Posts tagged loveland

First Resort to Open a Boon or Bust?

8
1 year ago
by Eric Hoffman in

Last week, on September 24, Loveland Ski Area was the first resort in the country to kick-off snowmaking for the 2010-2011 Winter Season. For a resort close to a major metropolitan area with lots of skiing and riding enthusiasts, it probably make sense to try to start the winter season as soon as possible and Loveland is planning to open in mid-October. My question is, does it make sense for other resorts that don’t have the altitude and geo-graphic location that Loveland has to put forth the effort to get open early? My response is “no”, I don’t believe that the publicity from an early opening will generate enough business, both during the early opening and later in the season, to counter the added expense of an early opening for most resorts. There’s also the challenge of staffing an early opening as well as the potential negative aspect of having to close if Indian Summer moves in. Whatever the case, it’s exciting (and for those of us in the industry a bit scary) to see how close we are to the 2010-2011 Winter Season, take a look:

And I’d like to point out the nice intro title sequence – I love the season pass promo!

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loveland-open

Open For Winter Already?!

7
2 years ago
by Eric Hoffman in
loveland-open

Either they didn't use the breakaway banner or Loveland has an "interesting" new safety banner this season.

I’m trying to figure out exactly what the heck is going on this fall with so many resorts opening before the leaves even fall off the trees. I understand that Loveland Ski Area and A-Basin (both high in the Colorado Rockies) are usually leading the charge, but wow, Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard (under an hour from the Vegas strip) just missed out to Loveland by a few hours, both opening this past Wednesday while A-Basin and Boreal in California open today. According to the “Skiing Examiner“, this is the earliest for Loveland in 40 years and the earliest openings ever for A-Basin, LVSSR and Boreal.

So, what in the world is going on with these early openings? Here are a couple of quick thoughts and questions:

  • Is the rush to open so early this season driven by the economic turmoil our nation’s economy is still recovering from – are resorts anxious to open early for the “positive PR” that it brings?
  • El Nino – bring it on!
  • Will these resorts be able to continue operations throughout the fall or will they need to close and then reopen once winter begins?
  • That’s going to be a ridiculously long season at the Basin, if they make it through til June (like they often do) that will mean that they’ll be skiing and riding over nine months!
  • I’d be so screwed if I lived by one of those resorts – I still have to rake my leaves and put the patio furniture away, ugh!

What do you think of this batch of super early openings? Let me know if the comments below.

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