A-basin is not the only place that is cutting back or limiting pass sales. It makes me wonder whether we're headed back to season passes being $2K+.
Remember? Think in the mid 70's - 80's season passes were well over $1k.A-basin is not the only place that is cutting back or limiting pass sales. It makes me wonder whether we're headed back to season passes being $2K+.
Remember? Think in the mid 70's - 80's season passes were well over $1k.
Well you're younger than me so maybe not...........
More like 90. Watch out for the baby boomers...they’re living longer!Heheh. I remember ski passes back east being over $1K and stunned at how cheap they were out west. But that was probably in the 90s. And when the age one needed to be to get the $10 senior ski pass was like 65. They keep increasing that age that so that I won't be eligible until I'm 80!
Sugarbowl. They are offering passes to current and 19/20 passholders, and if any remain after a certain date, they go on sale to the general public. Right now, non-blackout passes and weekday passes are nearly 90% sold; blackout passes are over 90% sold. I write this as someone who will be a member of the general public trying to snag a pass for next year.Who else?
More like 90. Watch out for the baby boomers...they’re living longer!
Oh damnWell. I have longevity genes, but we all get dementia....
Supply and demand has shifted the landscape of the ski industry dramatically more than once in the last 90 years. The number of new lifts being planned at smaller ski areas is pretty interesting. There was a slow down after the 2008 recession. Obviously the pandemic in 2020 stalled out some projects in some regions. But others moved forward. Timberline in WV has two new lifts put in during the summer of 2020 by a new owner . . . for $10 million. They are clearly investing for the future. If the interest this season is any indication, it will be very successful.However, there are all those small ski areas that have closed, or are just holding on. Some recently, and others a decade or longer. I don't know. It does feel crowded, much more than just five years ago when I started skiing.
I do wonder about skier days going down when they are designing (a few) huge new resorts in Maine and Utah .Canada - Jasper and Vancouver. And the many resorts that have expanded.
However, there are all those small ski areas that have closed, or are just holding on. Some recently, and others a decade or longer. I don't know. It does feel crowded, much more than just five years ago when I started skiing.
Fair to say that the situation in the northeast within driving distance of Boston and NYC is quite different for assorted reasons than what happens around Denver, SLC, or even Bozeman. There are "local" ski areas in CO like Cooper, Monarch, Wolf Creek, or Howlsen Hill that seem to be doing pretty well without being overcrowded. Driving distances are also very different in the Mountain West than in New England. The town of Steamboat Springs even figured out how to fund replacing an old double lift with a triple for a couple million dollars.Like Saddleback in Maine? I’ve wondered that, but it’s so far away for most folks from the big population centers (just like Sugarloaf) that I don’t think it will have a big impact on regular skiers elsewhere in the state.
I was thinking of Saddleback. Not that they will draw so many skiers away from other resorts, but that they have opened (back) up, so they expect to be able to make a go of it. If skier numbers are dwindling so much, would they invest in re-opening?
I wish...I'd buy a Powder Mountain pass in a heartbeat if they were able to open earlier, because they limit pass sales and daily ticket sales in the same fashion.
Snowbasin just 4 years ago was known for having untracked powder for days following a storm. Now, it's skied out in two hours max. The experience has made me not enjoy skiing nearly as much. Having to arrive at the mountain earlier and earlier to find parking, lift lines, crowded groomers especially when off piste is less than desirable, the "get away to some solitude" experience feels more like the rush for general admission at a great concert.