Thread: Revelstoke Mountain Resort Closing Early- No Announcement = Epic Fail

Originally Posted by jeffro83

i like the skiing at revvy, though granted, i've never toured in the same area, so i don't have anything to compare it against immediately close (i'm much more into KH than revvy, fwiw). but last time i was out there, i was bombarded by all the real estate hoopla that seems to keep that place so popular.

all we hear at red resort (at least this season) is real estate galore, as well. the big buzz a month or so ago was that building lots that were originally up for grabs for $250k+ are now $79k (allegedly 'builder cost'). i found it somewhat surprising that the 'orientation meeting' all the staff went to before the season started was much more of a real estate marketing pitch than talking about ski operations.

i think we're done on the 8th or 9th of april as well. they laid off a number of part-timers in multiple departments months ago, and the crazy lady in the cafeteria was literally begging people to buy chocolate bars they had on special. it's been a rough season for the hill here for sure.


but yea, back to revvy...how's the season been this year, anyway? worth the 3 or 4 hour drive for a midweek day or 2 of riding?

I completely agree with you there on the RE push, it really dilutes the experience that people come to Red for and it's almost in-your-face on the website. I don't think such aggressive marketing is needed because if people want real estate, they'll actively look for it and find it. Trouble is, nobody's looking. Period. So, the powers-to-be deem that when people aren't knocking on the door = more aggressive advertising to find the ones that are looking. Doesn't really work.

Never was a fan of that style of marketing, but the reality of it is that it bankrolls new lifts. Everyone knows this. Ski resorts run on the tightest margins and when a season like this one happens, with little snow during the holiday periods (and lower visits as a result), the end of the season is usually a gong show as departments try to cut to make up for the downside in their budgets.

Speaking of Revelstoke - all of these selling to RCR rumors are just that, rumors. Revelstoke has a huge investment in their infrastructure and real estate, that any sale today would probably result in RCR acquiring a massive debt. Most of Revelstoke's financing is through the Gaglardi family and some other investors, and they would have to write off their investment in a sale, so they probably won't agree to it, even if the corporation wants to do it.

Revelstoke is really fun up top!

Sent from my Paranoid Android using TGR forums.

The Real Estate sales model is flawed. If you're going to operate a ski resort, the resort should be able to operate itself, and you should not be relying on a different business to attract customers. The resorts in the National Parks make a go of it (SSV, LL and Marmot Basin) despite no on-hill hotels (SSV has some, others none) and no condos to sell.

If I were running a ski resort operation, I would have the ski ops and real estate as completely separate entities and each would have to stand in its own.

The problem with Revy, Whitewater and Red is distance from large populations and good airports. Sure, lots of AB plates at Revy, but ticket sale numbers like LL or SSV? Not even close. That might be great for lift lines, but bad for business.

Ski resorts are some of the worst run businesses I've ever seen. Terrible! My wife HATES going to a new resort. Why? Because she's always unsure of where to park, where to buy tickets, where to find anything. It would be a simple thing to have a "First Time at Our Resort" section on the web page to explain to new-comers where to go and so on. But, I've never seen that. Then there is food service. Why do so many people bag their lunches? What a helluva loss of income. Then they try to make up for the lack of sales volume for food by jacking prices. Yeah, like that works.

The maze system for lifts is almost always stupid and disorganized. There's a massive thread here about a confrontation created by such stupidity, and crap like that could easily be avoided, but for some reason, resorts are not proactive. My missus would probably never go back to someplace that had that Wade dude go off like that. She'd be worried about making a mistake in the maze and having "aggro freak" lose his shit. If the line up system precludes crap like that, everyone has a better experience.

But, for the most part, any resort I've been to seems to have little or no concern about the experience people have while there. They keep the process of arriving a secret, they sell overpriced garbage food, the lift lines are a mess, and some places spend more time trying to sell you a condo than get you skiing.

I'm shocked that Red and Revy are even in business.

don't get jong_c on the lift system at Revy, he can talk your ears off

and to think how grand their plans were! frankly, i wouldn't have minded at all if they got all in place -- ain't my money paying for it

Originally Posted by johngenx

I'm shocked that Red and Revy are even in business.

I wouldn't really lump Red and Revelstoke into the same group. Like Revelstoke is $250 million in debt. And Red isn't.

