Alterra moves ahead (Mammoth, Squaw, Deer Valley, former Intrawest)

[rhymeandreason]

Do you know if BBMR was profitable before the purchase by Mammoth?

BBMR was purchased in 2014 after a very bad snow year. I don’t know if they were profitable, but no one was surprised they sold.

 

[Jilly]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155999205657719

 

[marzNC]

Very interesting video comments by Jon Wade. He is a realtor in Steamboat. Said that there won't be signs with "Alterra" at the resorts. The idea is to market the uniqueness of the individual resorts.

Apparently there will be two tiers for the Ikon Pass.

 

[Jilly]

I can see there being 2 tiers. An all out do, go anywhere pass and then something akin to the Max, MCP. So many days at each place.

 

[mustski]

Do you know if BBMR was profitable before the purchase by Mammoth?

In the long run, BBMR was profitable. Snow Summit was owned by the same family since the outset. Bear Mountain has a more checkered ownership history until it was bought out by Snow Summit and they were combined to become BBMR. Put it this way ... half of the weekend ski patrol is volunteer; the USARC (adaptive ski services) which operates out of bear, and is privately funded via hardcore donors, is almost 100% volunteer based. These folks donate hours and hours of services. All they ever received was a season pass, a comp ticket for friends and family for each day served, and a discount on food. I have two friends who have volunteered at USARC for over 15 years and two others who were volunteer ski patrol for so long that BBMR awarded them lifetime season passes. First thing Mammoth did was eliminate those season passes and food discounts. All they offered was one comp ticket for every day served and that excluded their 2-4 days of annual training. It costs what? .25 to actually make the little plastic pass? That's just cheap and insulting. The whole town was fed up by the time Mammoth sold out. The parking became such a cluster under Mammoth management that this year the town has hired the Sherrif's Department to manage traffic on weekends. This was caused by the decision to stop limiting ticket sales. They sell more than for the parking they can provide.

 

[CrystalRose]

@mustski Thanks for sharing. I didn't know any of that... It definitely changes my perception of the resorts. Maybe Alterra will be different.

 

[GoingDownhillWeeeee!]

I can see there being 2 tiers. An all out do, go anywhere pass and then something akin to the Max, MCP. So many days at each place.

I'm almost on the edge of my seat waiting to see if there's an RMSP equivalent. I don't need a pass with 20 different mountains, I'm not going to travel to 20 different mountains, and I'm not going to pay extra to get 17 mountains that I'll never ski. I don't get enough time off work to do many trips and would rather use the time I do have to ski, not fly or drive. It is nice to have a few local options but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg.

Still, this shakeup could be a good thing. I mostly ski Winter Park but Breckenridge is closer to my house. And there are a lot of other day trippable slopes I've never been to. So this might encourage me to get out and try new stuff. Or I might just buy a Winter Park pass (if it's still offered) and stay with the familiar.

 

[just jane]

Yeah, I would like to see something comparable to the RMSP, with unlimited skiing at my home mountain and discounts or a couple of freebies at the other resorts. Otherwise all it's going to do is make my home mountain more crowded and not do anything else for me.

 

[rhymeandreason]

Ikon pass details have been released

https://www.ikonpass.com/en/ikon-pass

Unlimited (12 resorts)
Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Eldora, Mammoth, Big Bear, Stratton, Squaw, Snowshoe, Tremblant, June and Blue

7 days each
Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Revelstoke, and Killington and Sugarbush

7 days total
Aspen, AltaSnowbird, Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise and Mt. Norquay, Sunday River, Sugarloaf and Loon

There is also Ikon Base with limited resorts and blackout dates.

 

[just jane]

I'm waiting to see if there will still be season passes for individual resorts. Can I still get just my Copper pass for $400-ish like this year?

Even if we have to go up to the new base price, if we take just one trip a year to one of the destination resorts, we'll come out ahead. So it could be a win for me, EXCEPT for increased crowds at my home mountain.

We might finally be able to do a family ski trip with my brothers though. They live in SoCal. The one brother gets a season pass for Mammoth/Big Bear. Now that they're combined with Copper, we could all meet up on the same pass, or meet at Tahoe. I would love to do that.

 

[Jilly]

I want to see what the standard pass at Tremblant is going to be. If I knew that I was going to travel then that's another story. But I have a speed pass that I doubt I'll be able to get as an add on to the Ikon pass. But $599US is a lot better than $1100 Cdn for the standard Tremblant pass even with the exchange.

 

[CrystalRose]

BTW they moved the Alterra pass/pricing discussion to IKON Pass Pricing Revealed.

 

[marzNC]

With the announcement about the Ikon Pass pricing, it's clear that Deer Valley access is limited even for those who shell out $899 for the Ikon Pass that has unlimited days at the other Alterra locations. As mentioned above, for further discussion about the Ikon Pass, go to the new thread IKON Pass Pricing Revealed.

