210
Yes, the Montage is quite the place. So is the Stein Eriksen Lodge and the St. Regis. They are all good for an expensive beer or appetizer for lunch, but super big $$ to stay there during the ski season.
210
I assume that you were mountain biking during your stay. My friends tell me that the mountain biking at Deer Valley is really good.
shpride
I just spent four great days at Breckinridge. I have zero complaints about my experience there.
conrad
SnowBrains Podcast
Doug Fish – The Genius Who Created the Indy Pass
Doug Fish very unofficially says he's heard rumors that Vail resorts would divest themselves of many of the smaller Peak Resorts they acquired.
(go to 40:08)
edit: link
https://snowbrains.com/doug-fish-podcast/
ILOVE2SKI
conrad;c-53349 wroteSnowBrains Podcast
Doug Fish – The Genius Who Created the Indy Pass
Doug Fish very unofficially says he's heard rumors that Vail resorts would divest themselves of many of the smaller Peak Resorts they acquired.
(go to 40:08)
edit: link
https://snowbrains.com/doug-fish-podcast/
We can only hope Wildcat is on that list!
Beast Patroller
ILOVE2SKI;c-53351 wroteconrad;c-53349 wroteSnowBrains Podcast
Doug Fish – The Genius Who Created the Indy Pass
Doug Fish very unofficially says he's heard rumors that Vail resorts would divest themselves of many of the smaller Peak Resorts they acquired.
(go to 40:08)
edit: link
https://snowbrains.com/doug-fish-podcast/
We can only hope Wildcat is on that list!
I wish Mount Snow would be on that list but sadly I doubt it!
yardsale
shpride;c-53335 wroteI just spent four great days at Breckinridge. I have zero complaints about my experience there.
Breck is a favorite for me as well. I've had most of my best ski days there.
snowjournal.com/discussion/1648/colorado-i70-summit-amp-eagle-counties-trip-reports-2018-2019-updated-2-1-19#latest
slatham
As I have said before, IMHO Vail acquired many areas via Peak that they would otherwise not want. I am sure they have 2 challenges 1) finding a buyer and 2) making sure it doesn't look to the stock market that they are retreating. Stock is at $283 down over 20% from November high.
conrad
I definitely agree with your number 1. I also am a little skeptical of this theory because they are building new lifts at a lot of them (Attitash, Ohio, Pennsylvania). I wouldn't keep any fingers crossed about Wildcat being sold anytime soon. Maybe Crotched and some of the more remote Peak Resorts.
The magic of the Epic pass and these ski areas is that it allows them to charge a lot more for a pass than otherwise would be possible at these small bumps. The number one goal seems to be selling more epic passes so selling off any of their ski areas seems counterintuitive. But perhaps they realize they aren't a good fit for running some of these smaller spots, are tired of the bad publicity, and realize they aren't able to provide the experience of a lifetime. The problem is that they wouldn't sell them to a potential competitor and I'm not sure how many independent buyers are out there.
jaytrem
Most of the former Peak areas are similar to the previous small areas that Vail purchased. They're almost all near a major metro area, some of them being the only option (Missouri). Exceptions would be: Mount Snow, but that still serves Boston, CT and NYC big time. Attitash/Wildcat, much lower attendance and you have to drive past a ton of competition. Maybe Round Top, little further from the DC $ and much less fancy than Liberty and Whitetail. Only other one I could see being sold is Alpine Valley and maybe Crotched, not sure they need 3 Cleveland areas. Then again they could maybe just shut it down, why deal with competition. As for Crotched, they have a lot of competition. So not sure where that leaves them. Bit of an odd bird, do they have enough appeal that Boston folks will buy a Epic pass due to Crotched being on it. As always it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
rickbolger
They can probably tell you to within tens how many pass sales they will lose if they close or jettison an area. From there they'll simply do the math. Since this is the "nails it" thread, I will end by saying that they have some extremely smart people, very slick marketing, and the number of returning customers will probably be a lot higher than the liftlines and strangled spending would lead us to expect.
lotsoskiing
A friend who used to be a mucky muck at a Vail property said "no chance" when I mentioned that Vail might start offing ski areas.
We'll see.
tedede
Think of it from a macroeconomic point of view. If demand exceeds supply, you don't constrain supply.
FWIW, a banner weekend day during the Peak era at Crotched is now the norm if the forecast is above 10 degrees and the precip is crystalline. Crotched is booking record numbers every day, and their best year ever was 20/21.
I agree the current crowds, even if everything was open, diminishes the experience and Vail would do well to add capacity.
Granite Gorge and Tenney might be worth a look for them.
If they were rethinking their decision about keeping so many metro resorts, why would they buy the areas in Western PA?
trackbiker
tedede;c-53380 wrote
If they were rethinking their decision about keeping so many metro resorts, why would they buy the areas in Western PA?
Seven Springs is a 4 season resort with a huge hotel and convention center and fits their mold. Not sure about Hidden Valley, and Laurel Mountain is a state park. I think they wanted Seven Springs and the other two just came as part of the deal like some of the Peak areas.
Quietman
tedede;c-53380 wrote
Granite Gorge and Tenney might be worth a look for them.
What about Maple Valley? :wink:
hazlntskier
Looks like Vail is trying to recover. This from the web site. Also they have some natural terrain open too,
" Snowmaking is working on Lower Saco/Ammo, Grandstand/Lower Moat, and moving off Trillium/Moonbeam to Wandering Skis. Thanks to our sister resorts, Heavenly, Vail, Crested Butte, and Northstar, we can run all three systems, sending snowmakers to support our team. If you see jackets from other resorts today, give them a high-five!"
hazlntskier
Attitash, forgot to add that
tedede
Quietman;c-53383 wroteWhat about Maple Valley? :wink:
Well played
@Quietman
obienick
Vail offering $150 rebate next year for 21/22 Stevens Pass pass holders on 22/23 prices or if they jump to an Epic Pass product, that $150 will be a credit only usable at Stevens Pass.
With the new GM there then this to shore up customer base. Now the reinforcements for Attitash… Wonder what NH gets?
shpride
Got in the last hour at Attitash today. Only skied the Bear side because didn’t want to spend my entire hour getting two runs on the Summit triple. Got in five runs and there’s now enough open on Bear I was able to do different lines with every run. Guns are blazing so should be even more open this weekend.
Only complaint is on me because I forgot my contacts so had to wear my contacts so no goggles or mask which led to a cold face.
