F Vail

TonyC said:
Did Vail state that their skier visits were down? Do they disclose total skier visits and/or on a regional basis? I know they do not disclose at the resort level.
Click to expand...
From their recent 10K.
"During the 2022/2023 North American ski season, combined skier visits for all ski areas in North America were approximately 85.8 million. Our North American Resorts had approximately 17.2 million skier visits during the 2022/2023 ski season, representing approximately 20.0% of North American skier visits."
That was up 12.2% from the previous year.
However it appears for the most recent quarter skier visits (Southern Hemisphere) was down 14.9% to 867K.
 
Apologies if this has been covered before --

I know: F Vail; however, for those who ski mostly in the northeast, almost unlimited access for the $579 Northeast Value Pass seems to be a good deal or am I missing something? I don't have the bandwidth, well-positioned homebase, or midweek availability to properly take advantage so it's not under consideration but just wondering if the F Vail sentiments are so strong that they'd prevent people from buying it.
  • Hunter
  • Stowe (10 days)
  • Okemo
  • Mount Snow
  • Mount Sunapee
  • Attitash Mountain Resort
  • Wildcat Mountain
  • Crotched Mountain
 
Except that Mount Snow and Stowe charge up to $30 for parking. There's no season parking pass at either one. I know they only charge for parking on weekends, but that's also when the majority of people can ski. If you're a frequent skier, you're looking at spending over $1200 a year on parking alone.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Apologies if this has been covered before --

I know: F Vail; however, for those who ski mostly in the northeast, almost unlimited access for the $579 Northeast Value Pass seems to be a good deal or am I missing something? I don't have the bandwidth, well-positioned homebase, or midweek availability to properly take advantage so it's not under consideration but just wondering if the F Vail sentiments are so strong that they'd prevent people from buying it.
  • Hunter
  • Stowe (10 days)
  • Okemo
  • Mount Snow
  • Mount Sunapee
  • Attitash Mountain Resort
  • Wildcat Mountain
  • Crotched Mountain
Click to expand...
It is a nice list - but Stowe, Okemo, and Mt Snow are insane on weekends plus (as mentioned) the parking fees. Hunter has been run poorly and the same can be said for Wildcat and Attitash. Both Wildcat and Attitash have had staffing issues (they claim). Attitash is finally getting a summit HSQ to replace an ancient triple. Mt Sunapee is a great place but kind of overrun on weekends and Crotched is a fun, smaller type day area. For NYC metro area skiers, NH is a much longer drive vs NYS/VT for what could be considered less interesting skiing/natural snow.
 
Last edited:
jamesdeluxe said:
for those who ski mostly in the northeast, almost unlimited access for the $579 Northeast Value Pass seems to be a good deal or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
I bought the Northeast Value Pass for two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22) for the exact reasons you mentioned. The Ski3 pass at $809 (or whatever it is now) is still the better deal. Mountains are just as close, lift lines are way shorter and the perks (free AND 1/2 price lift tickets for friends, one free rental, various discounts, etc) are actually worth something.
 
gregmarx said:
I believe there are still free daily parking options at Mt Snow? You do have to walk a bit or get on the shuttle from the free lots

www.mountsnow.com

Directions By Bus, Train, or Shuttle | Mount Snow Ski Resort

Mount Snow offers a variety of parking options from preferred paid parking closest to the slopes to free parking just a short walk or shuttle ride away.
www.mountsnow.com www.mountsnow.com
Click to expand...
Roughly 2/3rds of Mount Snow's and 80% of Stowe's lots are paid parking.

Paid parking, especially with no season parking pass, hits the heaviest users the hardest. This is all by design of course. Vail has made a calculation that they make more money off 5 day a year skiers than 60 day a year skiers. If you only go 5 days a year, then paying for parking isn't a big deal.
 
"Popped a beer and a diamox and 15 minutes later the beer tasted like crap. I found one side effect online that said “some travelers have reported that carbonated beverages taste flat.” It was interesting that four out of four of us had the side effect."

Copper has the highest tee box in North America.
The ball flies cause of lack of air (resistance).
Took a few days to get used to it.
Lugging the luggage to the condo in the summertime was exhausting.

Stay hydrated. Beer ain't the answer initially.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Apologies if this has been covered before --

I know: F Vail; however, for those who ski mostly in the northeast, almost unlimited access for the $579 Northeast Value Pass seems to be a good deal or am I missing something? I don't have the bandwidth, well-positioned homebase, or midweek availability to properly take advantage so it's not under consideration but just wondering if the F Vail sentiments are so strong that they'd prevent people from buying it.
  • Hunter
  • Stowe (10 days)
  • Okemo
  • Mount Snow
  • Mount Sunapee
  • Attitash Mountain Resort
  • Wildcat Mountain
  • Crotched Mountain
Click to expand...
I did the Midweek version last year for $385. I am a midweek skier. Got 5 Stowe days on that pass and used them. Otherwise I didn’t find any value in at all. Went to Hunter twice and it was absolutely terrible, will not go back. I’m not the worlds greatest skier but found Okemo rather boring. Went 4 times. Never made it to the lift at Mount Snow. Semi powder day. 1 lift running. Felt like half of Vermont was in the line. Drove over to Stratton instead. Best day I probably had on the pass was a day I decided “f—k it, I’ll make the drive and try Sunapee” day. Maybe it was a result of low expectations but the place was just a lot of fun in the same way that Bromley is. Not huge, not a ton of terrain, but just really fun flowy trails.
 
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