I wish Revelstoke had been a public company with a huge float and unlimited borrows.

The real estate business model is OVER. it was a ten year anomoly that every sell out ski bum tried to get on board with.

As for that dumbass mock up, I guess that is what you get when your mountain manager arrives on an airplane from Stowe. Any dumbfuck who has spent more then an hour in Revy knows that the top 1500 vertical is where to focus your energy. There should be one run to get down and the top heavily gladed with a 3 or 4 double chairs. Voilla' profit....

Can this model be profitable? It was for 50 years and still is. That thing shoulda been built with a long term vision by locals in a publicly held corp just like Lee lau says. But instead it was basterdized by non skiing golf course developers from Colorado and the east coast looking to make a quick buck. get in get out and if it goes bad get bailed out and walk away clean with some of the capital skimmed away to offshore acounts. Support Revy? support this business model.

Yeah, helicopter pads in front of your second home, good one.....

I heard it's closing early to save mone so Galiardi can make a play for Rick Nash in the offseason. Nash==>Dallas next summer, Revy jongs start riding their mountain bikes in April.

RMR is a snowless, ponzi scheme, blah, blah, blah, etc etc. we get it, we got it three years ago JongC.

Originally Posted by ryank

I wouldn't really lump Red and Revelstoke into the same group. Like Revelstoke is $250 million in debt. And Red isn't.

i've heard a mixed bag of attitudes among red, revelstoke, & even kicking horse; in terms of "what the ski resort did to our town." maybe it's changed a bit in either direction over the past 5 or 10 years, but last time i was at kicking horse, the locals HATED the fact that KHMR was having its own mini-boom. a bunch of locals (especially small business owners) at revvy were saying "well at least my house tripled in value." and here at red, there's genuinely a lot of old timers that don't give a shit about development...they seem like the kind of stubborn old farts that would pool their $$$ together and collectively buy the damn ski hill if it somehow went belly up. little do they know/care, i'm pretty sure these old farts i describe (and their sons/daughters/grandsons/granddaughters) help the hill stay in business by buying seasons passes for their families for 40+ years in a row. daily ticket sales, retail, real estate keep the hill going and maybe even profitable in a good year, but at a place like red...it's a bit of an anomaly. i would really like to know how many season's passes they sell on average here.

you definitely don't see that outlook at revvy. the history and nostalgia just ain't there!

also, fwiw...i think WH20 has some pretty serious potential for expansion if they get some $$$ together to do it. the whole friggin resort is surrounded by awesome, skiable terrain. if they had a tbar up to the top (or close to it) of ymir, i'd almost feel like i was in fernie or something.

I Knew Jong C would try to take over this thread by Cunting it up with his hate for Revelstoke. If you hate it that much, just stfu and don't come here. We'll be fine really, we have enough douche bag alberta sled necks in this town already, don't need another voice to add to that choir.

Back on topic, I sent an email to Management on Friday and received an auto message saying my message would be responded to in 48hrs. It's been 4 days and still no reply.

I'm really not that upset about the early closing, I'm upset that the management are a bunch of whiny little girls who instead of being upfront about this are running and hiding. Not answering any questions and not making any announcements is a BS way to do business, what are you so afraid of Rod Kessler?

Originally Posted by jeffro83

i've heard a mixed bag of attitudes among red, revelstoke, & even kicking horse; in terms of "what the ski resort did to our town." maybe it's changed a bit in either direction over the past 5 or 10 years, but last time i was at kicking horse, the locals HATED the fact that KHMR was having its own mini-boom.

I been in these discussions a fair bit and yes the industrial worker in Golden who rented has lost out big time. Every thing after that is up for debate. I think some locals had sunshine and farts ideas of what that hill would do for the town. But then again you can't go downtown and not see the improvement over the last ten years. The hill was never going to provide lots of high paying jobs just more of the same service industry. The hill wasn't going to make the mill profitable against the other LP mill or stop the relocation of some jobs from the yard to Cranbrook. The hill isn't going to give tons to the community as its just not that profitable. The economic base of Golden is the mill and the CP yard. The other stuff is important, non LP logging, guiding, gasoline alley and cheap motels, but not compared to the big ones.

Another Real Estate Boom!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...-approval.html

Saturate that Market Boys…..

So here’s a list of Destination Resorts that will require customers to fly through the Calgary Airport. The pie’s getting smaller.

