Interesting season pass discussion today on slopefillers.com.  Snowshoe gets a mention:  http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

A few years ago when the present ownership group bought Killington they cancelled the lifetime season passes that people had bought in the early days of the place.  The income from those sales went a long way toward insuring that the startup venture was a success.  That was sometime in the mid to late 60s.  Some 30 years later when there were only a few hundred of those passes outstanding they cancelled them, an unbelievable act of stupidity and arrogance.  It was one of many disastrous public relations moves from which they have recovered but slowly.  I am convinced that many in the ski industry have little to no idea of how to run a business.

Denis wrote:

  I am convinced that many in the ski industry have little to no idea of how to run a business.

QFTroof

Hows that west coast thing treating you Denis?

Thanks Scotty, we're enjoying life on the west coast.  SF is a great spot for us.  My wife is primarily a city person and I'm primarily an outdoor person, but there is overlap too.  Two weeks ago I skied Mt. Hood and on the way home added another National Park (Crater Lake) to my NP ski life list.  Tomorrow I'm heading back to Hood for this,

http://www.wyeastnordic.com/summertelemark.htm

JimK wrote:

Interesting season pass discussion today on slopefillers.com.  Snowshoe gets a mention:  http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

Back to the season pass discussion, we did the snowshoe season pass fire sale last season, and we were praying that they did it again this upcoming season (they did). It 'worked' for our family, we bought SS season passes and that was the only over-night ski area we visited last year. Not Timberline, not anywhere out west. 

cheers

eggraid wrote:

Back to the season pass discussion, we did the snowshoe season pass fire sale last season, and we were praying that they did it again this upcoming season (they did). It 'worked' for our family, we bought SS season passes and that was the only over-night ski area we visited last year. Not Timberline, not anywhere out west. 

I've posted this before but if one has plans to ski 7S, HV, Wisp and SS at least one time per season, the SS pass is a no brainer.  The swap feature simply pays for itself.

Tack on the new 250 credit to other Intrawest resorts and it's like money in the bank.  Put me down for a Stratton ski trip this winter.  I'd like to thank SS in advance for free lift tickets while I'm there one weekend with my son.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

eggraid wrote:

Back to the season pass discussion, we did the snowshoe season pass fire sale last season, and we were praying that they did it again this upcoming season (they did). It 'worked' for our family, we bought SS season passes and that was the only over-night ski area we visited last year. Not Timberline, not anywhere out west. 

I've posted this before but if one has plans to ski 7S, HV, Wisp and SS at least one time per season, the SS pass is a no brainer.  The swap feature simply pays for itself.

Tack on the new 250 credit to other Intrawest resorts and it's like money in the bank.  Put me down for a Stratton ski trip this winter.  I'd like to thank SS in advance for free lift tickets while I'm there one weekend with my son.

Sorry for the hijack.  Your reasoning sounds good to me.

$250 Intrawest Snowbucks Details ---> LINK

JimK wrote:

Interesting season pass discussion today on slopefillers.com.  Snowshoe gets a mention:  http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

http://www.slopefillers.com/season-pass-price-slash-boil/

So far, the frog-in-the-pot-of-water approach seems to be at least part of Snowshoe's underlying strategy: offer a great deal to bring new customers (me included) into the fold, but then increase the price and/or reduce the benefits slowly enough to keep the converts coming back each season.  In addition to nudging the price upward slightly, SS also bumped the availability of the Ridiculous Pass a week further into the schedule -- from the last weekend in February (2013) to the first week in March (2014).

However, as Blue Don 1982 points out, the new $250 Intrawest credit is a great plus if you can schedule a trip to one of their resorts.  The first offering of the Ridiculous Pass (made in Feb. 2013) included a free day at 7S, HV and Wisp  ... and then, afterwards, Blue Knob joined the list.  I missed that and actually paid for a BK ticket last season not knowing I could get it for free.

As we've discussed before in this forum, Snowshoe's other rationales for the fire-sale-priced pass appear to be to 1) put more capital into its coffers to prepare for the upcoming season, and 2) to bring more people onto the slopes to spend their money on food, accommodations and the like.

It will be interesting to see what Snowshoe does this coming spring.  A "ridiculous pass" for 2015-16?  I hope so.

