Dirk109 I agree with most of your post but I’d liked to add some comments:
- Yes Kelly was a great GM and though as much as we hated too see her go, she ended up in a pretty awesome position as President and CEO of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA).
- Eric Barnes on the other hand was a lousy GM. He simply didn’t know what he was doing! You never saw or heard from him (unless you were in the bar at Carinthia and he didn’t want to hear from the passholders (unlike Kelly).
- Even though the Bluebird lift had problems before Vail took over, the issues got worse post Vail and they’ve had 6 yrs to resolve them but haven’t!
- At least Peaks used the EB-5 money as it was meant to be used not like the previous owners of Jay Peak.
- While the Seasons & Ego Alley lift are “ancient” they do serve a valuable propose! If they can’t be maintained due to lack of parts, then they should be replaced with a newer lift, not just mothballed!
In regards to the Ego Alley lift, it was installed in 1985 and is a Yan lift. Mount Snow also has the following Yan lifts in operations, Outpost (YOC 1987), Challenger (YOC 1982), and Discovery Shuttle (YOC unknown). So if Vail’s reason for not keeping up the maintenance (outside of the barn at the top of the lift) is parts, how do these other lifts still operate daily? Let’s face it, Vail feels the Ego Alley lift doesn’t serve a purpose because it doesn’t go to the summit and their detachable lifts ferry the skiers up the mountain more efficiently but look at the days each season that the detachable lifts are down because of ice or mostly because there is a breeze blowing across the main face. On those days the Ego lift could at least give skiers the lower half of the mountain and not just the beginners slope as currently offered on those days.
I agree with obienick’s comment that “you’re painting an awfully rosy picture for Vail”. Like it or not the fact remain that Vail has mismanaged not only Mount Snow but other resorts under their umbrella!
