Here ya go, Joe
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As we speak, Joe is driving up to Warren to collect his consultancy fee.
icelanticskier
New member
maybe wayne wong will show up to bring the beat back! learn to ski right from WONG! :-k
rog
rog
joegm joegm joegm joegm joegm Yes, and there's also MRG next door. If Joe stays at Loon after this announcement we'll know he's a masochist.
joegm
New member
WOW, my own thread and everything… it’s nice to be loved huh? 
Been out to the loop due to work stuff… that’s in the rear view mirror now… just in time for the spin too…now I can get back to torturing river and the icelanticskier every now and then..
The kid who runs mogulskiing.net is the one who is setting up this whole thing at sugarbush…I’m not gonna give him up too much, but lets just say he has a high level in over there. Many more details on this are on the mogulskiing.net web site.
He obviously will have to have very high level connections in order to get anything like this off the water at all… and frankly, he can have all the support he wants but if the weather does not cooperate, nothing of substance will play out over the course of the season…
He has a lot a people fired up on the site… I am more of a realist on this to be honest…I have some optimism but honestly have no real expectations….after years and years of hearing all the phony excuses from various places and managers, ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) my attitude is simply wait and see
As far as Tony C , tony I keep telling you, leaving loon is not going to happen….Unless of course you want to pay me a lot of money for a piece of property :dead horse:
I’m gonna ski loon 50% of the time regardless because of the property and road trip the other 50%....the kick in the nuts for our crew is that the sugarbush and MRG valley are probably, outside of the outpost sugarloaf and the “what possible reason would I ski there “ hill at Stratton, the worst ride from our place in all of new england…we can get to jay and stowe quicker and easier….that does not mean we won't be going to the MRG valley , trust me we will…but the ride frankly , is a real pain in the ass
We’ll see what happens.. I wish the kid good luck and am giving him all the support I can…But again, let’s see how it plays out before going nuts about it…
On another note, the crew will be at the mighty K :| on wed and thurs this week, assuming they are spinning…looks to be way too warm to blow during the day and the magic 50 degree mark should mean limited grooming and a bumped up rime off the north ridge triple.. could be an epic 2 days for sure
Been out to the loop due to work stuff… that’s in the rear view mirror now… just in time for the spin too…now I can get back to torturing river and the icelanticskier every now and then..
The kid who runs mogulskiing.net is the one who is setting up this whole thing at sugarbush…I’m not gonna give him up too much, but lets just say he has a high level in over there. Many more details on this are on the mogulskiing.net web site.
He obviously will have to have very high level connections in order to get anything like this off the water at all… and frankly, he can have all the support he wants but if the weather does not cooperate, nothing of substance will play out over the course of the season…
He has a lot a people fired up on the site… I am more of a realist on this to be honest…I have some optimism but honestly have no real expectations….after years and years of hearing all the phony excuses from various places and managers, ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) my attitude is simply wait and see
As far as Tony C , tony I keep telling you, leaving loon is not going to happen….Unless of course you want to pay me a lot of money for a piece of property :dead horse:
I’m gonna ski loon 50% of the time regardless because of the property and road trip the other 50%....the kick in the nuts for our crew is that the sugarbush and MRG valley are probably, outside of the outpost sugarloaf and the “what possible reason would I ski there “ hill at Stratton, the worst ride from our place in all of new england…we can get to jay and stowe quicker and easier….that does not mean we won't be going to the MRG valley , trust me we will…but the ride frankly , is a real pain in the ass
We’ll see what happens.. I wish the kid good luck and am giving him all the support I can…But again, let’s see how it plays out before going nuts about it…
On another note, the crew will be at the mighty K :| on wed and thurs this week, assuming they are spinning…looks to be way too warm to blow during the day and the magic 50 degree mark should mean limited grooming and a bumped up rime off the north ridge triple.. could be an epic 2 days for sure
riverc0il
New member
:shock:
joegm has full usage of paragraphs and grammar AND I understood his post completely. Say it ain't.... no, scratch that. =D>
:lol: Just kidding with ya Joe. We may agree to disagree on some stuff but you inflict on torture on me.
Given Sugarbush's approach with their management team, they seem to do things differently because the ownership wants to take the resort in a certain direction. So I would be a bit more optimistic on this project. You'll have to give us reports this season even if you only go a few times. They definitely need your support as a bumper and I am sure a word of thanks at the office would go a long way in supporting the program. Much as you may not be willing to believe it, I am a huge supporter of such programs. Anything that encourages non-groomed skiing is excellent and having a focus on learning bumps on lower pitch terrain is huge. Wish this type of program was around when I was jumping into bumps for the first time at Wildcat just over a half dozen years ago.
Have you considered just staying at an inn and doing a ski and stay package in the MRV instead of commuting from your place at Loon? From my home in Ashland, it is just under two hours drive which would put it at 2.5 or so from Lincoln which isn't the worst drive in the world but given that is a longer drive than Boston to Loon when you already drove up, you might as well head there straight from the Hub and spend the night in the valley.
joegm has full usage of paragraphs and grammar AND I understood his post completely. Say it ain't.... no, scratch that. =D>
:lol: Just kidding with ya Joe. We may agree to disagree on some stuff but you inflict on torture on me.
Given Sugarbush's approach with their management team, they seem to do things differently because the ownership wants to take the resort in a certain direction. So I would be a bit more optimistic on this project. You'll have to give us reports this season even if you only go a few times. They definitely need your support as a bumper and I am sure a word of thanks at the office would go a long way in supporting the program. Much as you may not be willing to believe it, I am a huge supporter of such programs. Anything that encourages non-groomed skiing is excellent and having a focus on learning bumps on lower pitch terrain is huge. Wish this type of program was around when I was jumping into bumps for the first time at Wildcat just over a half dozen years ago.
