Be careful what you hope for in pricing. Vail is a notoriously debt addled corporation, had to have some of that debt bailed out this Spring. Smaller ski areas that try to be smart with their money have to compete with this predatory pricing, much like cab drivers were destroyed by Uber's money losing app. I just listened to your interview with the Plattekill owners, and many times they emphasized the danger of debt, even if that debt is cheap. "Snow farming", ha, love that perspective. Let's see how all this works out by next summer. I'm guessing that it won't be a matter of small vs. large hills succeeding, but smart money vs. reckless.
Btw, just discovered you. Good luck. Great stuff. Have you tried to interview anybody at ORDA?
I wouldn’t say I’m wishing for it as much as I’m trying to read the larger market trends and predicting what I think are probable outcomes. However, I have some new information that has modified my outlook, and I’ll be posting that later this week. Some of what you say above will be reflected there.
Regarding ORDA, I have been in contact with them for months and am trying to negotiate some kind of podcast appearance. Hoping for that some time this ski season.
"Every mountain also has its loyalists who don’t care to ski elsewhere and will buy the pass no matter what it costs."
Like people who own real estate in that market.
I understand what you are saying, and it's probably true for many or maybe even possibly most. But "over-priced" is determined, in each case, by the customer.
I've got my Ski-3 ($759, 4 payments and no interest), and I'll be picking up my Plattekill pass soon.
This season is going to be interesting if it goes sideways. If you can't get into Hunter or Belle, my Plattekill Pass might look like a pretty good deal to a wider group. Snow, terrain, friends and easy social distancing. I plan to spend as much time and money at Plattekill as I can.
For me it comes down to what INSPIRES you. Not some math problem that gets my cost per run down by 50 cents.
Totally get what you're saying and there are so many intangibles that go into pass choice that it's not entirely fair of me to boil it down to price. That is however, the easiest thing to quantify and the one constant across all mountains, so it provides a useful basis of comparison.
One of the biggest factors to me is whether a person wants to ski out West, where the lift tickets are so much more expensive. If so, the value of the larger passes is pretty stark. You do get some western days with your Platty pass, though, and the day-to-day experience there is so much more enjoyable than it is at the busier mountains that buying it makes total sense if you have a circumstance that allows you to ski there often.
Be careful what you hope for in pricing. Vail is a notoriously debt addled corporation, had to have some of that debt bailed out this Spring. Smaller ski areas that try to be smart with their money have to compete with this predatory pricing, much like cab drivers were destroyed by Uber's money losing app. I just listened to your interview with the Plattekill owners, and many times they emphasized the danger of debt, even if that debt is cheap. "Snow farming", ha, love that perspective. Let's see how all this works out by next summer. I'm guessing that it won't be a matter of small vs. large hills succeeding, but smart money vs. reckless.
Btw, just discovered you. Good luck. Great stuff. Have you tried to interview anybody at ORDA?
I wouldn’t say I’m wishing for it as much as I’m trying to read the larger market trends and predicting what I think are probable outcomes. However, I have some new information that has modified my outlook, and I’ll be posting that later this week. Some of what you say above will be reflected there.
Regarding ORDA, I have been in contact with them for months and am trying to negotiate some kind of podcast appearance. Hoping for that some time this ski season.
"Every mountain also has its loyalists who don’t care to ski elsewhere and will buy the pass no matter what it costs."
Like people who own real estate in that market.
I understand what you are saying, and it's probably true for many or maybe even possibly most. But "over-priced" is determined, in each case, by the customer.
I've got my Ski-3 ($759, 4 payments and no interest), and I'll be picking up my Plattekill pass soon.
This season is going to be interesting if it goes sideways. If you can't get into Hunter or Belle, my Plattekill Pass might look like a pretty good deal to a wider group. Snow, terrain, friends and easy social distancing. I plan to spend as much time and money at Plattekill as I can.
For me it comes down to what INSPIRES you. Not some math problem that gets my cost per run down by 50 cents.
Totally get what you're saying and there are so many intangibles that go into pass choice that it's not entirely fair of me to boil it down to price. That is however, the easiest thing to quantify and the one constant across all mountains, so it provides a useful basis of comparison.
One of the biggest factors to me is whether a person wants to ski out West, where the lift tickets are so much more expensive. If so, the value of the larger passes is pretty stark. You do get some western days with your Platty pass, though, and the day-to-day experience there is so much more enjoyable than it is at the busier mountains that buying it makes total sense if you have a circumstance that allows you to ski there often.