing whenever possible. Outside of some of the crap they had to make during the marginal temp regime in December, the quality of what they produced was consistently outstanding. In the two weeks from Jan 15 (when winter turned on) to Feb 1, they never stopped making snow and covered trail after trail, blitzkrieg stylee. It was impressive for a place that can often rely on its natural snowfall to bail it out.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Jay Peak is still 100% open...

Good catch. SB isn't 100% open due purely to economics. It's not for lack of snow over at Mt. Ellen.

 

[AdironRider]

Whiteface has always put up the goods with excellent customer service. However I was consistently impressed with Pats Peak/Crotched. What they can do down there given their geographic location, etc is pretty damn impressive. I never saw Crotched guns going full bore, but Pats can cover the mtn in a cloud at times. Pretty impressive sight to see an entire mtn in a snowmaking cloud, not just sections or trails.

 

[awf170]

Good catch. SB isn't 100% open due purely to economics. It's not for lack of snow over at Mt. Ellen.

Yeah, pretty much the same with Stowe and K-mart too. So who is still 100% open now? Wildcat, Jay, and Sugarloaf? Is that it?

 

[Greg]

It's a silly decision from a pure skiing perspective, designed only for the convenience of Claybrook homeowners.

I seriously doubt this is the case. Based on this page, there are 61 Claybrook units. Even if they were all sold as 1/4 shares, that's 244 owner/families. Do you honestly think they would risk alienating everyone else just to cater to this clientele who already have invested in a Claybrook unit anyway? If this were true, the decision to move spring skiing would have been announced last summer to encourage share purchases from the outset. Win's already responded to this question and the decision to move spring skiing to LP was to take advantage of the developing base area. Sure, it's a good opportunity to give CB some more exposure to sell the remaining shares, but again, alienate everyone else to do that? Doubtful.

Whether or not you agree with the move to LP, SB/SV probably made the decision based on many factors and certainly not "only for the convenience of Claybrook homeowners." Despite the awesomeness of the April snowfall, it's probably the worse case scenario for those that prefer Ellen as the spring skiing venue. They'll likely repeat at LP next year since they will have no problem making the projected closing with all this snow this season.

 

[Newpylong]

Wouldn't the same hold for Jay, Stowe, Smuggs, Bolton, Burke and K-Mart? Fact is, SB made a major commitment to snowmaking this year, blowing whenever possible. Outside of some of the crap they had to make during the marginal temp regime in December, the quality of what they produced was consistently outstanding. In the two weeks from Jan 15 (when winter turned on) to Feb 1, they never stopped making snow and covered trail after trail, blitzkrieg stylee. It was impressive for a place that can often rely on its natural snowfall to bail it out.

They made no more snow than Killington or Okemo early on, nor did they expand any faster... that's not take away from them, just saying... we're talking about doing the "best". In that same context, others did just as well. I am giving resorts further south more credit because they put their asses on the line time after time this year, and mother nature didn't help.

 

[Greg]

As usual Hunter did a solid job of snowmaking and resurfacing during the tricky months of December and early January. I skied there in the rain on MLK Day (right before winter began) and there were several top-to-bottom routes on the front face, along with Wayout. They also got aggressive and opened Annapurna as soon as they could.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I will concur with SRO - Sugarbush did a tremendous job this year. They had a lot on their plate - opening a $50MM condo building, the new lodge, new base layout, new fancy restaurant, and one of the worst early seasons in recent memory. They were first in VT to open. First to 100% open, and last to remain 100% open. They continued to make snow well past the Valentine's Day storm when, in all fairness, they were pretty much set for the year in terms of natural snowpack. There's been some hiccups along the way, but these guys have done a great job under sometimes challenging conditions.

My only gripe was moving spring skiing to Lincoln Peak. Yeah, it worked out this year b/c they got 7' of snow since April 1, but that won't happen more than once a decade, if that often. It's a silly decision from a pure skiing perspective, designed only for the convenience of Claybrook homeowners.

I agree 99% with what your saying, LP over ME was a business decision, after all, it is a business which, like all successful business, think beyond this year.

It was more than Claybrook, it was F&B, it was retail and it was about the need to sell Claybrook units, key to future success. For me deciding which mountain to keep open in the spring is a hard one.

