"Still working on snowmaking repairs and upgrades.Working on lifts. New tubing park will be open. Also, renovations on the Black Bear. Probably some more changes in the Summit Lodge, as well."
They later clarified that the lifts needed a lot of catch up on maintenance.
Sounds like they have a good handle on things - getting the infrastructure where it should be then they'll have a good base for upgrades.
Kudos to the new owners for being very active and engaged with the community!
They're also doing a big fireworks bash on the 7th, claiming to be PA's highest fireworks show.
Its great they they are responsive... but if they are doing so much great infrastructure work, why don't they promote it? There is zero information about mountain upgrades on their website, and only an occasional post on Facebook, which is mainly dedicated to pushing their wine tastings/golf specials/labor day dinner etc etc etc. I get that the partners are in it for the long haul and are prudently deploying capital... but a bit more effort on the marketing side would help sell more season passes, which would help replenish the coffers for the deferred maintenance, which would help make the ski experience more enjoyable, which they could promote, and sell more passes... rinse wash repeat.
As for myself, I'm ready to buy a pass once I know they can keep 50% of the mountain open on a consistent basis, AND get extrovert open.
Wow ... I had a long post and it timed out on me. Hate when that happens! :D
At any rate, I agree with you - they need more advertising (especially the "free" stuff like FB and their website) and a much more reliable snowmaking system. They also need to attract new blood up there. Season passes were ridiculously cheap in the spring (as low as $199), and the $30 weekday ticket to other resorts' pass holders can help bring people up to try it.
I think there are a few things in play here. I think the first thing is they want to become a year round resort, and they're advertising the golf and other events heavily to get awareness that there's more to do there than just ski or to go to the park. Having grown up in the area, no one ever thought about the resort after ski season was over. People would hit the state parks for the free activities like swimming and hiking. Few knew they had a golf course up there. At any rate, get that off-season money flowing and you have more money for improvements. Take the focus off there too soon and you can kill that market off sooner than you want. Roundtop's doing more or less the same thing - heavily promoting their summer activities. It's only been in the last few days they've hinted at any new announcements for the winter (even though WT and Liberty did a long time ago).
I don't think deferred maintenance excites anyone. The general public won't see it for the most part. Maybe a new coat of paint, but who's going to see the snowmaking and lift repairs, snowcat upgrades, etc? The improved snowmaking may excite some, but for most people, it's going to look like the same resort. It's playing catch up to everyone else - not doing anything new and exciting.
Anyone know what the water situation is? I see a few streams at the bottom of the hill, and a few smaller ponds at the top. So even if they can fix the infrastructure, do they have the water to really cover stuff?
I know they applied for a $2.5M grant from the state shortly after purchasing the resort, but I have no idea if they got it. Or if they did, when the cash will come. That's a huge infusion for them, considering the estimated sales price was only around $1.3M. They also hired Scott Bender from 7S, so I'm sure there's some prioritization and long term planning going on.
I'm curious as to how much veto power the state has on their plans. Only about 1/3 of the total acreage they own is on state park land. Most of the ski runs are on private land. It's the resort buildings at the top of the mountain and end of the old Condo trail that are on park land. Makes sense why the lease is so low.
At any rate, as far as open terrain goes, 50% of the mountain is a relative term. How much is that really? Better question is how much can be covered by snowmaking? BK has a lot of natural snow areas, and they also pad the heck out of the trail count. Aside from a couple difficulty changes on the Twins and Shortway, all the upper/lower stuff is garbage. Extrovert, Expressway, Stembogan, Mambo/RunOut - all one run each. Reality is you probably have about 16 full runs with snowmaking on them.
Extrovert's always going to be dead last to get the guns. It takes much more snow to open (hence time and money), and only a few people have the skill to get down it - especially once it bumps up. Not a good return on investment in the beginning. Starting with Mambo and the beginner area, then everything serviced by the Expressway triple, then the Twins/Stembogan gets a lot open for the vast majority of people. Then it makes sense for Extrovert to get the love.
