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Hey John

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  1. AFC 2024 Aspen 2/7-2/16

    in Colorado

    Posted

    44 minutes ago, Cthulhufish said:

    Will anyone else be out riding tomorrow?

    I’m dealing with a sprained MCL from skiing up at Mammoth in December.  I’m going to see how it feels on the easy runs at West Buttermilk tomorrow (Wednesday)

  13. Interesting snowboard boot article from 2019

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Corey said:

    I think you missed the skinny jeans phase of 5-10 years ago. 😉 90's retro is coming back again, as per the neverending fashion cycle. 

    You’re right, I never saw the skinny look on the slopes, at least not on boarders. 
    And I seem to remember trying to ban one piece speed suits for all snowboard events, from SBX to Alpine. Something about respecting snowboard culture and marketing. 

  14. Interesting snowboard boot article from 2019

    in Carving Central

    Posted


    Nice read. Removed the spaces to get the link to work. https://www.gearpatrol.com/outdoors/a625668/snowboard-boots-history/

    Not only are the boots stuck in the past, so is the clothing. It occurred to me when I was looking for a new jacket and walked into a board shop at Mammoth. Other than a few minor color variations, snowboard clothing has retained the same baggy gang banger look for nearly 20 years.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 3

  16. 20/21 IKON: are you buying it?

    in The Lodge

    Posted

    On 6/4/2020 at 1:06 PM, rjnakata said:

    I believe that was done to reduce crowds there.  But that may not be an issue this season.  I think they should add it back in.  

    I remember reading about that in one of the Aspen newspapers. At the time I thought it was odd because they’ve never been concerned about the crowds on a normal weekend at Mammoth.  At least that was the case until they thought of surge/dynamic pricing.  It’s easy to imagine Rusty Gregory saying “Damn, why didn’t we think of this scam 20 years ago.”  
     

    if I do buy in, it won’t be until the very last minute.  I have no enthusiasm for next season. Alterra is clearly taking us for granted and why not?  I’ve been renewing every year since the original MVP.  But this year it’s different. There are too many uncertainties and in the theme of your Facebook post, they should be showing us way more appreciation than they have been willing to so far.  In fact the latest one about a partial refund for 20/21 is more of a meaningless gesture than anything else. 

  19. 20/21 IKON: are you buying it?

    in The Lodge

    Posted

    On 4/15/2020 at 4:29 PM, rjnakata said:

    The proposed renewal for 20/21 BASE pass is $599 with the $50 discount for last seasons closure. 

    New for 20/21 BASE pass does not include Aspen and Jackson Hole as it did last year (now a $150 upgrade).

    While the 20/21 pass might work out financially I don't like what appears to a be a magnanimous gesture by IKON of doubling the renewal discount that works out to be a $20 credit (minus Aspen/Jackson Hole) for an abbreviated season.  Of course it's not their fault covid came, but I feel they are trying to look good while offering little.  With impending US economic woes this may not be in IKON's best interest.

    I agree. When you factor the $150 surcharge to include Aspen in the Base pass, this isn’t the big deal that their PR dept says it is. Or at least it isn’t for me. My seasons average about 6 to 8 days at mammoth and 4 to 5 at Aspen. Because the conditions were so bad at Mammoth this past season, Steamboat replaced one of the Mammoth trips. So now It’s the beginning of May and I’m still undecided. Unless by some miracle a vaccine is available by September, I’m leaning toward sitting next season out and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Otherwise they wouldn’t be playing these shell games. 
     

    As you said, these tactics may not be in Ikon’s best interest. Certainly long term this will not be good, as some of those who skip next season may never pick it up again. I’ve seen it happen with injuries and other life interruptions. I hope Alterra is aware of that. 

  20. Future of alpine

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    Like it or not, the times they are a changin’.  From what I’ve seen, alpine is not going to grow, at least not from the youth and it’s not related to the cool factor. I started skiing in my early 20s and rented my equipment for three years before I committed and bought my own skis and boots. Which was a big deal at the time. You can’t rent alpine/hardboot equipment anywhere that I know of and demos days are few and far between. Even less now with the demise of Bomber. 

    I never used soft boots. I went directly from skiing to alpine/hardboots. The twist and skid method of getting down the hill or slamming into the bank of a run looked inelegant to me and I wasn’t interested in the least. But then I saw someone in what I thought were ski boots carve down a run at Kirkwood. It was so graceful to see but I didn’t personally know a single soul who was into it. Even back then it was not an easy sport to get into.  There was no equipment like that to be seen in the shops and the staff was not encouraging as a matter of course. So it took a few  years of online research with a lot of procrastinating in between and talking with Michelle, before I finally hit send. And that was with the help of Bomber. 

    But the average young person does not have the patience for that. Sure they’ll say those carves are beautiful man, and then go back to skidding down the hill. 

    So, anyways:

    Board, hard boots and bindings: $1,300 maybe. (And yeah, I know about buying used, but there are sizing issues and It’s intimidating and inconvenient for someone new to the sport. Most people want to talk about equipment to someone in person at the a shop. You can’t do that with alpine.)

    Daily lift ticket (at Mammoth) $125 

    And then there’s lodging and transportation.

    So unless the young person has a trust fund, incredibly cheap rent and/or no college debt, it’s no longer close to being affordable.

    But it’s affecting skiing and soft boot snowboarding too. In my opinion the major resorts are shooting themselves in the long-term foot with the Ikon and Epic pass system. My costs are already sunk in alpine and ski equipment, so the pass is great for me. But they have upped the daily pass rates through the roof to force more people into buying the season pass.  What beginner is going to spend that kind of money on something that they don’t even know they will enjoy. But for the resorts, receiving all that money upfront is like crack for them and they are not going to give that up. 

    With this level of cost and lack of rental or demo equipment, it’s not something a young person or beginner can do on a whim. Consequently both sports are aging. This video explains it. It’s focused on skiing. It’s not 100% accurate and doesn’t apply to every resort in the country. But it gives a good overview on how many of the resorts are beginning to struggle. 
     

     

    • Like 2

  22. 20/21 IKON: are you buying it?

    in The Lodge

    Posted

    2 hours ago, rjnakata said:

    Shouldn't IKON be offering a deeper discount on next years passes due to the shortened season rather than charging more and reducing the number of available resorts?

    I had a lot of riding left to do this year.

    Well one would think. But given the fact that that they are almost as good as the airlines at finding ways to squeeze every last dollar out out us, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for that.  E.g., note the locker rental rates at Mammoth.  And did you ever think they would use surge pricing on lift tickets for holidays?  I don’t know why the restrooms are still free.

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