Passes for 2020 - 2021

[Milo Maltbie]

One of my ski industry finance friends told me that Alterra is near bankruptcy. According to him, they make 80% of their EBITA in March so they were hurt pretty badly by the early closure. Apparently American Express is looking at their exposure to Ikon refunds because an Alterra bankruptcy.
In other news, a friend who organizes group trips told me that Killington is planning NO indoor services except bathrooms, and NO cash sales at all. He’s thinking he’s out of business.
I think skiing will be the least of our problems this year.
mm

 

[MarzNC]

Everyone has to consider reservation system limits. You may have to be lucky just to get a pass for the day, even if you have a season pass of some sort. ABasin did this in their short re-opening, and it was really hard to get a ticket, no matter who you were. So, travel looks like a bad idea, because, why rent a room with kitchen (because, no way restaurants are open) when you dont even know until probably the day before if you can ski. Magic has already stated that they will limit skiers this way, and I'll bet, everyone else will follow, because, if they don't, their mountain will look like Sturges.

What happened in late season at ABasin is not really a good model for what's likely to happen during the upcoming season. Especially for destination resorts. They put together that "system" in weeks, not months.

I'm paying attention to how the ski resorts in Australia have handled day tickets, reservations for pass holders, as well as indoor spaces. Their season got started in late June and goes into September. By mid-July the issue was more lack of snow than capacity limits.

In particular for Perisher, which is owned by Vail Resorts, by mid-season when there was plenty of snow cover and lots of lifts running there were no capacity limits for Epic passholders midweek. People were able to get reservations or lift tickets for 1-5 days a few weeks in advance. The dates that were available were release in waves, with additional openings made available if there was a helpful snowstorm or cold enough temps for snowmaking. The situation at Perisher is much more like the northeast than the Rockies in terms of the reliance on snowmaking for the entire season and the length of runs.

The other risk is if there is a major spike in COVID-19 numbers in a particular state. The state of Victoria includes the city of Melbourne. All ski areas/resorts that were open in Victoria were forced to close recently because of a relatively large increase in detected community spread in Melbourne.

 

[Benny Profane]

One of my ski industry finance friends told me that Alterra is near bankruptcy. According to him, they make 80% of their EBITA in March so they were hurt pretty badly by the early closure. Apparently American Express is looking at their exposure to Ikon refunds because an Alterra bankruptcy.
In other news, a friend who organizes group trips told me that Killington is planning NO indoor services except bathrooms, and NO cash sales at all. He’s thinking he’s out of business.
I think skiing will be the least of our problems this year.
mm

Another reason not to buy the Ikon pass. Many say, no whoop, I can carry it over to next season, but, who knows if Alterra will exist in it's present form in 21-22. Remember lifetime season passes at Killington? Yeah, right.

And the people at Killington have to be so depressed that they can't hype the new K1 base lodge they spent so much time and money building. There's a monument to the disruption from the virus.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

Another reason not to buy the Ikon pass. Many say, no whoop, I can carry it over to next season, but, who knows if Alterra will exist in it's present form in 21-22. Remember lifetime season passes at Killington? Yeah, right.

Or maybe buy an Ikon on your AMEX. Ikon is promising a rollover credit if your home mountain closes, so make Stratton your home (the mostly likely Alterra property to close), get an Ikon credit but still ski Killington, ABasin and Big Sky, or maybe get an AMEX refund.

mm

 

[marcski]

I wonder if and when Vermont will turn off their Covid Travel Ban Map. Currently, most people from Philly to Boston are only allowed in VT if they quarantine for 14 days. This will demo the already shtty VT economy. If I cannot get to VT, my Ikon base will be pushed into the next season.

Vermont Forward Plan | Agency of Commerce and Community Development

accd.vermont.gov

I can neither confirm nor deny that there are Many people with out of state plates traveling in and out of Vermont on a Very frequent basis.

 

[x10003q]

Or maybe buy an Ikon on your AMEX. Ikon is promising a rollover credit if your home mountain closes, so make Stratton your home (the mostly likely Alterra property to close), get an Ikon credit but still ski Killington, ABasin and Big Sky, or maybe get an AMEX refund.

mm

Why do you think Stratton will be the the mostly likely Alterra property to close?

 

[Milo Maltbie]

I talk to a former Intrawest manager. He thinks Stratton has no viable future, partly because of climate change.
FWIW he thinks climate change will ruin trout fishing in Colorado too. He’s even more pessimistic than me. He’s teaching his children to ski so that they can tell their children what snow was like.

mm

 

[Benny Profane]

Well, I guess that's why he's not in the biz anymore. He must have been fun at the Xmas party.

 

[Harvey]

I'm in for a full Gore pass, I just bought it.

IMO, pretty good terms really:

• 4 monthly payments with no interest
• Fully cancellable until December 1
• Pro-rated refund if Gore shuts down before 3/15

The sales person told me there is a "working assumption, but nothing official" that passholders will be given priority on any capacity limits.

See you on the hill.

 

[MarzNC]

The sales person told me there is a "working assumption, but nothing official" that passholders will be given priority on any capacity limits.

Given when Vail Resorts did successfully for Perisher in Australia, I'm guessing that most ski areas/resorts will make sure their season passholders stay happy all season.

Boyne cut off season pass sales very early, both in the northeast and for Big Sky. They may or may not make passes available again in the fall.

Massanutten has added options, including a Family Pass that's never been offered before. What's also new is that there are multiple cutoff dates between now and the end of the year. The first cut off is August 31. Glad I got an email because normally I don't worry about getting a pass for Mnut until the fall.