rumour floating around the hill this weekend was that killington's planning to open thanksgiving and close may 1 next season. if that's the case (and these are only rumours), that will be the ultimate slap in the face especially for those of us that have already purchased season passes for next year. hard to imagine that pre asc, the season used to be 7-7 1/2 months and that it could now shrink to 5 months and change. i can handle waiting 5 months for the season to start again, 6 months last year was tough but almost 7 months is sheer madness. if true this would SUCK big time. say it isn't so ... :evil:
killington open/close rumour for next year ...
- Thread starter skiadikt
- Start date
NHpowderhound
New member
Frankontour
New member
NHpowderhound":3o7an6v0 said:
Why don't you wish more ASC to be part of http://www.abiworld.org/ ?
At jan 25, 2005, they were over $600,000,000 of accumulated deficit... but I notice an excellent only $28,000,000 of loss for fiscal 2004, compared to $206,000,000 in 2002 and $82,000,000 in 2003 !
May be the hell will stop to burn them ?!
Anyways, I really don't think the company will ever get some accumulated benefits even though they become profitable some day... unless their creditors forget them, as the interest expense for 2004 was over $87,000,000 !!!!!
NHpowderhound
New member
My NELSAP comment might be mis-interpreted I think. I dont really want to see Killington go belly up. That would be disasterous to the local economy ,result in the loss of may jobs and just generally be really bad for more poeople than just the stockholders. I should have said I'd like to see ASC become part of http://www.nelsap.org/ . I used to love the place before ASC got hold of it and took out the character I remember the mountain having.
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Patrick
Well-known member
Patrick":148wb9h6 said:
NHPH, that was a comment on skiadikt rumour, not on your comment. Personnaly was satisfied with my two experiences at Kmart this year, as long as they keep the
to a minimum (ie. open October to June).I had a negative comment on MSS closing after mentioning that they were going to make to May 20 and maybe into June this year. All this PR is false advertising in my eyes, I don't mind if they go one week at a time, but coming out that throwing a date out like that makes me :x . I guess this could also apply to Stowe after their May 1st coup.
Not that I expect anything different from some marketing departments :roll: , but some people might be disapointed or feel misleed. After a certain time, these annoucement are no longer credible.
Sugarloafer
New member
skiadikt":3acoyx0g said:
Wouldn't suprise me at all, given the financial condition of ASC. Actually, this is roughly the same season length as their other mountains. Pre-ASC we had similarly long seasons at Sugarloaf, but it just doesn't pay for them to open earlier or stay open later. The beancounters must have pushed the numbers at Killington and come to the same conclusion. As much as you may not like it, there aren't a lot of better options in New England I.E a longer season at ASC's pass prices....they kinda gotcha, which as a consumer isn't a comfortable feeling. Frankly, I'll take the lower pass prices and skip the marginal (most of the time) skiing on Halloween.
AlpineZone
New member
I hope Marc doesn't mind this post. We are working to confirm or dispel this rumor with our Killington ski area challenge:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=4360
http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=4360
joegm
New member
i?m sure sugarloafer will take this as a personal attack but it?s not? it?s an attack alright but I would put it up regardless of who made such a posting.
I?ll simply say that there is just about no possible way I could disagree more with such a statement. I think real hard core skiers would gladly pay and extra 200 to 300 to help influence a longer season. I don?t know how else to say it
Being able to buy an asc pass for $379 is joke.
The ?marginal? Skiing at k, in terms of snow surface and terrain and temps , the last 3 novembers has been better than in dec and jan.
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[color=red][size=9][QUOTE]?Frankly, I'll take the lower pass prices and skip the marginal (most of the time) skiing on Halloween.?[/QUOTE][/size][/color]Being able to buy an asc pass for $379 is joke.
The ?marginal? Skiing at k, in terms of snow surface and terrain and temps , the last 3 novembers has been better than in dec and jan.
Sugarloafer
New member
joegm":xap202sd said:
Oh boy ..where do I start with this one ? Consider this a continuation of my response to the nasty PM you sent me.