But yeah, they need the snowmaking and water to make that happen. Between a limited amount of guns and pipes bursting (hence why Expressway opened way late), it takes them way too long to get to the good stuff.
What I'd like to see is them hook up with SnowTime - perhaps sell an add on to the passes there and get some more people up there. BK isn't that much farther from Baltimore/DC than WT,and that can bring in some new blood and revenue for future improvements.
So does anyone know, what is Blue Knob's water situation? As we all know, snowmaking maintenance and upgrades doesn't get you very far if you can't pull more water...
It's an improvement if they can at least use the water they do have more efficiently than they have in the past.
I'd suggest posting on their FB page and asking. The owners are quite responsive.
Anyone from DCSKI going to this? Would be great to get a summary of the discussion as it relates to infrastructure, snowmaking, etc
Can interested parties crash the event?
It's posted on their FB site. Asking there won't hurt.
Did anyone go to the "meet and greet"?
Hopefully they get it unchanged quickly and get the snow cranking. In the meantime, there relying on mother nature.
Credit to BK and new owners, they are taking a more pro-active approach to PR and mountain updates, even when things go sideways (at least on Facebook). This morning they provided an update: "Snowmaking Update: We had the guns on last night until about 11:3o..that's when we developed some leaks on the Route 66 and Stembogan lnes. Repairs are underway and we will be back on line as soon as possible." Great to see the transparency and effort and I definitely plan to spend some time and dollars at BK this winter.
Agreed. I think it's helping a lot for the PR that there are issues and being worked, rather than not knowing what's going on up there. Folks are more willing to be paitent if they know what's going on and seeing progress towards a solution - especially the season pass holders. The new owners seem to be making the necessary repairs that have long been neglected. As somone on FB says, it takes awhile to correct 20+ years of band aid fixes.
They're planning to open for the weekend, and perhaps midweek.
It'll be great when they can start making true upgrades to the area rather than fixing all the maintenance backlog. I think BK has a bright future.
What percentage of a typical winter does Blue Knob get all the slopes open? I've only been once during a pretty tough winter for skiers, so a bunch of trails and even some lifts were closed. It was still a really good day as we had a little powder falling during our visit. I want to go back, but it just hasn't happened yet because my ski buddies don't usually go that direction.
wfyurasko wrote:
What percentage of a typical winter does Blue Knob get all the slopes open?
In my 12 yrs as a PA resident, I'd say only a few days per season, and the last 2 seasons have been 0 days of 100% open. I have an "indicator trail" that I use to gauge whether I should go or not, and that trail hasn't turned on lately, so I went anyway on the last weekend last year and still had a great day.
I had indicator trails, then I realized they never updated their website.
Blue Knob in powder, deep powder is incredible. I drove up there in 2010 after the 3' storm and it was hands down the best skiing I've ever had in PA. The woods were open everywhere, the mountain shines in great conditions.
I prefer to hit BK after two things: a decent base exists, and a storm passes through. It has a reputation of being icy, but what isn't icy around here? I prefer Stembogan with bumps after a storm. It's a fun trail bumped up, not as fun as a race track.
What's nice about BK is you can see the conditions on Extrovert from the lift without having to ski it.
There really isn't anything similar around. I've had some excellent days with nice conditions, no crowds and rubber legs after 5hrs of constant laps.
oddballstocks wrote:
I had indicator trails, then I realized they never updated their website.
I know, I've been burned by that more than a couple times. Website says one thing, Facebook another thing, ropes on the ground say ????.
I thought Edgeset was a natural snow area?
From their Facebook, it looks like they might be able to open some beginner areas this weekend, but they are still waiting until Friday to make the call. This warm up and rain storm is really putting a damper on what should have been a bunch of resorts opening weekend.
I wouldn't count on them opening. If all they have is those 2 trails and limited snowmaking, they need to keep what they have so they can move on to getting more open.
