Greek Peak's last Opening Day?

Anyone know if they opened Ch 5 today?  

Headed out for some nice xc this afternoon instead of going up to GP.

Chair 5 opened around noon today.

pro2860 wrote

Chair 5 opened around noon today.

I was the first paying customer on chair 5 this season! I got a late start, after shoveling the driveway, I got to GP around 11. I booted up and hung in the corral for about a half hour shooting the shit with the lifties. Rode up with ski patrol.

Wtf is up with Fields? Are they saving snow for the holiday? I couldn't resist skier's right last night. Patrol said management told him to clip my season's pass, he gave me a warning. Maybe if I didn't blatantly lap it, and just snuck one in every once in a while, they wouldn't have been so pissed. It was sublime, fresh on top, yielding to pillowy bumps below. Some of the best I've had at GP in a long time. Patrol said it was closed due to snowmaking, but where I skied, far skier's right, on the edge of the woods, was very far from any guns, or their output. I call BS, GP "saving" snow for the holiday.

Glad to  hear they finally decided to open Ch 5.  Hoping it's open at normal time (9:30) on Monday - planning our first tailgate for the season.

I have no idea why they have had fields closed for three days...total BS.  They should be putting those guns on Iliad now - Fields has enough.  And not letting people ski it while they're blowing snow is crap anyway.  Honestly, it's like management just wants to screw with their core skier population just enough to ensure they piss every pass holder off enough so they dont' buy passes next year.

Do any of the Krygers even know how to ski?

avetherave wrote

  I'm interning at GP for the winter and debating if a season pass is worth the $ if it's $550.

If you're an intern you should get a free pass, no??

Praise the Lord!  They opened chair 1 before the 1A carnival ride today.

The sun was a welcoming sight this morning, as I headed over to chair 5.  They were still making snow on Mars, which certainly needed it.  As of 1PM, they continued to pile up the snow on the Fields.  I wonder where the guns will be positioned next.  I suppose the easiest thing would be to drag them to Alcemene, as most of the water lines are adjacent to the Fields, however, they need to get Odyssey going for the racers.

Rj1972 wrote

Praise the Lord!  They opened chair 1 before the 1A carnival ride today.

 

Whoa---whodathunkit

Alsos (glade off chair 5 - never sure of name spelling)  still had loads of fresh powder at 11 today. Mostly tracked out by 3 but not scraped bare like Aesops.

Apparently they want a 10 foot base on fields -- do they have a snowmobile hill climb planned? Wtf?

Cheesesteaks, shrimp, and beers in the ch 5 lot!

C u there.....careful what u wish for...lol

RJ---you work for GP??? If so, Pro and I know who you are

No, I don't work for GP, but I do have a degree of loyalty to the place, and want to see them succeed despite their challenges.

Me too, think that may be my problem.

Read somewhere on the net a mention that Greek P is looking into the EB5 program. (Jay peak is using this to get large amounts of foreign investment).

I guess if a foreigner invests a large sum of money into a business venture in the USA (like a million dollars) they and maybe their entire family will be given Green Cards and permanent American citizen status.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CEgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unyrc.com%2F&ei=UtTqUMCHFarq0AHY1oCACw&usg=AFQjCNF7gGO8b8KhpIExQ7N7LIuPGrp2aA

I wonder if Greek got a bunch of foreigners to invest and built the golf course and put in a couple of new lifts - IF THE GOLF COURSE WOULD, GET ENOUGH GOLFERS TO COME AND PLAY - STAY THERE????? I would have FREE BEER at the Golf Course - might work.

Anyways Greek said it would take 8 months to institute an EB5 progarm and they are pressed for time.

yea saw that too but didn'y get the eb5 thing, thanks for enlightening ... any body here know the interviewee?

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20130104/NEWS01/301040064?fb_action_ids=563184570377225&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=artsharetop&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22563184570377225%22%3A578398945519842%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22563184570377225%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%22563184570377225%22%3A%22artsharetop%22%7D

Jay Peak has used the EB-5 program to fund most of their expansion, the acquistion of Burke Mt, and I believe the startup/expansion of at least a copule  non-ski related companies in the Northead Kingdom area of Vt.  Jay has raised hundreds of millions through this program.

There have been very vocal critics of the program.  The program requires a $500k investment, and the investment is supposed to create 10 jobs -- but critics say the job creation is almost impossible to directly track and never near the actual level reported.

Was in a local ski shop this past weekend chatting with staff/owners - rumors are that GP is  not going to make it through the season, that the FDIC will step in and shut them down because they can't find anyone to take on GP's debt, and GP is just losing money.  Also more rumors of interest from several other mountains/resort companies, but none ready to pull the trigger -- they see too much risk, lots of investment required to get the ski mountain up to par since GP mgmt has neglected it for so long.

Again - that's all rumor and speculation - but from some industry insiders at least.

What is fact is that GP can't do something as simple as open Chair 5 at the specified 9:30 start time. Instead they let 20 or 30 of us stand in line for more than 20 minutes Sunday waiting for ski patrol to come down and ensure there were no dangers on Mars Hill.  They love to piss off their loyal customers.

But seriously - they can't open lifts when they say they are going to -- do you really think they can negotiate the process of raising money through EB-5 Visa program?  I doubt it.

If there isn't some clear resolution at GP by t he end of the season I think their season pass sales will plummet.

Here's an article about EB-5:

http://www.thedaily.com/article/2012/09/10/091012-news-investor-visa/

billyymc wrote

 
Was in a local ski shop this past weekend chatting with staff/owners - rumors are that GP is  not going to make it through the season, that the FDIC will step in and shut them down because they can't find anyone to take on GP's debt, and GP is just losing money.  Also more rumors of interest from several other mountains/resort companies, but none ready to pull the trigger -- they see too much risk, lots of investment required to get the ski mountain up to par since GP mgmt has neglected it for so long.

Again - that's all rumor and speculation - but from some industry insiders at least.

 

The way things are opperating this year I'm really starting to believe this is true.

I've had many a conversation with many diff locals all having the same conclusion. GP has zero interest in skiing anymore---NONE. And these are some of the biggest defenders of the place you could ever want to talk to.

Bankrupty by design seems to be the most common theme this year----sad, very sad.

My concern is that the FDIC and management company may be making rash decisions to generate short term cash, without looking past the end of this ski season.  Hope Lake Lodge just launched another Groupon promotion.  For $399, a family of four will receive two nights of lodging and four lift tickets for one day and four waterpark tickets for the second day.  For the life of me I can't figure out why they would run such a highly discounted rate during ski season.  They generally don't have any difficulty filling rooms on the weekend at their normal rates, so discounting them down to a near break even basis doesn't seem rationale.  My only thought is that management companies are generally paid on a percentage of sales basis, so that may have something to do with it.

Yes, they are making snow on the mountain, but they also cut back on lift operations.  This is not sending a good message to the public.  

I do know they've been working on the EB5 program for a few months, but am unaware if they have any interested parties.  As we all know, they also cut the price of their fractional ownership shares in half, but that certainly won't generate the millions they need.

RJ - that kind of promotion (the groupon promotion you mention) gives no incentive to season passholders to stay at the lodge and go to the waterpark. GP has a captive customer base in passholders, but can barely tap into it to increase the waterpark, lodge, and adventure center revenue.  It's about the pricing.

This year their snowmaking operations are confusing, and their lift operations maddening.  They can't get the basics right.

One of the conditions of the EB-5 investment is the investment must create 10 jobs in 2 years -- and if it doesn't the investor faces deportation. My guess is GP is having trouble selling the job creation story.

This was on the cover of our local paper Saturday

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201301042216/NEWS01/301040064