I’m Hangin’ Out In The Shade

jrockbridge

jrockbridge

Stealing Your Riffs
It’s too hot in the sun today. They say it’s the worst snowpack in 50 years.


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Yikes. Spring skiing at its finest.

Remember when it was at least somewhat affordable to have your good skis and a pair of rock skis? Or to go skiing at all? $200 for a lift ticket at Kirkwood now, sheesh.
 
Punchy said:
Yikes. Spring skiing at its finest.

Remember when it was at least somewhat affordable to have your good skis and a pair of rock skis? Or to go skiing at all? $200 for a lift ticket at Kirkwood now, sheesh.
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Vail Resorts keeps acquiring ski resorts. They are even buying resorts in countries outside the US. Their model is to make it so expensive to buy individual day passes that people opt for season passes instead. Vail day passes are $350. Breckenridge day passes are $320+.
 
jrockbridge said:
Vail Resorts keeps acquiring ski resorts. They are even buying resorts in countries outside the US. Their model is to make it so expensive to buy individual day passes that people opt for season passes instead. Vail day passes are $350. Breckenridge day passes are $320+.
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Oh yeah, that's the same EPIC PASS program. Hella lame.
 
Punchy said:
Oh yeah, that's the same EPIC PASS program. Hella lame.
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It’s a bummer if you only plan to ski a few times. I bought the EPIC Local Value Pass which includes Breckenridge with a few blackout days and Keystone unlimited. I’ve skied 8 times this season and plan to do, at least 2 more days. I can’t recall how much my season pass cost me. I’ll have to check. But, I know it was less than half of $3200 which is what 10 day passes would have cost. I have always bought season passes most years, so I’m used to it.

I skied Kirkwood during spring break from college one year. There was a big snow storm just before we got there, so it was a blast.
 
That business model must be working, because every year I see people bitching about how insane the lift lines are at those resorts.
 
jp_nyc said:
That business model must be working, because every year I see people bitching about how insane the lift lines are at those resorts.
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It does work. It essentially saves them from losing their ass, financially, during the odd dry ski seasons. They get enough people to commit to the ski season in advance, before those people are able to determine if there will be a good amount of snowfall. They also make a decent profit from high priced rooms, expensive food, drink, overpriced equipment rentals, and services.

For people who don’t have season passes, a single person at Vail could easily pay $6000 for days of skiing, once you include, housing, day passes, food, drink, and other services. A family with a couple of children could easily end up paying more than $20k for a 5 day ski trip.

This year at Breckenridge, there were obviously less people showing up all season. The record low snowpack was not enticing the usual crowds. Yet, there were still enough people showing up to make it all work. Also, they do some promotional things to bring non-skiers up to experience the resorts. The views are spectacular.

I spoke with a lot of people who came to Breckenridge from all over the US this season. We talked about the record low snowfall. Yet, the consensus seemed to be that the worst snowpack in 50 years was still good enough. I’m a die hard that will ski any conditions and enjoy it. Of course, I prefer powder, but I take what I get.

In the 35 years I’ve been living and skiing in Colorado, I’ve never had to maneuver around so much dirt, rocks and stumps during Spring skiing. But, I’ve been able to smile and laugh about it.
 
The CEO of Vail Resorts admitted this year that their EPIC model needs to change. It is failing to bring enough new skiers into the sport.

One of the things I noticed this Spring was a season pass for college students that included Breckenridge and Keystone for $549. My son bought that pass for next season. If he skis 3 times it’s paid for at break even. Anything past that is gravy.

They had a similar adult pass for non college students at $650. I bought the one that includes Keystone, Breckenridge, plus 10 days at Vail and/or Beaver Creek for $809. Of course, the catch was that we had to purchase by April 12th. I spread mine out over 12 months, zero interest.
 
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