GM Blog: Fact or Fiction
Today I will write about a subject that is often taboo in the ski industry. But in the spirit of keeping it real, I am willing to go there. This is the time of year when I get the same question repeatedly, “Kelly, when is the mountain closing?” I don’t have an absolute answer for this but I can give you some good indicators.
Fact or fiction? If Mount Snow stayed open later than any other ski area in VT, they would “own” all the late season business, which would be profitable. Fiction. As much as it sounds like a good plan, at the end of the season there is a much smaller pool of people who still ski/ride. And as much as we admire their dedication to the sport, the numbers are too small to pay the bills. I am sure our northern neighbors have better luck because their snow tends to stick around longer. Unfortunately, here at MS, it has never been a good recipe for positive cash flow.
On the other hand, you will see us continue to push for early openings.
This year we have several events that are helping to define our closing date. In April we have the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge finals the weekend of April 1 – 3 and we have the Glade-iator and Winter Brewers Fest on April 9. So it is safe to say that we plan to be open for these events.
Will we be open past the weekend of April 10th ? Probably not. I know, I can hear your groans and moans. This is purely a business decision which is very hard to make when your customer base is so passionate. Normally we try to hold out for Easter but with the late date of April 24th, it doesn’t make sense this year.
This year, the day we close, is also the trigger of a very important timeline.
Immediately, we will take all of the chairs off the Grand Summit Express and ship the chair heads to Leitner/Poma. The chair head is a 12” long piece that Poma will press into the new hanger and then they will ship it back to us, along with the new chairs. Next we will install the new chairs and load test before our July 4th opening of scenic chair rides. It is a very tight schedule that we hope we can achieve. Oh yeah – and it is important to me that we offer our staff a little time off before they embark on one of Mount Snow’s largest capital ventures in over a decade…the 6-pack bubble!
Can the plan outlined above change? Yup! It can change tomorrow or with a snow storm or a warm spell. It is good to have a plan but this time of year we try to keep an open mind and remember that Mother Nature is in charge.
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makes sense & the transparency is much appreciated :)
transparency is good
I’d rather be able to be sure to get another weekend, weather permitting, but it’s far better than you’ve been so open about the how’s & why’s of ski are operation.
It’s also far better that the business succeeds than fails, and in the end that’s what matters for all of us.
Why a bubble chair and not a gondola ?
the bubble will allow you to keep your skis/board on and still enjoy a wind break. and for a 7 min ride we thought a gondola would be a bit much.
While many may not know this, Mt. Snow’s latest closing date was May 15th way back in the 80′s….it was helped by a deep base combined with an unusual cold April that featured a few heavy dumpings that permitted the mountain to stay afloat as late as it did…some say the North Face still had snow on it going into June albeit.
Nowadays, the mindset simply changes as the weather gets warmer, people tend to start thinking summer. However, if for some reason we were to get some crazy late season snow (which we can need right about now), I would support staying open as conditions permit.
If not, there’s always next year…
Kelly, kudos to the team at Mount Snow for continuing to make every day a great skiing experience. It’s tough to manage after a 60 degree day, but your grooming team gets out there and gets it done. I couldn’t believe how good the North Face was yesterday, firm and perfectly groomed like mid winter skiing while the front turned spring soft — like skiing in two seasons. Thanks
Spring is a great time of the year to hit the slopes. Warm weather, soft snow and outdoor BBQ’s. With the wider skis and snowboards the soft now is easy to handle. The problem is there isn’t enough postive buzz south of the mountains to generate visits. The snow sports industry really needs to do a better job representing resort operators and educating snow sports enthusiasts that this can be the best time of the year to hit the slopes. April has and can be a great month on the snow! After all the snowmaking during the season (man made snow holds up better then natural), it is sad to see the slopes covered long after the lifts stop spinning.
Thanks for a great season.
May 1st? Yeah…wishfull thinking….those days are long gone, but I’m with ya on that.
We can always hike the North Face as there are always patched of snow albeit, well into May !!
When will the Tough Mudder start to set up?
I know most will enjoy and be happy to have a bubble on those tough days.
But what about those who would use it to scratch their mindless statements,
place stickers and use it as a graffity board. How are you planning to police that ?
My suggestion is to place a notice inside each bubble stating that “Anyone caught defacing this bubble will loose their ticket / pass along with all those riding with that person “. Hopefully, at least one of the passegers will have enough sense to stop any wrong doings.
wowa. can we talk more about the chair upgrade on the grand summit express? still going to be a 4 pack? bubble? any other upgrades to that chair lift we should know about?
the Grand Summit Express will still be a quad, the new chairs will have footrests on them.
Hi Kelly
Any chance you could redirect the Clock Tower camera this summer so we can view some of the changes
It’s already done!
@ chris – TM set up began last fall but most of it will be end of april and 1st week of march
@ Gary – great idea and we will proably implement it or some form of it. RESPECT the bubble!
Great update and thanks for the honesty. Last thing we want is for MS to bleed money to stay open for the few than can make the trip. We would rather you save the money and continue to spend on the upgrades.
