Holiday Valley - Storm Podcast

[Andy_ROC]

I listened to The Storm podcast where Stu interviewed Dennis Eshbaugh, the President & GM of Holiday Valley. It's a good listen, especially as a big fan of HV and the town of Ellicottville. Dennis has been President for nearly 28 years and GM for 34 years and an employee since the mid 1970's... WOW! He and the small group of owners attitude and philosophy is refreshing, especially in contrast to the corporate suits running Fail. I was a bit surprised to learn that they have around ~500K skier visits per year, making it the most in NY. Despite around $1K for a seasons pass they don't seem to have any trouble competing with the mega pass given the numbers I heard. I was also surprised that they are replacing the Mardi Gras detachable quad (which is by no means close to end of life) with a 6 pack.

It's definitely worth a listen. If you've never been to Holiday Valley and Ellicottville it's definitely worth a visit. Even in the summer there's always something going on. Ellicottville is like a small Saratoga and lots of fun.

Podcast #117: Holiday Valley President and General Manager Dennis Eshbaugh

Listen now (75 min) | "Lift upgrade, snowmaking upgrade, building upgrade, repeat."

www.stormskiing.com

 

[snoloco]

The Mardi Gras lift was built in 1996 and has operated 12 hour days, 7 days a week since then. That's a lot of hours. While there are older detachables still operating, it's definitely appropriate to replace it. Whistler-Blackcomb is replacing a 1999 Doppelmayr high speed quad this summer, and it's going to be parted out and scrapped.

 

[Johnny V.]

Slight thread drift, but from what I've seen here out west, 6 pack chairs work great IF you're willing to have lifties maintain line discipline. I've seen some run great with organized corrals and attendants shouting out "front row" and funneling singles in with 4 or 5 person groups. Yesterday at Copper it was a shit show-through the RFID gates and whomever matches up goes up with the result 2,3 or 4 people on a 6 seat chair.

 

[snoloco]

It's a common mistake to put the RFID gates too close to the lift and it will nuke your lift throughput. I'm not sure Copper cares because if the lines are long then more people will pay to cut them.

 

[MarzNC]

Slight thread drift, but from what I've seen here out west, 6 pack chairs work great IF you're willing to have lifties maintain line discipline. I've seen some run great with organized corrals and attendants shouting out "front row" and funneling singles in with 4 or 5 person groups. Yesterday at Copper it was a shit show-through the RFID gates and whomever matches up goes up with the result 2,3 or 4 people on a 6 seat chair.

It's not just about the layout and the lifties, it's also about the people on the slopes.

Timberline in WV has a 6-pack that serves 100% of the terrain. It was installed by the owners who bought the place a few years ago out of bankruptcy and completely redid the lifts and the lodge. There is a mix in terms of experience riding lifts, with plenty of family groups, singles, and other groups of all sizes. The nature of the folks who make their way to Timberline is that things run pretty smoothly. I've only been midweek. Haven't heard much complaints about loading from the DCSki guys who go on weekends though.