The late upgrades and issues on the 66 and Stembogen lines late in the game didn't help. The good news is at least they're finding the problems and getting them fixed.
BK started making snow again and plans on opening this weekend. Didn't know how many runs, but said that to the bottom was a possibility.
My guess is it'll be runs hanging off the Expressway triple and Runout to the bottom. An interesting tidbit - Lower Rt 66 doesn't have snowmaking. I thought both of the twins had it.
Bummer they are supposed to get ore rain this weekend. They cant seem to catch a break.
BK's opening Mambo down to the Expressway triple tomorrow. Tix going up to $30, open until 10pm.
Has bk ever been in worse shape this time of year?
jacksonkillelea wrote:
Has bk ever been in worse shape this time of year?
They've been pretty rough the past 2 seasons also. Barely 2 days of fully open in both those seasons.
superguy wrote:
My hat's off to them for giving it the love it needed after so many years of neglect. That place has so much potential
Yep, big effort and much appreciated.
Looks like good snowmaking weather is returning tomorrow and some natural snow too.... Lets see how much these fixes can help them.
Stembogen and RunOut open this weekend, so some love all the way to the bottom.
Bunnyhop (aka Jack Rabbit) and Deer Run are up next. Interstingly enough, it seems like a lot of their guns are mobile. That explains why they seem to be slower than the rest at getting stuff open.
Why do you think they blew on stembogan before deer and jack?
My guess is that the more experienced natives are getting restlesssend need some challenge and gives them a chance to run the whole mountain. The other 2 funnel into Expressway, so this can help spread crowds out a little more too and get another lift open.
I'm also guessing that they have to make snow on Upper HH for easier access on Deer Run. I think after those, they'll only have Lower HH and Extrovert to make snow on, and maybe a couple little crap runs at the top. Lower 66 doesn't have snowmaking.
I am really pulling for the owners but this season isn't very confidence inspiring... here we are with maybe 60-70 days left in the season and-
Roundtop, Liberty & Whitetail: 90-100% Open
Seven Springs about 85%
Wisp about 70%
Wintergreen about 55%
Laurel about 43%
Blue Knob about 32%
I think Blue Knob's about on par with Laurel at this point. Blue Knob has a lot of natural snow areas and an overly inflated trail count (i.e. 4 segments to Stembogan count as 4 trails? Not to me. It's one trail.) Glades and such are more bonus areas that I really don't count in any one's trail count - at least around here anyway. And keep in mind some of the runs are piddlies that don't amount to much - really just to pump up trail count.
You have snowmaking on pretty much on all the greens and blues (maybe an exception or two), Stembogan (all segs), Lower HH, and Extrovert (both upper/lower). Even taking their inflated account, it appears there are 22 runs with snowmaking onthem. They actually have 12 runs open, or about 55% of what they actually have control over. You''ll have Deer Run, Upper HH and Jack Rabbit opening later this week, bringing it up to 15, or 68%. If they can get Extrovert and Lower HH open, you're looking at 82%.
I don't know if some of the piddlies have snowmaking on them, or if they'll even open, so the percentage may be higher.
The bad news is that there's still some good terrain that doesn't have snowmaking on, and they need to fix that. I'm thinking Edgeset, Lower Shortway, and Lower 66 in particular.
From what I've been reading from management's post on FB, we know BK's snowmaking system is not up to par. Expressway's line broke last year, Stembogan's had issues this year, and they got a late start because of delayed installation of the new water pump. On top of that, they seem overly reliant on mobile snowmaking. After opening Stembogan, they had to physically move guns over to Jack Rabbit and Deer Run. While they have some fixed guns (Expressway had both HKD cannons and lances), there's also a question of how efficiently they're making snow. Someone called them out for only having one of every 3 guns on Expressway running in a video. If they do that alot, that points to either water supply or system problems, further showing they're not up to snuff yet.
