Coronavirus and Skiing

[MarzNC]

Here's a report about how things went in NH. Increased numbers midweek made a big difference, as it did in all regions.

" . . .​

Based on reports from several members, Keeler said ridership was up over last season.​

​

“We had actually reached skier visit numbers just over last year’s when we came to that third week in March when everyone shut down last year,” Keeler said by email.​

​

While Ski NH doesn’t track ski area revenues, Keeler said anecdotal information suggests revenue was up for sales of season passes and day tickets, but food and beverage sales were down.​

. . ."​

Ridership was up, but guests at ski resorts this year spent more time outside, crimping food sales

FRANCONIA — Some New Hampshire ski areas say the 2020-21 season was not so bad, but they would have preferred something other than the coronavirus as a backdrop.

www.unionleader.com

 

[Jon951]

It ain’t what ya know it’s who ya know.
It’s good to know more too.

Well...there's something to say about "it's good to know more".

Knowledge is power, however, it can become a blessing and a curse at the same time.
Good for protection of one's interests, bad if being accused of "knowing everything" (even if one is extremely spun up on the task at hand), which then leads to constant challenging of contractor(s) who blatently suck at what they're doing.
My take on residential construction is the following....it's not like putting a rocket on the moon...it's pretty straight forward and manageable IMHO. As far as newest technologies being introduced, in conjunction with local and national codes (and the products out there supporting them)...it doesn't take genius caliber to sort things out. Any needed information is out there if one puts simple effort into researching any unkowns.

 

[MarzNC]

Old news, but I didn't know that a couple of small hills lost leaders to COVID-19 in 2021. Jim Hass was the first GM for Big SNOW in NJ. He worked at Snowshoe and Intrawest for quite a while during his long career in the ski industry. The quad chair was renamed and dedicated to Hass on April 23. He died in early March. Bruce Anders died in January 2021. He was the President of Ober Gatlinburg in TN. RIP.

Big Snow American Dream GM Jim Haas Dies - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., March 8, 2021—Big SNOW American Dream general manager Jim Haas, 70, died Saturday, March 6, due to complications caused by Covid-19. Haas is the second active ski area leader to die from issues related to Covid-19. Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn., president Bruce Anders...

www.saminfo.com

 

[Tjf1967]

Old news, but I didn't know that a couple of small hills lost leaders to COVID-19 in 2021. Jim Hass was the first GM for Big SNOW in NJ. He worked at Snowshoe and Intrawest for quite a while during his long career in the ski industry. The quad chair was renamed and dedicated to Hass on April 23. He died in early March. Bruce Anders died in January 2021. He was the President of Ober Gatlinburg in TN. RIP.

Big Snow American Dream GM Jim Haas Dies - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., March 8, 2021—Big SNOW American Dream general manager Jim Haas, 70, died Saturday, March 6, due to complications caused by Covid-19. Haas is the second active ski area leader to die from issues related to Covid-19. Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn., president Bruce Anders...

www.saminfo.com

For what?

 

[Country Gun]

I was listening to a so called expert. He said that this is not a bubble and prices will not be going down. Who really knows ?

What goes up eventually will come back down. Economics

 

[snoloco]

https://liftblog.com/2021/04/30/news-roundup-226/

According to this, ORDA had an excellent year. Skier visits up 14%, revenues up 10% and expenses down 8%. It doesn't surprise me. I believe most of the increase came from midweek, as Gore never filled up their parking lots like they would on the busiest days in a normal year. I also wonder how much is just spillover from Vermont, and how much will actually stick with ORDA. That being said, it's too bad that with such great numbers, they still came up short on the season and missed their target dates. You'd think they would've made some more snow.

 

[Face4Me]

That being said, it's too bad that with such great numbers, they still came up short on the season and missed their target dates. You'd think they would've made some more snow.

I'll be the first to criticize ORDA for problems they create themselves, but I won't fault them for this. They had plenty of issues this season, but this was not one of them.

In mid-February, there was plenty of snow and things were looking very good. It's not their goal to be Killington, and stay open as late as possible. The warmer than average and drier (no snow) weather we had in March was atypical. Consider that Greek Peak was advertising that they were going to stay open until May this year, and ultimately, were unable to make that happen.

These are the daily average high, average and low temperatures for Lake Placid from 2010 - 2021:

And the averages don't tell the whole story. Consider this stretch of weather in Lake Placid from March 20 - March 26:

ORDA can control a lot of things, but they can't control the weather. At the end of the day, it IS a business, and you have to make decisions that make sense. In mid-February, when they stopped making snow, there was NO reason to believe that they wouldn't be able to make it to their "normal" mid-April closing date with what they already had.

There's a lot of things to criticize ORDA about, but not making enough snow this year isn't one of them.

 

[snoloco]

Actually, it's a perfectly valid reason to criticize them. Their target date was April 11th. Many resorts made snow in March to ensure they had enough coverage. ORDA did not. At Gore, most trails were superficially thin. It was clear by the end of March they had come up short, but they were able to stretch it to April 10th, with very limited terrain.

 

[Brownski]

Yeah, I see your point Sno, but I think I agree more with Face. They have to make these decisions based on what’s in front of them at that moment. You only know what was right or wrong in hindsight. I don’t remember anybody guaranteeing April 11. It was just a projection.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Whenever NYS is involved I feel it's best to have low expectations.
Expectations = predetermined disappointment