IKON the Lightning Rod

[Started at 53]

....But they're also allowing for a cheaper and broader ski experience as well. Pros/Cons. Love/Hate. C'est La Vie.

With all due respect, how would a Ikon pass benefit a “local” at DV?

Oh, yeah, it does not do one single positive thing for us.

As I stated in post #755, keyboard commando

Sorry, but a good deal is only a good deal with it is a positive outcome for all involved. Ikon is good for some, not so much for others.

 

[LKLA]

Local News
Locals say Park City Mountain Resort is 'making mistake' by not extending ski season

"It’s a little unfortunate. I’m a 40-year veteran of this industry. Traditionally, when you get graced with a lot of snow and Mother Nature really delivers, it’s common for the ski resorts to announce at least a one or two-week extension to the season. If we were open another two weeks, my staff would get another paycheck. It just generates more excitement and keeps the momentum flowing."

 

[sbooker]

Buy an ikon pass and check it out for yourself, seems everyone else has

Seriously

How long do you think it takes to ski a 1.1 mile run top to bottom non-stop? In the past my app has shown about 4.25 minutes

And how long do you think it takes to ski a .7 mile run top to bottom non-stop?

I am traveling from Australia next winter and will be skiing Ikon hills. I haven't been to Deer Valley but from what I've heard I'll opt to go to the big boys mountains. I don't need people to help me carry my skis from the car to the lift.
Now are we talking about downhill skiing or nordic here? Because if we referring to downhill the unit of measurement is vertical. And I know the 1.1 mile run you're speaking of can't be 1.1 mile vertical if it takes 4.25 minutes. A decent lift on proper mountains that aren't over groomed ascends about 2000 feet and that usually takes about 8 minutes.

Just jokes of course. I'm glad you're loving living in a ski resort. I live about 1000 miles from the closest one and it gets about one third of the snow that Deer Valley does.
Embrace the crowds!

*Serious question. Do you notice that crowding on the weekends is worse? I would expect so.

 

[raytseng]

Why is it always milk??

Because Utah?
Here is a pic from crystal inn dining area in midvale from earlier this year. So many questions. My local utah friends could not explain, but got a kick out of it too..

why is so much milk consumed? why is dinner milk different from breakfast milk? the questions go on and on.
I assume the LDS is involved in some way (sorry if stepping on any LDS toes here)

 

[Started at 53]

I am traveling from Australia next winter and will be skiing Ikon hills. I haven't been to Deer Valley but from what I've heard I'll opt to go to the big boys mountains. I don't need people to help me carry my skis from the car to the lift.
Now are we talking about downhill skiing or nordic here? Because if we referring to downhill the unit of measurement is vertical. And I know the 1.1 mile run you're speaking of can't be 1.1 mile vertical if it takes 4.25 minutes. A decent lift on proper mountains that aren't over groomed ascends about 2000 feet and that usually takes about 8 minutes.

Just jokes of course. I'm glad you're loving living in a ski resort. I live about 1000 miles from the closest one and it gets about one third of the snow that Deer Valley does.
Embrace the crowds!

*Serious question. Do you notice that crowding on the weekends is worse? I would expect so.

Unit of measure on my ski app is linear, not vertical. Skiing a mile in 4 minutes is pretty slow, but we don’t ski linear, at least not me because I like to make turns.

I have only skied one weekend day this year, it was a 12”+ powder day and we had guests in town and skied. It was snowing too hard to tell if it was busy Kidding aside, it was January 6th and not too bad that day as most had just traveled for the Christmas break and I think it a was a bit of a lull. Recently it seems to be a constant spring break family crowd, so it is busy

 

[raytseng]

at dv you can go full speed on the adv. groomers, so yes approx 40mph means your 1mile run should be done in a little over a minute or so.

 

[Wasatchman]

Sorry, I am late to the party. Was out thrashing the snow at various Ikon resorts. Didn't know there were so many. Feel like Don Quixote out thee.
Logged 28 spring days at Squaw/Alpine & Mammoth last spring. Yes, I know that is more that most get in a season. Sorry.
On track to get it down to about $7 per day. Long live Ikon.

