Of course it's IKON

[snoloco]

Third, it's not the same as building occupancy, which is limited by means of egress. The theoretical capacity of most ski areas is limited by parking.

How far down the access road should people have to park before we have reached the theoretical capacity then? Is the lookout not far enough for you?

As far as they're willing to walk.

[easyrider16]

I'm not denying there are some overcrowded trails and problematic intersections. I'm saying those issues are rectifiable without turning away hundreds if not thousands of people.

Certainly there are flow improvements that could and should be made. I'd argue that while they tried to do that at snowden, they actually made the problem worse with that tunnel under bunny. Still, at a certain point, there is a number that is too high for safety on the trail. If we're hitting that number on Saturdays, concerns about turning people away aren't really relevant. You can't fit ten pounds of sh!t in a five pound bag. If people have to get turned away, that's better than people being seriously injured or dying so powdr can turn a profit.

I would rather see more skiable acres in the form of the interconnect than see people turned away, but the more practical, less costly solution is probably to increase saturday ticket rates significantly, and/or perhaps requiring reservation for Ikon visits on Saturdays.

[Eddytheyetti]

Anybody think the out of control skier issue is related to the price of lessons, and the fact they sell out ever Saturday so even if you wanted to pay for a lesson you can’t? Every Saturday you see people walking down chute, these people should be in lessons, but the ski school is almost i as able for all but the north jersey tiger moms on a Saturday.


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[snoloco]

That's entirely possible. If it's 200 dollars for a lesson then the incentive is high to wing it on your own or have your friend attempt to teach you. Both will result in you not enjoying your day and not coming back.

[skiadikt]

no doubt the ikons are a big factor in the weekend crowds. don't see the mtn doing anything that would cost them to lose ticket sales whether it's limiting them or requiring ikon reservations. they've had some bad luck again w the weather particularly at xmas so now they're making up for it. if folks are having a bad experience then at some point hopefully the market will "self-correct". gonna imagine that mt snow, okemo and stratton have been just as crowded on recent saturdays.

one of the downsides of all these high capacity lifts is trail crowding. as a 40 yr weekend warrior vet who does go back to the million skier visits days, the trails weren't crowded because everyone was on liftlines. the k chair could have waits up to 45 minutes. same at the gondi. learned that you had to have a plan. we'd be on the k chair at 8 and hoped to sneak a couple quick runs before the hordes. in for lunch no later than 11 and back out when everyone else was coming in and hoped to grab a k chair ride with "only" a 10-15 minute wait. stlll holds true. during peak periods there are a number of places to hide from the crowds.

for sure lift capacity far exceeds trail capacity. but killington does have a problem that's unique and that's trail design because of all the intersecting trails. the tunnels have alleviated that somewhat. don't know if there's more they can do. for a few years they did have some fencing up below mouse trap in the lower mixing bowl. since i don't ski saturdays don't know if it's still there but it's not mid-week.

the fast/reckless skiing has ramped up the last couple years. lots of kids straight-lining. a friend who's a really good skier gotten taken out last week on needles - broken clavicle and slight concussion. i got taken on downdraft (fortunately just shaken up). been buzzed a number of times. when good skiers who ski very predictable lines are getting taken out, you have a problem. not sure why this is happening and don't how to fix it. the traffic cop thing won't work. think the apps are contributing.

[hillbangin]

There are more people on the trails because of high speed lifts - and New England trails are way too narrow.

If Killington get's $30 per Ikon day ticket - every thousand people is $ 30K for 10 Saturdays that's $300K.

They'd sell that much more beer, etc if they limited tickets to 12K on Saturday - seems like the right number ish - no science there.

If we opened the K Zone bar and grill in Bay 1 we could go through 20 Kegs on Saturday - that's about 3000 beers at $10 bucks.......

Open the freaking UBAR and sell cans and burgers and I could make 50K on a Saturday.

They are not maximizing revenue for the Saturdays they are overselling the place.

Eventually the Town should shut it down by ticketing parking - then they'll fix it...........

[Captain Hafski]

If you think there were only 1000 Ikon'ers past coupla Saturdays, you are way off. Aside from the day trippers, there are a lot that we see that come for several days to use their 5/7 day passes.

Side Note: Lots of us are bitching about Saturdays. Don't forget Sunday. Last coupla weeks Saturday was the much better weather day. If my day tripper theory is right, wait until we have a crappy weather Saturday / good weather Sunday weekend. With that said, overall, Saturdays will still be more crowded than Sundays.

[daytripper]

Fridays have been pretty busy lately as well.

[skiadikt]

and once again they're gonna get killed by the weather this weekend.

[asher2789]

Think maybe tracking apps have been instrumental in some reckless skiing - most vertical, speed, etc. More people on the mountain due to Ikon, or other reasons, trying to outdo each other!

this, 100%. and all season long, not just busy days. i frequently overhear people bragging about their stats... i dont get the appeal but its definitely gonna make certain people ski faster or for longer than they should so they can "win" in their "game."

also, its not the ikon pass, its this awful winter. people who only ski a handful of times a year are waiting for the snow to make their 3+hr long drives to the mountain. if this was a decent season, every saturday would be busy, but not overwhelmingly so save for the holiday periods. instead its boom or bust because of conditions. and thats every mountain in the northeast right now regardless of what pass theyre on.

[throbster]

[MrsG]

Don't click on the thread if you don't like it

[Captain Hafski]

Gotta disagree Mrs. G - Even last year, Holiday weekends [most Ikoners blocked out] were less busy than normal weekends.

That horse is still kickin' !

[MrsG]

Well, then it’s not dead

[Big Bob]

There are more people on the trails because of high speed lifts - and New England trails are way too narrow.

If Killington get's $30 per Ikon day ticket - every thousand people is $ 30K for 10 Saturdays that's $300K.

They'd sell that much more beer, etc if they limited tickets to 12K on Saturday - seems like the right number ish - no science there.

If we opened the K Zone bar and grill in Bay 1 we could go through 20 Kegs on Saturday - that's about 3000 beers at $10 bucks.......

Open the freaking UBAR and sell cans and burgers and I could make 50K on a Saturday.

They are not maximizing revenue for the Saturdays they are overselling the place.

Eventually the Town should shut it down by ticketing parking - then they'll fix it...........

So which Zoner holds the liquor license for the K Zone bar?