ORDA's Biggest Wins

[x10003q]

I was making a micro point, not a macro point, ignoring the big picture. I like the idea of spinning lifts until the snow is gone. Those are great days on the bumps of Chatiemac in April. They make me smile, that's all I was saying.

Yes

I grant that ORDA has the luxury of (some) freedom from market forces.

Understatement of the year.

The above comment extends to the entire operation, not just closing date. The bigger issue is capex. Compared to private mountains ORDA has some big advantages. Compared to other NY state spending, ORDA relatively small peanuts. They also have challenges that other mountains don't have. The decision making process is complex and generally the biggest decisions aren't made by ops.

They have UMPs, but they are just guidelines - not a real plan and they have no business plan at all. They do have a Lake Placid driven Board that makes things worse for Gore /Belleayre.

 

[Harvey]

Who authors the UMP?

I'd like to hear how you would run ORDA. Sell them? What?

 

[tirolski]

Now they make more snow, so they're among the latest to close.

Any wagers on the day the last of the manmade melts?
The twin Mount Gondolas could be easily shreddable till sometime in June if they’re not pushed out.

 

[tirolski]

Who authors the UMP?

"UMPs and RMPs are written by DEC planners for lands managed by DEC."
"In the Adirondack Park, UMPs are developed in consultation with the Adirondack Park Agency, which has responsibility for assuring plans are in compliance with Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. In the Catskill Park, UMPs are developed in compliance with Catskill Park State Land Master Plan (PDF).

Recreation and Unit Management Plans

Add ORDA’s input for the trifecta.

 

[Campgottagopee]

I'd like to hear how you would run ORDA. Sell them? What?

When turning a profit doesn't matter it can't be all that hard.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

When turning a profit doesn't matter it can't be all that hard.

I like your sig, Camp!

 

[Harvey]

I like your sig, Camp!

He's got more plusses than me!

Should we standardize?

 

[Campgottagopee]

I like your sig, Camp!

I saw yours yesterday
You're a good dude, DB
Had to add it for my Coach

 

[gregmarx]

As a relative novice, I don't feel qualified to comment too much in this thread.

But I will say one thing. I live about equidistant from Belleayre and Hunter. Even if the Epic Pass were a third of the price of the ORDA pass, I still wouldn't consider it (although I fully understand why others would.). My decision is almost entirely based on how poorly Hunter is run compared to Belle. They should be pretty comparable mountains. But while Belleayre exists as a public good for the people of the state, at this point in its existence, Hunter exists mostly just to suck the money from the veins of its customers. No, thanks.

Mods, if this feels political or trollish, feel free to delete.

I'm even more of a novice, having skiied a total of 3 days at ORDA facilities (two at Gore, one at Belleayre). But fwiw I would def agree that the current quality of operations at Belleayre counts as an ORDA win. Personally I didn't love the relative lack of terrain variety and with all that lift infrastructure on a compact footprint the trails are pretty crowded, so as someone who lives 2.5 hours away I don't know that I'll hurry back there on a midseason weekend. But the snow coverage and surface quality was very impressive, esp coming after one of this season's mid-winter warmups, and the line/crowd management was also very good - on what was close to a sold-out Sunday I don't think we waited in a line over 10 minutes. More than any other ski area I've been, it felt like a well-managed public rec facility.

 

[Harvey]

Mods, if this feels political or trollish, feel free to delete.

Not even close IMO.