Plattekill Conditions

[rfreeman]

Interesting article https://skiing.substack.com/p/why-plattekill-could-become-king

 

[rfreeman]

Re food and beverage

 

[Brownski]

Keeping the lodge at 50% capacity is going to be the challenge this year. Determining what 50% even means for his lifts will be hard also but I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Barring a generalized shutdown order from the state, I’m sure Platty will do fine this year. Where do you think all the Stratton and Okemo skiers are gonna end up when Hunter and Windham max out?

 

[rfreeman]

Keeping the lodge at 50% capacity is going to be the challenge this year. Determining what 50% even means for his lifts will be hard also but I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Barring a generalized shutdown order from the state, I’m sure Platty will do fine this year. Where do you think all the Stratton and Okemo skiers are gonna end up when Hunter and Windham max out?

You will be able to tell the Stratton and Okemo skiers at Plattekill as they will mostly be trying to get themselves back on top of their skis in the ungroomed natural conditions.

In all honesty I think Stratton and Okemo lots are going to be full of out of state plates on cars owned by people who have attested to having met quarantine requirements, truthfully or not.

 

[Brownski]

Maybe. A VT mountain manager said recently that summer business was off 70%. Most people try to follow rules, If Plattys business is off I’m sure he’ll offer some Friday discounts. Either way, I will stick my neck out and predict he doesn’t go out of business any time soon.

 

[rfreeman]

Maybe. A VT mountain manager said recently that summer business was off 70%. Most people try to follow rules, If Plattys business is off I’m sure he’ll offer some Friday discounts. Either way, I will stick my neck out and predict he doesn’t go out of business any time soon.

I certainly hope he doesn't. My bet for VT is that day ticket purchases will be way down but that Epic and Ikon passholders will largely show up.

There have been no issues getting advance reservations for peak holiday dates at Hunter or NH Epic Resorts - which suggests folks are not shunning VT - especially as folks are more likely to shun air travel than to adhere to interstate travel rules

 

[MarzNC]

Keeping the lodge at 50% capacity is going to be the challenge this year. Determining what 50% even means for his lifts will be hard also but I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Barring a generalized shutdown order from the state, I’m sure Platty will do fine this year. Where do you think all the Stratton and Okemo skiers are gonna end up when Hunter and Windham max out?

What I've heard related to coming up with a number for day tickets is that the idea is to use adjusted math for uphill capacity of the lifts. For instance normally would compute based on the speed of a lift and 4 people per chair. With spacing could start with 2 people per chair and perhaps to go 3 depending on how things usually go a busy day. Do people tend to come as a family? Do people who aren't family drive together, which means they can ride a lift together?

Another approach is to come up with a general maximum for the season based on some percentage of the busiest few days of recent seasons. That was mentioned for day trip mountains in a couple of regions.

No one is planning on counting people as they are loading a lift. However, in some regions people will be counting how many people are in a base lodge building. Nubs Nob is thinking about using a scanner at the designated Entrance and Exit doors to automatically count people as they go thru the doors.

In any case, the winter ops plan has to be approved by local and state public health authorities. Obviously if state rules change, then a revised plan has submitted for approval. Ideally, a ski area has back up plans ready from the start for likely situations. Although pretty hard to predict what will happen next during a pandemic.

 

[Harvey]

The lodge capacity will be an issue, IMO more than anything else. Second might be making room at the base if there are lift lines.

As much as we pow hounds might not want to admit it, we don't drive Plattekill's revenue if we show up with bogos, beers and bag lunches. It's the families, with lessons and rentals and F&B that create the difference between a bad and good year.

You might not believe this but Christmas is actually normally a pretty reliable thing at Plattekill. The most important lift revenue wise at Christmas is the magic carpet, and it doesn't take much manmade to get it going. How do you think magic carpet business will do if you can't go inside to warm up and get hot cocoa?

Mountain rentals are big too. That Jehovah's Witness mountain rental group... well let's just that you might be surprised to know how their F&B tab compares to a month of Liftopia revenue. Rentals are social occasions that depend a lot on the lodge.

While costs may not be too much higher this year, revenue is going to take a hit, if you can't fill the lodge.

On the upside Plattekill is debt averse. I'd be surprised to see them go down from one bad season.

The Epic/Ikon model is a good weather hedge... with ski areas all over the country someone has to have a good season, it will snow SOMEWHERE right? But it doesn't hedge against everyone getting shut down everywhere. How much debt do those guys have? Do they have the cash to service it if every ski area has a bad year? I have no idea. I hope they do, because it is a possibility.

Look I'm a homer and you can discount what I think. But that is what I think, based on what I know.

Full lifts, empty terrain

 

[rfreeman]

Plattekill also apparently owns their property outright with no mortgage.

With Epic I knew Hunter was the one surefire place I could get to given NY/NJ being in lockstep on no quarantine requirements between states - so if Hunter closes a % of season then I get that % applied as a discount to next year's pass. Now if this season is such a calamity that Vail goes bankrupt and shuts all it mountains permanently I will be out of luck and most of my $ most likely. But is the US suffers a calamity to that extent - me being out $1500 for 3 ski passes will be a "first world problem" if we all still have our health and I have my job - and I will write it off to experience as I did my "credit only" refund for plane tix and hotel in Vail last April.

 

[Harvey]

I wasn't saying all that bad stuff would happen and I wasn't taking a shot at Vail or Alterra. Just that I believe Plattekill will survive. Didn't mean to be so dramatic, got carried away.

And look, if NY does something to kill travel from NJ, you're going to have an insane forum mod on your hands. So yeah there is that.

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