Winter
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Everything posted by Winter
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If that's all true, then you quantified your response, fair enough. FWIW, the only thing i'm not 100% sure of the Helen incident. The rest is very much the truth. The common employee at BC (and most larger companies) are very removed from upper level management so of course, they only see and care about the job at hand and are glad for that paycheck. But the closer you get to the offices, the more disfunction exists. Beyond the management at BC, one should look into the affairs of the owner and his corporation. Nothing comes up as illegal, but some of the dealings of his is downright shady, one of which was how he took ownership of Doe from Bill Buzzbee.
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Really? Not mis-management? Heresy? Those are hard facts bro, and most of those issues happend recently. Do your research. I think we all agree BC took off from its humble roots and impressed us all. Sure thing, there were mis-steps along the way but as you said, business is a tough and lots go into every decision. But starting in 2007, something changed and not for the better. I dont know a thing about you Burton, but if I had to guess, you do not own a business. I do. I fawk up now and again, sit down at might with a beer and contemplate as to what i did wrong. But in the morning, I make sure all my employees understand that I'm not perfect and I'll learn from my mistakes in order to make our workplace thrive. It would seem BC is not doing this.
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Guess i need to lower my expectations as well. I've been on here since 2007, long before the race team was dumped. Guess they could really use their money now, eh? I'll entertain your nosey question, so lets start... - got rid of the most honorable and helpful ski shop owner and his shop, 2011 - got rid of Franco, the loooong time manager of all food services and also one of the most loyal and hard working people in the business I know, 2011 - got rid of the race team which brought in just about 6 figures of income each season DESPITE the weather, 2011 - got rid of Helen, the enthusiastic trails end manager, because she questioned Mark menu and pricing changes (that one is rumor but beleived to be accurate) - got rid of several culinary groups over the years with a flurry of them leaving since 2005 - pissed off numerous departments heads most notably grooming and snow making, and to a lesser degree lifts and on-hill maintenance, since Mark started in 2000. - got rid of Michele (last name escapes me but began with a 'G'), a highly dedicated and energetic manager with an office right next to BC Mark. She was apparently fired for questioning Mark on his recent actions of all of the above including getting rid of the race team, 2011 There are other minor issues but hopefully this states my case. You understand that I used to frequent that place a lot and spend good money? You starting to see why I'm pissed? Keep thinking its a magical place and pray for snow cuz.
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I dont believe anyone is alluding to BC controlling the weather. It's that they aren't doing enough with the weather they've been dealt. I'm not a BC hater either, i just think a small handful of people, namely one in particular, is ruining what is a really nice place. I feel for the employees, i feel for any business who relies on BC to open and stay open well into early spring. But again, mis-management is affecting you and thousands of others.
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Dude, please. It's amazing what you don't know about BC and how its run. If you are going to drop 10's of millions of clams into a winter focused resort, you damn well better have your homework done and adapt to the lousy weather in this area. Shroetel doesn't seem fit to manage the restroom at a truck stop, let alone a sizeable resort such as BC. Not to compare it with Doe mt in any large way, but the employees there stuck around for a long time because they were taken care of felt a sense of loyalty, something Mark doesn't get. Interesting about Blue Mt. though, they did a nice job with the lodge and out front area. I'm stoked to hear they may plan further expansion and maybe take on BC for a slice of that off-hill business. They have the cash and land to do it.
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I spent a bit of time with the SMI folks when they came in to re-do Sno mt. years ago. What i found interesting was the amount of time spent analyzing climate, wind, slope width, slope pitch, tree cover, historical weather etc. before recommending a package of guns. They dropped 1.2mil on this and best i can tell it was pretty well spent, save for they should have added more of them and worked a better deal with the city to use more water. As far as BC goes, id have thought the same consideration would have gone into their purchases since 2000. Don't know for sure. What i do know and what ive said before, is management has pissed off the snowmakers and groomers enough that they leave for better places and more $$$ when they get some experience. That in itself will cause a negative effect on conditions.
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Oh yeah!! The backside bowls of Bear Creek! Forgot about that southern facing side.
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Well said Musik. Not sure what angle you have/had with the industry, but you seem to see it from the side I've been on. When you see things from the front of the ticket window, you can speculate all you want but working behind the scenes gave me a whole 'nother view of problems and mis-managment. Not sure whats going on at BC now-a-days, but it's not just the outside affairs that are going south, it's inside too.
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Uhhh, well your a bit wrong here. Ski shop business is largely dependant on opening times of the nearest ski area. The later the season starts, the less likely someone is going to invest in big purchases like skis and boots, if they can make due with what they currently have. Snow on the ground and lights on the hill gets everyone stoked and ready to spend a few $$$. Lights out and warm, not nearly as much. This is fact, go ask Rich Reber or Paul Prutzman.
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I'll take your word on the wet bulb temp but i live a bit south and west and was seeing high 20's for about 6 hours (didnt take note of humidity). I think the window was bigger than you think. It's been awhile since i was at BC but i think that when they installed the new snowmaking system, the used a lot of fixed guns and not enough portables. They also designed the 'legs' of the water system to not be able to support adding very many portables on top of the existing fixed guns. Thats rumor, but what i heard several times. Still, i'm sure it would be a beneficial investment to ramp up the capacity on the front face to get their main slope and park up and running asap despite maginal condition.
