I just spoke to a colleague based in Luxembourg and he said that he and many of his friends plan to ski in the US - West this season because of the weak dollar vs. the Euro. I guess that this is were the premier western resorts will benefit from the poor US economy and Bush record deficits. Interwest may not be a bad defensive investment :?:
The European Invasion
- Thread starter Lifty@50
- Start date
icelanticskier
New member
keep em headin west, go west, go west, go west, more for us in the east, east, east. :mrgreen:
rog
rog
Utah and Vermont have approximately the same number of annual skier visits. In terms of density and traffic, I think Utah can manage it.
rfarren
New member
Tony Crocker":1rcgwn8r said:
I think it depends on what resort takes the brunt of the traffic. My experience dictates that the park city resorts have a higher density of skiers. I don't think I would like Alta as much if I had to wait in a 20 minute line every time I got to a lift.
That was the norm on the weekends well into the 1990's. Not to mention the 45 minute lines of Christmas week 1986-87. Thankfully those days are ancient history now with Collins and Sugarloaf being high speed.
q
Member
Sorry guys, I cant see an invasion. More yes, an invasion no.
Flight tickets have risen steadily over the last few year from the UK and even this year not a huge % increase.
However, last year was THE year for anyone to ski in the USA but most people here missed it. $2+ to the pound in March and now lucky to see $1.85 which makes a huge difference. For most people a trip to North America is too far and too expensive.
I knew I should have bought my cheap pass for the Colorado resorts in April
Flight tickets have risen steadily over the last few year from the UK and even this year not a huge % increase.
However, last year was THE year for anyone to ski in the USA but most people here missed it. $2+ to the pound in March and now lucky to see $1.85 which makes a huge difference. For most people a trip to North America is too far and too expensive.
I knew I should have bought my cheap pass for the Colorado resorts in April
icelanticskier
New member
Tony Crocker":qc8ws64d said:
vermont? i'm not talkin bout vermont as i consider vermont to be out west. let em go to vermont as vermont is over-run by too many already especially on pow days. nh and maine may get less snow but, the snow they get lasts longer on pow days.
rog
Geoff
New member
icelanticskier":1q8o1hzg said:
Hang on a second... I've skied Loon on a Saturday. Loon invented over-run.
I really noticed a big spike in European visits at Killington last winter. It served to prop up a number of the access road businesses in the face of a 25% decline in skier visits with the pricing and lack of marketing by the new owners. I know people who have run ski shops in high end resorts like Aspen who tell stories of people walking in and buying the absolute top of the line of everything... from skis, boots, & poles to Bogner outfits and the most expensive inner layers. That was happening at Killington. If you're paying in Euros, the US is half price for ski gear. The food & beverage people complained about the invasion because all the Europeans are terrible tippers. I have some British friends who have been living in the US for 30+ years who started getting charged a 15% service charge at Access Road restaurants.
Geoff
New member
q":sh6c0x1e said:Sorry guys, I cant see an invasion. More yes, an invasion no.
Flight tickets have risen steadily over the last few year from the UK and even this year not a huge % increase.
However, last year was THE year for anyone to ski in the USA but most people here missed it. $2+ to the pound in March and now lucky to see $1.85 which makes a huge difference. For most people a trip to North America is too far and too expensive.
I knew I should have bought my cheap pass for the Colorado resorts in April
The exchange rate for the British Pound is $1.91. If you're spending dollars in the UK, everything is pretty much twice as expensive as in the US.
Airline tickets are steeply discounted in the winter. Business class seats have gone up dramatically but airlines do yield management to put people in the seats in the economy section of the airplane.
icelanticskier
New member
Geoff":29yajvaj said:
i'm definitely not referring to saturdays or weekends for that matter as i don't ski weekends or loon for that matter. i do know how loon is and they practically get less snow than newmarket. :lol: i was referring more to mid-week northern half of vermont skiing and i should have been more clear on that.
rog