I'm pulling for the new owners as well. What we don't know is how much capital they have to invest in the mountain at any given time. News reporting showed that the new owners were a consortium of investors from the Pittsburgh area, and there were at least 10 or so, but everything else outside the price of $1.5M was secret. Scott Bender, formerly from 7S, was supposed to be advising the new owners. Do the owners have more to invest (likely out of pocket), or are they relying more on resort and offseason revenues?
I commend them from promoting the heck out of the resort in the offseason to try to get more attention and money into the resort. I don't know how well that's working, but I think it can only help.
They really, really, need to upgrade that snowmaking system. At least this year, they couldn't focus on that as they spent so much time fixing 20 years of deffered maintenance. I know they have their core die hards like LM does, but I think more people are staying away due to the lack of terrain (same issue mentioned for LM - people were staying away until Lower Wildcat opened as there wasn't enough variety). Opening Stembogan should help that, and moreso once Jack Rabbit and Deer Run open.
I hope they can get it going, but they made need some more capital from the outside. They don't have the advantage of Nutting's deep pockets, and they're on their own as otherwise unaffiliated. Personally, I think without outside capital, we'll see incremental updates but it'll probably be at least a few more years until things are where they should be.
And BTW, as far as snowmaking's concerned, 7S only has one run that isn't open - Giant Steps. The rest are natural snow areas.
Giant Steps isn't open yet as they're having water supply issues - they don't have enough water to get it open at this point. Or so says their social media person when I asked why it wasn't open yet.
Laurel has all of its snowmaking trails open and good natural coverage on the mountain but the last storm rained on the 6 inches that fell last Saturday then froze. The 4 inches of snow that fell on Sunday was cold smoke that blew into the trees and gullies. All of the top of Laurel and maybe Dream Highway could be open for ice lovers. I hope tomorrow's warm up and rain with snow on Thursday make the surface more inviting. Lower Wildcat is open and wicked fast but edge-able. The snow is too hard and traffic too light to build bumps. If what is on the ground holds u, and then we get another 6 to 8 inches of snow, the entire mountain could be in play like it was 1983.
Superguy and others, thanks for your informative posts about Blue Knob.
Like many others here, Blue Knob is a favorite of mine becuase of its vertical, variety, elevation and gnarlyness ... when things are working well and temperatures are cold enough. If the main runs including Mambo, Run Out, Jack Rabbit, Deer Run, Expressway, and Stembo are open, I'm there. Well, I'm there as long as the chairs are working. The last two seasons have been rough, and I haven't found a day when their open terrain coincided with my availability.
I'll join with others here in wishing the new owners the best and thanking them for their faith in Blue Knob.
Here's hoping.
Woody
bousquet19 wrote:
Superguy and others, thanks for your informative posts about Blue Knob.
Like many others here, Blue Knob is a favorite of mine becuase of its vertical, variety, elevation and gnarlyness ... when things are working well and temperatures are cold enough. If the main runs including Mambo, Run Out, Jack Rabbit, Deer Run, Expressway, and Stembo are open, I'm there. Well, I'm there as long as the chairs are working. The last two seasons have been rough, and I haven't found a day when their open terrain coincided with my availability.
I'll join with others here in wishing the new owners the best and thanking them for their faith in Blue Knob.
Here's hoping.
Woody
Agreed - BK is hard to beat when the stars are all aligned. I've always had a soft spot for it. I preferred it growing up over 7S, but mom got free passes to 7S back in the day, so ... :)
Loved the all-night skis they used to have. Mountain wasn't crowded, and it sure was cold! New owners aren't interested in it, unfortunately, as they don't find it profitable.
bousquet19 wrote:
... If the main runs including Mambo, Run Out, Jack Rabbit, Deer Run, Expressway, and Stembo are open, I'm there.