1) You're willing to pay $200 to $300 more for a longer season, but you won't pay an additional $220 to buy a Gold Pass, so you can ski more days during "prime time" ? No matter how crowded Killington gets during vacation weeks, the skiing's got to be a lot better than it is during the first week of November, if not in snow quality, at least in terms of open terrain. Also, I think your price differential numbers are way low. If I remember right, pre-ASC price cut I was paying about $1,100 or $1,200 for a pass; now I'm paying $599 for a Gold Pass..which is a great deal for the 60 days of skiing that I do. It sounds like you ski at Killington a lot, so your differential may be even higher, if you guys were paying the "New York Premium" for passes before.
2) When I refer to marginal, I'm not necessarily talking about snow quality and coverage. I'm sure Killington has modern snowmaking/grooming capabilities that provide a good surface and they tailor the use of these based on their estimates of crowd levels...supply and demand ! Therefore, a marginal day of skiing to me is when a significant amount of terrain is closed and you're restricted to skiing on only a few trails. At Sugarloaf, which usually opens in mid-November this means skiing on about 5 trails. I'm sure its the same at Killington. To me this about a half a day of skiing which is why they charge less for day tickets until they get most of the mountain open. Most people get pretty bored skiing on the same 5 trails from 8:30am to 3:45pm, but I guess you consider these folks "hardcore". Early in the season, I'd rather ski a half a day, then go mountain biking or hiking in the afternoon, but then again I'm not as hardcore as you.
I think you're an idiot, but don't take it as a personal attack !
Geoff
New member
The Killington pass used to be offered at a pre-Columbus Day discount price where you would break even after 21 days of skiing at the weekend/holiday day ticket price. Today, that price is ~$70.00 per day so Preston Smith would have charged somewhere between $1400 and $1500. That pass also let you ride the lift in the summer.
For those of us who ski every weekend, the pass price is noise compared to all the other expenses. Transportation has always been my biggest expense. Historically, my bar tab was usually a close second. I'd rather see pass prices put back at their old price point to thin out the crowds.
For those of us who ski every weekend, the pass price is noise compared to all the other expenses. Transportation has always been my biggest expense. Historically, my bar tab was usually a close second. I'd rather see pass prices put back at their old price point to thin out the crowds.
riverc0il
New member
marginal in this sense my be relative i think. just as Admin may consinder a lack of powder at Alta in a week marginal, can you consider a ski area marginal in this sense when they are the only game in town? i did kmart early season for the first time this year (for free twice on warren miller passes and paid once) and was very happy with my experiences. worth the price of admission? not quite but i was satisfied getting three days but only paying for two. but that early in the season, i am only warming up the legs and quit after five hours any ways, i don't need variety of terrain and a lot of trails. i rate kmart's early season coverage and quantity of terrain very high this season and i am normally one of the first skiers lining up to knock kmart and ASC in general.
AlpineZone
New member
Thanks Marc - here are the responses:Admin":24xjhjgx said:AlpineZone":24xjhjgx said:
Not at all, Greg. We've worked together over the years and nothing has changed. I just regret that I haven't had much time to participate at your site since moving here.
http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/c ... killington
Sugarloafer
New member
riverc0il":3pcitxhq said:
You're right ..marginal is a relative term. In my mind its a combination of conditions (snow coverage and open terrain) that don't allow the mountain to charge full price for day skiers. For most Eastern resorts that generally mid-November to right before Christmas week. I think that most Eastern skiers would agree that the skiing in February is usually a lot better than it is the first week of November. Sounds like early season Killington is the same as Sugarloaf. I'm also not a big ASC fan, but they do offer a quality early season product and their Season Pass pricing is very competitve.
Now if you were a real hardcore guy, you're legs would be ready to go on November 1st ...now get in that gym !!! :wink:
riverc0il
New member
you got me there. i'll be doing a lot more hiking this year due to location so hopefully that will help. though the fine tuned muscles used to turn a ski are hard to keep conditioned during the off season regardless of physical exercise i have found. you only limit how much muscle memory lose that is lost over the summer.