Ride Delaware ?

Thanks for all the good work you and the crew do over there at nyskiblog Harvey. You put together a great product. I appreciate you checking in every once in awhile. If I ever need more backup on Plattekill, I’ll tag you into the ring [emoji6]

Belleayre is a fun little place. It gets more crap than it should, especially since the snow is decent and there are less crowds. However, let’s be real. Drive the extra 30 minutes to Plattekill. Better snow than the other Catskill resorts, cheaper lift tickets, and they have some $25 days if you’re one of the first 50 (?) to purchase a ticket. It’s a true gem.

Are you going to AZ as a standalone trip, or work related with a fun side trip? I would say that the Belleayre numbers over the past 3 years before Covid are pretty telling. I think a 12k increase annually is probably a good number. I bet they are happy with that. Belleayre had many factors that worked against it for many years. It wasn’t properly advertised when the DEC managed it prior to 2017. They run parks and state forests, not ski areas. They had sub par snowmaking, two outdated lodges, several old lifts, and a very odd mountain layout. The DEC had many year round employees with benefits that put a drag on the bottom line. They had trouble getting money from the state since it came out of the general budget. They had very little income because they gave out BOGO’s and $25 lift tickets like they were going out of style. Now they are managed by ODRA, who knows how to run and advertise a ski area. They have updated both lodges, added the gondola, and reworked some trails. They’ve also started slowly increasing and modernizing the snowmaking. I think they are on a good path, and with the proximity to NYC, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start getting closer in skier visits to the other two. They could even surpass it if the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park is ever built.

I’m guessing it’s a family place near Mt. Pocono? There’s not really a reason to go southwest to the Pokes when you can get to VT, NH, ME, and parts of NY in the same amount of time...

For crowds to be dispersed, the gondola may be necessary, but without the gondola, I think you just have to ski it like before. Rely on the Superchief, Lift 7, and Tomahawk. It’s annoying having to transfer multiple lifts and not be completely high speed, but it is workable. I haven’t been since they installed it, so it could ski differently than before. Have crowds increased since ORDA took over and offered a 3 pass? I haven’t kept up on NY Ski Blog. He usually posts those numbers at the end of the year. Here’s those numbers. Last years haven’t been posted yet. https://nyskiblog.com/orda-skier-visits/ Also, here comes the obligatory annual late August question. Are the leaves changing yet?

I just read the official Vermont quarantine page, and it looks like I may be exempt if I am going there to work and/or work in the medical field. I’ll have to follow up with the PD as we get closer.

I had a buddy who worked at a Lowes and used the upright saw they use to cut things to size for customers after hours. It looked pretty good, but I never followed up with the finished project.

I’m sure it’s not followed by most people, but you are correct on both counts. You’re supposed to quarantine if you are from out of state, or coming back to VT from another state. It’s not realistic, but I believe that’s the rule in place.

I thought about it once, but never got motivated enough. Good for you. I’m looking forward to hearing/seeing the progress.

For those of you looking to go out west and perhaps have an ikon pass, Southwest just added flights into Hayden by Steamboat. Some round trips out of BWI are only $300, so I’m sure Philly is pretty similar. I’m not sure what my season will look like. Right now there is still a quarantine in VT, and we have been told that patrollers will have to abide by that rule if it is still in place, and social distancing and masks will be required in top shacks. That means many of the mid-mountain shacks that are just passover spots right now will likely hold patrollers and there will be some type of cycle to the top. If the quarantine remains, most mountains in VT will be stretched for patrollers since the majority are weekend warriors coming from Boston or NYC. I may need to get an Airbnb for the season in a state not requiring quarantine.

Saddleback is reopening, so that’s cool too. If everything stays like it is now, and there is some semblance of a ski season, I’ll do my best to make it there in case they shut down. Although, they are installing a HSQ, so hopefully it last a couple of years. If they can rebuild trust and make some key upgrades (hsq), then I think they can build some skier visits and make a go at it.

If I won the lottery, I would buy Elk. I’m a huge fan. No better way to waste millions of dollars than to buy a ski area...

It’s another milestone day working towards Skison 20/21. Summer Solstice. Days get shorter from here...

