Why didn't you make snow Thursday Night & tonight?

[nick]

haha

[EAZY-Emuntz]

I actually think that nick is kinda right. I mean I know that they are owned by some big hot shot company and they love their money, but I mean they really do listen to their passholders and they do care for us. Ex, the hikeable park, suggested by people on pasr. On the other hand, they have a crapload of snow on the mountain and could easily have the mountain open minus a few trails for a solid week and a half and the only reason they closed was because of money. (that statement could be taken away if the push most of the snow on the other trails to the hikable terrain park)

[ket19]

Just for fun (and because I just got back from my honeymoon and really don't want to go back to putting the house in order) I went into profiles and checked the ages of people on both sides of the argument. For the most part, the people who are complaining tend to be teenagers or younger, and the ones who are being rational (as well as writing legibly) tend to be in their mid 20's and older.

 

If you have an after-school activity that you committed to and now you can't go to BC because the times conflict, guess what? Welcome to the real world. You made a choice about what is important to you, and it's not BC's job to accommodate your choice. If you choose to spend time with your friends after school instead, that's good for you, but it's still not BC's fault that they cannot accommodate your schedule. If you live to far away to make it up there in time: sorry life sucks, maybe next time. If your mom and dad say "no, you're not allowed to go up there on a school night/you can't borrow the car on a school night/we're not lending you the car on a school night" guess what? Still not BC's problem. Give it 5 or 10 years, you won't live at home anymore and won't have to answer to your parents about your day to day lives. My mom still loves me, but she sure as hell doesn't try and tell me what to do.

 

I could bitch, because I'm not a park person, but I realize that maintaining a park is easier than maintaining the longer downhill runs, so I suck it up and deal. Like an adult.

 

BC is a business, just like everything else in this world. They are out to make enough money to profit and stay open from season to season. Sure, they want happy customers, because happy customers are repeat customers, but the bottom line is always money. For whatever reason, they have decided that being open from 4-7 on weekdays only is the most cost effective way to stay open as long as possible. If you're that unhappy with how they run things you should probably choose another mountain to take your money to. Even if it's a little more inconvenient, because money is what makes the world go 'round, and the sooner you realize that, the better for you.

 

thank you.

 

i have been operating under the theory that the people who complain on this board so much are so miserable mostly because they can't legally buy their own beer yet.

 

all in all, i think it was a great season and that bear did a great job. and i think it's awesome that they're giving the hike park a go, and i hope it works out well for them.

[toast21602]

thank you.

 

i have been operating under the theory that the people who complain on this board so much are so miserable mostly because they can't legally buy their own beer yet.

 

all in all, i think it was a great season and that bear did a great job. and i think it's awesome that they're giving the hike park a go, and i hope it works out well for them.

 

[k2rider2690]

I think that this thread is stupied and needs to stop. Bear is offering a hikesble park after they close the rest of the mtn! Would you all rather them close totaly? And for those of you that can't make it don't be so selfish and be happy forthose that can at least ride. You don't see me bitching on here that I can't make it...I haven't been able to snowboards for the past month because of surgery, but I'm happy that bear is trying something new and even tough I can't do it I'm still a pass holder that they are pleasing. I mean either take this or loose it. Some of you cant make it well that's life and life sucks. Some of you make good points with not being open on the weekends...but who is gonna go to bear to hike when they could go to sno or bb and ride lifts, only the season pass holders would be there during the weekend...but who knows depending on how long bear lasts and same with the other mtn s bear might decide to open on the weekends at a later date. All I can say is just be happythat you have the opportunity to still ride weather you can or not.

[supertrooper12]

this right here is the most pointless, and annoying rant if ever read.

[joeybadlands]

You know, I put this out there because when I see an oppurtunity for business to make some scratch, hey go for it....

 

If you blow, they will come. How many more would have shown up last weekend for fresh powder?

 

I think its great they are doing the hikeable thing

 

If you gatta chance to blow then blow it for Christ sakes.....

 

If Bear wants to make more money, I can think of many ways to improve their bottom line, without raising prices. I have been going for a number of years and have observed their operations.

 

I also have a graduate degree in business so i am not some noob....

 

See you next year....

[rgrwilco]

well apparently you are a noob. that blown snow wouldve just turned to slush like the rest as soon as the daytime temps reached above freezing. plus the temps were really marginal.

 

i highly doubt any more people wouldve come out if they blew snow.

[Phil]

I have been going for a number of years and have observed their operations.

 

 

 

I also have a graduate degree in business so i am not some noob....

 

 

Now, take your graduate degree in business (that sounds open to interpretation) and go work for a ski area for a "number of years". When you are done, you can come back and tell us your opinion about whether they should have blown snow or not. This is not a snide reply, but rather a serious suggestion.

 

I never respond to the silly gripes on this board because I figure kids don't know any better. It is part of their learning process to bitch and moan and then realize later that there was a reason for everything that went down. You, on the other hand, seem to be qualifying yourself to make this gripe. I cannot imagine that you would have come to this board if you were truly looking for an explanation. A PM to BC Mark would have been the way to go if you truly wanted to learn something.

 

The modern ski industry is approaching one hundred years old. The mid atlantic ski industry is much younger but has around fifty years of experience. The people making the decisions are making them with the wisdom of this experience under their belt. Your cost/benefit analysis is quite skewed because you are not truly understanding the costs and grossly overestimating the benefits.

