ATTN: MR. MIKE PRATT

Blow snow on Rumor & find a way to open the Darkside. That is all.

Sincerely,

A Long Time Season Pass Holder

DARKSIDED wrote

Blow cash on Rumor & find a way to make the NY budget deficit even bigger. That is all.

Sincerely,

A Long Time Season Pass Holder

Fixed it for you.

Have you seen Rumor lately?  It would take a ton of snow to cover all of those rocks. And once they get it open, how will they keep it open? Rumor can get pretty dangerous without regular doses of new snow on it.  I love skiing Rumor, but I'd rather see the money go toward keeping the rest of the mountain in good shape.

I have & I'd like to be skiing it.

BTW, they don't make money off of season pass holders. Well, not as much as day trippers.

Wonder where they're at on this season's snowmaking " budget " ? Have they already spent most of it ?

Are they currently blowing much snow ? It's plenty cold, best snowmaking temps in weeks.....

If they are not making much snow, w/President's week coming, could it be an indication they've spent it  OR skier visits are way down ?

As we all know, Pres week usually signals the end of SM......maybe Uncle Mikie is saving some coin to ensure March ski days ?

The whole thing's kinda a crap shoot, imo. Hope Pratt's an astute card player.

Compared to the week before, I think there was a lot less snowmaking going on, at least on Saturday.  I only saw the guns on Uncas.  Last Saturday, they had blown Hawkeye up into a great mogul field and started blowing hard on Open Pit that afternoon.  By this weekend all that snow was scraped off and I guess the same would happen to Rumor if they blew snow on it and it would become unski-able again, soon after they stopped.  They were blowing snow on Lies last weekend and there looked like there were lots of moguls and this weekend, they looked to be gone as well.  I heard a rumor on the lift they were 500K over budget on snow-making already and that's before President's weekend.  I hope we get some snow-making at least through President's week and then I guess it's up to Mother Nature.

Snowballs wrote

Wonder where they're at on this season's snowmaking " budget " ? Have they already spent most of it ?

The snowmaking budget isn't a fixed number. The budget is a percentage of the current season's total revenue.  So you look at "pace" of revenue and make an educated guess at how much to spend.

It's tough because in a season when you need more snowmaking (like this one) your visits and revenue are bound to be down.

IMO those new guns have been key in this marginal season for natural snow.

This is what that expansion wrought. Blame Burnt Ridge and the Snow Bowl. It's not as though the client base and revenue has expanded.

Benny Profane wrote

BTW, they don't make money off of season pass holders. Well, not as much as day trippers.

Then why sell one? (I was under the impression Season Pass Sales brought in $$$ during the off-season.)

Benny Profane wrote

This is what that expansion wrought. Blame Burnt Ridge and the Snow Bowl. It's not as though the client base and revenue has expanded.

Agreed.

i don t understand not getting the darkside open. conditions are nearly  skiable there now . how long would it take to blow on them and then you open another lift and trails to help disperse crowds and lessen traffic on already heavily trafficked trails.and you also keep the riffraff from paying public. then move over to rumor and blow during the holiday week . who knows maybe sell some more full seasons passes along with it. put on a show to sell the mountain

I wish Rumor was open...and I wish the Darkside was open more this year...and I wish we had a record setting snow year with multiple epic pow days...but for the winter of 2011-12, THANK YOU SNOWMAKERS and GROOMERS!  
How much snow have they made since the end of January at West?
10 years ago a winter like this would have you switching to golf or breaking out the bikes...All we need is a foot of snow to stop a lot of complaining and maybe even open lower Rumor.  But until then it's just (albeit manmade)...

i would rather snowmaking keep the current trail count in good shape than waste time and money on a symbolic opening of the rumor. it's been obvious that the rain, warm weather, and skier traffic quickly turn the available trails into hardpack within a few days. thankfully, they are refreshed with snowmaking on a regular basis all season. BTW, i have never heard anyone tell me they are skiing at gore because rumor is open. lots of skiers were upset that the darkside wasn't open last weekend. it chati was opened with natural snow, why couldn't the darkside do the same? also, they don't have to pound the darkside with snow. how about just some comb-overs with snowmaking? i think that we have to face the facts that this season is dwindling rapidly before our eyes and that we have to be realistic in our expectations of what Mr. Pratt can do within reasonable business practices. it is likely that the walk-up paying public has already lost interest in skiing for the rest of the year and that only hardcore forum members will continue until the last thread of skiable snow has melted. a march snow storm will probably be looked at the public as just delaying the arrival of spring, not a skiing nirvana.

I agree with the people who say blow on the Darkside for two days to open Hullaballo and Steilhang, then move all of the guns to Rumor and blow there all President's week.

My thinking is this: after February break (and especially into late March/Early April), a majority of the guests are pretty hardcore skiers, people who ski more than the average skier, people who feel that the Darkside and Rumor are important because that's where they spend their time. Without Rumor and Darkside, these people will go somewhere else (Killington, Jay Peak, Tuckerman Ravine, etc.).  

Of course, you could argue that these people have season passes, so they're not losing too much money, but I have a season pass and I buy lunch every day, have a few drinks at the bar, and generally try to contribute to the collegial attitude at the mountain. Will the lack of Rumor and Steilhang make me ski somewhere else?  Probably not.  But I know a lot of people who drive further than me who won't merrily make the drive to the mountain this spring because Lies and Hawkeye are open.

I just feel like Rumor and Darkside represent a lot to "the base" (to use a political analogy): the ones you see every weekend (or weekday if you guys do that), the real evangelists, the ones who fight for Gore and sing its praises everywhere they go (or sometimes don't tell anyone because they want it all for themselves).

They don't have to open Rumor. It just seems like it would be a nice giveback to the people who have been there for the whole year - respecting the decisions, praising the snowmaking, and generally keeping the mountain afloat through the tough times.

sudsnbumps wrote

I wish Rumor was open...and I wish the Darkside was open more this year...and I wish we had a record setting snow year with multiple epic pow days...but for the winter of 2011-12, THANK YOU SNOWMAKERS and GROOMERS!  
How much snow have they made since the end of January at West?
10 years ago a winter like this would have you switching to golf or breaking out the bikes...All we need is a foot of snow to stop a lot of complaining and maybe even open lower Rumor.  But until then it's just (albeit manmade)...

+1 to the Snowmakers & Groomers

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as a WF skier who only gets to Gore maybe a few times a year I've never understood Rumor and why it is a good trail in some folks minds.  Yes its steep but so darn short.  I probably skied it every time i went to Gore ONCE.  It never is good enough to do a second time.  I think it gets skied off by the masses side slipping down it.  It must be rocky under the snow so i takes a ton of snow to cover it.  Given the way this season is headed why waste the money.

Before i get called a Gore hater - you might want to look back at my other posts where I argued not to blow certain marketing popular trails at WF as well.

Matt that's incredibly well said. I don't agree with all of it, but your analysis of what the terrain means to the base is spot on.  Personally I like Rumor, but I get much more out of being on the dark side.  Seems like the snow on the darkside is good more often than it is on Rumor.  And I bet it would take more snow to cover Rumor than to get the the darkside going. Remember that much of the bottom of the DS has some manmade cover while Rumor is neked.

Hell I'd LOVE to be wrong about Rumor. I'd ski it with a big smile. Just sayin that cost/benefit FOR ME personally puts Darkside and then Chatiemac before Rumor. And IMO the blowby is more useful on/off those trails too.

Ausable skier ... no way to be considered a Gore hater here. Most of the posters in this thread, pro and con, are Gore likers or lovers.

Is it true that when they make show on Rumor, they cannot use guns anywhere else?