Big SNOW in NJ, set to open Oct 2019 . . . make that Dec 2019

Snow Operating is finally ready to staff up for Big SNOW at American Dream at Meadowlands in NJ.  Opening date has not changed for a few months, which is a first for 2019, 2018, 2017, etc.

http://www.snowoperating.com/careers/

The open positions listed in July-Aug 2019 include General Manager, Slope Manager, Marketing Manager, Retail Manager, and HR Manager.

EDIT 10/3/19: updated thread title

This article has far more details about what Snow Operating intends to offer than I've ever seen before.  The initial video training reminds me of what I've done at a zipline course.  It was a course that used a full-body harness so even my relatives who are not adventurous at all were willing to give it a try.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/08/its-ugly-but-the-giant-ski-slope-at-the-american-dream-promises-to-be-pretty-cool.html
" . . .
Big SNOW will target the 95% of the population that has never skied or snowboarded. The company expects to have 400,000 visits per year with 280,000 of those visits from new skiers or boarders.

“We’re trying to be the conduit that introduces hundreds of thousands of people to the mountain lifestyle,” Reynolds said [Snow Operating VP Marketing & Sales].

The ski park will be kept at 28 degrees and contain real snow, he said.

Visitors will enter and exit it through a 5,000 square foot retail store. There will be a public lounge where parents can watch their children ski and the slope will be visible from neighboring restaurants -- a coffee shop, an ale house, and Lucky Strike bowling, he said.

Among the experiences that Big SNOW will sell are the 2-hour introductory session where visitors are outfitted in snow pants, a jacket, hat, gloves, a helmet, boots, and either skis and poles or a snowboard. This package also includes a complimentary lesson. More experienced skiers can go for the 4-hour ski pass.

Passes are sold based on time and in 15-minute blocks because Big SNOW will have a fixed capacity of 500 people per hour on the slope.

Visitors will be ushered into a gondola car (it looks like a tram car at a ski resort out west) that’s actually a video room. After watching a video they will exit into the rental area to get outerwear and equipment.

. . ."

I'd like to publish an article on this experience.  If anyone wants to raise their hand on this PM me.

Dear lord, when did construction on that thing start? 2005 or so?

Did they mention in that article what their skinning policy is gonna be?

It's Jerzey ---- they may shoot your ass

Benny Profane wrote

Dear lord, when did construction on that thing start? 2005 or so?

Seems like easily back that far. The Sopranos were still on and people were making jokes about how much Tony and Junior's cut of the business would be.

They started building it late 2004. I moved out of Manhattan 2005 and started taking the train into Manhattan for work and I rode by it every day for years on the train. What is funny about this time frame is out the other side of the train there was a dump clean up/golf project called Encap that eventually ended up with Trump. That project failed.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2019/05/16/trumps-failed-nj-project-had-all-michael-cohen-fake-news-threats/3156245002/

marznc wrote

....where visitors are outfitted in snow pants, a jacket...

Same for kids?  I hope they put the jackets in a washing machine between kids to get the snot off the collars.

I have to remember to download the Xanadu soundtrack before I go so I can listen to some Olivia Newton John and ELO while skiing- unless somebody has it on cassette so I can dub it

Do we know what the Vert is and what kind of pitch?

Wondering if they will rent it out late at night or early morning for SL gate training?

Don’t know exactly but I’d say not much vert and not much pitch. This is from the football stadium

Brownski wrote

I have to remember to download the Xanadu soundtrack before I go so I can listen to some Olivia Newton John

Check out the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge with its excellent Martha Wainright solo cover that transforms ONJ's cheeseball "Magic" into a poignant dirge. I'm wondering if there are other songs of hers that could be rescued.

i can say with 100% certainty that I will never set foot in that place.

JasonWx wrote

i can say with 100% certainty that I will never set foot in that place.

Yup.

That just looks depressing

Benny Profane wrote

Dear lord, when did construction on that thing start? 2005 or so?

The building dates back to the doomed Xanadu development.  The current developer is Triple Five.  Got interested in 2011 but didn't get full control until 2013.  Triple Five developed, owns, and operates the Mall of America and another giant mall and theme park in Calgary.

Don't remember when Snow Operating got on board to operate Big SNOW.  They pretty much inherited the design for the slope the contains the slope.  Snow Operating will use Terrain Based Learning (TM) features, which is a key component of their consulting business for ski schools at resorts like Killington and Snowshoe.  Snow Operating took over operations for Mountain Creek a few years ago.  The co-founders of Snow Operating used to run Mountain Creek before leaving to start up the new venture around 2012.  Apparently Eric Lipton, a member of the PSIAA National Alpine Team, has become COO.  Joe Hession remains Pres. and CEO.  He was GM at Mountain Creek.

If it had a legit bump run, and was five minutes from my house, and no lift lines, and I could score free or cheap tickets, I would go.

Harvey wrote

If it had a legit bump run, and was five minutes from my house, and no lift lines, and I could score free or cheap tickets, I would go.

Only indoor bumps I've seen so far (YouTube videos) are in The Netherlands.  Place is big enough for a 6-seat chairlift and 3 runs.  But that's another thread . . .

raisingarizona wrote

JasonWx wrote

i can say with 100% certainty that I will never set foot in that place.

Yup.

That just looks depressing

It is depressing. But, who knows, it's northern NJ. Could be a hit.

I lived and worked near that thing in '08. That was depressing. I think it was failed Xanadu at that point. Fat Christie bailed that mall out of bankruptcy. I called it the mall that was too big to fail. Just what NJ needed, especially a few miles from Paramus. Another mall. With skiing, mind you.