joshua_segal
June 25, 2020 - Thurs.
With no snow left on the hill and some activity on the mountain, it seems like a good time to open a new CM thread.
Otdoors, they have done some mowing around the main lodge, but mostly, I've seen the standard lift maintenance work.
As I walked down the hill the other day, the Valley Chair was moving. First time I've seen a moving chair (in person) since March 18 when Cannon was shut down by the governor.
There are lots of rumors floating around, but I suspect they are more logical analysis by the individual rumor generators, rather than explicit info from mountain management.
We're pretty close to 100% sure there will be a ski season. It's less clear how they will handle food, bar, rentals, the Ski Shop, base lodge capacity, etc.
NELSBEER
'The Crotch' has settled into a quieter than usual summer routine. VAIL has limited activities at all their New England ski areas and cut expenses to a minimum. Look at their investor pages and you'll see that they saved $40,000,00.00 dollars by furloughing staff, postponing new lifts/buildings and limiting expenses to the essentials. Their stated focus is providing an optimal & safe experience for the skiing public next season on par with what we saw last year (good snowmaking, all trails open...) but don't count on any big capitol expenditures for next season.
A few mountain ops staffers returned recently and are doing basics; cut the grass around the base lodge, pulling chairs & grips for annual testing and probably a start on groomer maintenance. The rumor mill is a little thin since there is no one to talk to.
VAIL has cancelled the June & September dividends on their common stock while pushing the price break points on EPIC passes to Labor Day. Expect necessary spending to pick up in September as the economics flatten out. That is probably when NH will be ready to firm up the rules for our operations anyway.
Summer ops at other VAIL areas appear to be largely lift rides with Grab n' Go' food. No mention of Zip Lines or bikes yet; if crowds emerge they could expand services later. The Francestown General Store opened last weekend after several years of closure and rebuilding, country version of a commercial renaissance.
Its not been all dull at Crotched; their were lots of fireworks around the condos for the 4th - there have been some rousing games of Croquet (good for social distancing). No bathrooms or water services this year but hiking is good, plentiful parking, a reasonably sized hill and more wild life than usual... Bear, moose, deer, chipmunks {& things to eat them}. I even saw a mother Fischer Cat & 3 kits running across the Super Nova trail last week, only about 30 feet away, much closer than they normally get to humans.
Don't try to drive up the mountain, its bad for the hill's cover & really bad for cars/trucks.
Watch for ticks (and Joshua Segal) on the hill!
ski_it
Two cools - great that the General Store reopen. I used to make it a point to stop in on the way home.
And 4 Fisher kittys? I've never managed to see one that I've positively ID.
joshua_segal
ski_it;c-42500 wroteTwo cools - great that the General Store reopen. I used to make it a point to stop in on the way home.
And 4 Fisher kittys? I've never managed to see one that I've positively ID.
I was patrolling sweep near the spot Nelsbeer describes. It was about 9:15PM and I looked up one of the chutes to see a pair of (non-human) eyes staring at me. I'm not sure what I was looking at, but I kept on skiing. This may have been one of the Fisher Cats described by Nelson.
NELSBEER
The mom Fischer Cat was 3+ feet long & the kits were 2+ feet long. They are born in early spring, March or thereabouts and stay with their mothers until about 5 months old. They then establish their own territory. They look like a very big weasel (which they are related to) and make various loud screeching sounds, mostly at night. Police get calls about suspected attacks on people and distressed animals when they are around.
They are aggressive hunters preferring rodents but will go after cats, small dogs and the like. Best known for hunting porcupines, they roll the porky's over and leave a real mess.
xlr8r
Any news on if Crotched, and the other Peak resorts are going to be fully integrated into Vail's ticketing system next year, with RFID cards, EpicMix, etc. Or has that been delayed due to Covid.
NELSBEER
No reliable rumors on the RFID/purchasing system effort yet. VAIL apparently learned better than to stuff automation in at the last minute in the course of earlier acquisitions; putting it off to this year.
Getting new systems in or upgrading existing ones should be a priority if it fits into curtailed budgets. If the summers move to "NO CASH" for virtually all purchases carries over to winter kids will need their own credit/debit cards or $ added to their passes... I'd rather put 25 or 50 bucks on a pass at a time in the hands of 5 & 8 year old grand kids.
