powderfreak Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Will - yeah...it's got to be a combination of snow fatigue and cold. Lots of money being spent on snow removal, lost days at work, heat, etc. I don't think it's just the cold, nor do I think it's ticket prices. It is odd though, it's every mountain across the northeast, nobody is immune. PF would be taken out back and whipped 50 shades style if he said anything but I'm sure even they're off this year. Hopefully they all have a strong March and April. I'm not going into details but you're right that this week was rough with the brutal cold...and wrong about the season as a whole. You gotta remember we had a really strong start with big November and Thanksgiving snow (couple big upslope and lake effect combo storms too), the early December cut-off that allowed most terrain to open really early in the year from 2-3 feet of caking snow, and then northern Vermont had the best powder skiing conditions in the country during January and February. It has been a consistently good year for skiing up here, and it shows in the visits. I'm not sure why you think the entire season has been bad for business in the New England ski industry?? This week was the first week that struggled due to the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Wow - not much else to say about today. Skied from about 8:30-2:00 straight through with a 20 minute beer and shot of jameson break around 11:30. Probably about 8" of very fluffy snow and the weather was perfect. 30F and bluebird skies through the day. Not empty but definitely not crowded - maybe a 3-5 minute wait for the summit lifts. Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 What an epic day in S VT. Magic got crushed and the 4 to 6 website report was the running joke on the chairlift. Bluebird and very light pow. Springlike with winter snow. sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeepowderhunter Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Yup Magic was outstanding! Hit the road early Due to lift line. But not complaining, nice to see a good crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I'm not going into details but you're right that this week was rough with the brutal cold...and wrong about the season as a whole. You gotta remember we had a really strong start with big November and Thanksgiving snow (couple big upslope and lake effect combo storms too), the early December cut-off that allowed most terrain to open really early in the year from 2-3 feet of caking snow, and then northern Vermont had the best powder skiing conditions in the country during January and February. It has been a consistently good year for skiing up here, and it shows in the visits. I'm not sure why you think the entire season has been bad for business in the New England ski industry?? This week was the first week that struggled due to the cold. I was surprised how crowded Killington was on the weekend after Thanksgiving...more corwded than any day this past week I went (I went on weekedays this week). Sunday River had a half decent crowd on Feb 7th when I went. This week was shockingly low crowds...even before the big cold snap. I wonder if there is snow fatigue for some and not just the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 This winter feels much better as a skier, mostly because of last year just seemed to struggle the whole winter. It turned around in March and had a good couple week period of awesomeness, but as far as skiing conditions, this winter is in the same league as 2010-2011 and 07-08 in terms of length of period of "awesomeness" haha. The lack of frequent thaws does make a big difference. From today in the Chapel Woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Heading to Sunapee on Friday and staying the weekend up there. Looking forward to some time off after the last 2 months of work. Planning on a weekend at Stowe March 21-22.... plenty of snow pack... just want to avoid a cutter that weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Heading to Sunapee on Friday and staying the weekend up there. Looking forward to some time off after the last 2 months of work. Planning on a weekend at Stowe March 21-22.... plenty of snow pack... just want to avoid a cutter that weekend! What does the Accuweather 45 day outlook say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 There was a really nice band that set up wsw over Magic last night. It showed. Must have been really dumping 2"/hr type stuff. Once the sun came out around 11 it was a practically beach on snow but with high ratios. And really nothing is better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I'm not going into details but you're right that this week was rough with the brutal cold...and wrong about the season as a whole. You gotta remember we had a really strong start with big November and Thanksgiving snow (couple big upslope and lake effect combo storms too), the early December cut-off that allowed most terrain to open really early in the year from 2-3 feet of caking snow, and then northern Vermont had the best powder skiing conditions in the country during January and February. It has been a consistently good year for skiing up here, and it shows in the visits. I'm not sure why you think the entire season has been bad for business in the New England ski industry?? This week was the first week that struggled due to the cold. I'm just going by the newspapers and television reports where they quote the actual resorts saying they're down. Wachusett and one or two other places were on the record saying they were down substantiallyz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Just doing some reading, VT NH ME all had great starts and are on course for very good seasons. Makes sense, tons of people skied early this year. Season is extending on both sides. Wachusetts numbers are still interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 There was a really nice band that set up wsw over Magic last night. It showed. Must have been really dumping 2"/hr type stuff. tmp_9333-IMG_2015022212538376361286.jpg Once the sun came out around 11 it was a practically beach on snow but with high