eaf

I rode with a BMR coach today. Asked him about how is it possible that the training is in progress despite governors orders, etc. He said that he doesn't know how they pulled it off. The kids aren't traveling this year, are just happy to be on the snow, etc, etc. In other words: "just leave them alone".

Well, I played "Get me if you can" game for some time. That's the best one they've released this season.

What this reminds ME is how PS5 were sold around Xmas time. BestBuy would announce that at 3pm today they'd have some limited stock added, and then at 3pm the site would just die. You could add PS5 to your cart, but by the time you get to checkout, it would be gone from it. And then they'd replace the "Add to cart" button with a "Please wait" one, and add a separate popup saying that soon this "Please wait" may change back to "Add to cart" and then good luck to you. Meanwhile it would sell at craigslist for 2x retail. Good idea, btw.

They need to add some arcade there. I'd play Salty while he's waiting. Pinball?

But really, I'm at a loss here. I don't remember their site being particularly slow to justify this, and 30 minute wait just makes no sense because they don't even know yet the date that I'm interested in. What if I'm really looking for something in Feb? Why make me wait??

What does it have to do with a supply and demand? I can't even enter the site w/o a wait to check what they've got. It may be a DDOS protection, but if not, what do they think they are? A Ticketmaster?

Whoa, what's this? Getting tickets or even checking availability is now like getting groceries in April.

Is this new Salty's car?

Someone was wondering if redeeming buddy passes is subject to availability... It is. E.g. right now I couldn't redeem my pass for the weekend because they're sold out. Worked for one of the following days.

On the road (lots of debris after the storm), and no, I just let Apple watch do the measurements. Had a bike stolen this spring, with it went a bike computer too. While I was looking for a replacement, gave my watch a try and since then just use it exclusively.

LOL, I actually biked today. Was cleaning driveway of spilled generator oil and figured it was too warm not to bike.

Think, McFly, think!

No, but I'm super disappointed still. I actually almost thought that all that rain would be snow in Catskills! And wow, you're right! Another rain on the New Year's eve. 😬

Maaaan, this webcam was all white a week ago!

Did it rain at all?? Not a drop in NJ, and it seemed like it was more of a drizzle than rain at Blue? WTH?

I’m really concerned for Blue at this point. They’ll clearly be losing money tomorrow if they stay open. And that’s bad even in a capitalist world.

Who's happy here to still be able to breathe?

I thank Universe for Salty's existence. He adds flavor to this forum's blue sugar syrup.

And like in Europe they still stand with a handgun and scan everybody's hanging ticket before allowing to board? That must be why it's cheap there. You talk like you own one of these resorts: how to squeeze more money out of customers. I'm saying that I dislike the model where I'm literally forced to go down the pass route, have to do pass shopping way ahead of trip time, have to shrug at buddy passes that they add to sweeten the deal, but which are completely useless for me if I go on a solo trip, and also have to plan a number of such trips to justify the price. All these bundled lodging discounts, food vouchers, even airline credits, ugh! It's like dealing with a mafia that owns everything. All instead of just boarding the plane, going somewhere and then buying tickets for the day when I want to ski and where I want to ski that day. Why is it possible in Europe, and so complicated here? Even for local skiing it's a nightmare. There are Pocono Cards that can only be acquired through ski clubs. There are ORDA cards that make totally no sense. They give 25% and 50% savings and cover first day of skiing if you buy them in advance. So why make everybody jump through the hoops to buys these cards instead of just lowering base prices? Oh, yeah, business model. Well, I hate it.

I'm not even talking about 2020, I'm talking about ski industry and the proliferation of passes in general. Why is it completely not affordable to ski ad hoc, and why do I need to start committing to various combinations of "2 days there, 3 days here" in spring of the previous season??

Somebody watched Borat recently...

While I do have a pass, this "buy a pass, it will pay off in 4 days" attitude is a shitty one. These passes are exactly what makes skiing here so expensive. People first get scared by the idiotic window prices and then start buying $1K bundles talking themselves into believing that they've actually got a deal. WTF can I just go to the window any time and get a regular $50 day ticket on a vast resort in Europe, and here I have to buy a cat in a sack a month in advance to keep the price reasonable or commit to a pass to a single mountain?

Used to be good, now that I have rebooked, all bets are off. I have a pass, the tickets are not for me.

I'm pretty sure their reps hate their life today. The wait time in that chat was looong, everybody must be doing the same thing.