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Welcome back KC, i've been pulling for Sno for a long time. Keep your chin up and fingers crossed for a good weather year.
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IMHO, its just a good feeling for the clients overall to see a ski area take a stab at blowing snow. Realistically this weekend wont happen. and the long term doesn't look favorable for opening by Christmas. A few good stories from Roundtop over the years shows that they take a lot of chances like this even when the weather is medicore at best. Last year they moved heaven and earth to host the state champs for the little USSA kids and blew snow for just a few hour window of opportunity. They even trucked snow in from other trails to make it happen. BC could have started last night. And hour here or hour there wont go too far but concentrate efforts on one or two slopes and just maybe they can start bringing a few bucks in to offset their hemmoraging of money.
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I agree with Housemusik. The snow they SHOULD have blown last night isnt the stuff that yoi'll be skiing on. It would serve only as base layer that insulates the better snow above it. Bears guns are smart and most of them can adjust to varying conditions. Humidity was high but not off the scale to blow something. If I didn't blow snow myself, i wouldnt comment. Oh wait, maybe the bar flies pissing in the pond is keeping the water temp too high, forgot about that.
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I thought the property was largely paid for, it was the business itself which was in default. Not sure.
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.... by their own fault. And it's been going on their for more than just last year. They set the bar so damn high years ago only to fawk up so many times in the last 5. For the sake of the good people who rely on bear creek to garner a paycheck, hopefully management gets their heads out of their arses.
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They have Zilch. There wont be another dime given to them and anything they have is from what they have made so far via season pass sales. Having said that, the bank which currently owns the resort may actually pump a few clams back in this year in lieu of closing early or not fixing something major (like a busted lift). Worst thing they can do is show a bad money year just before the sale in March.
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Thats a very good question. Not sure at all but i know that there was always issues with the local bark humpers as far as land development and not your typical spats but well organized and using national level support from sierra club and crap like that. Otherwise, the county has some sort of hand in disallowing purchase or use as well. the one i think i recall from my time there was the issue with using too much water out of the cities resevoir. They did dredge it deeper back in the 90's but i dont think that satisfied the tax payers when Montage/Sno sucked a foot or two out in a 24 hour period.
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I think Joe Moores relationship with Sno is love/hate. He hates the fact that they took some business away but then again its the people he would hate to see at Elk. Inner city Scranton people and boarders are not his favorite. Actually, if i was on speaking terms with the wingnuts who own and run bear creek, i'd suggest they buy Sno. It would be a super place to dump $20m for some condos and a BC style spa set-up. I think a huge amount of infrastructure is in place to make a good run at it. But those BC schmucks are having trouble keeping good loyal people working for them so maybe that wouldnt be a good idea, lol
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The cuz i was thinking of was a native to Doe, we might be thinking of two different ppl. True true, lots of reasons to like your personal area. The thing i always remembered about BK was the gnarly access road. We spun a college ski race van down that puppy in a snow storm one sunday night. Ended up doing two complete loops and spilled a shit load of cheap beer when we augered into the snowbank at the bottom. We lost van privelidges after that, not because of the wrecked bumper and doors but because it's impossible to rid the thing of dried Strohs stench.
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I didn't even know that, though i heard there were numerous bidders. I knew the last/former owners quite well and one of them, Dick Ford, had a great business and mechanical sense and was a great guy to have around there, he was blown out by the majority owner, and professional lounge dweller Dennis Carlson, who hated the fact Ford was always a busy-body there. He turned him into a silent partner and that began the steady decline to the bottom for Sno. Might have gone better with Ford around. Who knows, but fingers are crossed that someone with experience steps in next.
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http://citizensvoice.com/news/challenging-course-sno-mountain-s-financial-slope-1.1411108 This is some good info on how the resort got started.
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Couldn't agree more. The land is largely useless for anything else. Having said that, there is enough room for expansion of real estate development so who knows. And yeah, the infrstructure is mostly all there and in decent shape.
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Depends. I'll quantify my previous statement awhile back when i said Elk was better than Killington, by noting we skied Elk one weekend and left for K sunday night to find conditions wern't as good on that Monday. That was a compliment to Elk. But Blue Knob? I'd put 7 springs over BK for variety of terrain and resort feel, Elk over BK for overall conditions, and even Boo mt for its expansiveness and value. But BK has its place as a ski area that needs to be visited at least once for something different and interesting.
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24 mil is only the debt, not what they'll get for the place, not by a long shot. I Think the previous owners (not the current bank) paid 4 or 5 mil back in early 2000's. That was pretty steep considering the run down condition it was in and the $$$ they had to stuff in the place. Bottom line is this, you may not like the place or appreciate anything about it. But if Sno shutters for good, there will still be a good few ppl who end up clogging up other areas and that means higher ticket prices and longer lines.
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Really huh? Interesting area no doubt, but your smoking bad chit if thats the best hill in Pa. And I know that death wish kid with jeans and work gloves all too good bro. Remember him well.