research on skiing

sven

sven

New member
hey guys,

I'm finishing up school here and going to spend the next 4-5 months working on a thesis, so i figured the best way to make it enjoyable would be to write it on the ski industry (im in a business/economics program)... I've got no damned idea what to look into though, but figured I've seen people throwing up all kinds of numbers on here in the past, so perhaps someone is more on top of the game than I am... You guys have any suggestions?

You should see the kind of crap I've been having to ski here in sweden... one of the "hills", in all its glorious 200m, was the best in this area - if you could handle the smell of cow sh*t coming from the surrounding fields... Those pictures of tucks from last weekend look insane! Did anyone get a picture of glen plake's cliff drop?

Sven
 
riverc0il":jnq7qdto said:
read the book downhill slide. that will give you plenty of ideas for a launching point.
Click to expand...

That was also the book I was going to recommend. The bibliography in the book is also impressive. Check out at http://www.skimuseum.org, there is a annoted bibliography of books/articles on skiing on sale, unfortunately I never read it.
 
There are many in the know who take issue with many of Clifford's points raised in that book.
 
Admin":2amj6eo6 said:
There are many in the know who take issue with many of Clifford's points raised in that book.
Click to expand...
either way you're gonna argue the case, it certainly raises interesting questions and arguements...

regardless, i did find a few points i wasn't inclined to blindly believe but for the most part felt the book made a strong case against certain trends some skiers are not fond of.
 
Thanks for the tips... I just ordered a copy of that book earlier today... It sounds like it might be a case of preaching to the choir regarding having a distaste for the corporate ski world (I cant stand the looney tunes villages that intrawest builds everywhere *cough* tremblant and its disappointing to see what Killington has become, shortening their season and catering to a clientele that wants a sushi bar in the base lodge) as a preliminary idea i was thinking of doing something like a taxonomical paper categorizing different types of ski areas and evaluating their performance (i.e. have the mad river glen/silverton/perhaps alta type ski areas in one category, compared to vail/whistler/etc and then also european areas, chamonix, st. moritz, etc) then theres also the problem with that idea being difficult to get enough information for, im sure especially in the case of companies like ASC/Intrawest who will likely churn me through 80 different offices - not to mention that the idea is kind of open ended and not really focused. I guess the nature of the ski industry is to be a giant mess though, so maybe I'll have to live with that... Anyway, I'll make sure to read that book as soon as it arrives... cheers

Sven
 
I have to agree enthusiastically on one point:

Sushi bars at ski areas are lame.

Anyone who eats at a sushi bar at a ski area is lame.

Seriously, I really like sushi, but if you can sit and eat something as dainty as sushi after a day of skiing, you shouldn't call what you did skiing.
 
The phoney resort villages and corporate ski areas are what?s wrong with skiing today. I don?t want to go on a rant against the changing face of skiing but the industry has lost its way. The primary issue and focus point should be the skiing/riding and not the golf courses, restaurants, pools, conference centres etc. All of this only serves to drive up the lift ticket prices as a way to pay off the massive development. The die-hard skiers who are out there week after week all winter long are the ones that loose out. The casual skier looking for a Disney type area is the winner. Unfortunately the industry is now focused on this market leaving us remnants of the duct tape crowd behind. It's great that there are still area owners out there willing to go against the trend and stay focused on the sport.
 
I would point out that Whistler has done an excellent job of retaining its appeal to "core skiers" while providing the attractions for the big spending affluent vacationers as well.

1) Closing date EXTENDED to early June while the bean counters at ASC cut back at Killington.

2) High speed lifts all over the place while also opening the hike-to terrain in Flute Bowl.

3) Keep youth and vitality in your resort with the large contingent of local pro freeskiers, plus events like the just concluded World Ski and Snowboard Festival.

4) Our own experience this March was a combination of these experiences. It was nice to relax in the luxury of the Chateau Whistler after being pressed to our limits by the Extremely Canadian clinics.

Many owners/corporations have drawn the wrong conclusion from Whistler's success to just clone its village at every ski area possible. The correct lesson should be: Develop if you must, but don't change the essential and unique character of the mountain.
 
the bottom line is this: meeting the needs of the market. of course the
larger "resort" area's strive to meet the needs of a larger market than
those mtns with more of a focus. it's just not common sense to focus on
only one niche or target market when there's so many different markets
out there(with $$$). with skiing/snowboarding becoming more and more
popular and easier access to get on the hills(cheap passes), more and
more of a diverse basket of needs must be met. there are trends in the
industry that mtns must live up to as well, such as terrain parks. big sky
finally has put an effort into making a decent park, and i believe alta has
a terrain park as well. about 250 mtns around the U.S. now have terrain
parks out of the 300+ ski area's in the U.S. snowboarders and jumpers
had been frowned upon in years past, but now they make jumps and
features for these skiers and riders and put these parks under high
volume lifts. go figure. and how come nobody throw's down daffy's or
spread eagles anymore? :lol:

development, real estate, effect on environment, different markets,
needs, services, demand, global warming, etc etc

lots of stuff to research. good luck!
 
hamdog":2zs4pk12 said:
and i believe alta has a terrain park as well
Click to expand...

Alta is a terrain park. :lol: Seriously, I think that they've spent more time digging it out than anything else. And I swear to God, I've never seen anyone in it, although Marc_C assures me that a visitor or two has asked him about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top