Sunshine
Lake Louise
Fernie
Panorama
Kicking Horse
Revelstoke
Jumbo

Not so destination but worthy..

Castle
Whitewater

Not so destination and not worthy..

Nakiska
Norquay
The one with no snow in Coleman

I really don’t get it.

Revy is way easier to access from Kelowna.

Originally Posted by Your mom's a snowblader

I Knew Jong C would try to take over this thread by Cunting it up with his hate for Revelstoke. If you hate it that much, just stfu and don't come here. We'll be fine really, we have enough douche bag alberta sled necks in this town already, don't need another voice to add to that choir.

Back on topic, I sent an email to Management on Friday and received an auto message saying my message would be responded to in 48hrs. It's been 4 days and still no reply.

I'm really not that upset about the early closing, I'm upset that the management are a bunch of whiny little girls who instead of being upfront about this are running and hiding. Not answering any questions and not making any announcements is a BS way to do business, what are you so afraid of Rod Kessler?

I bet you posted on their facebook site too, expecting that you'll change the minds of management. its puking out there right now, the stoke just opened, go take your childish anger to the hill and ski powder.

Here's the official explanation from the resort: http://www.revelstoketimesreview.com...143507076.html

And a petition someone has started: http://www.change.org/petitions/reve...-we-want-may-1

Also, Kicking Horse just announced a bonus weekend, which I bet is partially in response to this.

Buy a sled and or touring gear and get after it. I plan on skiing well into May this year. So much snow!

One of the main reasons I got a sled was because I couldn't handle all the BS at resorts.......... Untracked snow doesn't hurt either!

I can't believe it - I've only gotten like 50 days on my pass this year and the hill is closing early - what a ripoff.






Seriously though - the people complaining about this are a bit ridiculous and are coming across like annoying children. Did you decide to buy your season pass at RMR because you knew it was going to be open two extra weekends? Would the skiing be good if they stayed open? Yes. Would the hill make any money? No. Do they care that they might piss a few people off by closing early? No the only thing that matters is the bottom line. In the long run that may lose them some customers (if it really pisses you off give your business to someone else next season or go out touring instead) but that seems to be a gamble they are willing to take.

Out of curiosity if the hill stayed open but said season passes were no longer valid and you had to buy a day pass would you still go?

Originally Posted by el hefe

Revy is way easier to access from Kelowna.

and Calgary is waaayyyyyyyyyy easier to fly into than Kelowna. But I'm sure they'll get those flights from Europe to Kelowna.

"But I'm sure they'll get those flights from Europe to Kelowna."

It's about $100 for a connecting flight from Cowtown to Ktown. Beats driving.

Basically the ski business model for interior B.C. ski resorts is (except for holiday weeks) break even Monday to Thursday and make a profit Friday to Sunday. After B.C. Spring Break most resorts are lucky to break even on weekends.

My home mountain, Sun Peaks, is one of the more successful resorts and it does just enough business over the course of the season to hold its own and no longer needs an annual influx of cash from the parent company, Nippon Cable. Yet after Spring Break, next week, Sun Peaks will be a ghost town mid-week and weekends. The blame for closing the Burfield chair mid-week and the entire operation in early April is on the skiers or lack of skiers not the mountain management.

If you object to the official response, http://www.revelstoketimesreview.com/news/143507076.htm either because the resort is at fault for not reading its own website OR that opening a few extra luscious spring weekends will surely benefit those who have waited in line during the 25% increase in traffic OR that locals contributed much to the growth of the resort OR that staying open will inject extra funds into the community OR anything else pls sign http://www.change.org/petitions/reve...-we-want-may-1

Originally Posted by DougW

The economic base of Golden is the mill and the CP yard.

The hill definitely supports the bars, those lifties are at the bars every night If the plans for CP hold true (i.e. consolidating/closing Cranbrook and Revy Yards), Golden should be back on its feet.

Originally Posted by goldenshowers

The hill definitely supports the bars, those lifties are at the bars every night If the plans for CP hold true (i.e. consolidating/closing Cranbrook and Revy Yards), Golden should be back on its feet.

Last I heard Golden had lost work to Cranbrook doing repairs on coal cars. I haven't spoken with anyone at LP lately but the parking lot seemed pretty full on Monday which is a good sign.