Greek Peak Conditions (2016 - 2017)

They took an almost perfect item off their menu in the cheeseburger sub. By far my personal favorite. Had it been on a soft white sub roll with shredded lettuce it would've been perfect. Instead they used some fancy hard roll with leaf lettuce. They need to bring that back and make it perfect!

The last patch

What do you guys think of the new passes that have become available


http://greekpeak.net/ski-tickets-passes/season-pass/pricing

Honestly it would be a reasonable deal... IF they delivered a good experience.  I got back into sliding around on boards about 10 years ago at GP and that's where our son learned to ski.  I also realize they've had their challenges but this past season really put me off of the place.  So any packages they've put together to my way of looking at how they're running their operation are pie in the sky on what they'll actually deliver.

You aren't alone in your thinking

I can't believe the number of people who didn't get passes this year. I'm talking about folks that have been skiing GP for years, if not a lifetime. I can't figure it out. The only thing I continually go back to is that damn hotel, water park and adventure center. It's certainly beautiful, that's not what I mean, but rather there can't be anyway in hell it makes them money. Seems like it's nothing but a distraction to the ski area. Bigger isn't always better. I hope they sell that thing and sink the cash back into the hill. After all we are a ski hill. I have nothing to base my opinion on other than what I see. We couldn't believe when they were building it so why should we believe it now.

Camp I think one way of looking at loosing long/lifetime ski families would be like this.

Think about a business that has a very loyal following.  Something like a bakery or any number of places that people develop loyalty to over long years.  Things start to change at this business which costs customers on the fringes.  The business expands to a second larger location but it's a bit cash strapped so the owners give a slightly smaller amount of baked goods for the price.  This costs a few more customers.  Cash is still an issue so the owners raise their prices a little.  More customers leave.  Then the owners change and cheapen their core items due to expenses.  By this time the loyal long time customers have finally said "enough" and take their dollars to a different bakery.  The result is that the bakery/business goes south.

I'm probably wrong with the above but it's how I see things like this.  GP is a wonderful hill with really diverse terrain.  But they appear to be shooting themselves in the foot with increasing prices while at the same time offering less.  And that's the hell of it.  They HAVE a good hill that has had very loyal skiers for many years.  But they're driving the bread and butter pass holders away due to the lack of value.  Just an opinion.

It's a tough one for sure, but i disagree with ya camp.

I never agreed with the scale or phasing sequence of Al's development. I always felt he was building his legacy and admired him for having the balls to do it though. But that fact  no money appeared to be pumped into the hill since the 70's-80's until the hotel leads me to think she probably wouldn't be still up and running without it. I know you have a lot of love for the place but i don't think the your  nostalgic/romantic view of the way things were would be enough to sustain it in today's business and climate environment...

I like the new pass structure, options are good! I always found it interesting that historically the day passes were comparatively expensive and the season passes undervalued. i know it stings but they're more in line with the market now.

hoping to get up for some mtb this summer

Don't misunderstand me because I hope I'm wrong. I hope what seems to be a downward spiral gets turned around. Locals jumping ship, and I mean a lot of them, due to poor product being put out there is telling. As for money being put back into the hill that never happened until the place went belly up and got sold for 7 million. No way in hell can Virgil NY sustain a 50 million dollar hotel, it just can't happen. We certainly will have to agree to disagree on that. I certainly love the place and want it to flourish. I can't see that happening without the support of the loyal pass holders which numbers are now dwindling.  

What was the cost of the pass last year? 525.00 does not seem like that bad of a deal coming from the guy that has not had to buy a season pass in 10 years.  I think it was 599 last time I had to buy a pass.

It truly has nothing to do with pass prices and everything to do with operations. Passes were 399 last year and 425 this year, that's no big deal. What the deal is is snowmaking, grooming, open terrain, open lifts, just being open in general, pulling the plug on the season without notice, selling passes for 250 when the rest of us paid 399 ----- shit like that. Enough is enough. If GP wants to truly be the best in CNY like they claim, that kinds stuff isn't gonna float. That' s why I say the hotel is a distraction. That kind of stuff simply shouldn't happen. Seems like they're spread so damn thin.

I remember reading about all that stuff.  Seems like they are flying by the seat of their pants making snap decisions.  Make a plan work the plan.  They sold themselves as skiers of the mountain wanting to take care of the mountain.  They have bitten off more than they can chew.  

campgottagopee wrote

Don't misunderstand me because I hope I'm wrong. I hope what seems to be a downward spiral gets turned around. Locals jumping ship, and I mean a lot of them, due to poor product being put out there is telling. As for money being put back into the hill that never happened until the place went belly up and got sold for 7 million. No way in hell can Virgil NY sustain a 50 million dollar hotel, it just can't happen. We certainly will have to agree to disagree on that. I certainly love the place and want it to flourish. I can't see that happening without the support of the loyal pass holders which numbers are now dwindling.

