Vail to Purchase Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton

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Wow. Just wow.

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2012/1 ... ski-areas/

I sure didn't see that one coming. At first thought it didn't seem to fit VR's acquisition model. But then I thought about it further: you're running two breeder hills that will naturally feed skiers to your destination properties when they're ready for the big time. It does fit VR's season pass sales model and their vertical integration philosophy in which they own everything from skiing and lodging to resort restaurants, rental and retail, the ground transportation company to get you from the airport to the resort, even two snow sports media outlets (OnTheSnow and Skiinfo.uk) to convince you that you want to visit a VR property.

Like I said, wow. Just wow.
 
Totally caught me off guard as well. It even makes sense to do this in the midwest first... Close enough to fly in to Colo more frequently or even just for a long weekend on occasion, etc... And at the prices they can pick these resorts up at it's probably pretty accretive pretty quickly.

Still have to wonder a bit though about the liquid events that Vail is not so used to (excepting the occasional Tahoe issue that is usually followed by feet of snow). I suppose no one will complain that Vail is now owner with a gagillion $ and should be blowing snow at 32 degrees or that snowmaking should be so good as to refresh the entire resort literally overnight after a freeze event or? ? ? We'll see.
 
jamesdeluxe":1nbvz262 said:
Admin, you've skied Afton, right?
Click to expand...

Yup:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2000/1 ... in-cities/
Excuse the horrific writing, it was 12 years ago, as well as the f'd up formatting -- I need to get in there and fix that at some point, but it's hardly a priority.

jamesdeluxe":1nbvz262 said:
Anything of interest about it?
Click to expand...

~300 vertical feet and spread out across a half mile length of river bluff. Short and wide. Lots of yo-yo lifts. It took all night to go from one end to the other and back.
 
This is very interesting to me. I live an hour from Brighton and visit Summit County every other year or so as i have family in Denver. I will be curious how the season pass will be structured. In years when i know I'm going west for a week a season pass could be a good deal. And otherwise i would never buy a pass to a place like Brighton. So i can see this could be a very smart business move.
 
Going forward should be a good thing especially for those that live in the area and make the annual pilgrimage out west. Some improvements are already noticeable for the customers, taking Amex, discounts, future association w/ epic system and most if not all it's benefits, etc.

Being one of the 'biggest' in the area and so close to both metros, place is always packed on weekends, holidays, and when school is out. It will be nice once capital improvements start taking shape as announced.

I just wish all the hills around town would create more cohesive/inclusive type of pass package where one could visit other hills w/o going to just one for season pass holders, especially when the passes at each spot usually run $350-450 range depending on time it is bought.

Will be interesting come next season see what people think.
 
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