ratios. tmp_9333-IMG_201502223785-2114454617.jpg And really nothing is better than that. Awesome pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Heading to Sunapee on Friday and staying the weekend up there. Looking forward to some time off after the last 2 months of work. Planning on a weekend at Stowe March 21-22.... plenty of snow pack... just want to avoid a cutter that weekend! if you can call going to Arizona for the superbowl work,lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Just doing some reading, VT NH ME all had great starts and are on course for very good seasons. Makes sense, tons of people skied early this year. Season is extending on both sides. Wachusetts numbers are still interesting. Most resorts are trying to HEDGE against unpredictable WINTER WX ( Stowe and Jay probably have the most "consistent skiing" due to frequent refreshers almost guaranteed thou if it's just localized upslope snow it prob hurts the public's perception of snow conditions) by MAXIMIZING marketing strategies that target Early Season "Pass holder purchases". I would think this should be a HUGE key for many S VT and NH mountains given how variable conditions can be. I would guess PF could attest to the Focus on this. Also I am also interested to see how much focus is on Locking in Real estate revenue early in season as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I would like to say my experience at Crotched Mtn. today was excellent. 4 or 5 new and LITTLE CROWDS. Sunday are usually busy but I can only think that with the week off many NH families have vaca's at the bigger resorts further north. Longest wait in line was 45 seconds, lol. Just a Beauty of a day. Also left ski googles at home, no worries they let me use a pair for free (just return them-no problem) No tanks w those lines . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I was surprised how crowded Killington was on the weekend after Thanksgiving...more corwded than any day this past week I went (I went on weekedays this week). This week was shockingly low crowds...even before the big cold snap. Well Killington did have just about the most terrain opened, thanks to a 2 foot dump and it is probably the busiest mtn that I refuse to go to during the weekend's past December ......say ...1'st. So def not surprised to hear they were jam packed on last weekend in Novie. The weekday crowds are so far and away the best that it makes skiing during the week so much of a better EXPERIENCE and VALUE. Take really any MAJOR mountain as an example and especially K Mart or Stowe, COMPLETELY different experience during the week, I understand not everyone can get week days off , but OMG what a better experience in my opinion that the Jungle that is KMart on a Weekend. Actually dangerous there lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Well Killington did have just about the most terrain opened, thanks to a 2 foot dump and it is probably the busiest mtn that I refuse to go to during the weekend's past December ......say ...1'st. So def not surprised to hear they were jam packed on last weekend in Novie. The weekday crowds are so far and away the best that it makes skiing during the week so much of a better EXPERIENCE and VALUE. Take really any MAJOR mountain as an example and especially K Mart or Stowe, COMPLETELY different experience during the week, I understand not everyone can get week days off , but OMG what a better experience in my opinion that the Jungle that is KMart on a Weekend. Actually dangerous there lol Yeah I know how much better the weekday skiing is for lines...but for vacation week it was really uncrowded. I've skied there many times on vacation week and never have seen it so empty. It seems many other skiers reported this too at other resorts during vacation week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yeah I know how much better the weekday skiing is for lines...but for vacation week it was really uncrowded. I've skied there many times on vacation week and never have seen it so empty. It seems many other skiers reported this too at other resorts during vacation week. I could imagine that people are somewhat over-whelmed by the cold this year and opted for "warmer" vacations, and that others have perhaps heard of the temps for later in the week, and just said the hell with it to the entire week. Due to not wanting to pay for a week of lodging and have a couple days that are too cold to get good use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yeah I know how much better the weekday skiing is for lines...but for vacation week it was really uncrowded. I've skied there many times on vacation week and never have seen it so empty. It seems many other skiers reported this too at other resorts during vacation week. Over the past 5-10 years most Connecticut schools have ditched February vacation entirely. Most only get 1 or 2 days off instead of the whole week. I'm not sure about NJ/NY... But that probably plays a big role in the crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I could imagine that people are somewhat over-whelmed by the cold this year and opted for "warmer" vacations, and that others have perhaps heard of the temps for later in the week, and just said the hell with it to the entire week. Due to not wanting to pay for a week of lodging and have a couple days that are too cold to get good use.My question is, and maybe Pf can ley is know. ... When does the average person book a ski vacation? Do they do it months in advance and then cancel if they don't think the weather is cooperating? ... or do they wait until the last minute to see what it'll be like. From a marketing standpoint, if resorts knew that their holiday week was not looking so hot, personally I'd market the hell out of unbeatable last minute deals to fill the place up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Over the past 5-10 years most Connecticut schools have ditched February vacation entirely. Most only get 1 or 2 days off instead of the whole week. I'm not sure about NJ/NY... But that probably plays a big role in the crowds.we had to move our ski week back a week to the 21st because PEI vacation week.Speaking of PEI, NE side of PEI snow is