$899 Ikon Full Pass

Unlimited (12 Alterra resorts)
Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Eldora; Squaw/Alpine; Mammoth, Big Bear, June; Tremblant, Blue in ONT, Stratton, Snowshoe

7 days each: Revelstoke, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Deer Valley (Alterra); Killington, Sugarbush

7 days combined: Aspen (4), Alta/Snowbird, Banff SkiBig3 (LL, Sunshine, Norquay), Boyne NE (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf)

$599 Ikon Base Pass, holiday blackout dates Dec. 26-31, 2018; Jan. 19-20, 2019; Feb. 16-17, 2019

Unlimited (9 Alterra resorts)
Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Eldora; Big Bear, June; plus Squaw/Alpine with blackout dates

5 days at 4 Alterra resorts, with black out dates: Mammoth, Deer Valley, Steamboat, Stratton

5 days each at Partners, with black out dates: Revelstoke, Big Sky, Jackson Hole; Killington, Sugarbush

5 days combined, with black out dates: Aspen (4), Alta/Snowbird, Banff SkiBig3 (LL, Sunshine, Norquay), Boyne NE (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf)

 

[marzNC]

Here's another way to look at the Alterra locations (in bold) and the Partners for 2018-19 as of Feb 2018.

California: Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows; Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear
Montana: Big Sky
Wyoming: Jackson Hole
Utah: Deer Valley, Alta, Snowbird
Colorado: Aspen/Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Eldora

Maine: Sugarloaf, Sunday River
New Hampshire: Loon
Vermont: Stratton, Killington, Sugarbush
West Virginia: Snowshoe

Ontario, Canada: Blue Mountain
Quebec, Canada: Tremblant
Alberta, Canada: Lake Louise, Sunshine, Mt. Norquay (SkiBig3)

 

[Jilly]

With the announcement about the Ikon Pass pricing, it's clear that Deer Valley access is limited even for those who shell out $899 for the Ikon Pass that has unlimited days at the other Alterra locations. As mentioned above, for further discussion about the Ikon Pass, go to the new thread IKON Pass Pricing Revealed.

$899 Ikon Full Pass

Unlimited (12 Alterra resorts)
Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Eldora; Squaw/Alpine; Mammoth, Big Bear, June; Tremblant, Blue in ONT, Stratton, Snowshoe

7 days each: Revelstoke, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Deer Valley (Alterra); Killington, Sugarbush

7 days combined: Aspen (4), Alta/Snowbird, Banff SkiBig3 (LL, Sunshine, Norquay), Boyne NE (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf)

$599 Ikon Base Pass, holiday blackout dates Dec. 26-31, 2018; Jan. 19-20, 2019; Feb. 16-17, 2019

Unlimited (9 Alterra resorts)
Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Eldora; Big Bear, June; plus Squaw/Alpine with blackout dates

5 days at 4 Alterra resorts, with black out dates: Mammoth, Deer Valley, Steamboat, Stratton

5 days each at Partners, with black out dates: Revelstoke, Big Sky, Jackson Hole; Killington, Sugarbush

5 days combined, with black out dates: Aspen (4), Alta/Snowbird, Banff SkiBig3 (LL, Sunshine, Norquay), Boyne NE (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf)

Base Pass includes unlimited at Blue Mountain, Collingwood and Mt Tremblant. No blackouts

 

[Jilly]

Looking forward to Tvan's chart!!

 

[marzNC]

Not much new info, but I learned from this article that David Perry, the COO of Alterra, was a ski instructor and worked for the heli operation as a young man. For anyone who didn't follow the acquisitions that led to the creation of Alterra, this puts the changes in the last few years in the ski resort industry in context.

https://www.aspensojo.com/articles/2018/2/15/let-the-winter-games-begin

 

[Jilly]

Talk about moving ahead.....$17 million to be invested at Tremblant.

1 new quad to replace the aging Lowel Thomas triple chair.
expansion to the Grand Mantiou
reno to the Chalet de Voyageur - customer service and washrooms
addition/reno to the Fourchette de Diable - north side building. Make the tented area, permanent
new fleet of rental skis and new golf carts
5 new trails on the north side to bring the total to 101!

 

[marzNC]

In addition to new lifts at Tremblant, Stratton, and Winter Park, Alterra plans to spend $4 million on upgrades at Snowshoe. The money at Snowshoe is focused on snowmaking and grooming. That should mean more open terrain by mid-December and certainly by the Christmas holiday week.

The total budget announced for Alterra capital improvements was $130 million just for the 2018-19 season.

https://www.alterramtnco.com/news/2018/03/12/capital-announcement

 

[marzNC]

From the Alterra press release on 3/12/2018:

“At our core, we are a ski company and we offer year-round mountain experiences to skiers, riders and summer visitors of all ages from all over the world,” said Rusty Gregory, Chief Executive Officer, Alterra Mountain Company. “Each aspect of our business plays a part in the guest experience that brings them back year after year, from a welcoming base area to an efficient ski school to exceptional services. It is our commitment to invest in each of our destinations in order to grow the sport, offer a variety of activities, inspire loyal guests and instill a love of the mountains in all that visit. We do that through thoughtful and innovative capital investment that improves a guest’s experience, while we continue to support and preserve the character and traditions of each destination.”

The $555 million budgeted improvements will be invested broadly to elevate the guest experience and introduce innovation and technology through new chairlifts and gondolas, snowmaking, food & beverage offerings, base areas development and access, and new adventurous summer experiences. Additional capital improvement projects will be announced in the fall.