Let me fill you in on the part of the party that you missed:

Phil and Tricia: We need to get on organizing the next gathering. Let's call the GM at Jackson.
Operator: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort: An IKON destination. How can we help you?
Phil and Tricia: We need to speak to the GM
Operator: I'm sorry. He's in a meeting with Alterra management. Can I ask who is calling?
Phil and Tricia: It's Phil and Trish
Operator: Oh, why didn't you say so. I'll pull him out of the meeting right now.
Jackson GM: Hi guys
Phil and Tricia: You know KingGrump don't you?
Jackson GM: Who?
Phil and Tricia: You know, the guy who you get about $5 a year from the IKON pass revenue sharing agreement?
Jackson GM: Oh, him, yeah, I love that dude. I always forget his name because it he is called the grump even though he gets to ski just about every day
Phil and Tricia: Yeah, anyway, we know you love that dude. And good news, we got a lot more where that's coming from.
Jackson GM: What do you mean?
Phil and Tricia: we're hosting our annual gathering next year, and we're literally bringing dozens and dozens of skiers just like him. You'll be rolling in cash.
Jackson GM: Well spank me and call me Shirley. Yeeeeeeehaaaaa!!!
Phil and Tricia: slow down their partner. We're going to need 80% off the room rate in order to make this happen.
Jackson GM: Oooof. Best I can do is 75% off, our break even rate
Phil and Tricia: Ouch. You drive a hard bargain, but since we already communicated to our members the gathering is at Jackson, we're going to have to take that deal.
Jackson GM: Okay, couple of exception though.
Phil and Tricia: What's that?
Jackson GM: Wasatchman pays full price.
Phil and Tricia: Really? He doesn't ski quite as much as the other gathering members. Dare to dream, but you might make as much as $10-$15 a year in revenue sharing from him. And have you seen the poor guy ski? He's definitely going to need to buy some lessons from you as well.
Jackson GM: Don't care. He is too skeptical and complains a bit. Give me Grump and his $2
Phil and Tricia: Roger that!
Jackson GM: And one more thing, @Muleski gets the honeymoon suite for free.
Phil and Tricia: whaaaaat? Why him, we're organizing the event? Why does he get the royal treatment?
Jackson GM: It's classified. Can't tell you, but we take care of @Muleski.


Pugski.com: membership has its privileges. When Phil and Tricia speak, people listen.

 

[Johnny V.]

Wow! 75% off? I'll call tomorrow morning! Uhhh...........what are the dates again?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Wow! 75% off? I'll call tomorrow morning! Uhhh...........what are the dates again?

You should ask @Muleski

 

[Brad J]

@Started at 53 , I know you have been only skiing a few years, but when I was a kid in the 60's and early 70's I was lucky enough to go skiing in New England or as we said "UP Country" and the average lift line was 30 minutes on a good weekend, we had slow double lifts that stopped at least once on the ride up, grooming consisted of dragging metal frame with chain link fence behind a Tucker Snowcat. and that was only on beginner runs. We felt so lucky that there were lifts and not rope tows that were at the local hills. You really need to make a trip to MRG and see what modern skiing roots are. We all are so lucky to live in the time we are in . And I haven't even started about the equipment that we have today. So please take the time to think about all that has happened in the past and embrace the present. Change is coming and we all will benefit . So when you say what does Ikon pass holders do for me ?, look around , Lifts, grooming ,lodges, snowmaking. Sorry but multi resorts passes are here to stay.

 

[Lake n Ski]

With all due respect, how would a Ikon pass benefit a “local” at DV?

Oh, yeah, it does not do one single positive thing for us.

As I stated in post #755, keyboard commando

Sorry, but a good deal is only a good deal with it is a positive outcome for all involved. Ikon is good for some, not so much for others.

Great. You generally seem pretty negative and are quick to go on the offensive towards many posters on this forum. You "started at 53" so I'm inferring this was your age when beginning (hopefully I'm wrong), but now as an adult you call people names on the internet, really?