This sounds like a huge stretch to me. Elk is far removed from easy road access and has no amenities. They would need to build a wastewater and water facility, and there’s also not an easily accessible outfall location. They would need to upgrade the roads among many other things. Unless the family is buying it as a trophy, I just don’t see how this becomes a profitable venture on the scale they are used to.

Saddleback is officially coming back for Skison 20/21. Sounds like the for-profit community fund that bought it has a pretty solid plan. I’ll try to get there this year, but unlike some others I’ve worried about closing before I could get there, I don’t think that will be an issue at Saddleback. Plus, even if they go under, I think it’s more likely to get picked up now that they are adding a HSQ.

My business hasn’t changed much. As a property manager, things aren’t always dynamic. Usually, once the leases are in place, thats usually the deal for 3-5 years and there aren’t any gray areas or loopholes. We had one tenant request some financial assistance and another ask for a delay in rent while the PPP loan was processed, but otherwise, it’s business as normal. We are building a new multi-unit building and that had some delays due to financing and construction meetings being delayed due to social distancing/state of emergency mandates. However, the new foundation was poured this past week, so things seem to be moving forward. I don’t expect many delays or changes as those rules continue to loosen. On the overall tourism side of things, things are starting to pick up in terms of visitors. Towns like Rehoboth and Bethany have parking blocked off for additional restaurant seating and to limit the crowds. However, it just creates traffic issues since the same amount of people just keep circling to find parking and cars are effectively never removed from the roadway. Restaurants are still weird because capacity is at 30% by reservation only, tables have to be 8 feet apart, and no bar seating. They go to 60% on June 15, but they still have the social distancing mandate, which effectively still limits them to 30%. I hope they can make a go of it with limited seating and increased carry out.

I got back from Colorado on the 4th, had to put 3 weeks in at the office (new project coordination etc), then I had a time sensitive issue with the project, and I just wasn’t able to get away. I was supposed to leave the around the 15th for 3 weeks, and then they all started dropping like flies.

It’s crazy that we are still talking (and some people enjoying) about Skison 19/20. I figured when things shut down mid March that it would basically be the end until October 2020. My season has been over since Feb 4, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there ASAP. I’d really like to get up to QC since I doubt I’ll fly, but if there are some ridiculously good deals, I might.

My parents planted theirs the day before the last surprise frost of the season. However, it got down in the mid 30s last night with wind. They lost most of the pre-planted plants. The plants growing from seed were fine. It’s unreal how abnormally cold it is around here for this time of the year. My blueberries seemed to escape the worst of it...

Delaware extended our SoE until June 1. It’s going to be such a buzzkill for businesses around Memorial Day. Restaurants are barely hanging on, and those who didn’t get PPP loans are really struggling. Word on the street is that when Phase 1 starts on June 1, restaurants will be allowed 20% fire marshal capacity including employees and no bar seating. I know a restauranteur with a capacity of 240 and a minimum amount of employees of 15 to run the restaurant. 33 guests will barely make a dent in breaking even, and I can only imagine the lines and wait lists...

It’s not on purpose. Sometimes I forget to look when I have free time during the day. Oftentimes I just forget and then I am reminded when I’m bored right before bed. I used to post more at work when it was slow, but we’ve been busy for the past two years, so I don’t even think to look at work. I finally got 11 of my 15 blueberry bushes weeded, mulched, and fertilized. The other 4 are weeded and fertilized, but I ran out of pine bark mulch. I was one bag away. I’ll have to grab one on Monday and finish it up. It’s been 2 years since I’ve done anything more than the occasional weeding/weed spray. Most of the mulch was gone. I’ve noticed a decline in production. Hopefully this is the beginning of getting back on track.

That is pretty awesome, but I wouldn’t want to run into them walking home from a day of skiing. I agree with Doug. Exercise your second amendment right, and pack some heat.

My friends live out in Aurora and they got a dusting today with a high of 25. I believe they spent most of the day in the hot tub drinking mimosas. Quarantine lyfe!!!

Finished up our house mulching today. Had to spray weeds earlier this week. Only took about two hours. We only put down a very light coat every year so that it rots/biodegrades away. We’ve hardly ever had issues with the bed being too high. I skipped one year and I had to use twice as much to get the same coverage. Maybe if the weather allows sometime this week, I’ll get my blueberry bushes weeded, fertilized, and mulched.

Oh man, that’s a throwback. He’s been out of the solar panel business for 7-8 years now...