Windham Mountain Going Private?

[MC2]

Is this US or World?

The next thing you click on if you go to that site I linked to:

Mean? No idea. I'm saying it's seems overly simplistic.

I go back to my original question. How would you fix it?

Sorry, Harv. The solution is political, so you might have to delete the rest of this post:

Hit rich people with taxes that actually target them (land value taxes, taxes on stock transactions, taxes on private jets & yachts, etc.). Hit people with obscene wealth (>$1Billion) with wealth taxes that adjust for inflation. Use the money to pay for affordable housing and services (healthcare, education, public transportation, parks) for people with less money.

The goal is to keep normal people around. Just watch this at the 12:35 mark (or the 16:40 mark if you want to skip to my point and you don’t want to see a bunch of cool skiing):

 

[Andy_ROC]

The next thing you click on if you go to that site I linked to:
View attachment 21212


Sorry, Harv. The solution is political, so you might have to delete the rest of this post:

Hit rich people with taxes that actually target them (land value taxes, taxes on stock transactions, taxes on private jets & yachts, etc.). Hit people with obscene wealth (>$1Billion) with wealth taxes that adjust for inflation. Use the money to pay for affordable housing and services (healthcare, education, public transportation, parks) for people with less money.

The goal is to keep normal people around. Just watch this at the 12:35 mark (or the 16:40 mark if you want to skip to my point and you don’t want to see a bunch of cool skiing):

Truth in that video.

 

[x10003q]

Well, first, these people don't ski every weekend. I think the latest average day count is, at most, a dozen for the general ski public, and these aren't serious skiers. How could you be if Windham is your home mountain? My guess is the well heeled Windham customer skis there a few weekends along the few week long trips to Colorado or Utah, or, yeah, Europe. As noted, the homeowners are there for year round use, too. Imagine how boring somebody would be if they actually used a week of their busy time to just ski Windham. How can that ever be a "luxury experience"?

There are many things about skiing that make it difficult. If Windham limits ticket sales or goes private on weekends, it solves a two of the major issues of skiing - weekend crowds and the driving time from your home.

I have spent decades of my life driving roughly 2 more hours after passing the 4000ft peaks of the Catskills on the NYS Thruway bummed that no other major ski resorts developed in the area. For NYC metro it would have been great to have a couple more ski resorts in the Catskills area.

Windham as a private or limited weekend area solves both of these issues.

I also think the well heeled customers will use Windham a lot more than a couple of weekends per season when their kids are in the age 2-15 range. The trips to the Rockies/Europe are a gigantic, expensive pain in the ass with kids. When you have young kids they will be quite happy going back to Windham every weekend.

So with Windham we have a 2 hour drive from a large part of the NYC metro area, a 300 acre ski area with high quality snowmaking and 3 high speed lifts (before the proposed expansion). That is more than enough to have a good time with your kids/family and not face those crazy drives that can be twice as long to VT/Gore/WF and beyond and avoid weekend crowds.

 

[x10003q]

I see part of the problem is that real estate went from being something that was purchased to live on or to farm, and turned into something that is collected, invested, rented etc. Example there's people on the finger lakes that don't even live in the area/state that bought up properties, torn down what was there and built huge mansions so they can visit a couple times a year.

How do you solve it? Not sure, but I'd look into steep vacancy taxes but I'm not sure the data supports their effectiveness. So I really don't know.

People have been building wealth via land and real estate since before recorded history.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

Imagine how boring somebody would be if they actually used a week of their busy time to just ski Windham. How can that ever be a "luxury experience"?

I'd wager that most skiers, even ones who ski 15+ days a year, would be plenty challenged by Windham. Throw in an easy quick drive, luxury amenities for the wife and kids, and empty slopes with fresh grooms, then you have a pretty attractive week long vacation compared to getting on a plane.

 

[tirolski]

Discovery of an already inhabited place is colonialism full stop. Western history is chock full of examples of of assholes discovering a place and fucking it out for everyone else.

Chris Columbus, from Genoa, “discovered” America for the Spanish monarchy, so there’s that.
Columbus Day is Monday.

 

[Peter Minde]

The next thing you click on if you go to that site I linked to:
View attachment 21212


Sorry, Harv. The solution is political, so you might have to delete the rest of this post:

Hit rich people with taxes that actually target them (land value taxes, taxes on stock transactions, taxes on private jets & yachts, etc.). Hit people with obscene wealth (>$1Billion) with wealth taxes that adjust for inflation. Use the money to pay for affordable housing and services (healthcare, education, public transportation, parks) for people with less money.

The goal is to keep normal people around. Just watch this at the 12:35 mark (or the 16:40 mark if you want to skip to my point and you don’t want to see a bunch of cool skiing):

Those outfits tho.

 

[Ripitz]

a bunch of cool skiing

The best thing about this thread so far is the Blizzard of AAHHH’s. Greatest ski movie of all time.

I have spent decades of my life driving roughly 2 more hours after passing the 4000ft peaks of the Catskills on the NYS Thruway bummed that no other major ski resorts developed in the area.

Maybe stop driving and being bummed? They did develop to 3,619ft and you can still ski there.

 

[Benny Profane]

Chris Columbus, from Genoa, “discovered” America for the Spanish monarchy, so there’s that.
Columbus Day is Monday.

I think that's Indigenous Day these days. Keep up.

I was in Sevilla a few years ago where he took off, along with Magellen. Fascinating place, the mix of Spanish Catholic royalty history and the Moors, who they conquered. His "tomb"is in the Cathedral, and is quite the structure. After going to Granada, I started thinking seriously the Moors should have won. Ferdinand and Isabella were poison to the western world. As history has proven.

 

[Brownski]

The Moors were conquerors too, and the Romans before them and who knows before that