Peak Resorts to Acquire Hunter Mountain $35M+

This year is going to hurt the resorts but not as bad as other years.  I have seen years they blew snow for weeks and got wiped out by monsoons.  They certainly saved money on snowmaking this year, quite a bit.  If we get hit with big storms in early January the people will come.  If ultimately they save 20 days worth of snowmaking and have the resort open by the next holiday then I think they can come out ok.

tjf1967 wrote

This year is going to hurt the resorts but not as bad as other years.  I have seen years they blew snow for weeks and got wiped out by monsoons.  They certainly saved money on snowmaking this year, quite a bit.  If we get hit with big storms in early January the people will come.  If ultimately they save 20 days worth of snowmaking and have the resort open by the next holiday then I think they can come out ok.

Yea, like how the Mets make all that big market money and then don't spend anything on players.

Hunter mountain is looking grim on the cams Hopefully tomorrows cold snap will be enough to reopen

They will not open on Saturday definitely.  Sunday, maybe.  My options are most likely an overcrowded Killington, a WROD Mount Snow, or Six Flags this weekend.

snoloco wrote

They will not open on Saturday definitely.  Sunday, maybe.  My options are most likely an overcrowded Killington, a WROD Mount Snow, or Six Flags this weekend.

Ouch, ouch , and very ouch!

Hunter just announced that they aren't reopening until 12/26.  That was Mountain Creek's opening day in 11-12.

tjf1967 wrote

This year is going to hurt the resorts but not as bad as other years.  I have seen years they blew snow for weeks and got wiped out by monsoons.  They certainly saved money on snowmaking this year, quite a bit.  If we get hit with big storms in early January the people will come.  If ultimately they save 20 days worth of snowmaking and have the resort open by the next holiday then I think they can come out ok.

It's always a bad year in the ski business when Xmas week is slow. Xmas is half the revenue season, and this year their gonna lose most of it.   A ski school resort once told me that there are only 34 or 35 days a year (depending what day of the week Xmas falls) in the East when a resort makes any money, and if they lose any of those days there's no way to make it up.
Look for bargains on skis and boots after MLK day.  This is not going to be a good year for anyone in the ski business in the East.

   

I'll bet that there is some graph chart on somebody's computer in the main offices of Hunter that looks likes a lot of two day mountains next to long valleys of varying heights. Xmas and Presidents week, along with a quick MLK and Valentines Day, if applicable, make ranges. It's a business not unlike farming. But they don't get income guarantees backed by the taxpayer, like a farmer. That's the rub. As we all know as powder aficionados, floating time is limited.

I heard the whole season comes down to something like 15 saturdays.

ml242 wrote

I heard the whole season comes down to something like 15 saturdays.

15 Saturdays is mid-December to the end of March. In the Catskills, it's more like 8 weekends, plus Xmas and Presidents week, and it's only a couple of weekends longer up north.    

Considering that Hunter isn't opening until 12/26 and Windham is reopening their bike park, I wouldn't be surprised if some ski areas further south (Mountain Creek, Mount Peter, Poconos), don't open at all.

My prediction is that ski areas won't open at all if they can't get open by the end of January.

snoloco wrote

What are you so pissed about? You never ski there anyway.

Sad to say, but, looks like that may be true during this season. Bottom line, as a long time New Yawker, I always claimed that place as, essentially, my local mountain. Was planning on spending more time there in retirement, since midweek far exceeds the weekends, which is the key, but, damn, maybe this Global Warming thing is real. Whatever. Enjoy Annapurna if and when it opens. I'm off to Taos and the west 1/5. Have a beer on me at 10am in the bah, I'll pay it back.

To anyone who thought Peak Resorts was going to slack off on the snowmaking, you're wrong.  They've got 5 runs open at the top merging into 3 by the F-Lift and 2 by the base.  They may open Belt Parkway tomorrow as they blew snow on it all day.  Peak Resorts is going all out with the snowmaking to at least the degree that the original owners did.