As you point out "from a pure skiing perspective" ME is the choice but do you really want your 60m investment for resort revenue to just sit there losing out on the revenue all those outside burgers, beers, sun tan lotion, a sale or two at Claybrook, the list goes on and on. It's a pretty tidy sum we are talking about. It might even result, certainly help, in keeping upward price pressure of lift tickets at bay.

in that same context, others did just as well. I am giving resorts further south more credit because they put their asses on the line time after time this year, and mother nature didn't help.

.
I agree 1000%. My heart went out to the ski hills down south, their battle with mother nature to open or stay open this season. A couple threw in the towel even before the season got started. I empathize with any region that is having a tough season, weatherwise, think PNW a couple of years ago.

Crotched Mtn did an amazing job of offering quality snow conditons while getting little help this year from mother nature. When we here in central/northern Vermont were getting storm after storm I was almost feeling guilty for our friends down south. After all, we are all in this thing together, to grow out sport, under very dificult business/weather circumstances.

Back to the Bush. Here's a pick of a few people having a good time and spending money at LP a couple of weeks ago. :smile: LP closed equals losing out on important revenue.

 

[Vortex]

I would add Pats to my honorable mention list. Opening up Hurricane for night skiing and making alot of snow even late in the season. Not to mention the Race progam and the AZ discounts. A very Az friendly place.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I seriously doubt this is the case. Based on this page, there are 61 Claybrook units. Even if they were all sold as 1/4 shares, that's 244 owner/families. Do you honestly think they would risk alienating everyone else just to cater to this clientele who already have invested in a Claybrook unit anyway? If this were true, the decision to move spring skiing would have been announced last summer to encourage share purchases from the outset. Win's already responded to this question and the decision to move spring skiing to LP was to take advantage of the developing base area. Sure, it's a good opportunity to give CB some more exposure to sell the remaining shares, but again, alienate everyone else to do that? Doubtful.

Whether or not you agree with the move to LP, SB/SV probably made the decision based on many factors and certainly not "only for the convenience of Claybrook homeowners." Despite the awesomeness of the April snowfall, it's probably the worse case scenario for those that prefer Ellen as the spring skiing venue. They'll likely repeat at LP next year since they will have no problem making the projected closing with all this snow this season.

agree 99% with what your saying, LP over ME was a business decision, after all, it is a business which, like all successful business, think beyond this year.

It was more than Claybrook, it was F&B, it was retail and it was about the need to sell Claybrook units, key to future success. For me deciding which mountain to keep open in the spring is a hard one.

As you point out "from a pure skiing perspective" ME is the choice but do you really want your 60m investment for resort revenue to just sit there losing out on the revenue all those outside burgers, beers, sun tan lotion, a sale or two at Claybrook, the list goes on and on. It's a pretty tidy sum we are talking about. It might even result, certainly help, in keeping upward price pressure of lift tickets at bay.

Greg and SRO are saying the same thing here, but I think you are both wrong. So maybe it's not primarily for the existing Claybrook owners (though keeping them happy is SURELY a factor). But, if they sell even a single unit at SB due to this change, then that will generate FAR more revenue and margin than all of the F&B sales in April and May. I disagree STRONGLY that you're giving anything up in the F&B department by moving from ME to LP. You can make and sell the same burgers, same beers, and same everything else at ME, and with a similar if not better vibe. More importantly, you can do it for a month longer when Spring weather dictates retreating to the higher elevations.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Greg and SRO are saying the same thing here, but I think you are both wrong. You can make and sell the same burgers, same beers, and same everything else at ME, and with a similar if not better vibe. More importantly, you can do it for a month longer when Spring weather dictates retreating to the higher elevations.

:lol: I think we were typing at the same time. He types faster.

On being able to "sell the same burgers, same beers, and same everything else at ME, and with a similar if not better vibe". Can't speak about the vibe, it's such a personal thing, but based on demographic usage of LP vs ME, not even close. No way Jose, your dreamin, your allowing your skier perspective to cloud the facts. :smile:

How about this radical thought. I think LP carries ME on it's financial shoulders. If it wasn't for the SBX, maybe shutting down ME, selling the lifts would result in a better profit margin for Sugarbush which means better employee pay, more improvements etc. Keeping Mt Ellen open is a gift, I ski at ME, I never "look a gift horse in the mouth". :wink:. I think seeing blue sky and warm temps has made me alittle whacky. :smile:

 

[Vortex]

Jerry your just insane. :flag: Glad you had fun. You had more season passes than days skied by some of the members this year. :blink: