Greek Peak Conditions (2017 - 2018)

campgottagopee wrote

Sorry but a "fully open Song" does nothing for me

Me neither since I'm back at GP this year.

But to the people who are the target market for 4 hour passes I would think it would make a difference.

billyymc wrote

campgottagopee wrote

Sorry but a "fully open Song" does nothing for me

Me neither since I'm back at GP this year.

But to the people who are the target market for 4 hour passes I would think it would make a difference.

That's true, but I think GP has more to offer in terms of food and bev vs. Song as well. They truly offer a lot to the consumer. It's not cheap, but show me any ski area that is? We all know we're a captive audience once there.

What's your fav chair to ski at GP?

Mine is chair 4. With Zues, Herc, Trojan, Trojan Woods, and the Electra I feel, hands down, it offers the most variety in terrain vs any other chair there. I'm to the point that I actually loathe skiing 1. I've skied those trails SO much that I'm over them.

billyymc wrote

Rj1972 wrote

I really am excited about the new pass products and lift ticket options.  I'm just concerned about the price points of the lift tickets.  $78 for a full day ticket may be more than the local clientele is willing to pay. The eight hour option is $74 and the four hour ticket is $68. Like anything, time will tell.

How have those new pass products done? They didn't seem appealing to me at all, but as I always say I'm not their target market. All I want to do is ski and then have a couple beers.

$68 for a four hour seems like they totally missed the mark on that one. To me the four hour should entice someone who doesn't have more time than that to ski. But with a $6 difference between the 4 hour and 8 hour...that person with 4 hours is going to feel totally hosed. And so they'll decide to not go. $59 for the four hours would be a much more attractive price point, IMO. Their marketing team must have gone to Dummass University.

At $68 all they are doign is guaranteeing most people will upgrade to the 8 hour. That's not the point of the 4 hour product. It should be to get people there who wouldn't  otherwise come.

The people I see at Massanutten who get the 4-hour ticket are novice skiers.  The difference is $10 ($64 vs $74 on weekends).  Often young adults or teens, plus a few adventurous parents/grandparents who spend $120 to put a kid or two in full day ski school (9:30-2:00).  If wrangling kids, the adults don't get on the slopes until 10:00 or 10:30.  They don't even notice the beginner package that includes a lift ticket, rental gear, and a lesson.  I've chatted with a few newbies on the beginner lift as I make my way to the upper mountain lifts.  They figure they will be falling a lot and more than ready to go after 2 hours, much less 4.  At Mnut, they either drive 1-2 hours for a day trip or spend the weekend and lots more money on snow tubing, indoor waterpark, ice skating, etc.

Half-day tickets are rarely much of a bargain for someone who is an intermediate or better.

campgottagopee wrote

What's your fav chair to ski at GP?

Is this NYSkiForumSingles.com?

Wherever the conditions are good Camp. I totally move around the place usually. Park at 5 for a few runs, scoot over to 1 for a few laps there...maybe 4 on the way and def on the way back. If woods are open ride 2 for that reason only. Then back to 5.

campgottagopee wrote

billyymc wrote

campgottagopee wrote

Sorry but a "fully open Song" does nothing for me

Me neither since I'm back at GP this year.

But to the people who are the target market for 4 hour passes I would think it would make a difference.

That's true, but I think GP has more to offer in terms of food and bev vs. Song as well. They truly offer a lot to the consumer. It's not cheap, but show me any ski area that is? We all know we're a captive audience once there.

Yes they have more to offer regarding food and bev vs Song for sure. But that's not included in the cost of the lift ticket is it? $68 seems really high to me for a 4 hour pass especially when the 8 hours is $74. It's a waste of a product because it's not priced right. It's not even 10% less than the 8 hour. They would do better putting in RFID and charging per ride or per hour. You'd attract the same customer who is interested in a 4 hour pass.

8 hour and whole day is essentially the same product. Very few people ski more than 8 hours.

So the 4 hour is a bad product IMO, the 8 / full is the same. Best product is the 8 hours...the others won't sell well.

billyymc wrote

How have those new pass products done? They didn't seem appealing to me at all, but as I always say I'm not their target market. All I want to do is ski and then have a couple beers.

They are grossly overpriced at this time of the year, but when the pre-season sale begins in March (ish), it may give us a better idea if they got the price points right on the new products.  

Of course, they never seem to get them right, so my expectations are not that high. Regardless, I give them credit for trying something new with the night pass, young person pass, and even the combo passes. The only one I might remotely consider is the Gladiator pass with the daily bring-a-friend ticket. The others don't appeal to me, either.

billyymc wrote

campgottagopee wrote

billyymc wrote

campgottagopee wrote

Sorry but a "fully open Song" does nothing for me

Me neither since I'm back at GP this year.