over houses from drifts. Great videos out. Have fun on your vacation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 My question is, and maybe Pf can ley is know. ... When does the average person book a ski vacation? Do they do it months in advance and then cancel if they don't think the weather is cooperating? ... or do they wait until the last minute to see what it'll be like. From a marketing standpoint, if resorts knew that their holiday week was not looking so hot, personally I'd market the hell out of unbeatable last minute deals to fill the place up. we book third week in March in between Canada vacation schedule every year win or lose, this year it's actually 4, but SR called us a month ago and offered us an upgrade if we moved back a week because they needed room. Really worked out as we like it empty non school vacation week. Its vacation if the skiing sucks, which it rarely does,the beer is always cold and relaxation is what vacations are all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Over the past 5-10 years most Connecticut schools have ditched February vacation entirely. Most only get 1 or 2 days off instead of the whole week. I'm not sure about NJ/NY... But that probably plays a big role in the crowds. There are still a lot of school vacations in the northeast and most lodges have a 5-night minimum up here...paid in full well in advance. I know some schools in Mass canceled their holiday break, but parents came anyway because it's a non-refundable 5-day vacation. Further south relies on day trips, where up here it's more destination skiing. I think the people were here in town, they just picked their days...and ski resorts did a good job of warning people about the cold. Basically from what I saw, folks in area hotels were choosing to do 3 out of 5 days instead of the normal 5 out of 5 days. The couple cold days were spent snowshoeing or relaxing, going to visit BTV, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 The other way of looking at the more recent number is this: "Most" family type skiers are going x trips per year, if they did a few of those in November and December this year those trips aren't coming in February especially given the weather. Think about it, the season is being extended on both sides with all the effective snowmaking. Maybe it's simply that the overall base of skiers isn't growing dramatically (but enough), and we're just seeing the total visits spread out over a few more weeks than 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sankaty Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Our school system is one of the CT districts with just Mon/Tues off. This was a key reason why we punted on skiing over presidents weekend because two out of the four possible days looked brutally cold. If we had the whole week to work with, we definitely would have come up and skied some of the days. As for the season as a whole, it's possibly the best in memory. I've had 11 VT ski days so far, all since mid January. All have featured legitimate powder in places. I might be able to hit 20 days this season, which hasn't happened since college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sankaty Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Seems like we were all at Magic yesterday! It lived up to its name. I had only been there once before several years ago. Man, its reputation for having terrain head and shoulders above the rest of Southern VT is well deserved. A few pics below. We were having too much fun in the fresh powder early in the day to get out the camera, so most of the shots are from the afternoon leftovers, which were still delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 So we skied Stratton yesterday they reported 8" new it was an epic ski day. Natural bumps on the entire mountain, knee deep in the glades, bluebird skies with temps in the 30s. Spring was in the air and a great indication of what's coming in March. Up next, Okemo on the 7th and Stowe the weekend of March 20th with my two kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Seems like we were all at Magic yesterday! It lived up to its name. I had only been there once before several years ago. Man, its reputation for having terrain head and shoulders above the rest of Southern VT is well deserved. A few pics below. We were having too much fun in the fresh powder early in the day to get out the camera, so most of the shots are from the afternoon leftovers, which were still delicious. IMG_3568.jpg IMG_3590.jpg IMG_3595.jpg IMG_3619.jpg Awesome pics, the three Stratton, Bromely, and Magic were all awesome. I was so engaged in skiing and having a blast I didn't even take any pics. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whineminster Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 So we skied Stratton yesterday they reported 8" new it was an epic ski day. Natural bumps on the entire mountain, knee deep in the glades, bluebird skies with temps in the 30s. Spring was in the air and a great indication of what's coming in March. Up next, Okemo on the 7th and Stowe the weekend of March 20th with my two kids. Awesome, I'm thinking of heading up to Stowe this weekend, I'll let you know how it is if I go! Event he bumps at wawa haven't been half bad this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backedgeapproaching Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Awesome pics, the three Stratton, Bromely, and Magic were all awesome. I was so engaged in skiing and having a blast I didn't even take any pics. lol Its a been a really good year ( some slop in DEC). Being so close to those 3, I usually head out during the week. I felt like I have had the whole mountain to myself at times. The benefits from working from home are that your able to sneak out and get some runs in during the week This is my first winter living in NE. (moved from SE PA) I never really ventured past the Poconos for skiing, besides a yearly trip to Sunday River. I'm not a fanatical powder hunter as some on the board seem, but might become that way with the easy access I have now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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