I didn't renew my Okemo Pass because Vail/Epic raised the price :-(
I forget, did you approach Okemo directly either at the counter or by phone about a non-Epic Pass? I know they kept the weekday and senior pass but it was not advertised on the website.
Write to vail resorts? Better yet, tweet and get your friends who visit Attitash to tweet to them too, with a specified/predetermined hashtag - It’s more effective...!Attitash has two peaks. It does have a high-speed quad to the top of Bear Peak. Last season its summit lift to the top of Attitash Mountain broke and they couldn't get it fixed for the last few months of the season. So the top of Attitash (but not Bear Peak) was inaccessible from a lift. That lift desperately needs to be replaced.
I see that, I did search this morning for new posts with “vail” and my search came up nil. It’s not clear what forum to put it in, so I placed in general skiing.Umm . . . the other thread came first.
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/vail-acquires-peak-resorts.23999
Not sure how I feel. The Vail Resorts I have been too are expensive, especially for the day skier and non pass holder... and the school programs were already in flux due to Peak. People's heads around here are going to be spinning!
Icon will stumble over itself to catch up to this.
What are some good acquisition targets or partners for Ikon in New Hampshire and Maine? My sense is that most of the Ikon resorts are higher end (unlike Vail, which has a mixture of flagship resorts and more local, feeder type resorts.)I hope so!
The strategy behind VR ownership and partners for Epic seems quite different than the approach being taken by Alterra with Ikon. VR bought the three midwest ski resorts a while back. Definitely not a random selection. The three brought in potential guests from Chicago, Detroit/Ann Arbor, or Minn/St. Paul. Spent $33 million for major improvements. Completely converted systems and processes. There are only three Epic partners: Telluride, Sun Valley, Snowbasin. Telluride and Sun Valley are full service resorts. Snowbasin has the same owner as Sun Valley and luxurious day lodges, but no slopeside lodging. In contrast, Ikon partners include iconic independent resorts like Jackson Hole, Aspen/Snowmass, Alta, Snowbird, plus Big Sky and all the other Boyne Resorts resorts.What are some good acquisition targets or partners for Ikon in New Hampshire and Maine? My sense is that most of the Ikon resorts are higher end (unlike Vail, which has a mixture of flagship resorts and more local, feeder type resorts.)
Good questions. When Triple Peaks was bought out, the entire Mueller family was out of the picture. Quite possible the same will happen with the Boyd family of Peak Resorts (father and sons).The question is whether Vail is going to continue the improvements that Peak started...? Will Peak still be managing them under the Vail umbrella? These details remain to be known.
The strategy behind VR ownership and partners for Epic seems quite different than the approach being taken by Alterra with Ikon. VR bought the three midwest ski resorts a while back. Definitely not a random selection. The three brought in potential guests from Chicago, Detroit/Ann Arbor, or Minn/St. Paul. Spent $33 million for major improvements. Completely converted systems and processes. There are only three Epic partners: Telluride, Sun Valley, Snowbasin. Telluride and Sun Valley are full service resorts. Snowbasin has the same owner as Sun Valley and luxurious day lodges, but no slopeside lodging. In contrast, Ikon partners include iconic independent resorts like Jackson Hole, Aspen/Snowmass, Alta, Snowbird, plus Big Sky and all the other Boyne Resorts resorts.
Ikon already includes Sunday River and Sugarloaf. What else can you think of in Maine that draws from a major metropolitan area?
Have to think about NH. Bretton Woods comes to mind. Perhaps Waterville Valley. Only as partners. But BW is next to Attitash/Wildcat and WV is close to Loon. Perhaps being a part of an independent alliance like the Indy Pass makes more sense for them.
Understandable. The unlimited locations for Ikon are at resorts owned by Alterra.I just feel that they need to offer more unlimited skiing options, OR allow you to choose a home mountain to have more days at.
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Have to think about NH. Bretton Woods comes to mind. Perhaps Waterville Valley. Only as partners. But BW is next to Attitash/Wildcat and WV is close to Loon. Perhaps being a part of an independent alliance like the Indy Pass makes more sense for them.
The question was what Ikon could do to add location(s), not what other places in the northeast could be bought. For Ikon, there are plenty of independent resort partners that are unlikely to sell for assorted reasons. Since the number of days at partner resorts are limited, Omni might well benefit by having Bretton Woods on Ikon. Could only offer non-holiday days. From what I experienced at BW last winter, I can imagine someone going to check it out for a day trip using Ikon and deciding they liked it enough to return for a weekend.Omni probably isn't going to let Bretton Woods go because it's part of the draw of the hotel for both summer and winter activities. Management stayed stable when Omni took the ski area over, as far as I can tell (as a relatively new employee).
Understandable. The unlimited locations for Ikon are at resorts owned by Alterra.
I would guess that Boyne Resorts still wants to sell their own season passes, so has little reason to offer Ikon holders more days. A Boyne Gold Pass for 2019-20 includes 3 free days and 50% off additional lift tickets at any other Boyne location, including Big Sky. Essentially can have a local season pass with MCP-like benefits for a trip to Big Sky for people who live in the northeast (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf) or Michigan (Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands).
Yep, the few years that the MAXX pass existed definitely spoiled folks in the northeast. But clearly it was unsustainable as a business model. Just as the former Snowtime (Whitetail, Liberty, Roundtop) season pass holders want to return to the days of a $400 season pass good at three locations with no blackout dates.I guess it’s just as someone who was spoiled previously with the Maxx pass