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Melissa

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Posts posted by Melissa

  5. Saturday 1/26

    in Montage Mountain

    Posted

    It is so exciting to see all the great PR/management changes for Sno. The branding and specials thus far seem great. Have the crowds increased as well?

     

    It's been two years I guess since I was a passholder there, but I can say that the snow/grooming at Sno was always top notch. This is why I am basically worthless at skiing on anything other than groomed packed powder.

    • Like 1

  11. Ok..I'm gonna beat the Times here....Involuntary Chapter 11 Filed.

    in Montage Mountain

    Posted · Edited by Melissa

    Melissa...you have put down the wrong info here...this is why it's important to really know what is going on....the general manager has not been removed nor has he been in any way been ineffective in his post. Who has been removed is the General partner, (Dennis Carlson) effective yesterday. We now work with a trustee and have set forth our operations plan, and I'm pleased to say, our entire staff is intact and can't wait for the season to open.

     

    I said general manager because I wasn't sure everyone understood the management structure of LPs--general versus limited partners, etc. Intent was not to mislead or be unclear.

     

    Edit: Also just wanted to point out that I was referring to the general manager/partner of the LP, not of Sno as an operation.

    • Like 1

  12. Ok..I'm gonna beat the Times here....Involuntary Chapter 11 Filed.

    in Montage Mountain

    Posted

    So, I decided to pull the filings to see what is going on in this case. Basically and in non-legalese, the general manager of Sno was not running Sno prudently and was, in fact and as alleged, using Sno as his personal bank account--instead of paying bills, etc., he was, allegedly, using Sno's money as his own, paying bogus employees, paying himself, etc.--that sort of thing. Anyways, in an involuntary petition, the creditors force the company into bankruptcy. Here, the creditors are, amoung others, the investors (limited partners) of Sno who want to take control back of Sno to get rid of the present general manager. The creditors successfully petitioned the court to remove the general manager and to appoint an interim, professional trustee to run Sno, pay its bills, etc.

     

    The point of all this is that I think that Sno could be successful and profitable with prudent management. Getting rid of the old general manager, having someone saavy appointed to run Sno, and having concerned investors (the creditors), along with the discharge of some debts, might be the best thing for Sno. I'm not that familiar with the L.P structure structure, but forcing bankruptcy might have been the only recourse the l limited partners had to get rid of the general partner. Just my opinion though--just a thought.

  13. Things you like to see for the 2012/2013 ski season at Sno.

    in Montage Mountain

    Posted

    1. Instead of a high speed lift install a conveyor loading system. See. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zTTSzgyzKA It allows a fixed grip lift to be run at a higher speed and with less miss loads. For a mountain like sno a high speed lift isn't needed or probably appropriate. A conveyor however might be perfect.

    2. Plant some trees ready NOW. I know they planted trees to the lookers right on the iron horse lift, but those that lived this first "winter" wont be 5' for at least 5-10 years. I think a smaller number of bigger trees similar to what was planted above the phobe lift would be better ascetically and as a wind break.

    3. Farm snow. It blows up and off the mountain. Plant trees at the top in a ---___---- pattern. Allows skiers to pass through the trees (leave a snow cat vertical width) but allows you to use the trees as a snow fence and catch the snow that blows up the denuded trails by the iron horse.

    4. Summer grooming - there are a lot of rocks on the head-walls and when the snow gets thin they pop through and are kicked up by groomers. You could pay someone 10 bucks and hour to move rocks and it would make the conditions a lot better. E.g. you could do more with less snow. (e.g. de-rock and stump rattler)

    5. They cut down trees along the lift-line and left the trees just laying there. It looks terrible. Again pay someone a couple bucks to haul out all of the downed trees rather than letting it rot. Ride the phobe lift to know what i'm talking about.

    6. Plant pine trees to shield the view of the maintenance area as you ride the phobe. 10-15 trees hide the junk yard that is the back of the maintenance building. It is visible from the lift and would vastly improve the aesthetic views on the phobe.

    7. Get snowmaking additional training. They generally do a great job and I know it is a hard job. But, there is always at least one fan gun that they let blow ice. I think there were a few terrible icy days on boomer and white that were 100 % preventable. When it is 10 degree you should be blowing fine powder not ice. Teach the snowmakers to tweak the guns and maximize temp and nucleation. The fan gun system in place is awesome and when used right makes the best snow in PA. I'd like to see that more consistent.

    8. allow more trails to get bumped up. When boomer bumped this year it was a hit. Maybe upper mountain???

    9. On powder days don't groom out everything. This happened last year (sadly no pow days this year) when played hooky and came up to find the groomers had buffed every trail out. What is the harm of letting people ski powder on a couple trails. Ok groom cannonball and lower runaway, but leave the rest. market it as powder days I guarantee people will love it!!!

