Article on high costs of ski racing

I’ve never stayed up at Alta thought it sounds like a classic ski experience
I stay down in SLC on hotel points or for around 100 bucks a night
I sleep much better at 5000 than 8000 feet

Z wrote

I don’t need Porino to tell me how expensive it is.  I’m paying for it all.

What I do like is him discussing how to fix this mess

How do we fix this "mess", in your opinion?

Benny Profane wrote

The sport, like the world, is more and more ruled and owned by the rich. It's why we can't have nice things anymore. I was at Alta yesterday, and found out those old hotels that have been there like forever and look it, are now getting 5-700 A NIGHT (with meals, of course). Junky old musty rooms, and I'll bet the food ain't that great. So, why? Well, wouldn't you want to wake up a walk away from the Collins lift on a Utah powder day? Yeah, I thought so. They ain't putting any more beds up there, so, supply and demand, and the rich win, again.

Wrong on both accounts.
They rebuilt the Snowpine last year, more rooms and although I haven’t been in there - I bet it’s quite nice. The rates there are as you suggest.

They remodeled GMD, slapped some paint on and replaced some furniture, freshened the place up but didn’t significantly change the rates. I paid about $275/night for meals and a room a few weeks ago, but as a frequent guest I get a deal, I just checked and a room can be had at $336/night rack rate.

Although still not cheap, when you consider your right there and the food is good (not excellent) and plentiful and the staff is excellent - it makes for a trip that is truly a treat.
If all your doing is going for the skiing then there are indeed cheaper options, but I go for the relaxation and skiing is part of it.

When I was there like 10 + years ago I stayed in Midvale Utah Suite 6. Suite ( motel 6) across from bus station with kitchen
Came out to 400$ for 10 days of great lodge price and it dumping snow all week

MC2 5678F589 wrote

Z wrote

I don’t need Porino to tell me how expensive it is.  I’m paying for it all.

What I do like is him discussing how to fix this mess

How do we fix this "mess", in your opinion?

Most you you aren’t likely to understand how the racing points system works it’s very complicated.
Now it only counts your best two results in the last 2 years.  Essentially it only counts home runs and encourages you to look and travel to races where the right conditions exist for an easy score.  The alumni races are known for being good points races for example so some travel like crazy all around the country looking for them.  It is like trying to play ever baseball game in Coors Field against the weakest pitcher you can find.  Training which is more productive for skill development now has to happen in the fall and summer instead of in season because of all the travel that happens in season.  That costs way more than training at your home hill in season.

My son spent 6 days racing in Canada in the last 2 weeks as far away as up on Lake Huron a 8 hour drive.  The points are good in Canada so it was successful but he could have stayed home and raced at WF instead for much less $.

At the Fis level they are entering multiple races and pulling at the last possible sec looking for the best race you can get into. you Find out only a couple days before the race where and what you are doing.  You can be training SG then instead go and race SL.  It makes no sense the crazy way they do this.  

Z wrote

Most you you aren’t likely to understand how the racing points system works it’s very complicated.

Wow, I had no idea.

 Huh!

Dadgum!

If this is how you want to spend your time - great, but don't come looking for sympathy. You brought this all on yourself.

PeeTex wrote

If this is how you want to spend your time - great, but don't come looking for sympathy. You brought this all on yourself.

Ha! I’m sure Z would agree with that. I would have guessed that ski racing was out of this world expensive but that article laid it out. I found it interesting.

There are times that I feel like I’m in the same boat, only with travel baseball but nowhere near this level and nowhere near the money that the real baseball fanatics sink into it. I have no one to blame but myself- well maybe there’s one person I could blame...

Brownski wrote

PeeTex wrote

If this is how you want to spend your time - great, but don't come looking for sympathy. You brought this all on yourself.

Ha! I’m sure Z would agree with that. I would have guessed that ski racing was out of this world expensive but that article laid it out. I found it interesting.

There are times that I feel like I’m in the same boat, only with travel baseball but nowhere near this level and nowhere near the money that the real baseball fanatics sink into it. I have no one to blame but myself- well maybe there’s one person I could blame...