Thnaks fdor a gfreat season and the push to continue to invest.
You have worked so hard getting people to leave the main face of the mountain (ie sun brook) instead of fixing the summit express put your money into speeding up the sunbrook lift??? Let me start by saying I’m extremely excited about the bubble
If I can’t have powder there is nothing better than groomed corn snow and spring is a great time to ski. I have skied the entire Northeast until May looking for perfect corn snow. Some mountains hold up better that others and the conditions in Sunbrook last Tuesday were as good as it gets. One of my favorite spring mountains is your newly acquired Wildcat Mountain. I hope the plan is to keep this mountain open late. If so I would encourage you to entice your Mount Snow passholders to take a trip North to check out the most spectacular views and finest skiing in the east. You may even see some passholders upgrade. Thanks for a spectacular season so far.
Thank you for a reasoned and clear explanation of circumstances and plans. I really respect your candor and sense of responsibility to your customers.
See you soon for one last day.
can we get more info on the storage facility? do we have drawings of what it will look like? it will be in a really prominent position, right?
hi really enjoyed the Carinthia Park on St. Pattys day!!!! Best park ever !!!! Can you please offer a sweet lift ticket deal for $17 again before you close I’d even pay double that but $70-80 is way too much if i’m just gonna do park laps down the same run…I know of at least 10-20 people that would take that deal in a heartbeat…please please please!!!!!! One more time at Carinthia be epic, why not just offer tix good for Carinthia and no other part of the mountain for the park rats
keep an eye on liftopia.com – we’ve got some stuff running there!
Last year the final weekend ticket prices were $25, will they be offering the same deal this year?
Makes sense Kelly. Too bad the new chairs for the quad can’t come back with their own “bubble.” Would the added weight also help lessen the chair from swinging on thise windy days? Is that at all feasible?
I agree with Lovetoskivt: how about speeding up/replacing the Sunbrook lift? It’s an area of the mountain that is chronically underused whenever I’m there (week-days) b/c lift doesn’t run or is so slow.
Reagrding the Sunbrook Quad, it is next on our list but please understand that it may not happen right away. The 6-pack bubble is a big investment and our goal is to reinvest in the resort in a responsibly fiscal manner. Rest assured – we want a new lift there, too!
What is the timeline for expanding overall snowmaking area. No point in a new chair at Sunbrook until there is more snowmaking coverage over there.
We are currently working on a permit to build a new snowmaking pond. You are correct – 1st we have to increase our access to water and then expand snowmaking on Sunbrook….and a new chair to get folks to the top faster.
Buy Haystack!!
Kelly – Any chance the new comms line on the bubble chair will be able to provide WiFi at the top? I often “work” from the mountain on Monday or Friday to extend my weekends and getting connectivity at the top would be a big help. Currently I need to get off the hill every 2 or 3 runs and go to the Grand or Main Lodge to connect to my office, I suspect I could do the same without taking off my skis if I stood just outrside the summit lodge if it had WiFi.
Chris – Yes, we will be providing WiFi at the summit lodge so hopefully this will make your Monday’s and Friday’s a little easier.
This is so cool. We can now even send images of the greast views, conditions and whatever from the summit. My reception up there has been rather fzzy so this wil make it perfect.. I assume besides Wi-Fi you will have better cell phone coverage as well ….hope hope…???
Is the expanded snowmaking a 2011/2012 or 2012/ 2013 project or even possibly further out?
Dave – we don’t have a definite answer for you at this time.
Have you thought about leaving Carinthia open after the rest of the mountain shuts down? Spring corn is ideal for park riding, and park rats will try to take advantage of that for as long as the mountain can stay open. Plus maintaining Carinthia would be a lot cheaper than keeping the rest of the mountain open because of its size and the fact that if snow is scarce you can just level a jump and use the extra snow to fill in any thin cover areas.
The reason it is not profitable to stay open late in the season is because 80% of the die hard skiers have some sort of ski pass, so there is no $$$$ at the ticket windows. Those people still skiing have paid for their passes in many cases the year before.
Guys,
I am afraid 1 or 2 more weekends and it is time for baseball and golf.
We have to turn the mountain over to the workers to get stuff done in time for November.
@ Tony – yes, keeping Carinthia open for an extra weekend or 2 is something we have done in the past. it is great for our park dwellers but not the best solution for our N Face lovers. We look at every angle. I am hoping for 6-12″ on Friday! It will be interesting to see how many people come out this weekend.
I agree with todd B, on this one. It is ridiculous that Mt. snow started shutting down operations during march while there was still great skiing conditions. Closing Sunbrook already REALLY!!!!!, Closing Tumbleweed REALLY!!!!!!! Even the dismantling of the summit local was way premature. When someone purchases a seasons pass there is an understanding that they will be able to ski as long as conditions make it viable….NOPE not this year….. probably the best snow season in the last 20 years and Mt snow starts shutting down the mountain……. absurd…… thank you Mt. Snow….. Shutting down the mountain to a season pass holder while there is still quality skiing is like, a baseball team not playing its final games for its fans and season ticket holders once they are eliminated from the playoffs…..