    10. Look at what jack frost is doing with their glades terrain. Some summer maintenance would do wonders.

     

    Just some ideas off the top of my head. They've done a much better job this year with a lot - e.g. long haul improved lodge food. But there is a lot of room to build on.

     

    VTY

     

    Snoskier

     

    How much faster can you run the lift with the conveyor belt? Just wondering. It seems a little silly to me but I guess it makes sense if you can run the lift faster. But ditto on the trees.

  14. Things you like to see for the 2012/2013 ski season at Sno.

    in Montage Mountain

    Posted · Edited by Melissa

    I'm not sure what to add. I think a high speed lift would be great, but not too sure if long haul is the place for it because its really only accessible from lower runway and lower fasttrack. So, I guess it would make most sense to make Phoebe and the lift by Nastar run as highspeed, because it would allow for accessibility to most terrain, but then require two lift rides to ski the full vert.

     

    Haven't been there in two years, but the lights needed major improvement then.

     

    I would also like speakers with music. Some will probably disagree but I really enjoy that and I think it makes the atmosphere more fun.

     

    The lodge is far away from the North Face. How about turning some of that area off of Phoebe and on the parking lot an outdoor firepit with a bunch of adirondacks around it and maybe even drinks. Nothing big, but I think that would be really cool and I think people would use it a lot. There are many days when I would have hung out at the bar and drank, but didn't b/c my car was parked right next to Phoebe. Also, if right by Phoebe isn't conducive, then down by the patrol shack.

     

    Edit: I realize my comments aren't related to snow quality, etc. I think that is because, other than the lifts and lights, Sno does as best it can. I think the biggest ways to draw crowds for Sno are (1) positive PR to get people to think Sno, and (2) up the atmosphere because the quality of snow and funness of trails is already there.

  16. 3/17 - PASR Celebration / Gaper Day / St. Patrick's at Blue

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted

    Had a great time. Started off the day rough--started driving until I remembered that I did not put my boots in the car. Thankfully, was just in East Falls so turned around and got them and tried driving to the mountain again. Was told the beer store by Blue opened at 9am.... fact: It does not open until 10am M-S and Sundays I think it is 11--file that away for future reference. I wanted to break out the flourescent 80s Head jacket I have, but it was too hot.

     

    Got there, got my season pass for next year, and headed down to the lower lot. Parked and saw it was empty. Started walking to the lift when some guy was all friendly and said hello to me. Figured this was just some weird guy in the parking lot who likes to talk to random people, but actually it was I want ice cream! I should have known better since he was in the PASR parking lot. Took the lift up, skiied down Challenge, and I thought the conditions kind of sucked since by that point it was all warm and mushy snow.

     

    Went back to the parking lot and saw everyone else was there. Had some beers (thanks Doug for sharing), was forced to try some salami or something or other, and had a hot dog. Got a chance to chat with lots of people I hadn't met yet, very fun. Went up to ski again, Vince promised to go slow for me. which he did, but at this point I was fairly drunk and since I can't ski in variable conditions to begin with, I quit after that run. Amazingly, I did not have a gaper day fall (gaper day miracle). Hung out more in the parking lot, got a little sun (yes!), changed out of my boots (left them by the passenger side of my car b/c they were all parking lot dirty), and hung out some more. Had to leave to get back to Philly for a party in the evening. Started backing out when I realized that my boots were still by the passenger side. Thankfully I remembered them. All in all, a great day. Looking forward to skiing at Blue more next year--totally made it from my house to the parking lot in 1h15min.

  20. 3/17 Closing Celebration Shopping List

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted · Edited by Melissa

    Okay, this is hilarious, Jeff good work being an organizer. I'll bring Miller light. Yeah, I know, but it's all I can handle when skiing. I will also bring something else, food wise. Let me check to see what I have at home and can bring. I have some red solo cups, I know.

     

    Random Stuff

    • Grill - Jeff & Justo(?)
    • Pan(s) - Jeff
    • Cups
    • Plates
    • Napkins
    • Smallish folding table?
    • Utensils (ex. knife for cream cheese/bagels)

    Breakfast

    • Bagels - Jeff (from Johnny's)
    • Eggs
    • Cheese
    • Meat (bacon or sausage patties)
    • Creme cheese?

    Lunch

    • Bratwurst/Sausage/Chorizo, etc.
    • Rolls
    • Condiments (course mustard, etc)
    • Chips & Salsa

    Beverages

    • Guinness (it *is* St Patty's day)
    • A few cases of good beer.
    • Miller Light - Melissa

    Other

    • Fun - Melissa

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