A Great Mountain

[Hawk]

Easy on the resume BS. Do I need to post my resume before I get any respect on this board?

Your missing the point I guess. Never mind, obviously every thing is fine. Carry on.

[angler]

Ridgefield, CT, lighten up.

Glad Im not the only one thats in trouble, lol

[HowieT2]

I am not a fan of the videos either. They're boring.

Anyway, aren't u guys psyched about the snow? Can't wait to drive up tomorrow.

It's not just increased skier visits that were the problem, but that all the natural snow trails and woods were closed. All of us, who would ordinarily be off doing our thing, were lapping groomers and the lifts. More skier r visits r good for the mtn and good for the valley. Would I like to have the place to myself like it used to be 10 years ago? Sure. But, it's not sustainable. Growth is good. With growth, we'll get a new vh quad which will increase capacity tremendously. There will be pains along the way. I fear expanding the vh or whatever they're going to do about lodge capacity, is going to take too long. But I also realize you can't get everything you want right away.
I trust win, Adam and company are trying to do the right thing. They'll make mistakes. They are not some corporation/pe fund looking to milk the place for cash or puff up the numbers for a sale. They are also not Putin or some sheik who can do whatever they dream of doing. So I'll wait for a new lodge (unless I win the lottery, in which case I'll build a lodge, with a big fireplace, nice locker room with a sauna and showers, hot tubs on a deck outside, Lawson's on tap, waitresses..............)

Btw-at golf courses they have girls riding around in carts with beverages, how come we can't get that at the mtn?

[djd66]

Your missing the point I guess. Never mind, obviously every thing is fine. Carry on.

No, I actually did get your point, you are very proud of your skiing resume and if I don't ski as much as you, I cannot make an accurate judgment of how the place is run,... right?

[ReefBum]

It's unproductive comments like this that have really hurt the integrity of this board. In the past this place has provided some great info, especially from Win but that kind of below the belt comment is not going to motivate him to re-engage.

My bad, I forgot fanboy praise and bobbleheading every decision made over the last 13 years in the required uniform.

Case in point. I watched the weekly rumble for the first time this year. Opening segment of cabin cat first tracks powder skiing followed by the Porsche Driver piece with info for the clay brook set who can borrow one to drive around for a few hours which was a segway to the rice brook ad for a condo. Must have been riviting for the family packed into a quad pack room at the Sugarbush Inn[motel6].

About as informative as the boring daily videos , which are unwatchable on a daily basis.

You completely missed my point.

[ReefBum]

Ridgefield, CT, lighten up.

Just making an observation...dude.....I'm sorry it doesn't sync up with your POV.

Time to be positive and focus on the good stuff falling from the ski......

[ThinkSno]

I am also just making my observations when it comes to poor management decisions like putting an auto event on the mountain during a peak season weekend, which only caters to a very small percentage of visitors, and closes part of the smallest lodge on the hill, where retrospective apologies mean nothing. Didn't hear any mention about skier refunds in that blog either......again, just my observation.

I'm nothing but positive when it comes to Sugarbush-- the ski area. Not sure how long everyone has been around for, but can anyone remember the Jeep King of the Mountain series? Ski races sponsored by Jeep at Sugarbush. Fun for everyone on the hill watching and participating-- and no one was excluded, if my memory serves me correctly. It brought great positive energy to the valley. I've still got my Jeep cowbell.

[Go Figure]

1.2%

Friday, February 14th - 9:15 AM

*** Village Chair is on windhold, Valley House has delayed opening and Heaven's Gate is on maintenance delay. Hiking will be allowed on Heaven's Gate. ***

North is quiet so far, grabbing the gloves as there is no need for mitts today.

[HowieT2]

I am also just making my observations when it comes to poor management decisions like putting an auto event on the mountain during a peak season weekend, which only caters to a very small percentage of visitors, and closes part of the smallest lodge on the hill, where retrospective apologies mean nothing. Didn't hear any mention about skier refunds in that blog either......again, just my observation.

I'm nothing but positive when it comes to Sugarbush-- the ski area. Not sure how long everyone has been around for, but can anyone remember the Jeep King of the Mountain series? Ski races sponsored by Jeep at Sugarbush. Fun for everyone on the hill watching and participating-- and no one was excluded, if my memory serves me correctly. It brought great positive energy to the valley. I've still got my Jeep cowbell.

to be fair, the porsche thing was supposed to be on the golf course. Not enough snow so they moved it to mellon. coincidentally, bravo is down so everybody goes over to mellon. so in retrospect it was a mistake having it at mellon, but it wasnt planned for there and if there wasnt the problem with the bravo, it wouldnt have been nearly as big an issue as it was.

whatever, I got to get done in this damned office and hit the road.

[pinnoke]

to be accurate, the driving event was scheduled for Mt. Ellen from the outset of this season. Admittedly, a mistake, so it's now in the rearview mirror. Keep your eyes focused, now, on what's in front of you!!!!