I've lowered my previous threshold trail (Edgeset) and now consider BK when the above are open. It's a different era
Super guy, thanks for taking the time to provide a detailed response, it is helpful perspective. Your point about "actual number of trails" is well taken, I just used those easy to calc percentages to illuminate the lack of progress... I agree, it does seem that the ownership group is doing their best, and I'm sure -through no fault of their own - the resort was a mess when they bought it. So the incremental improvements make sense for now... I just hope they can somehow generate and grow the revenue to keep the feel good story going, because they are going to need the cash to fund the upkeep and improvements. The angle about Scott Bender is interesting... and I recall in their press release at purchase a mention of pursuing state development grant money. I really hope they can make some progress in the next 24 months!
Could someone please explain the "Seven Springs is out water". They are blowing snow for their parks and at night on some of their main open runs. The main reason Giant Steps isn't open is that their is a water line issue in the middle of the slope on the flats where it bends around the pond.
That confused me as well. Given the ponds they have all over the place, I was qutie surprised to hear that. The broken line makes more sense. That's not what they said, though going back and reading it I can see multiple ways of interpreting it. Still would have made more sense to just say a line broke and left it at that.
I have the screenshot of the conversation with their social media person if there's a way to upload it directly. I haven't had much luck linking from Google images.
They at least fixed the error on the website showing Goose Bumps wasn't lit at night. :D
Back to BK ... They're having their Winter Fest on Feb 8-10 with some cool activities. There's the Dummy Downhill where 1st prize is a season pass for next year.
They've also introduced a corporate pass that's completely transferrable (like 7 Springs' and Whitetail have). Price is $1000 for 1, and $3000 for 4. There's a year round opton that includes golf and events for $1000 more.
See https://blueknob.com/news-from-pas-highest-skiable-mountain/ for more info.
Here is what Blue Knob is up against when it comes to DC based skiers - I was at Whitetail on Saturday 1/19 and Far Side had no snow on it. Zero point zero. Since then they had maybe 4 inches of wet snow and 4 nights of snow making and voila, trail opened today. Actually kind of amazing, but anyway, tough competition for the DMV crowd.
Yeah, definitely puts them behind the 8 ball. Looking at what BK's base is up to now, it seems like they're trying to build a huge base before moving the guns on to the next trail. And when they're relying heavily on portable guns, they gotta get it built up because the guns might not get back there again.
WT, well, really all of the ST resorts, have put a lot into snowmaking and it shows. They were all pretty much nothing a few weeks ago (RT and Liberty in particular) and are now pretty much fully open. RT is claiming nearly a 4' base now. Quite an impressive feat.
BK may do well to try to ally with some other mountains or group, to get people coming in from a far. They're sitting smack dab in the middle between 7S on the west and ST resorts on the east. It's harder to convince the Pittsburgh and Baltimore/DC crowds to drive past those up to BK for a "lesser" experience.
BK at least will appeal to the State College/Penn State crowd as Tussey's tiny. Otherwise, you're looking at mostly locals from Johnstown and Altoona. And being from Johnstown, I know that place isn't doing so well ... and most of the school clubs in Johnstown head out to 7S for their weekly outings, even with BK being closer.
RodneyBD wrote:
Here is what Blue Knob is up against when it comes to DC based skiers - I was at Whitetail on Saturday 1/19 and Far Side had no snow on it. Zero point zero. Since then they had maybe 4 inches of wet snow and 4 nights of snow making and voila, trail opened today. Actually kind of amazing, but anyway, tough competition for the DMV crowd.
Exactly, at least two less hours in the car and better snow operations -- It's not so much a knock on Blue Knob as praise for Whitetail. By the same token, I may never go to Seven Springs which is apparently another hour roundtrip and has less vertical.
It's already been about 7 years since my first visit to Blue Knob and I'm surprised I haven't been back. Perhaps when my son gets older and more experienced.
The trail inflation was foolish then and even more so when they are having snowmaking challenges.
I really hope the new ownership are able to invest enough to make it work better, it's fun mountain.
wfyurasko wrote:
I really hope the new ownership are able to invest enough to make it work better, it's fun mountain.
Timberline
Blue Knob
Laurel
Sounds like a theme
wfyurasko wrote:
Exactly, at least two less hours in the car and better snow operations -- It's not so much a knock on Blue Knob as praise for Whitetail. By the same token, I may never go to Seven Springs which is apparently another hour roundtrip and has less vertical.
