Your Connection to Resorts: TIM BOYD of PEAK RESORTS! (AZ Challenge Special)

[thetrailboss]

Tim Boyd, the President of Peak Resorts has agreed to take the 2007 Alpine Zone Challenge!!! This is your opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, or say some praise to the men and women who are in charge of the Northeast’s Ski Areas. Please post some suggested questions in this thread and we'll select ten to present for official responses.

Also please don't be offended if we edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or some other minor thing. In order to get in all of the questions we MAY merge some questions but we'll do our best to keep the substance of your question. If we don't get your question in, feel free to post a follow up after we get the results...we are encouraging the representatives follow the threads. :wink:

As always, please be respectful of Mr. Boyd and keep it civil. Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Peak Resorts needs to be discrete about certain information.

This is a special Challenge in that we hope that you will ask him about their recent purchase of Attitash and Snow and their plans for those resorts as well as Crotched. This is a special opportunity that AZ is making available to you our posters….information from the best sources in the industry. We are honored to have Tim join us for this Challenge! Please take advantage of this special opportunity!


Ask away!

Crotched’s Profile
Mount Snow’s Profile
Attitash’s Profile

 

[maplevalleymaster]

Tim, thanks for taking the AZ challenge! Let me first let you know what a great job you are doing. I noticed the new fan guns at Mount Snow and you plans seem very promising. My questions are reguarding Mount Snow.

1.) I noticed that you just submitted Act 250 permits for snowmaking. Do you expect these to go smoothly?

2.) As you may be aware, Haystack Club is now being put on hold. If this is put up for sale, would you consider buying it back? It may be impossible to get permits through, but a lift connecting these would greatly improve the entire skier experience. There is some great terrain at Haystack, however it has been neglected by the American Skiing Company.

3.) My next question is on lifts. I know you eventually plan to replace Sunbrook and North Face. Is there anyway to reposition one lift to thwart the hike to the summit? I also think that Tumbleweed needs replacing and should be brought to the very bottom of the hill so you can take Tumbleweed right from there instead of either having to side-step up the hill or take Seasons Double.

4.) Is there any plans on doing something with the base area?

 

[OldsnowboarderME]

Wow ! Thank you Mr.Boyd for taking the challenge. Now I understand all the talk and excitement for Mount Snow and Attitash but I consider Crotched my home mountain. We used to be the "flag" ship, well in my mind anyway but with all the excitement about the other resorts I am kind of feeling left out of the excitement loop. What exciting new things can I expect at crotched when the lights come back on this coming season? Oh I have already purchased the Granite Pass for the upcoming season also but is there any way a Granite Pass holder might be able to have a couple of discount vouchers in other to try out Mount Snow? Over 75% of my time on the slopes is spent at night. I love the Midnight Madness to the extreme. Please don't ever change that program. Last thought, is there any way to come up with a ski/board check program to help cut down on the thefts.

 

[thetrailboss]

Great questions...in general, we are looking for questions dealing with the overall Peak Resort philosophy as opposed to specific resort comments. We ARE doing Attitash and Crotched Challenges soon...

 

[Greg]

First of all, thanks Tim for agreeing to participate. Also, a big thank you to Chris Bradford of Crotched for putting me in touch with Tim. Now my questions.

With the dissolution of ASC, there have been a lot of changes to the landscape of the Northeast ski industry. Peak Resorts comes along and scoops up Attitash and Mount Snow and within days of the closings announces truly aggressive season pass prices; reopens Mount Snow for one final weekend of skiing and riding; and most recently announces $7 million in upgrades to Attitash and Mount Snow. In contrast Powdr/SP Land purchases former sibling resorts Killington and Pico and immediately following the closings, takes actions that result in what many would consider one of the biggest PR disasters in history of Northeast ski industry. To the casual observer it seems Peak has done every thing right and Powder/SP has, well, done pretty much the opposite. How do you explain all this? How closely do you follow the goings-on at other resorts? Does what they do (or fail to do) impact decisions you make for your resorts?

With Killington's announcement that they will shorten their season from mid-November to mid-April, which is now in line with just about every other major Northeast resort, will you attempt to extend the seasons (either early or late) at Attitash and/or Mount Snow?

 

[OldsnowboarderME]

Great questions...in general, we are looking for questions dealing with the overall Peak Resort philosophy as opposed to specific resort comments. We ARE doing Attitash and Crotched Challenges soon...

Well I have already ridden on their philosophy and it is pretty darn good too. I figured if I was going to ask for a discount voucher I might as well ask the "BOSS".
Ok.. What do you see as the greatest challenges after acquiring Attitash and Mount Snow. Are these purchases an indication in a change of direction in your company's general business model? It seems like in the past your business model was more a long the line of the smaller ski area and not your larger resort.
Have long term ( 5 year ) business plans already been developed or are you still in the gathering of information phase? How does this govern your philosophy of ski area improvement and management, do budgets determine the extend of the improvements or are the budgets developed from what kind of immediate improvements are needed?

 

[thebigo]

Wow, thanks for taking the challenge, a few questions:

One of the defining characteristics of Peaks is the use of fan guns. As I understand it they are signifigantly more expensive than traditional guns. Why is it that Peaks has such a strong preference for this type of snowmaking equipment whereas traditional air/water guns are the strong majority elsewhere in new england. Will air lines be removed at Attitash and Snow on the slopes scheduled to get fan guns.

