Just a vent/rant

[SuperMoe]

OK...I'm so bummed, don't know what I'm going to do. If any of you remember, I just started downhill skiing last year. Had a great time, was looking forward to getting a pass at our local bump. Did the lessons, etc, etc.

So now, I find out, they're allowing all the college students free skiing this year. Do you know what a mess that will be? They did it to the golf course this fall and it was a mess! One of the starter's put a group on the first tee, the kid looked at him and said, "How do I hold this...what do I do?" They had to print up a bunch of etiquette cards to hand out to all the students.

Just imagine the ski hill. "Come on Jenny (Tom), just go to the top, you can do this." And as I'm fairly sucky, I gotta deal with all them too? Talk about problems just waiting to happen. Our bump is pretty challenging, not much at all for the green runs and our blues are like the blacks at other resorts. UGH, I don't think I'm going to get a pass this year....I'll still ski some there, but I was soooo looking forward to skiing this winter.

GRRRRRR:mad:

OK, rant over, I'm not in shape anyway, what am I worried about?!?

 

[Jilly]

Wow, I can agree with you on that one. Our little bump has a student deal of $99 for a season pass. Your hill may think that they are going to make all kinds of money on the concessions or bar (if they have one). Not!! They will ski and leave. They won't buy much, maybe a soft drink - coke, or a chocolate bar. Not meals. And like you say, they will drive the paying customers away with their attitudes and lack of safety.
Now if they make them all take a lesson at the beginning, or make them take a ability test in order to ski free, then that might work. Like we do with the grade 5'ers ski day around here.

 

[Jenny]

Holy Crap! I'd be worried, too. How far are you from any other hill?

 

[ski&bfree]

Just thought I'd mention: not alllll college students are like that

It's too bad that you have to take your skiing somewhere else. As Jenny mentioned, how far are you from another hill?

 

[volklgirl]

If I recall correctly, Moe's about 1 hour from Mt. Bohemia which is expert only terrain (no snow making, no grooming, waaaay steep), and about 2+ hours (I'd guess) from The Porkies?

 

[Jilly]

Just thought I'd mention: not alllll college students are like that

We know, its just the few that ruin it for the rest. I think the hill should look at the program and enforce the skier code that they put on the back of lift tickets. That might slow some of them down. We've had to do that at our local hill with the high school students. They do get kicked out!

 

[SnowHot]

There is a difference in vibe when this kind of promotion happens. The good news is that they expose many to the sport who may not otherwise get that experience.
I hope they don't lose a great customer base in the process.

 

[geargrrl]

"my" hill did that about fifteen years ago. $99 tickets for everyone. It was awful, every bad stereotype punk kid in the region must have bought a ticket that year. Firecrackers were being tossed off the lift, foul language at full volume was rampant - and management just didn't care. Fortunately that manager didn't last.

 

[cinnabon]

It's amazing how when you make skiing too cheap, the quality of the customers drops, and of course the quantity goes way up! A few years ago Killington had the bright idea of have season passes starting at $350, with a few black out dates, but otherwise unlimited. They drew in an obnoxious "K-Mart crowd", as my boss used to say. As of last season they have new owners and this was the first thing to go - what a difference!

 

[Jilly]

Owl's Head in Quebec's Eastern Townships, decided a few years ago to allow seniors to ski free on Tuesday. Their thought was they would make it up on concessions. The owner was looking over the crowd in the day lodge on the first Tuesday PM and thought how much money they were making. Well they made about $100. Many seniors have lived through frugal times and some, most (?) still are. They bring their own lunches, soup, sandwiches and even coffee. Or they might buy a coffee. Fred was not impressed and changed it to $15 Tuesday for everybody the next year.

As a skier I like to see more people into the sport - sure, but not at the expense of safety and responsibility. (That damn ski instructor angel on my shoulder)

 

[Jenny]

If I recall correctly, Moe's about 1 hour from Mt. Bohemia which is expert only terrain (no snow making, no grooming, waaaay steep), and about 2+ hours (I'd guess) from The Porkies?

Even the thought of Mt. Bohemia scares me! I'm a groomer girl.

Too bad on the distance - it makes skiing after work almost impossible when you have to factor in that much travel time. And then you're restricted to weekends (like us) with everyone else.