Not sure I'm following your comment our how the EV thread ended up in here, but I definitely get the value prop of Platty. That's why I drive farther then the 3 other Catskills options to go there, and with the partner network it's an even better proposition.
That doesn't change the math though that most people do in terms of how many days can I ski on this pass to make it worth it over just buying day tickets. Platty (before the new partner network) was hard to make that math work out, hence why I think they leaned into day tickets more then the rest of the industry is going.
The new partner network definitely changes that calculation, and I'll probably be a season pass holder again, just maybe not this year depending on my kid's maturity come the fall. Maybe well try again in the early fall at Big Snow and see how he does.
I was trolling you a bit on the EV. I'm not even sure what EV you have, it's a Tesla, what model? How much was it, or if that is too personal what is the MSRP? How did you do the "pass math?" Was acceleration a key factor? How much more did it cost then a comparable ICE? How many days of driving will it take you to pay it off? Did you allocate any 'cost' to any added inconvenience or anxiety you might have on a long trip? (If you really want to answer that, quote it in the EV thread and put it there please.)
The point is that you might have more complex reasons beyond cost of purchase plus cost per day x days/life of the car. Look at
@DomB. He is getting a huge amount of joy out of his purchase. Everyone has their own value proposition. I remember reading once years ago that styling is one of the most important things when people choose a car. Personally I value reliability, MPG and AWD. But if it's UGLY forget it. To me there are only two significant differences between the RAV4 and the CRV. The CRV engine felt smoother to me and I think the RAV is ugly. The point is you wanted an EV for a variety of reasons and you bought it, and now you are happy. That's the way it works.
It's no secret that I have my own special version of pass math. I don't understand the way
most people think. Mr Punchface gets it, and has a product that capitalizes on that thinking. People are choosing his western ski destinations because they have his pass.
Why do people spend $XX,000 in a wedding? Maybe they feel it will be a life changing experience. What is that worth? (I'd rather have a downpayment on a house.) I come away from every day a Plattekill feeling like life is awesome. To me it's worth $70 a day or whatever the pass math works out to be.
People naturally do what makes them happy. For a huge number of skiers it's waiting in line at an Epic mountain, for untracked snow that last 40 minutes. Obviously if you are an elite
midweek skier the math changes. Most mountains are pleasant midweek. For the majority of us who ski weekends, Plattekill is midweeky on Saturday of Presidents Week. That makes the pass a great compliment to most other passes. I love it in combo with SKI3. I can ski Adk or Cats any weekend and I always have an option to avoid crowds.
Rip told me Belle operated 140 days this year. That's huge, especially if you can ski midweek. No question having NY state picking up the tab on your capex is a big advantage. Belle probably has the best snowmaking capacity per acre in the state. If it's not Belle it's Hunter, but Hunter doesn't seem to be using it the way Belle is. I am assuming that is because Vail is more bottom line oriented than NY state. If someone else is going to pick up the tab on your ski experience, that surely impacts your calculation.
I just checked out the Plattekill partner list and it is much bigger (in NY) then I realized. Props to Laz and D for finding other ways to compete.
/tldr