DrJeff
slatham
I originally did't think Vail would eventually crash and burn but now I have my doubts. Too extended. Sure it might not be an ASC debacle, but I bet within 5 years they are scaling back.
Also, doesn't buying 3 of 4 areas in one region cause anti-trust concerns?
DrJeff
slatham;c-51892 wroteI originally did't think Vail would eventually crash and burn but now I have my doubts. Too extended. Sure it might not be an ASC debacle, but I bet within 5 years they are scaling back.
Also, doesn't buying 3 of 4 areas in one region cause anti-trust concerns?
I think that it's more like gone are the ASC era days of what constituted ski resort anti-trust designation, and the gov't doesn't really seem interested in breaking some some larger corporations where one could make an antitrust case for such as Google, Amazon, etc, so I doubt that this move by Vail will send up some red flags as the deal nears its actual closing date
rickbolger
Holy crap.
newpylong
yipes
lotsoskiing
wow, this is scary...and sad.
jaytrem
Feel bad for my Pittsburgh friends. One in the industry texted "Ughhh I'm gonna vomit" when I welcomed him to the evil empire.
conrad
So sad. It's one thing if Vail just embraced the positives of what they are: a predictable ski experience no matter which resort you are at. You might share the mountain with a ton of other people and the season might not be long, but you got a good deal on the pass and you know the skiing's going to be decent enough. But it puzzles me when they focus on trying to be things they aren't like "honoring the unique character of each resort." Yes, I know that is what the president of Seven Sprints said, but he is just saying what they wanted for the press release.
TomWhite
This doesn't excite me either, though I haven't skied there for decades. I learned to ski at Hidden Valley. Skied all 3, and a few others now gone, in the 60s n 70s.
djaskipa68
Well that ruined what ever close by skiing there was. Whitetail/Liberty/Roundtop, now this. I'm glad I didn't but the Epic again after 2018. I wish Alterra would look at more resorts in this region to make the trip up North worth it.
Here is a question for you all, at this point, could Vail Resorts be forces to dump some resorts in this region. They pretty much own the market in the Philly, DC/Baltimore and now Pittsburgh market. I look back at when they were forced to sell A-Basin in Colorado when they purchased Keystone/Breckenridge/A-basin from Ralston/Purina.
Aldee
I have often believed that the most useless course that I took in law school (back in the 70's - ugh!) was Anti-trust. As Dr. Jeff posted above, the govt. doesn't seem interested in this area anymore. And as I posted after another Vail acquistion about year or two ago, Vail is as predatory as can be. While most Vail resorts put out a good ski product, you need competition to keep prices down, and to promote innovation. As a former Pennsylvanian during my MUCH younger days, I find this to be very disappointing news.
conrad
The ownership group there made out big. $125 million for three Pennsylvania ski areas, one of which just has a single chairlift? Once in a lifetime offer they couldn't turn down. Almost half the price Vail paid for the entire Peak Resorts network. On the other hand, Vail is probably thinking these prices are cheap getting access to the large city markets, compared to the cost of acquiring large western resorts.
edited
djaskipa68
It is crazy. Being a former Mt Snow employee under SKI before ASC I have watched the mountain go thru its ups and downs since then. It seemed like Peak had them going back in the right direction but over extended themselves and then due to a bad business partnership to bail them out made matters worse. Vail came in stripped away the personality of the area. Yes you can install lifts and improve snowmaking, but it is the employees that portray the image of the resort and they portray the image the corporates wants. I lived in Vail and saw the similar things out there with their resorts of out there. I see it here in PA at the local areas owned by them as they start year two.
On the flipside, I had worked at Stratton under Intrawest (now Alterra), they want each of their resorts to have their own personality to make them unique in their own way, not stripped down. You hear about the ski industry being flat, this is the very reason for it. Generic becomes boring and no longer drawing interest.
joshua_segal
I remember when ASC had to divest from Cranmore and Waterville under threat of an anti-Trust suit. How much more of the PA market will Vail have to absorb before they are in danger of an anti-trust lawsuit?
Snocountry shows 19 ski areas in PA. Vail now operates 8 of them.
DrJeff
joshua_segal;c-51926 wroteI remember when ASC had to divest from Cranmore and Waterville under threat of an anti-Trust suit. How much more of the PA market will Vail have to absorb before they are in danger of an anti-trust lawsuit?
Snocountry shows 19 ski areas in PA. Vail now operates 8 of them.
I think though that the sheer size of PA as well as it's population, and the fact that in general Vail's PA properties are either in Eastern or Western PA and not all in 1 small geographic area makes this a far different situation than ASC had in NH years ago.
curlyfuzzie
What does Vail have against ski clubs? Our club used to enjoy a great variety of trips, with Mt. Snow, Okemo, even Hunter in the mix. Now, it doesn't seem like these places value the clubs and offer the great deals and discounts that they used to prior to the Vail takeover. None of them are on the schedule this season.So disappointing to those like me who don't ski enough to justify the purchase of an Epic or similar pass.
newpylong
Luckily there are plenty of independent hills that would love the visits I'm sure.
jaytrem
I was just talking about the ski club/group trip thing with my kids last weekend. We were wondering if there will be any buses at the Sundance Lodge anymore. Are they as group trip unaccommodating as they are ski club unaccommodating?
curlyfuzzie
newpylong;c-51931 wroteLuckily there are plenty of independent hills that would love the visits I'm sure.
I'd love to have more variety in trips this year. We've got one to Magic and one to Plattekill. I'd love to try Hickory this year - hoping they succeed, but I'll miss Mount Snow, which used to host the club regularly.
lotsoskiing
newpylong;c-51931 wroteLuckily there are plenty of independent hills that would love the visits I'm sure.
Pretty sure that's where I will be spending my dollars in the future. I have no desire to feed The Beast.
Agreed 100% on Hickory...fingers and toes crossed.