Woody

bousquet19 wrote:

 The first offering of the Ridiculous Pass (made in Feb. 2013) included a free day at 7S, HV and Wisp  ... and then, afterwards, Blue Knob joined the list.  I missed that and actually paid for a BK ticket last season not knowing I could get it for free.

Woody

Woody - can you confirm BK / SS swap?  I know BK swaps with HV, 7S and Wisp but according to the SS website, BK is not included.

I hope you are correct.  My sister lives close to BK so this perk would be a HUGE + for me.

PS - I also bought few BK tickets last year on Liftopia. 

I called BK yesterday and spoke to Robin who handles season tickets and swap programs.  She told me they DID IN FACT swap with SS season pass holders.  She said they did it because 7S did.

She said they hope to do it again this coming season.

AWESOME!

I didn't know Blue Knob was on the swap list, either, how cool is that? We went to Blue Knob a couple years ago on a holiday weekend when we thought it would be less crowded than anywhere else (it was) and we may try that again this year. 

Also, Stratton, here we come! Spring break trip to Vermont sounds great!

I am not so sure about the BK->SS swap agreement. I emailed Snowshoe last winter at the very start of the Ridiculous Pass sale to ask if BK was a member of the regional swap program with HV, Wisp and 7S and the person responding to me in writing said that BK was NOT a part of the program. I do think it is POSSIBLE that BK will honor a SS pass without SS knowing anything about it, but SS said in writing to me that they would NOT honor a BK pass as part of the program at SS. Unfortunately, I cannot find that email. Sorry.   

Not having BK is why I never got the Ridiculous Pass. SS itself sounds like a pretty crummy place to ski with western prices for anything other than the pass, midatlantic snow, vastly overated terrain, and lines of biblical proportions. Getting there much during the week isn't going to work for me and the whole weekend crowd-avoidance strategy of Basin>Western>Silver Creek coupled with lodging prices was a no-go.  l also have Holiday Valley, BK, and the Canaan Valley areas ~30 minutes closer to me which are cheaper, less crowded and a generally better skiing experience. I would rather not be tied to one mountain and partners like 7 Springs, Wisp, and Hidden Valley don't really sound like my scene compared to the other regional areas mentioned and don't offer me much additional value.  

I also was VERY close to getting the BK pass when it was on sale for $299, but the fickle Mid-A winters,  and partners of Hidden Valley, 7s, Wisp didn't really do much for me. I would rather chase the good snow when it is there and head to Holiday Valley, BK and Canaan Valley and just deal with paying an extra $125 total for lift tickets in exchange for terrain variety and going where conditions are good.  

My dream pass for the region would look like this: $299 unrestricted at BK  with 1 day free at Holiday Valley, Timberline, Cannan Valley, White Grass and Perfect North with up to 5 more days for 50% off at the partners. That would be awesome!          

I do think it is POSSIBLE that BK will honor a SS pass without SS knowing anything about it

Above is accurate based on my conversation with the gal at BK.

uh, yeah, so what's the problem?  you're expecting Montana?  not happening.  don't knock it if you don't  go.  we might be crying in our beers if its early january and tline has 2.5 slopes open; I did not get the shoe pass this year either.  every year we roll the dice and see what we get.  viva la difference. 

Droogie wrote:

Not having BK is why I never got the Ridiculous Pass. SS itself sounds like a pretty crummy place to ski with western prices for anything other than the pass, midatlantic snow, vastly overated terrain, and lines of biblical proportions. Getting there much during the week isn't going to work for me and the whole weekend crowd-avoidance strategy of Basin>Western>Silver Creek coupled with lodging prices was a no-go.  