[flakeydog]

No, I actually did get your point, you are very proud of your skiing resume and if I don't ski as much as you, I cannot make an accurate judgment of how the place is run,... right?

whoa, slow down there.... at the risk of trying to stimulate productive conversation i think the "skier's resume" is quite important and a valid point. The perception one;s ski experience can vary greatly depending on when and how often they ski. If I ski 5-10 days a year and happen to be on the mountain for 2 of those days last weekend I am going to have a less than favorable view of things if i did not happen to be on the mountain those days. Let me try another angle, weekend warriors may certainly see a different mountain than those that can ski most of there days mid-week, and so on...

The point is that some of us may see the good, some see the bad, many see the ugly but those that ski 50+ days of the year more than likely see all 3 (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Does not make anyone's view any better or worse, just realize that the mountain is seen through many different lenses. I think the ones that can have the most impact on the business side are those that may have seen 20-25% of their season though last weekend's lense...

[Benski]

1.2%

Friday, February 14th - 9:15 AM

*** Village Chair is on windhold, Valley House has delayed opening and Heaven's Gate is on maintenance delay. Hiking will be allowed on Heaven's Gate. ***

North is quiet so far, grabbing the gloves as there is no need for mitts today.

I don't think valley house was scheduled to open. I have never heard of it opening on a weekday non holiday at the same time as bravo before. Just glad it was open.

[shadyjay]

I don't think valley house was scheduled to open. I have never heard of it opening on a weekday non holiday at the same time as bravo before. Just glad it was open.

We got the word yesterday that VH would be open, and judging by the lines at Bravo at 8am, it's a good thing it did! Admittedly, it was lower on the priority list this AM as there was a LOT of work to be done to get the regular lifts running. Not to mention, some of our staff had a hard time getting in this morning - we can't all afford valley living. But we did get it open ~ 9:30am and we were pretty steady, but not nearly as mobbed as Bravo. Once HG opened, VH was "walk on".

[djd66]

whoa, slow down there.... at the risk of trying to stimulate productive conversation i think the "skier's resume" is quite important and a valid point. The perception one;s ski experience can vary greatly depending on when and how often they ski. If I ski 5-10 days a year and happen to be on the mountain for 2 of those days last weekend I am going to have a less than favorable view of things if i did not happen to be on the mountain those days. Let me try another angle, weekend warriors may certainly see a different mountain than those that can ski most of there days mid-week, and so on...

The point is that some of us may see the good, some see the bad, many see the ugly but those that ski 50+ days of the year more than likely see all 3 (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Does not make anyone's view any better or worse, just realize that the mountain is seen through many different lenses. I think the ones that can have the most impact on the business side are those that may have seen 20-25% of their season though last weekend's lense...

I understand what you are saying,.. i also think that there are some people on this board that have a holier than thou attitude about how much they ski and where they ski. I know what i ski and i am confident enough to not have to post it to this board every few days. But,... if you must here it is,....

Ski 40+ days a year, i have 2 kids in blazers and i own property on the mountain. Been skiing for over 40 years, worked full time on the ski patrol at a major resort, raced when i was in HS, skied 1000's of days in my life time,... does that qualify me?

Its the attitude of " you don't know shit because I ski this and I ski here" that motivated me to write my post. I NO financial interest in the mountain at all. (other than owning property) All I hear from this board is bitching about pretty much everything. It is getting rather old to be quite honest.

If I hear one more person say the term "Claybrooker" ,.....- like if you own a place at Claybrook you are a complete ahole???? (i dont own one) Listen, for $125K you can buy a place there + $10K you can buy a used Porsche. Bottom line - they are just condos - most likely that is what the Sugarbush Village was like 40 years ago. I do not get this class warfare BS for the life of me.

[chrisinvermont]

Bottom line - they are just condos - most likely that is what the Sugarbush Village was like 40 years ago. I do not get this class warfare BS for the life of me.

Not into the "class warfare" but clay brook isn't just a condo. When you get to cut lines, load lifts early, get cabin cat rides, and private tours it's more than just a condo and it is marketed as such. I get it and have no problem with claybrookers. I am a cheap skate that buys a north plus pass every spring when it's the cheapest and only go into the lodge to hit the head so I don't expect that level of service to be extended to me.

I think there has been good conversations on this board on the problems that have become more apparent this year. To discount someone's input simply because they bought a pass somewhere else this year or they only ski a few times isn't right. I would bet that emails sent directly to Win and SB contained far worse than anything mentioned here and i have heard far worse comments in person from people that are upset. The snow making and lifts have been lagging for years and this year just exasperated the situation. I am glad Win has recognized the problems and I hope he is able to do something about it.

These are real problems that the resort faces. I personally know 3 people that didn't buy passes this season and one that did for the first time and regrets it.

Anyways, I'll be in the GMX line first thing tomorrow. Heard from a buddy it was awesome today. Looking forward to an excellent weekend of skiing.