No I agree with the above completely, hopefully just growing pains and they turn it around... too cool of a place not too

Too put it in context my local pa mountain blue was built and run by Ray Tuthill in the 70's, he was a no nonsense guy and built it up similar to greek in a lot of ways, the geographic trade off is that instead of some great lake effect snow he was close to some considerable population centers with alot of expendable income.  he took care of his employees, passholders and locals by making a really affordable school and club packages. He's since passed on his daughter's run the place for the last 10 or so years, most of which she's done a bang up job of pissing off her passholders and employees. I think over the last few years she's beginning to realize the value of both and the mountain has gotten alot better for all

We'll see, tine will tell. the next phase is to put up a fitty million dollar hotel

campgottagopee wrote

It truly has nothing to do with pass prices and everything to do with operations. Passes were 399 last year and 425 this year, that's no big deal. What the deal is is snowmaking, grooming, open terrain, open lifts, just being open in general, pulling the plug on the season without notice, selling passes for 250 when the rest of us paid 399 ----- shit like that. Enough is enough. If GP wants to truly be the best in CNY like they claim, that kinds stuff isn't gonna float. That' s why I say the hotel is a distraction. That kind of stuff simply shouldn't happen. Seems like they're spread so damn thin.

Camp - I think you nailed it. As you know our family decided to come back to GP next season after two seasons away at Song/Lab.

So our welcome back was for GP to close without any advance warning on a weekend when there was still a ton of base left. Just freakin closed on a Saturday instead of staying open for the following Sunday.

If they want to keep skiers the have to make snow as fast as they can, they have to get people on the lift without problems (how is it they can't load the damn quad right still?), they have to OPEN trails when there is enough snow to ski them instead of forcing people to choose between poaching them or not skiing them. And open the whole hill at once...it's not that big, ski patrol doesn't need to check for Avy danger, just open the damn trails when the lifts start spinning. It's that f'n simple. But they still seem to not get it right.

After next year my youngest daughter will be in college (oldest graduates HS this year), and I'll be able to get away more on weekends. Unless GP can up their ski experience our return will be short lived.

BTW, IMO a skier who has had a great experience is more likely to pop into the bar for a couple beers and a snack than a skier who hasn't.

As for those other pass products I think they will bomb. They're just too expensive. Look at the Ski N Splash pass for example...who's the customer there...families most likely. So a family of four is going to cough up $2,600 for four passes? Hmm...no. Or mom and kiddie get that while dad just gets a ski season pass. Maybe, but you're still talking $1,700 or so for that package. And that's excluding lodging and meals. WTF, you may as well hop on a plane and go on an actual vacation for that money.

I've said it before. GP management does not understand their market, or their place in the market. Their idea of incremental revenue is a good one, but they aren't executing it well.

This feels like a hail mary to me.

I can't disagree with anything you've said Billy

that rug being pulled out from under us on saturday was a total JV move ---- friggin Song was open ---- common, give me a break!

The sucked the fun right out of the place by doing that ---- the last day is always a blast. Our entire crew was lined up to go out with a bang, instead it was a total fizzle. You can't even imagine how many people showed uo that morning only to be disappointed once again.

IMO, the price points are far too high for the new pass products. GP has always experienced challenges with price points, so the new pass product pricing doesn't surprise me. Remember, this is Virgil NY, and the PA, NJ, and NYC crowds are no longer driving past the Pocono's or Catskills to ski GP when a superior snowmaking and lift product can be had much closer to home.

I even feel that the summer mountain biking pricing is too high for the local area. I pay less for my summer Killington mtb pass than if I biked two weekends at GP.  Locals who do not have their own bike will not spend $135 for a day of mountain biking.

In terms of the Lodge, remember this is a fractional ownership product. The numerous timeshare owners pay monthly maintenance fees regardless of whether the rooms are filled or not. This minimizes the downside risk for John and Marc.

I made darn sure I bought next years GP pass before the April 17 early rate deadline. $425.
The one year I did not buy a GP seasons pass I regretted it immensely.
Got in 38 ski days at Greek last year.
Greek is an easy drive right up Rt. 81 from Binghamton for me - 34 miles.

If I bought a Song/Lab pass any savings would be quickly spent on gas driving the extra distance. An Elk Mountain seasons pass is $800 and they don't allow any tree skiing and it is 44 miles from my home.

I've been out of town for a few days so late in reporting this. We were hit with some damaging rain while I was gone. It's a real mess around town, even still 6 days removed.

https://www.wxhc.com/?p=29604

first two pictures are from Tone Rd, the road you take to get over to chair 5


 

these are from a seasonal Rd near my house. I took them last evening when I got home. You can still see the carnage.






Even my pond crested

What a mess, Camp!

I've been out of the country for a few weeks, and am just now seeing this. Hopefully the weather event was not as bad as the one a few years ago that wiped out GP's pump house and base area.

Did your home survive without any water damage?

I'm not sure how GP fared as I haven't been over there all summer. Luckily I made out fine. I have some digging yet to do to free up the outlet in my pond but that's it. Others didn't make out so well. People had water running water right through their houses, they had to open their front door to let it out. The real kick in the ass is insurance won't cover any of that!

Glad to hear that you made out better than some.  Just one more hassle to deal with.

Yes, a separate flood insurance policy is needed for any damage. Depending upon where one lives, this single insurance can cost significantly more than an individuals overall homeowners policy.  Then there's drain and sewer backup policies, which are yet another protection for water damage.