I'm not sure where it appeared that I'm expecting Montana. Obviously I'm not expecting Montana. I just have preferences within the Mid-Atlantic on where I prefer to ski.  I do three trips out west every year and just a 3-4 day trip to SS staying on mountain would cost too close to what Montana or several other locations out west would cost to consider going there when you factor in the negatives I mentioned: http://www.skinorthcarolina.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=16344&highlight=bridgert=16344&highlight=bridger

Mid-A overnight trips when conditions are good are holdovers between western trips. If Timberline has 2.5 slopes open I won't go there. I'll go to Holiday Valley, NY where they have much better snowmaking and a generally colder climate. Not being tied to any one place even if I like it alot is major reason to not get a season pass in this area.   

pagamony wrote:

uh, yeah, so what's the problem?  you're expecting Montana?  not happening.  don't knock it if you don't  go.  we might be crying in our beers if its early january and tline has 2.5 slopes open; I did not get the shoe pass this year either.  every year we roll the dice and see what we get.  viva la difference. 

Droogie wrote:

Not having BK is why I never got the Ridiculous Pass. SS itself sounds like a pretty crummy place to ski with western prices for anything other than the pass, midatlantic snow, vastly overated terrain, and lines of biblical proportions. Getting there much during the week isn't going to work for me and the whole weekend crowd-avoidance strategy of Basin>Western>Silver Creek coupled with lodging prices was a no-go.  

Droogie - You should give it a whirl one time and formulate your own opinion.  You seem to rely on the negativity posted by some SS haters on that other forum.  I know you've seen the awesome videos posted by Brookbarrel on that "vastly overrated terrain".  You know that's good stuff in those vids.

Try it once and if you hate it then so be it.  At least it's your opinion and not someone elses.

One CAN ski SS at a reasonable price.  Last year, they did a 3 day unrestricted pass for $99.  Grab a couple buddies and split the gas and lodging.  3 guys could split a 1 BR 1 BA slopeside condo in Mountain Lodge for 3 nights for less than 200 each total.    

Under $300 + gas and food is very reasonable in my opinion for 3 nights.  You'd pay the same or more at Holiday Valley and it's the same driving distance from Columbus.

You'll never know until you actually try it.

Count me as someone who likes Snowshoe, and bought my first ever pass (at any resort) there for next season (Ridiculous Pass).

I'll be honest: I like luxury.  I like highspeed lifts, manicured runs, heated lifts, and a nice village.  Not surprisingly, my favorite place to ski is Vail.  I grew up skiing in Europe, and the high speed, heated lifts, and nice apres-ski set my expectations.

Don't get me wrong, I don't look down on places that are not luxurious.  I've skied Blue Mountain, CamelBack, Liberty, WhiteTail, Massanutten, Timberline, etc.  I enjoyed them all.

But if you want to "treat yourself" a little, Snowshoe is kind of like playing an upscale daily golf course in the DC area.  Sure, you're probably in for a 5 hour round, but if you tee off at the right times on the right days, conditions and the layout can be considerably better than municipal tracks.

Snowshoe is also one of the few places in the Mid-A I would want to stay on-mountain. 

In terms of the business of running a resort, I've worked for years in customer experience for a high end financial services firm.  I've thought about leaving to run customer experience for a ski resort (or chain), but we'll see if it ever happens. 

we might be crying in our beers if its early january and tline has 2.5 slopes open; I did not get the shoe pass this year either.  every year we roll the dice and see what we get.  viva la difference. 

If T-Line has White Lightning and Off The Wall (with whales) open in early January, I can deal with that since they are two of the best trails in the Mid Atlantic. Caveat: Extrovert won't be open by then and frankly, SS isn't worth the extra drive/$$ for me, even if Western Territory is open.

I do expect nearly 100% open by MLK. That generally doesn't happen, but I'll complain about that when it happens. And I've earned the right to complain given my dollars spent there to complain.

When it's average, T-Line is still a pretty decent experience. I'll work on my skiing, if nothing else. Beats going to the gym, the folks are friendly, the beer is cold (but the service slow) and more miles == better skiing if you make perfect practice. When it's good, it's worthy of Southern VT, if not better.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

I called BK yesterday and spoke to Robin who handles season tickets and swap programs.  She told me they DID IN FACT swap with SS season pass holders.  She said they did it because 7S did.

She said they hope to do it again this coming season.

AWESOME!

 

Thanks for checking, Blue Don.  

The way I found out about last season was visiting the small information table the BK has set up not too far from their ticket window.  A handout on the table stated that BK would accept a SS pass (one free ticket per season) ... but I never checked to see whether SS honored the BK pass in 2013-14.

Woody