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Why ski resorts are dying

newboots

Angel Diva
As we have discussed, the multi-resort passes do bring skiers to more resorts, but it seems they do very little to bring in new skiers. More resorts will have to offer great deals to never-Evers and to young people, like Killington’s pass for under-30s. (I think, or was it college kids?). I think the multi passes serve passionate skiers well, and also people who can travel to ski. These passes are not going to replace the mom-and-pop ski hills that fed so many kids into the sport!
 

NYSnowflake

Angel Diva
As we have discussed, the multi-resort passes do bring skiers to more resorts, but it seems they do very little to bring in new skiers. More resorts will have to offer great deals to never-Evers and to young people, like Killington’s pass for under-30s. (I think, or was it college kids?). I think the multi passes serve passionate skiers well, and also people who can travel to ski. These passes are not going to replace the mom-and-pop ski hills that fed so many kids into the sport!
I was a never-ever last year, and this year I bought an Epic Local. My experience in my ski club and their affordable transportation, lift tickets, instruction program, and comraderie is what got me hooked on the sport last year.
 

Candebsna

Certified Ski Diva
Mammoth is doing great. The are remodeling their lodges and they are crowded. Prices of parking and lockers are up... crowds are big!
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Alterra took over Camelback this year and they have already made a bunch of changes that make it less family friendly... raised prices on lessons (not surprising, they used to be so reasonable) removed the affordable slope side daycare, rerouted foot traffic to the lodge in a weird way, repositioned ski check to a less convenient place, they even changed the awesome Mac and cheese my kids have loved for 5 years! In fairness there have been improvements too but you can see the profit maximization efforts in lots of ways...
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Alterra took over Camelback this year and they have already made a bunch of changes that make it less family friendly... raised prices on lessons (not surprising, they used to be so reasonable) removed the affordable slope side daycare, rerouted foot traffic to the lodge in a weird way, repositioned ski check to a less convenient place, they even changed the awesome Mac and cheese my kids have loved for 5 years! In fairness there have been improvements too but you can see the profit maximization efforts in lots of ways...
It wasn't Alterra. It was KSL Resorts, which is NOT the same company as KSL Capital Investments. KSL Capital partnered with the Crown family to for the purchases that created Alterra and then the Ikon pass.

KSL Resorts mostly has golf clubs and resorts with beaches. The Camelback waterpark and summer activities are probably of more interest to KSL Resorts than the snowsports.
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks for the clarification... our instructor did say that they are very likely going ikon next winter so fingers crossed for that...
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Mammoth is doing great. The are remodeling their lodges and they are crowded. Prices of parking and lockers are up... crowds are big!

Same with every ski area in the WA Cascades...and I think the same story for any ski area near a population center in the West, which is an awful lot of places. The problem here is crowding. No one has gone out of business in the last 20 years in my state. These "skiing is dying" stories always lack subtlety, which is frustrating to me. It also seems to me there are plenty of younger people and families on the slopes, but it's hard to really tell. That would be interesting to know.
 

Christina Pham

Certified Ski Diva
A lot comes down to cost. Many ski passes for resorts out west are now $150+ just for a day, and parking at some resorts that was free is now $40 a day.

At Park City this past weekend, the lodge was selling hot dogs for $21. Granted, it's a pricier resort but still. We had some beginners in our group and with travel, rentals, lift tickets, lodging, food etc. they easily spent over $1000 for the weekend.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
A lot comes down to cost. Many ski passes for resorts out west are now $150+ just for a day, and parking at some resorts that was free is now $40 a day.

At Park City this past weekend, the lodge was selling hot dogs for $21. Granted, it's a pricier resort but still. We had some beginners in our group and with travel, rentals, lift tickets, lodging, food etc. they easily spent over $1000 for the weekend.

OMG! I thought things were expensive here! Those hot dogs - made in-house? Pasture-raised pork or beef? Buns baked on premises? Accompanied by caviar??
 

rhymeandreason

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Lol, I had to order one of those for my son - cloud dine, right? The prices go up by 50% at cloud dine since it’s the highest place to eat and there’s no other place close by. Although ours came with a shed load of fries!
The best place to eat at Canyons, according to my kids, is sun peak lodge - decent tacos and a salsa bar.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
@newboots They called them "wagyu" dogs but they taste like any old hot dog! Technically a pretzel dog, so a little bit fancy but that's all, no sides even!

Technically, if they really use wagyu beef, that probably is about comparable to caviar. Still. They are fleecing skiers for food that the kids want. Pathetic.
 

Christina Pham

Certified Ski Diva
Lol, I had to order one of those for my son - cloud dine, right? The prices go up by 50% at cloud dine since it’s the highest place to eat and there’s no other place close by. Although ours came with a shed load of fries!
The best place to eat at Canyons, according to my kids, is sun peak lodge - decent tacos and a salsa bar.
Yes, Cloud dine! I got there right as the manager was telling workers that the hot dogs shouldn’t be coming with fries. Inconsistent, so some people got fries and some didn’t.
 

slyfox4

Ski Diva Extraordinaire

Simygirl

Certified Ski Diva
Alterra took over Camelback this year and they have already made a bunch of changes that make it less family friendly... raised prices on lessons (not surprising, they used to be so reasonable) removed the affordable slope side daycare, rerouted foot traffic to the lodge in a weird way, repositioned ski check to a less convenient place, they even changed the awesome Mac and cheese my kids have loved for 5 years! In fairness there have been improvements too but you can see the profit maximization efforts in lots of ways...
Very sad indeed. The sport is becoming unfordable in the US. Bad timing to pick it up again but I did see some improvements at Camelback. The food is still terrible!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Very sad indeed. The sport is becoming unfordable in the US. Bad timing to pick it up again but I did see some improvements at Camelback. The food is still terrible!
Welcome! Where else have you skied locally? There are ski areas without all the resort amenities of Camelback in the region that are not as expensive when it comes to lift tickets.
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Very sad indeed. The sport is becoming unfordable in the US. Bad timing to pick it up again but I did see some improvements at Camelback. The food is still terrible!
Yeah I have to say the coverage they have given the lack of natural snow so far has been amazing. We have had mostly great days so far as long as you can get there before everything gets skied off.
 

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