Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

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Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby ToddW » Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:15 am

Vail to the North (Stowe). Vail to the South (Okemo). Vail to the East (Mt. Sunnappee).

... and of course Vail to the West (Crested Butte, Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breck, Park City, Whistler, Heavenly, North Star, Kirkwood, ..........................., Wilmot, Afton Alps)

My beloved Killington in central Vermont is now boxed in by Vail. Last year, VR bought Stowe. Today they announced an agreement to purchase Okemo (visible from the top of Killington) and Mt. Sunnappee (60 miles to the East.)

Epic pass pricing will destroy New England skiing. We're heavily reliant on expensive snowmaking, not just to open the season but also to keep it going. That snowmaking capacity lets K open in 4 hours of marginal October or early November weather and pull off the risky world cup Thanksgiving weekend races of the last two seasons. But it costs a small fortune to maintain and operate.

Whoever let the Vail beast out of its cage, please clean up your mess.
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Re: Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby jbotti » Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:43 pm

It's a tough business but I would think that Killington is in no position to back off on their snow making especially in the midst of what will surely be a price war with Vail on season passes versus the Epic pass. They may bleed with a few years in the red but it's not your money they are bleeding. And if everyone decides to ski Stowe and Okemo, Killington may actually be less crowded. Enjoy it!

If they bleed badly for too long Vail will buy them and the crowds will come back but your season pass will cost half what it does now.

Ultimately all east coasters will need to move west and ski on real mountains with real snow :D
Balance: Essential in skiing and in life!
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Re: Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby dtrick924 » Tue Jun 05, 2018 6:48 am

I normally ski Okemo and Mt. Sunapee during the week. Guess I can kiss the VH/NH locals discount goodbye. Although, maybe Mt. Sunapee will finally get the lift upgrades they've been promising us for years. Does anyone know if the State of NH still owns the land and Vail is just leasing/operating the ski area?
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Re: Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby ToddW » Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:27 pm

NH owns the land at Mt Sunnappee. The state has to approve transfer of the lease, but that's expected to happen this summer.
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Re: Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby B.Mulligan » Fri Jun 08, 2018 2:51 am

Isn't Killington provisionally part of the Ikon pass now? I thought they had a relationship with the aspen pass.

Killington has the best summer ops of all of the VT resorts, they've got stand alone power.
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Re: Colonization of New England by Colorado's overlords

Postby ToddW » Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:39 am

Depending on which Ikon pass you have, it is valid either 5 or 7 days per season at Killington/Pico.

And the changes continue. Ian Cumming died in February, and his son John has just stepped down abruptly as CEO of Powdr. It will be interesting to see the ripple effects at Killington, Copper Mountain, Mt. Bachelor, and other Powdr-owned ski areas that PMTSers frequent.
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