How is doing business in new england different from the midwest. Has Peaks learned any lessons at crotched that will be put to use at attitash and snow. The addition of Attitash and Snow represent a diversion from Peaks historical operation of feeder areas. Both resorts have summertime operations and on site hotels. How does the operation of destination resorts differ from smaller feeder areas.

Crotched takes pride in the length of their season. They try to be the first area in new england to be 100% open, they are aggresive at the start of the season and reopened this year following natural snow. Can we expect the same approach at attitash and snow?

One of the major frustrations with ASC was the use of eastern profits being used to improve western resorts. Can we expect revenues to stay at the mountain where they are generated? In general does Peaks allow their resorts to operate independantly?

All the lifts at Crotched were purchased from another area and are fixed grip. Is the purchase of used lifts common at Peaks? The lifts at Crotched are in great shape and Crotched does not need a high speed but would Peaks consider new high speed lifts at either Snow or Attitash?

Finally can granite pass holders expect any discounts at Snow during the season?

 

[maplevalleymaster]

Since Mount Snow and Attitash are your first major resorts, do you plan on doing anything differently in terms of management?

 

[Greg]

Wow, thanks for taking the challenge, a few questions:

One of the defining characteristics of Peaks is the use of fan guns. As I understand it they are signifigantly more expensive than traditional guns. Why is it that Peaks has such a strong preference for this type of snowmaking equipment whereas traditional air/water guns are the strong majority elsewhere in new england. Will air lines be removed at Attitash and Snow on the slopes scheduled to get fan guns.

How is doing business in new england different from the midwest. Has Peaks learned any lessons at crotched that will be put to use at attitash and snow. The addition of Attitash and Snow represent a diversion from Peaks historical operation of feeder areas. Both resorts have summertime operations and on site hotels. How does the operation of destination resorts differ from smaller feeder areas.

Crotched takes pride in the length of their season. They try to be the first area in new england to be 100% open, they are aggresive at the start of the season and reopened this year following natural snow. Can we expect the same approach at attitash and snow?

One of the major frustrations with ASC was the use of eastern profits being used to improve western resorts. Can we expect revenues to stay at the mountain where they are generated? In general does Peaks allow their resorts to operate independantly?

All the lifts at Crotched were purchased from another area and are fixed grip. Is the purchase of used lifts common at Peaks? The lifts at Crotched are in great shape and Crotched does not need a high speed but would Peaks consider new high speed lifts at either Snow or Attitash?

Finally can granite pass holders expect any discounts at Snow during the season?

Some fantastic questions! :beer:

 

[Vinny]

Thanks for taking the challenge. We're quarter share owners at the Summit and midweek season pass holders. (BTW, thanks! for continuing the mid-week passes.) We are more excited about the upcoming ski seasons than we have been in a long time, primarily because of your company's management and announced plans.

1) We're year 'round visitors to Snow. Do you view Snow as solely a skier/mountain biker destination, or are there plans to extend recreational opportunities outside of ski season?

2) Mt. Snow has, by far, the largest impact on the regional economy in the West Dover area. The mountain is also impacted by the ammenities and infrastructure of the town and surronding area. How closely do you work with the town on the issues impacting tourism and recreation? Any plans on the drawing boards that would make the overall visit a better experience?

3) Just to second an item mentioned earlier. Last year we visited The Canyons, and were shocked at the amount of work and money being put into the place while "Snow burned". Are your resorts run as independent profit centers?

4) Your other resorts seem to put the skiing well above real estate management. Is that the philosophy at Snow as well?

Thanks again, and good luck!

 

[Newpylong]

Thank you for taking the challenge.

From the last American Skiing Company passholder's meeting this past spring to the present, I have been following Mount Snow's sale and new direction under Peak's quite closely. Your company has created a very large buzz that stretches from Wilmington to the urban areas. People are very interested in what they are hearing and I think you are going to see quite a few people trying the mountain out this year due to the good vibes they are feeling.

My questions:

1. What are the plans to ease congestion out of the Main Base area? One of Mount Snow's greatest advantages is the fact that 1 lift can get you everywhere. The drawback is: everyone wants to use this lift. The lines on the Grand Summit and the Canyon Express lifts are some of the worst out of any eastern resort, yet once you're up on the hill even on the busiest of days, there is seemingly plenty of room to ski. So, are there plans for any upgrades to the Summit Express or Summit Locals? Secondly, how about the Sundance area? I believe this area of the mountain could be developed in time to draw skiers away from the main base. In my opinion a high-speed lift in place of both the Tumbleweed and Sundance Triples would make a lot of sense. I know a lot of this heavily depends on expanded snowmaking which itself depends on the Somerset pipeline. But any rough ideas/plans would be great....

Thank you, and good luck this year.

 

[drjeff]

Thanks for taking the challenge, and an even bigger thanks for "rescuing" Mount Snow from the ASC stable!

My question involves children's programs, which as a parent of kids who will be 4 and 2 at the start of this ski season(and Mount Snow kid's program veterans already), is of great interest to my wife and I. I was wondering if any major changes in the children's programs will be coming this season??

Thanks again, and I'm really looking forward to seeing all those fans guns in action this winter both from the back deck of my conso across the street and on this hill!

 

[thetrailboss]

OK folks...final call...closing this today....

 

[thetrailboss]

OK, we're done. Thanks folks.

[Lock]