It's already been about 7 years since my first visit to Blue Knob and I'm surprised I haven't been back. Perhaps when my son gets older and more experienced.
The trail inflation was foolish then and even more so when they are having snowmaking challenges.
I really hope the new ownership are able to invest enough to make it work better, it's fun mountain.
I agree that Whitetail is super convienent and well run. That being said 7 springs is a long day trip, but a fun one night trip, despite haveing less vertical than Whitetail the North Face trails there have ~750' vert and signifigantly more variety than Whitetail. If there is decent coverage you can easily cut between trails on the north face and get some really nice runs in, mostly blue and black. Also, lost boy and lost girl are both really nice green trails. Don't rule it out jusrt because of the vert. (Front side is really short...)
The "trail inflation" is the same thing every resort does, trails change names at intersections. Sure it helps marketing, but it also helps patrol more easily identify sections of the trails. If you look at the ex-Intrawest resorts they will brag more about acerage than trail count, because that is what really says how much you have to ski on.
camp wrote:
wfyurasko wrote:
I really hope the new ownership are able to invest enough to make it work better, it's fun mountain.
Timberline
Blue Knob
Laurel
Sounds like a theme
I feel like Blue Knob is at least trying under challenging circumstances. Can't speak for Laurel.
So much elevation to work with, yet so many challenges...
"OPEN LETTER FROM OUR OWNERS & STAFF
Dear Friends of Blue Knob,
As we have stated since day one of purchasing Blue Knob, there are many issues related to an aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance, that need to be corrected at the resort.
We have made great strides with addressing and repairing many of those deficiencies, however there is still a lot of work to be done. This Summer and Fall, we did as much as we could with the resources that we have (some load tests, pump tests, and inspections could not be done until proper conditions prevailed) . In addition, unexpected failures at the 11th hour that were disappointing to all of you, were devastating to us. Last season was a learning experience for us and this year, as we attempted some major upgrades to the snow making system, we also uncovered additional weaknesses and deferred repairs. The later opening of some of our trails and chair lifts have been a result of many mechanical failures, one after the other. We understand and acknowledge your frustrations and disappointments and apologize, as we share the same.
We appreciate any continued understanding, patience and cooperation as we continue to try to make Blue Knob a better place and resort for all. For those of you who have “stepped-up “ and helped us in our efforts..thank you!!
The Blue Knob Ownership Group and Staff"
Now that's the way you handle adversity and PR. Wishing them best of luck!
Bonzski wrote:
Now that's the way you handle adversity and PR. Wishing them best of luck!
Absolutely.
They had to know that there were probably deeper problems that weren't showing themselves. They found that the rabbit hole went deep and found a monster rabbit! "Oh sure! It's just a harmless li'l bunny!" -- Tim the Enchanter :D
Seriously, though, the letter indicates to me that the owners are primarily relying on income from the off season to repair and upgrade the mountain. Seems to point to a slower rate of fixing things than one would hope.
I wonder if they'd accept partners with cash to invest.
superguy wrote:
I wonder if they'd accept partners with cash to invest.
Or A Co-Op model, similar to Red Mtn and Mad River Glen?
Interesting idea. Don't know their financials or if they'd be open to it. They seem to have something like that already with the investment group, so who knows.
Did I blink and miss it? Did they open Extrovert, Lower 66 and Edgeset for one day this past weekend?
I saw Edgeset for sure was open - think it opened Friday or Saturday. I saw Sunday's FB post mentioning 26 trails open, but when I clicked on it last night, they were back down to 18.
The 66 lift is back open, so there's easier access to Stembogen and Deer Run without having to go all the way to the top. They were waiting for it to be inspected yesterday.
BK's looking to be the place to go Presidents' Day weekend. They seem to have the best weather over the next 2 weeks. Temps drop down for them Friday, with mostly snow and little rain compared to the Nutting and ST resorts.
