ORDA Snowmaking Improvements

[not2brite]

There are other companies in addition to these 2 who would do a better job than ORDA has done at Gore.

So the choices are 210,000 visits at Gore or 600,000 visits like Mt Snow/Stratton/Okemo? How about a small increase to 260,000 visits? Gore has doubled in size in the last 2 decades and is still doing the same visits. How come this waste of taxpayer money does not bother you?

I do not doubt plenty of companies could run Gore better than ORDA. No place is perfect. Even the mighty Killington seems to have plenty of complaints lately. I stand by my point though, that other than those two, who else currently in the ski business, has the actual capital needed to pull off a deal of that magnitude?

NY State probably wastes more money than it spends wisely. If they don't "waste it" on ORDA they will simply find some other boondoggle to waste it on.

This goes into a whole other conversation about why NY is even in the ski business (or even worse the horse racing business) to begin with? A person more pessimistic than myself might look at it as one big slush fund used by politicians to pay back political donations to developers, builders, attorneys and everyone else that gets fat off of the entire process. To keep it politically even, corruption is probably the one thing that most easily crosses party lines. If the democrats are picking your left pocket, then the republicans are picking your right.

 

[Harvey]

No one in LP or Gore has much say in what gets built. It's not like they can say we are not taking the money for the lodge and are going to put it into snowmaking. The state will say ok and there will be no snowmaking or lodge. Someone in Albany said we will build a lodge for you. All they can really say is thank you

This is really it. The facts underlying the argument that has been going on for 10 years in this forum.

Question: what ski area in the east has shown the most skier visit growth?

 

[tirolski]

The old if-and then statement FTW.
"With the Interconnect in place, the economic impact of Gore on the regional economy will be significant. We estimate that if 75 percent of the previously approved real estate development occurs, combined with the additional ski terrain via the Interconnect, skiers at Gore will contribute approximately $44.9 million annually to the regional economy. This represents a 107 percent increase over the 2002- 2003 (pre-interconnect) regional revenue of $21. 7 million."
emphasis added.

Twenty years ago estimates.

Instead of spending cash on Burnt Ridge-Ski Bowl interconnect thingy

 

[tirolski]

If you feel like it, read this 2005 Economic Study for Gore...

This is the economic study that NYS Gov Pataki used to justify the Ski Bowl connection...

Nobody at ORDA has ever been held responsible for the failure at Gore. NYS did not spend money over the last 20 plus years to maintain the status quo for visits since 2002.

Found this ditty interesting...

"Other portions could involve lands owned by a private party on which the Agency approved a large scale project centered on a commercial ski area, the North Creek Ski Bowl, in 1982. The 1982 proposal included the ski area with 36 trails and 9 ski lifts as well as a main lodge and secondary lodge. The proposal also included a base village containing townhouses, condominiums, single family homes and three hotels. There were also provisions for an athletic club, cinema complex, shops, restaurants and other accessory structures.
While the Ski Bowl project permitted by the Agency in 1982 was not ultimately developed and the permit has long since expired, the site was the subject of preliminary discussions between Agency staff and an interested developer within the past year."...

APA approved over 40 years ago. Gore joined ORDA in 1984.

 

[tirolski]

They cancelled Quebec’s FIS snowboard cross event scheduled for early February due to conditions at Ste. Anne.

Snowboard Cross World Cup cancelled at Quebec's Ste. Anne ski resort

The Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort is back in operation Monday, but the upcoming Battle Royal: FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup has been cancelled.

montreal.ctvnews.ca

"The ski hill issued a statement saying it could not adequately prepare the grounds due to unfavourable snowmaking temperatures in recent weeks.
"In addition to the mild holiday temperatures, the New Year's rain caused us to lose nearly 26 centimetres of snow cover on the mountain," the statement read, adding that it is working with Snowboard Canada to create a "plan B.”"

Gore’s folks haven’t cancelled, so there’s that.

 

[snoloco]

The government shut down Mont Sainte Anne due to safety concerns. They've since been allowed to reopen, but I'm guessing they're far behind on snowmaking.

 

[Tjf1967]

This is really it. The facts underlying the argument that has been going on for 10 years in this forum.

Question: what ski area in the east has shown the most skier visit growth?

Over the past 15 years... Mt snow.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Again - read the ORDA legislative mandate. Here is #1
"Institute a comprehensive, coordinated program of activities utilizing the Olympic facilities, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain, in and around Lake Placid, North Creek, and Highmount, New York, in order to ensure optimum year-round use and enjoyment of these facilities to the economic and social benefit of the regions and to minimize the financial burden on state and local government by maximizing revenue opportunities."

I bolded what ORDA fails to do at Gore.

Being that our law makers in NYS are the highest paid in the country, there's no reason we shouldn't hold them to task.

 

[Face4Me]

Again - read the ORDA legislative mandate. Here is #1
"Institute a comprehensive, coordinated program of activities utilizing the Olympic facilities, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain, in and around Lake Placid, North Creek, and Highmount, New York, in order to ensure optimum year-round use and enjoyment of these facilities to the economic and social benefit of the regions and to minimize the financial burden on state and local government by maximizing revenue opportunities."

Honestly, if you're being objective about it, I think this is a very interesting point.

With the huge sums of money the state has sunk into the ORDA facilities in recent years (and I'm not complaining about that), when you look at the skier visits and revenue figures posted elsewhere in this blog, you have to ask, was it worth it?

Isn't this a fair and reasonable question?

The investments don't appear to have made much of a difference, at least with respect to increasing visits & revenue. Of course, it could certainly be argued that without those investments, the skier visits and revenue numbers might have plummeted in recent years, and to some extent, I think that's a reasonable assumption. I guess there's really no way to know that now.

 

[tirolski]

Honestly, if you're being objective about it, I think this is a very interesting point.

With the huge sums of money the state has sunk into the ORDA facilities in recent years (and I'm not complaining about that), when you look at the skier visits and revenue figures posted elsewhere in this blog, you have to ask, was it worth it?

Isn't this a fair and reasonable question?

The investments don't appear to have made much of a difference, at least with respect to increasing visits & revenue. Of course, it could certainly be argued that without those investments, the skier visits and revenue numbers might have plummeted in recent years, and to some extent, I think that's a reasonable assumption. I guess there's really no way to know that now.

They had the dude from Avis "running the thing" for a while.
Pratt’s doing a much better job IMO. And it is what it is.
It looks a lot more like it does now than it did.