obienick;c-57291 wrote I would argue we shouldn’t even consider Vail a ski area operator.....Instead they are a financial firm. etc etc.
(abbreviated for space)
I understand this line of thinking but I respectfully disagree to an extent. Yes on the surface it appears this way, and certainly there are functionaries in Broomfield who act this way, and yes the nanomanagement rears its head here and there, and yes corporate (or regional? or somebody) really screwed up big time in the Mt Washington Valley and elsewhere, and yes their operations are dreadful in many respects.
On the other hand....If you watch the video of the guy at Mt Snow with the lift upgrades, or other videos, or talk to many of the people who work at their properties, it's extremely evident that these people are passionate about skiing. Just seems to me there is a disconnect between the passionate people and some of the decision makers.
None of the decision makers are stupid (despite things like the $450 parking pass that isn't actually a parking pass) and after they get their knees bloodied a bit (e.g. making slopeside hotel guests hike to the Abenaki quad on a snowy holiday weekend) -- sooner or later they'll smarten up. Even though they're selling boodles of tickets and whatnot, people get tired of hearing criticism and they'll certainly try to improve where they need to.