We went through the ski racing thing as we watched/helped our grand daughter go through a program, she stopped it at the start of U19 - only 1 season at that level but no FIS. She was not a point chaser. She loved skiing gates but now prefers a deep powder day and likes skinning and earning turns. She won't sell her race skis so she still has a beautiful set of FIS Slalom and GS skis she never uses. Instead she skis a pair of SL trainers and a pair of Nordica Santa Annas and her BC gear. She doesn't even club race now. What she does do is get on the deans list every semester in college and is preparing for Grad school. We'll take that over ski racing any day - but we also believe that the race program she went through gave her the life skills to not get frustrated or defeated over set backs and to have great time management skills.

Well you know what they say about the word job right?

No matter what you make it’s an acronym for Just Over Broke.

We could have gotten Cody on ski team, not on any sort of program like Z’s got his kid into or did at the same age but definitely a non travel two days a weekend program. We decided not to and to keep skiing as our thing. We also only allow one organized sport at a time. I’ve seen parents that completely give up their lives for their kids sports and schedules but we aren’t going to get that crazy.

So ski racing at a high level is expensive? Who would’ve thunk? :D

Z wrote

Most you you aren’t likely to understand how the racing points system works it’s very complicated.

Condescending. Elitist.

PeeTex wrote

If this is how you want to spend your time - great, but don't come looking for sympathy. You brought this all on yourself.

Agree 100%

PeeTex wrote

 What she does do is get on the deans list every semester in college and is preparing for Grad school. We'll take that over ski racing any day - but we also believe that the race program she went through gave her the life skills to not get frustrated or defeated over set backs and to have great time management skills.

Congrats and all true.

You can find the same life skills on high school sports teams, too, and, if it is almost anything but skiing, you can spend a lot less money.

PeeTex wrote

Benny Profane wrote

The sport, like the world, is more and more ruled and owned by the rich. It's why we can't have nice things anymore. I was at Alta yesterday, and found out those old hotels that have been there like forever and look it, are now getting 5-700 A NIGHT (with meals, of course). Junky old musty rooms, and I'll bet the food ain't that great. So, why? Well, wouldn't you want to wake up a walk away from the Collins lift on a Utah powder day? Yeah, I thought so. They ain't putting any more beds up there, so, supply and demand, and the rich win, again.

Wrong on both accounts.
They rebuilt the Snowpine last year, more rooms and although I haven’t been in there - I bet it’s quite nice. The rates there are as you suggest.

They remodeled GMD, slapped some paint on and replaced some furniture, freshened the place up but didn’t significantly change the rates. I paid about $275/night for meals and a room a few weeks ago, but as a frequent guest I get a deal, I just checked and a room can be had at $336/night rack rate.

Although still not cheap, when you consider your right there and the food is good (not excellent) and plentiful and the staff is excellent - it makes for a trip that is truly a treat.
If all your doing is going for the skiing then there are indeed cheaper options, but I go for the relaxation and skiing is part of it.

Well, if there is any justice in the world, all those old rich white guys just got interlodged for two days, while us schmucks had other options. Today probably sucked for them, too, with minimal employees "servicing" them, on and off the slopes.

“Servicing” old rich white guys is part of their job now up at the lodges? Ewe, that’s nasty.

I’ll never forget watching a New York businessman throw a temper tantrum during an interlodge when he was told he couldn’t leave and he was now going to miss his plane. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

MC2 5678F589 wrote

Z wrote

Most you you aren’t likely to understand how the racing points system works it’s very complicated.

Condescending. Elitist.

The Fis handbook is 500 pages long of arcane language and algorithms.  Unless you have a kid racing and bothered to spend several hours reading it.  why the hell would you know how it works?

Benny Profane wrote

Well, if there is any justice in the world, all those old rich white guys just got interlodged for two days, while us schmucks had other options. Today probably sucked for them, too, with minimal employees "servicing" them, on and off the slopes.

I was interlodged a few years ago for 2 days, I got some work done had a great time with the staff, ate good food, drank good beer. I missed my plane too, it was with South West, they said no problem - moved the fight out a few days at no charge. When we were "released" we had the mountain to ourselves for the day as it took them that long to clear the canyon roads. It was another epic vacation. Maybe I'm just not "core" enough, but I don't have to ski every minute of my life and a ski trip is a vacation - I don't feel like I have to milk the last ounce out of it. You should try it.

Sure. When I hit the lotto and spending thousands for nothing is just, er, cool.

Benny Profane wrote

Sure. When I hit the lotto and spending thousands for nothing is just, er, cool.

I feel sorry for you dude.

Thanks. Can I get a neck massage?