Have you considered just staying at an inn and doing a ski and stay package in the MRV instead of commuting from your place at Loon? From my home in Ashland, it is just under two hours drive which would put it at 2.5 or so from Lincoln which isn't the worst drive in the world but given that is a longer drive than Boston to Loon when you already drove up, you might as well head there straight from the Hub and spend the night in the valley.
riverc0il":23mgzqc0 said:
I'm assuming Joe has been kidnapped by space aliens.
riverc0il":23mgzqc0 said:
From my experience...once you spent some cash on real estate...you really want to get your money's worth. And yeah sometimes Whiteface has better snow than Gore, but the 10 minute drive vs 1:15 makes all the difference.
This why most people shouldn't do it if they want to maximize ski quality, especially in the East.
Tony Crocker":15ei09we said:
Tony - this generalization just doesn't apply to everyone.
I did the math last season. We spend a bit under $6000 for lift tickets (3 full passes), gas, mortgage, utilities and property tax. That includes the cost of 30+ ski days and a week long vacation in September and a few long weekends in late summer.
One thing I get for that money is the FLEXIBILITY to go when it snows. If I save my 6 grand and do two one-week vacations with the family....assuming they are both ski vacations - I get maybe 12 days of skiing...and I hope those days are good. Can I call up Stowe 2 days before a nor'easter and get decent accommodations? I have no idea. Even if I do, I can probably only afford a couple weeks.
With my current set up, I can ski Gore or Whiteface anytime I can get away from work. Anytime it's worth skiing. I can afford it. And I have some equity to show for it.
I guess it's the issue of "most people" I disagree with. While I consider us to be of fairly modest means... I think the US median household income is around $49,000.
joegm
New member
i have to say, if harvey's posted numbers are correct, he is doing something right...i'd say he made a really good choice and it's obviously paying a lot of dividends for his family.. nice call for sure...i'll work on my numbers and put em up against his and say 2 trips out west ...
Midweek, I suspect yes, and I'd guess in say, Waterbury it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.
Flexibility to me is a function of one's job and family obligations. Some people have it and some don't. Most of us here on FTO would take a tradeoff of more flexibility for somewhat lower pay. Whether you own a vacation property is an entirely independent question as far as I can see.
The difference between Whiteface and Stowe in terms of snowfall/conditions is quite significant. I don't have stats for Gore but I'd be surprised if it gets more snow than Whiteface. I certainly believe Gore is better protected and thus has fewer days of the really horrible conditions than Whiteface.
Harvey gets much more regular use of his vacation property than most I suspect. For those with families or other large groups I can appreciate the convenience factor, leaving ski gear up there, easier logistics with kids etc. I had a share of a beach vacation condo for 2 years. It appreciated nearly 40% in that time. After expenses, taxes etc. it netted to break even, so we basically had free use for the 2 years. This tells me that you have to be very lucky to make money on a vacation home as an investment. Don't buy it unless you're going to get a lot of use out of it like Harvey does.
Family vacation costs get pushed up a lot once you're buying air tickets. That's why I remind people that if you live out here and have a week family vacation you can drive to a wide selection of top ski resorts.
Tony Crocker":32cklyjd said:
I'm not in the position of forgoing income for flexibility. There is absolutely no fat in our budget, unless you consider skiing or saving for retirement fat. I don't.
I guess my situation may be unusual.
For one thing take a look at my "house."
It's extremely basic. Not only is the mortgage less than $250 a month but the taxes are extremely low because it's considered a seasonal residence. We run MINIMAL heat (heat tape) when we aren't up there and that keeps cost way down. It can be cold as a basoonuvabitch when we get there.
Second my wife works three days a week - Tues, Weds, Thurs - and doesn't get a ton of vacation. So we tend to do a lot of long weekends. Midweek trips are one or 2x a year.
Third - when trips are short/weekend trips - the difference between 4.75 hours to Gore and 7 hours to Stowe is HUGE.
Fourth - Tony is right. Leaving gear up there is a big thing. With skis up at the cabin already I can leave the roof box at home and save a few bucks (5mpg). If I'm going solo and the weather looks ok, I can use the wife's Civic at 40+ mpg. Also with a 2 year old there is a ton of stuff. We have 2 sets and leave it up there.
FYI I wasn't comparing Whiteface to Stowe really. Not sure if it was read that way. I only mentioned WF because a Gore pass is good at Whiteface. (For some reason the reverse isn't true.) Also FYI Whiteface has a higher official avg snowfall, but I think the difference is minimal. It is colder at the face, and usually when they've got more it due to colder temps.
With regard to making money on my "investment"...no way...because I'll never sell. If you count "what it's worth" as making money...our five acres....even at today's depressed prices should be worth about 10x what we paid for it 10 years ago without the buildings/improvements.
Very similar to the drive times from L.A. to Mammoth vs. Tahoe. So Mammoth I'll do weekends, but usually 4 days to Tahoe. 12-15 hours to the Rockies works for a week or more.
Reading between the lines I presume Harvey got his place dirt cheap. If your timing is good and you know you'll use it a lot go for it. At the bottom of the SoCal recession mid-1990's a lot of 1970's vintage Mammoth condos sold cheap. Most of these were withdrawn from the rental market because the new owners didn't need income from them and just used them personally.