The article is a good read. In my view, the article is not supportive of people trying to make the argument that Alterra's business model is different than Vail's. They seem very much the same to me.
I really don't understand some of the sentiment from some Pugski members of F*** Vail but Alterra is awesome. I really don't get the difference. Maybe someone can explain that sentiment better in the context of this article? I love the cheap multipasses and am buying them, even though I really don't like where I think this will ulitmately be going.
And while I am not necessarily trying to be a Vail defender, I do sometimes wonder why they get such a bad rap in general on Pugski but Alterra is generally seen as much better.
Here's something that I found very surprising. EVERY single employee I have spoken to at Crested Butte is happy about the takeover by Vail. I was surprised to hear pay and benefits are immediately better versus the ownership under the Muellers. There is excitement that Vail has the money to invest in improved infrastructure. And Vail has made a point to say that they want to keep Crested Butte unique, something that every employee I spoke to believes and seems to be happening so far. If anyone has something to the contrary to say about this, I'd like to hear it because like I said, shockingly, literally EVERY single Crested Butte employee I've spoken to is happy about the Vail takeover.