No perfect pass. There isn't. I never insinuated there was. There probably isn't a pass that has a positive outcome for all either, but I do believe IKON and EPIC offer something that is beneficial to MANY. We all realize from your posts that you're really not a fan of the IKON pass. That's perfectly acceptable. But Deer Valley, Big Sky, Aspen, Jackson Hole, Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, Alta/Snowbird are ALL built to attract TOURISTS and NOT just local skiers.

Again, hate the game but not the players. Here, let me phrase it another way and we'll use Deer Valley as an example: If Deer Valley cared more about catering specifically to locals like you rather than try and attract skiers from not only the US but across the world, then they would heavily slant their product offerings that way and likely would not offer anything close to an epic/ikon pass. They'd probably even require a Utah drivers license or proof of local residence with 90 miles of Deer Valley or else you have to pay 2x-3x what locals pay or you could only ski certain times or select days. Maybe only a couple runs, the blue-green groomers, because everyone knows that if you're not local to a mountain than you must not be a very good skier right? But instead, Deer Valley (and Aspen, Steamboat, Jackson Hole, Copper, Vail, Breckenridge, Big Sky, Sun Valley, Mammoth, Squaw, Whistler, Alta/Snowbird, etc.) went the other way. Deer Valley (and etc.) CHOSE to attract tourists.

I'm sorry. But if you chose to live near Deer Valley thinking this was a "locals" destination....then you chose poorly. But please, stop hating people who love skiing, love exploring other mountains and new terrain, and love that they can do it for a reasonable price.

 

[LKLA]

Great. You generally seem pretty negative and are quick to go on the offensive towards many posters on this forum. You "started at 53" so I'm inferring this was your age when beginning (hopefully I'm wrong), but now as an adult you call people names on the internet, really?

No perfect pass. There isn't. I never insinuated there was. There probably isn't a pass that has a positive outcome for all either, but I do believe IKON and EPIC offer something that is beneficial to MANY. We all realize from your posts that you're really not a fan of the IKON pass. That's perfectly acceptable. But Deer Valley, Big Sky, Aspen, Jackson Hole, Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, Alta/Snowbird are ALL built to attract TOURISTS and NOT just local skiers.

Again, hate the game but not the players. Here, let me phrase it another way and we'll use Deer Valley as an example: If Deer Valley cared more about catering specifically to locals like you rather than try and attract skiers from not only the US but across the world, then they would heavily slant their product offerings that way and likely would not offer anything close to an epic/ikon pass. They'd probably even require a Utah drivers license or proof of local residence with 90 miles of Deer Valley or else you have to pay 2x-3x what locals pay or you could only ski certain times or select days. Maybe only a couple runs, the blue-green groomers, because everyone knows that if you're not local to a mountain than you must not be a very good skier right? But instead, Deer Valley (and Aspen, Steamboat, Jackson Hole, Copper, Vail, Breckenridge, Big Sky, Sun Valley, Mammoth, Squaw, Whistler, Alta/Snowbird, etc.) went the other way. Deer Valley (and etc.) CHOSE to attract tourists.

I'm sorry. But if you chose to live near Deer Valley thinking this was a "locals" destination....then you chose poorly. But please, stop hating people who love skiing, love exploring other mountains and new terrain, and love that they can do it for a reasonable price.

 

[Started at 53]

@Started at 53 , I know you have been only skiing a few years, but when I was a kid in the 60's and early 70's I was lucky enough to go skiing in New England or as we said "UP Country" and the average lift line was 30 minutes on a good weekend, we had slow double lifts that stopped at least once on the ride up, grooming consisted of dragging metal frame with chain link fence behind a Tucker Snowcat. and that was only on beginner runs. We felt so lucky that there were lifts and not rope tows that were at the local hills. You really need to make a trip to MRG and see what modern skiing roots are. We all are so lucky to live in the time we are in . And I haven't even started about the equipment that we have today. So please take the time to think about all that has happened in the past and embrace the present. Change is coming and we all will benefit . So when you say what does Ikon pass holders do for me ?, look around , Lifts, grooming ,lodges, snowmaking. Sorry but multi resorts passes are here to stay.