We need another polar vortex.
Extrovert was open on Sunday, natural snow. My son heard and went there in a flash. He said it was fantastic to be able to ski Ex and glades. I was at Laurel for the Gathering and we were skiing the entire mountain, glades and all from the prior Wednesday but the natural snow trails were skied off and closed by noon Sunday.
Did you get in on the ground floor? I laughed so hard I spit out my coffee halfway through this promotional video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J52rk0GJSqw
HVdad wrote:
Did you get in on the ground floor? I laughed so hard I spit out my coffee halfway through this promotional video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J52rk0GJSqw
😂😂😂 was this a Mission Impossibe episode. I was expecting the tape to self destruct. It looked like they hired a Soviet architect to do the design.
Mind is blown. Words escape me. Captain Oveur pictching real estate at Blue Knob. Amazing. They should immediately buy a signed autographed poster of Graves on Ebay and put it in the bar area.
That's great! Is the old condo trail they show heading back to the lodging area?
Old Condo trail at the end is now where the snow tubing area is. Looks like they shortened the beginner area and the lift, then took the other portion and made the snow tubing area. The area in between seems a bit of a no man's land.
Isn’t there a snowmaking pond in “no-man’s land” now? Yes, the beginner chair was very long and went all the way to current condo village, super flat and strictly skied by those wanting to get to condos. They shortened it after about 10 (?) years. I was a pass holder at BK in early ”˜80s when that video came out. I have vague memories of it. Perhaps they sent VHS tapes of it to pass holders or those like my parents who owned houses at/near BK. It was only about a year or two later that Dale Stencil sold BK to the Gauthier Brothers IIRC. Did you know that the summit lodge burned to the ground around 1980 and was quickly rebuilt close to the same design as original? There were rumors of arson about the lodge fire. I have High Hopes (pun intended) for the current owners.
BK will always hold a special place in my heart as the first place I ever skied in 1967. Bach then the beginner hill was covered in blue ice and served by a platter lift (about as long as the current beginner chair) that operated in fits and spurts and would turn you into a permanent choirboy if you weren’t on your toes.
I hope the blue ice wasn't from the restrooms. :O
HVdad wrote:
Did you get in on the ground floor? I laughed so hard I spit out my coffee halfway through this promotional video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J52rk0GJSqw
Joey, do you like investment videos about ski resorts?
I gather the ambition of this plan was only partially realized.
What are the chances any of the following are open for this Prez Weekend: Lower Shortway, Upper/Lower Extrovert, Lower High Hopes, Lower Route 66?
And/or assuming a 12" storm isn't on the horizon, what are the chances any of these open at all the rest of the season?
RodneyBD wrote:
What are the chances any of the following are open for this Prez Weekend: Lower Shortway, Upper/Lower Extrovert, Lower High Hopes, Lower Route 66?
And/or assuming a 12" storm isn't on the horizon, what are the chances any of these open at all the rest of the season?
For this weekend, I don't see it happening. Upper Shortway was the last thing they reopened. And looking at where they were from the videos of Winterfest, they had a lot of damage to repair. If anything else is going to open this week, it'll be on the upper mountain like with Uppper HH.
Short of a big natural dump, I don't see Extrovert opening this year. Lower HH maybe, but Extrovert requires a ton more snow than the others and I'm not sure of BK's capacity to cover it at this point.
I hope that with the snowmaking repairs they made this season, even though late in the game for this year, that next year will be better. Hopefully they can continue upgrading the system, add some more permanent guns and run some new lines to get more covered.
Very sad. Difficult business to make money in the mid-Atlantic unless you have perfect weather, state-of-the-art snowmaking, and a steady, dedicated (and large) clientele who can guarantee enough income to cover COGS + yield a 10 to 15% profit margin. Why the hell anyone would open a ski resort in the mid-Atlantic in this day and age is beyond me. Despite its impressive hill, Blue Knob meets none of the criteria needed for success in this business today.
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