 

Please don't take any of this personally. I have listened to people complain about ski areas' decisions for years and try to "out think" those in the know with business arguments. The problem is that most of the time, these people are just having separation anxiety at the end of the season, so they try to rationalize their feelings. Believe me, I understand. I wish we could go all year. Unfortunately, there are areas all over the country that close with plenty of snow because it is not worth staying open. BC is trying something new with their hike park. I tip my hat to them for doing so. Conventional wisdom would say that it is not profitable. I hope that they find out otherwise. Blowing snow, on the other hand, goes against conventional wisdom and WOULD prove NOT to be profitable.

 

On a side note: BC had already pulled the snowmaking hoses well before this thread was started. From my experience, they made snow later than a lot of M.A. resorts do.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Phil

[ket19]

If you blow, they will come.

 

 

heh heh heh

[joeybadlands]

Now, take your graduate degree in business (that sounds open to interpretation) and go work for a ski area for a "number of years". When you are done, you can come back and tell us your opinion about whether they should have blown snow or not. This is not a snide reply, but rather a serious suggestion.

 

Open to interpretation? an MBA on top of a CPA is experience open to interpretation? Doubt it..maybe to some.

 

If Bear pulled the hoses well before this post, that tells me they had no intentions to see if it were possible to continue.

 

There are many evenings this season they could have blown snow, conditions weren't marginal. Crank 'em up for the weekend crowds yes, but during the week, they slacked off.

 

I have worked in service industries for years....very familiar w/ the cost benefit analysis. However it is their job to incur the cost and generate the benefit at the same time.

 

Meaning that if they are going to make the snow, they also have to generate the crowds to make it worth their while.

 

I don't think anyone who goes there will be surprised in the future when they tighten up their operations to improve the bottom line.

[stbgskibum247]

boulder has their shit on lock

[nick]

boulder has their shit on lock

 

AMEN!!!!!

[mollyskeez]

boulder has their shit on lock

id have to agree... to disagree.

[nick]

id have to agree... to disagree.

 

What do you find wrong their set up??

[mollyskeez]

What do you find wrong their set up??

ehh i dont know it just wasnt really my style. not at all am i trying to put boulder down i just ave more fun in other parks.

[stbgskibum247]

When i say boulder is on lock i mean that they have tons of snow in really good places, and they prepared the mountain for late season riding. The setup isnt incredible, but its damn nice to have full coverage for late march.

[Phil]

Sorry it took me so long to get back...

 

All respect given. If you had said in your original post that you had your MBA I certainly would not added the parenthetical part of the response. Please realize that highly embellished claims to education are made on forums everywhere without anything to back them up. Saying "I have an MBA" is pretty straight forward. Saying I have a graduate degree in business sounds like someone trying to make a BS claim. Maybe it is just me.

 

If Bear pulled the hoses well before this post, that tells me they had no intentions to see if it were possible to continue.

 

That is absolutely true. In my mind, though, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, there were several other resorts in the Mid Atlantic that had pulled their hoses two weeks before BC. Generally, the last few weeks of service are weeks of grooming and pushing snow around - not blowing snow. There are some exceptions, but that is the general rule. As some have already mentioned in this thread, the snow that would have been blown may have actually made conditions feel worse. In fact, with weather swings like we saw the last days of BC's operations, the best snow conditions are made through grooming after the thaw/freeze cycle. Because of this, people in the know may have been discouraged by news that snow was blown before a day of high temps. At the other end of the spectrum are the noobs who would not even know to check to see if snow was blown. They will come either way. The only people who would have been persuaded by new snow would be a small minority who don't go enough to know what makes truly good end of the season conditions. These folks are most likely too uninformed or too inexperienced to know any better. They are, however, serious enough to know that they want to go one more time at the end of the season. At that point, they MAY look around to see who has made fresh snow thinking that would make a difference on their last day.

 

As far as operations go, it is important to get the hoses in, dried out, and stored appropriately before the winter staff leaves. Many places use their snowmaking staff to take care of this so that when the season is over, they can release their seasonal staff immediately to reduce overhead. Snowmaking and maintenance staff are best used this way throughout March when the snow should already be stockpiled and no more blowing is necessary.

 

Having said all of this, I will also say that I am NOT speaking for BC. I have no idea what their strategies are or how and why they handle things the way that they do. I have, however, been in the industry long enough to have an idea of how these things go. I have been involved at other mountains who use the strategies referenced above.

 

 

 

There are many evenings this season they could have blown snow, conditions weren't marginal. Crank 'em up for the weekend crowds yes, but during the week, they slacked off.

 

I have worked in service industries for years....very familiar w/ the cost benefit analysis. However it is their job to incur the cost and generate the benefit at the same time.

 

Meaning that if they are going to make the snow, they also have to generate the crowds to make it worth their while.

 

I don't think anyone who goes there will be surprised in the future when they tighten up their operations to improve the bottom line.

 

Perhaps this is all true. OTOH, I got 73 days in at BC this year and I was very pleased with the conditions overall and I do not really feel that they slacked off anywhere. From what I saw, they had as much snow as the comparable areas and maybe even more. Their closing date was also comparable, but they had a higher percentage of their terrain open than many others on closing day. Furthermore, their end of the season crowds were in line with what was seen elsewhere.

 

My opinion is that BC did a great job overall this year. I have not heard anyone else who was upset that they did not make snow the last few nights. That said, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.