Crotched would probably be amongst the last places to see upgrades... Small and no summer season... so if anyone sees/hears anything let us know.
tedede
I'd be pretty surprised if they didn't. It's an inevitable upgrade, and maintaining Peak's infrastructure for another year would be costly. And there's still 5 months until ski season starts. I have no firsthand knowledge though.
If you have time, this
podcast is a good listen.
yardsale
NELSBEER;c-42510 wroteNo reliable rumors on the RFID/purchasing system effort yet. VAIL apparently learned better than to stuff automation in at the last minute in the course of earlier acquisitions; putting it off to this year.
Getting new systems in or upgrading existing ones should be a priority if it fits into curtailed budgets. If the summers move to "NO CASH" for virtually all purchases carries over to winter kids will need their own credit/debit cards or $ added to their passes... I'd rather put 25 or 50 bucks on a pass at a time in the hands of 5 & 8 year old grand kids.
Crotched would probably be amongst the last places to see upgrades... Small and no summer season... so if anyone sees/hears anything let us know.
Am I the only one that thinks not allowing cash is a problem? The idea that the virus latches on to cash is questionable. Isn't there bigger issues to consider.
NELSBEER
Temperature checks, hand washing stations, Kleenex dispensers, masks, frequent cleaning are all part of being a safe place to ski in the skiers eye.
If people think cash is a problem, assuage their concerns; cashless streamlines operations (while causing people to tie their credit cards into their passes makes spending easier).
No more cash drawers/cash rooms, needing change & shorter lines make things more efficient for the ski area. No more kids chasing mom and dad for 💰 and quicker beers in the bar are good for the customer.
joshua_segal
July 30, 2020 - Thurs.
It looks like a path has been under each chairlift has been mowed, likely to make it easier to do summer maintenance on the lifts. Haven't seem that done since the Rocket was installed. I consider that to be a good sign.
NELSBEER
A few positive items as the summer progresses:
The Francestown General Store is open after a several year hiatus. It has been stripped to the beams and totally re-built within the old shell.
So far they have basic groceries, BEER, ALE, WINE & ice. Permitting problems are holding up starting up service of meals. Should be able to do breakfast & lunch sandwiches by the time the season starts.
Route 47 from Francestown to Crotched is posted for paving... it is a state route so I suspect they will pave all the way to Antrim. Smooth ride never hurts.
The main parking lot at the ski area has been leveled. Lots of free parking and fresh air for anyone needing a nice walk without crowds. The wild flowers are out but the blueberries are done for the season. Base lodge is not open so bring you own food, water & TP.
No news from the ski area itself yet as to winter plans. Look at Mt. Snow or Sunapee for a rough idea. Judging by crowd limits at Wachusett & other regional areas Crotched will be seeing more customers... weekend crowd limits may be in the cards. Weekdays should be OK.
NELSBEER
Nasty little surprise in here for the Crotched Mountain Homies...
New Hampshire's failure to require masks has come back to byte us. Vermont allows open travel to people from "Green Counties" of other New England states, but requires 2 week quarantine for folks from Yellow/Red counties. New Hampshire, according to the Vermont map is Green, with the exception of HILLSBOUGH county, where Crotched is located and where most of the active SJ CM reporters reside. We're grounded as far as Vermont EPIC resorts are concerned. :s
https://accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/restart/cross-state-travel
Most of the county is rural and acts that way, with masks and respect for everyone's health. The result has been very low COVID-19 problems in Western Hillsboro county,
nothing to worry about if you are coming skiing at the Crotch. :)
The Eastern part of the county encompasses the Route 3 and I-93 corridor with major Tax Free shopping centers, New England's largest State Liquor Store & Fireworks drawing major crowds from Massachusetts - who were not required to wear masks until Nashua passed a mask ordinance a few weeks ago. Guess where the majority of the COVID cases are?