Brad, we have all benefited from technology in every way. I grew up playing with small wooden head golf clubs. Should I take the QE2 to work being I work in Europe to get a feel for how lucky I am to travel on a 777 back and forth on a regular basis now? Would that give me a better feel for how lucky I am?

Great. You generally seem pretty negative and are quick to go on the offensive towards many posters on this forum. You "started at 53" so I'm inferring this was your age when beginning (hopefully I'm wrong), but now as an adult you call people names on the internet, really?

No perfect pass. There isn't. I never insinuated there was. There probably isn't a pass that has a positive outcome for all either, but I do believe IKON and EPIC offer something that is beneficial to MANY. We all realize from your posts that you're really not a fan of the IKON pass. That's perfectly acceptable. But Deer Valley, Big Sky, Aspen, Jackson Hole, Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, Alta/Snowbird are ALL built to attract TOURISTS and NOT just local skiers.

Again, hate the game but not the players. Here, let me phrase it another way and we'll use Deer Valley as an example: If Deer Valley cared more about catering specifically to locals like you rather than try and attract skiers from not only the US but across the world, then they would heavily slant their product offerings that way and likely would not offer anything close to an epic/ikon pass. They'd probably even require a Utah drivers license or proof of local residence with 90 miles of Deer Valley or else you have to pay 2x-3x what locals pay or you could only ski certain times or select days. Maybe only a couple runs, the blue-green groomers, because everyone knows that if you're not local to a mountain than you must not be a very good skier right? But instead, Deer Valley (and Aspen, Steamboat, Jackson Hole, Copper, Vail, Breckenridge, Big Sky, Sun Valley, Mammoth, Squaw, Whistler, Alta/Snowbird, etc.) went the other way. Deer Valley (and etc.) CHOSE to attract tourists.

I'm sorry. But if you chose to live near Deer Valley thinking this was a "locals" destination....then you chose poorly. But please, stop hating people who love skiing, love exploring other mountains and new terrain, and love that they can do it for a reasonable price.

Please state where I hated on anyone? I have CLEARLY stated several times on this thread that Ikon is here to stay, it will find it’s level. My beef is with people who are not here all the time telling us that Ikon is not having a big effect on the traffic. I have given first hand accounts of my daily observations. I have recounted conversations with DV employees that directly refutes a lot of drivel being posted about 3%-6% Ikon traffic.

So yeah, I do think a lot of people are full of crap without the time on the snow at Ikon locations to make reliable judgements. Sorry, but that is how I feel.

And as for paying more.... I am already paying more than 2x-3x what the Ikon folks are paying, so it is the reverse.

But whatever, I am sure I am wrong and you are correct with your vast experience at DV.

I will leave this thread with a bit of wisdom.... Repeating a falsehood over and over does not make it fact

I am done with this thread, have fun

 

[Coach13]

You should go hit Deer Valley. Take some friends!

...about 1000 friends, and if there’s no snow you can swim in the tears.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Aw,com'on, get the pass & come on out the Squaw/Mammoth. I'll teach you how to ski bumps like us old people so you can get off the groomers at DV and get away from the unwashed Ikoneers. Enjoy the other DV - the non-groomer part.

I want to ski with @KingGrump in Mammoth!!! When are you going?

 

[KingGrump]

I want to ski with @KingGrump in Mammoth!!! When are you going?

5/5 to 5/17.
Would love to make some turns with you.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

5/5 to 5/17.
Would love to make some turns with you.

We should be able to get there around the 12th! I’ll confirm as it gets closer!

 

[Philpug]

We'll shoot down to Mammoth when we get back from A-Basin. What days at Squaw?

 

[KingGrump]

We'll shoot down to Mammoth when we get back from A-Basin. What days at Squaw?

4/14 - 5/4

 

[Jim McDonald]

I am done with this thread