But to the people who are the target market for 4 hour passes I would think it would make a difference.

That's true, but I think GP has more to offer in terms of food and bev vs. Song as well. They truly offer a lot to the consumer. It's not cheap, but show me any ski area that is? We all know we're a captive audience once there.

Yes they have more to offer regarding food and bev vs Song for sure. But that's not included in the cost of the lift ticket is it? $68 seems really high to me for a 4 hour pass especially when the 8 hours is $74.

Obviously it isn't. My point is if I wanted to go skiing for the day, for my 18 bucks more, GP is leaps and bounds worth the few extra dollars. We (myself included) think GP pass pricing is high, but when compared to what else is available in our immediate area there's real value in their pricing.
That said, with being the best around the GP faithful have higher expectations that what a Bong/Lab pass holder might have. ie: first to open, last to close, quality snow making and coverage, variety of OPEN terrain etc etc

Greek may have opened earlier this year but, it was on sub par conditions and only on weekends.  They put themselves in that position to open no matter what because they announced a hard opening date a week in advance on local news stations.  Did you already forget?  Song holds the title of first and last to be open in CNY last season.  Opening earlier this year for weekends only/sub par conditions doesn't really all of a sudden make Greek the leader in CNY.  They have made a lot of upgrades but, haven't proved to be able to use them with any efficiency.  Song also put in a lift to replace the old t bar that never ran, opening up the steeper side of the mountain.  They may not compare to Greek as a resort.  But, they hold their own when it comes to the skiing aspect.

Whatever you say, Ace. Enjoy Song --- maybe you can update us on their conditions once they open. Bwhahhaaaaaaa

Camp - look at it this way - if they had their pass pricing right and they terrain was really that much better, there would be lift lines.

Other than a couple holiday weekends there are never lift lines at Greek, in spite of them still not knowing how to efficiently load the quad.

What's the objective of the 4 hour pass? It's of no value. I would never ever buy if it if I walked in and saw I could get an 8 hour for $6 more.

Put yourself in the shoes of a guy who wants to take his two teens skiing for four hours and lives in Cortland. Both about the same drive, but at Song he can get in for $153 for four hours or $168 for eight if his kids are ambitious. At GP four hours will cost him $204. So he can ski at Song and take his kids to dinner or lunch for the price of skiing at Greek.

I think a four hour pass is a great idea. But it's not priced right. Every time GP has a new pass I always wonder who it's for...mostly I can never tell. I doubt they can either.

There haven't been lift lines since the early 80's, and even then it was only when all the buses showed up. I think it has more to do with the lack of natural snowfall than pricing. I say that because Greek's pricing is imo in line with their direct competition. Granted not having kids I can only speak what I would do as a skier ---- I'd rather go to the dentist than schlep kids around. I am curious where you could take 1 adult and 2 teen's out to lunch or dinner for 50 bucks.

I do agree they missed the mark on that 4hr ticket --- for 50 bucks I bet they would sell like Hollenbeck's dutch apple pie.

Agree on that 4 hour deal. That's all I have time for. Heck it all I can take doing laps

Having skied both Song and Greek, I prefer the diversity of terrain at Greek. There is not much in CNY or south that can match Greek's diversity. With that said, Song has always been a fairly well run mountain, and can produce some nice snow. What I skied on this past weekend at Greek was a downright disgrace. I don't want to hear that snow making conditions were marginal. It was also marginal at Killington a few weeks ago, but I've never skied the mess I skied this past weekend at Greek.

As I've said for some time, what Greek lacks is qualified personnel.  This includes their marketing department.  I see that Kaitlyn is back this year. To refresh your memory, she is the one that went on the local news last year and told everyone that it was expensive to ski.  

They also need to get their price points under control. Trying to market their new season pass products this time of the year is fruitless, as the prices are far too excessive for the mountain. They have a great opportunity with their four hour ticket, but the pricing is far too high. Liftopia day ticket rates are less costly than their four hour ticket.

^Oof.

WOW --- you trying to get Wes fired or what RJ. You're one class act.

I thought it was pretty common knowledge this was Wes' last year.  No need to put it onto RJ.

For a GP local who knows the owners, you sure seem to be out of the loop.

campgottagopee wrote

WOW --- you trying to get Wes fired or what RJ. You're one class act.

HaHa!

Nah, they need Wes or Al around, as the two of them know the nuances of the place inside and out. Marc and John couldn't run it on their own--nor do they likely want to. While it is being run like a small business, they are trying to market it to larger audiences without the skills of true marketing professionals. The challenge is that they are unwilling or unable to pay for true marketing experts.