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RIP Stevens Pass
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Is this a bad thing? I dont ride at Stevens so I'm unsure of if this was a good or bad thing
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7,661 Posts
People just like to hate Vail. Like anything else there are good and bad things about it. Usually the crowd is a bad thing but i dont think it could get any more crowded. That place is a zoo already.
They will probably see more good than bad with the typical upgrades that come along with vail purchases.
They will probably see more good than bad with the typical upgrades that come along with vail purchases.
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82 Posts
It’s absolutely a bad thing. It was bad for Whistler and it’s bad for Washington. This will also make the Whistler situation worse.
Mid-week passes are gone after the upcoming season, season pass prices go up, window prices go way up, food prices go way up, parking won’t be free.
Mid-week passes are gone after the upcoming season, season pass prices go up, window prices go way up, food prices go way up, parking won’t be free.
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10,676 Posts
Definitely not a fan of Vail Resorts style joints. Just give me simple mountains. Lifts with a shop and a bar at the bottom and I'm good to go. Less is more as far as I'm concerned.
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I'm still on the fence if Vail has had a positive or negative impact on the snowboarder/skier at Whistler.
My opinion is based on my personal snowboarding experience, which would be onhill, parking and traffic to the parking lot. I have no knowledge of how Vail may be affecting, the town vibe, economy, real-estate, etc.
I've averaged just over 80 days the past 3 seasons at whistler, which includes a dream year of 128 times last season.
Before the season started I was dreading that Whistler would be shit after Vail bought them, however after a full season under their belt, imo, there hasn't been much of a difference. Maybe my opinion will change in a year or two.
-They introduced pay parking at 2 of the lots that were once free. However, I never parked in those 2 previous free lots anyways, so it doesn't really affect me. Also, even if Vail didn't purchase Whistler, I would be surprised if Whistler didn't start charging for parking as well.
-Single day ticket prices did go up. But I don't really care, I have a season pass and if somebody doesn't want to ski because of the price, all the better for me.
-Food pricing. I have no idea if food prices have gone up. I haven't bought food on the hill in years and don't plan on doing so anytime soon.
-Snowboard lesson pricing. No idea.
-Epic pass after exchange is approx $1150 CDN, the season pass previously was approx $1500 CDN. As long as the price is lower or competitive with the old Whistler pass, I'm happy.
-Traffic driving to Whistler from Vancouver, seems to be the same.
-Parking availability seems to be the same.
-Amount of ppl on the lifts on any given day, including pow and blue bird days, seems to be the same. ie. a billion people haha
-They still opened the season early, same as Whistler used to.
-They still start letting people on the chair lift 15-30m before the scheduled lift opening, same as whistler used to do.
-They didn't close any terrain. You can ride anywhere, same as with Whistler.
Obviously, there could be a negative impact with Vail owning Whistler. However, for me, its all the same shit.
That being said, even if Vail did "destroy" Whistler, I'm not going to lie, I'll still be going. I may complain but I'll still be going
haha
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Chances are the cost of a Stevens Pass season pass will go down with them rolled into the Epic. I don't know what the base price of Stevens was though, so maybe it will go up a bit.
Crowds, that is the question. Stevens is already a shit show from what I have heard from my friends in the area. Will a bunch of new Seattle types by the Epic banking on vacation resorts and add to the problem? I hate to say it, but there is a good chance they will.
VR will invest in the property. Something Stevens has needed for awhile now. Expanded parking, infrastructure improvements. Maybe the area will get expanded a bit.
There will be good and bad with this acquisition, no doubt.
My guess is the next season or two will be an absolute shit show of unprecedented levels. That sucks. VR will most likely put the money in to accommodate people. Hopefully the state will see fit to address the highway issues as a result.
I can say if I was a local, I wouldn't be very stoked on this, but it is what it is at this point.
Crowds, that is the question. Stevens is already a shit show from what I have heard from my friends in the area. Will a bunch of new Seattle types by the Epic banking on vacation resorts and add to the problem? I hate to say it, but there is a good chance they will.
VR will invest in the property. Something Stevens has needed for awhile now. Expanded parking, infrastructure improvements. Maybe the area will get expanded a bit.
There will be good and bad with this acquisition, no doubt.
My guess is the next season or two will be an absolute shit show of unprecedented levels. That sucks. VR will most likely put the money in to accommodate people. Hopefully the state will see fit to address the highway issues as a result.
I can say if I was a local, I wouldn't be very stoked on this, but it is what it is at this point.
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2,930 Posts
I am guessing most people know this already, but Vail just bought Crested Butte, as well...
I have a friend who is moving there in a few weeks and not sure how this is being received.
I agree with linvillegorge about less is more, but that goes against what the people who make the decisions want.
We will see....
I have a friend who is moving there in a few weeks and not sure how this is being received.
I agree with linvillegorge about less is more, but that goes against what the people who make the decisions want.
We will see....
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11,591 Posts
Oh the locals in Crested Butte are not happy. The fact of the matter there was that the ski area was dying. It wasn't sustainable in winter without some big dollars behind it. They were a couple of years away from going under. Which is weird considering summer business in Crested Butte is crazy good.
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2,930 Posts
to remote to make enough $$$ ?
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My guess was the lack of a multi pass. All I know is the mountain was rumored to be pretty dead during the season for the last 2-3 winters. Great if you are visiting but bad for keeping a ski area open. People were choosing to visit other resorts that were on their Epic, Mountain Collective, MAX pass, whatever. None of which Crested Butte was aligned with. Bled too much, so now they sold.
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I would imagine so when you look at their location compared to large population centers and major airports while lacking the name appeal of a place like Assssssspen.
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Seems a little early to be that negative. It was a good thing for Afton, my local. Of course, it's Vail... so just like Burton, some people are gonna hate everything they do automatically.
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I don't mind paying extra 100-200$ as long as I can get access to whistler. couple of 2 day trips to whistler along with season of stevenspass will make Epic pass a great deal. Can also use at other resorts in CA and CO. Hopefully, Vail will invest on more parking and new lifts. I am not too worried about parking, I am usually the first 25 cars up there anyway.
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Passes are not going down in price, they're going up by quite a bit, because passes were cheaper than the Epic pass, and off-peak pass is going to be gone entirely. College pass basically triples in price.
It's not my first exposure to Vail buying a resort, and I'm very familiar with their business model. But of course, some people are going to assume that just because they don't have problems with Vail, that nobody else does, and they are just hating them automatically. I don't think your experience with them buying a dinky Minnesota hill has much in common with the situation here.
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2,797 Posts
Soooo........ mother fuckn Vail....just bought Crested Butte.............last great ski town......is officially gone...............
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We had a discussion today whether Crested was the target or if Okemo and Sunappee giving them more east coast exposure was more so. Both of those are pretty good anchor resorts for both NYC and Boston. I think they just sold a ton more epic passes with those. Where as I'm not sure Crested carries the numbers in comparison.
If they weren't all owned by the same person I think Crested would have been passed up.
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288 Posts
whatever happened to Stevens adding 3 new lifts and a lodge at the bottom of the 7th Heaven chair ? They had plans drawn up and were supposed to be done 2017-2018 season. I watch the webcam Saturday/Sunday morning just to get a laugh at the traffic and crowds, I've seen several times where the resort has announced that they're parking lots are full, and thats an hour before the lifts open.
I've been riding for 33 years now and in the last 20 years have only ridden 2 weekends, we only ride midweek and if it weren't for that I probably would have given up the sport, or bought a sled.
I've been riding for 33 years now and in the last 20 years have only ridden 2 weekends, we only ride midweek and if it weren't for that I probably would have given up the sport, or bought a sled.
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