The Vermont limit is 400 Covid-19 cases per million, Hillsboro County is at 484 per million, trending downward since the Nashua mask restrictions went into effect. Maybe the State can put out mask rules for at least 'high at risk counties'? This is affecting my ability to ski!
joshua_segal
NELSBEER;c-42898 wroteNasty little surprise in here for the Crotched Mountain Homies...
New Hampshire's failure to require masks has come back to byte us. Vermont allows open travel to people from "Green Counties" of other New England states, but requires 2 week quarantine for folks from Yellow/Red counties. New Hampshire, according to the Vermont map is Green, with the exception of HILLSBOUGH county, where Crotched is located and where most of the active SJ CM reporters reside. We're grounded as far as Vermont EPIC resorts are concerned. :s
https://accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/restart/cross-state-travel
Most of the county is rural and acts that way, with masks and respect for everyone's health. The result has been very low COVID-19 problems in Western Hillsboro county,
nothing to worry about if you are coming skiing at the Crotch. :)
The Eastern part of the county encompasses the Route 3 and I-93 corridor with major Tax Free shopping centers, New England's largest State Liquor Store & Fireworks drawing major crowds from Massachusetts - who were not required to wear masks until Nashua passed a mask ordinance a few weeks ago. Guess where the majority of the COVID cases are?
The Vermont limit is 400 Covid-19 cases per million, Hillsboro County is at 484 per million, trending downward since the Nashua mask restrictions went into effect. Maybe the State can put out mask rules for at least 'high at risk counties'? This is affecting my ability to ski!
I suspect it will be OK by the time the ski season starts
tedede
NELSBEER;c-42898 wroteNasty little surprise in here for the Crotched Mountain Homies...
New Hampshire's failure to require masks has come back to byte us. Vermont allows open travel to people from "Green Counties" of other New England states, but requires 2 week quarantine for folks from Yellow/Red counties. New Hampshire, according to the Vermont map is Green, with the exception of HILLSBOUGH county, where Crotched is located and where most of the active SJ CM reporters reside. We're grounded as far as Vermont EPIC resorts are concerned. :s
I don't want to get into a maskdebate, but you're being a little disingenuous Nelson not to mention that both Nashua and Manchester, the two largest towns in NH, representing almost 20% of the state's population, with their higher population densities and group living facilities are ALSO IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY.
And since you have other Epic resorts in NH, your byte is really a nibble, but I digress... :)
rickbolger
I suspect this is kind of like the speed limit signs, as I personally know people from bright red Essex County New York -- allegedly with 1,792 active cases per million -- who routinely travel in and out of Vermont.
Reading their own travel restrictions, it appears that they are free to travel to my now-green county in New Jersey, but they would have to travel a rather circuitous route to do so.
Because of these county lines and their bearing on the virus, Vermonters may visit me, but they aren't allowed to visit people who live 2.6 miles from me.
Many of these numbers are suspect anyway -- 70% of the reported cases in New Jersey since March are still considered active here, which is lunacy.
In the words of Johnny Cash, what is truth
joshua_segal
tedede;c-42901 wrote
...
And since you have other Epic resorts in NH, your byte is really a nibble, but I digress... :)
I noticed that typo too and I like the way you amplified on it, but is it a nibble or a word? Now that's what I call a two-bit reply :smile:
tedede
joshua_segal;c-42905 wroteI noticed that typo too and I like the way you amplified on it, but is it a nibble or a word? Now that's what I call a two-bit reply :smile:
A word is
two bytes, or 8 times as much as a shave and a haircut.
NELSBEER
Ted, Disingenuous? How so, I did mention Nashua in connection with the eastern Hillsborough figures as well as the stores lining the highway (from Boston) corridor they are in.
I apparently have to buy an EPIC NE Value Pass (by Sept. 7th. for discount) if I want to be sure I can use Mount Snow, Okemo or Stowe (no determination on volunteer Ski Patrol passes yet). That is a byte for me, not a nibble (think of it as enough $$$ to Stock my really big cooler & provide good food at my condo every Sunday of the season for the patrol when there is no Bar).
H-m-m-m-m chicken wings, drop by.
NELSBEER
The byte was for you Ted (we are both computer guys)_ figured I'd get a nibble from you even if avoided underlying political stuff.
Chicken Wing ='s about 2 bytes too.
