The question I have is whether that sum is enough for the product to remain competitive to other major ski areas. Maybe ownership should take a ride to Okemo, Stowe or Jay on a busy Saturday and check out the conditions and lines. Maybe they should sample their own product on a busy Saturday after the dust is skied off. After waiting in line like those of us with only a season pass.
In another thread about snowmaking, someone asked how can we possibly improve snowmaking since we have 100% coverage on snowmaking trails. Simple...create a surface that is skiable for intermediates after 9:30 on a Saturday on blue trails. Seriously, it is as simple as that. That is a very, very low bar, but a goal that is rarely if ever reached. Make the place skiable. Get rid of the perma-whales with their horrendous sheets of ice on trails like Lower Organgrinder and Snowball. Make the cruising trails into cruising trails. So people can actually cruise. Take a few minutes and watch the customers try to ski down Snowball in the section just after the entrance to Moonshine. It is a disaster, they cannot ski it. Watch those same folks try to ski Downspout, same deal. Or the end of the traverse. It is a nightmare. I enjoy Paradise and Castlerock, etc., but the majority of my guests and friends just want skiable blue cruisers. And I really like to rip at high speeds on a nice groomer. I'm 50, in a few short years I will be limited to less difficult trails. It would be nice if they were fun to ski, rather than skied off "dust on crust".
I'm betting that more improvements will come. More tickets sold means more revenue, and then larger budgets for infrastructure. I can't imagine that management is trying to create a brand around low quality product at a low price. Right now, cheap tickets, lift lines, and surface conditions are pointing in that direction, but I think it is temporary.
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