Eldora pay to play

[Jong Lafitte]

From the website:

On peak-visitation days—Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and to-be-determined high-traffic week days between December 15 and April 14—vehicles with fewer than three occupants will be required to pay a per-vehicle parking fee of $20 at a parking payment kiosk or on the PassportParking Mobile Pay app. For the remainder of the 2018-19 season, Eldora season passholders are eligible to waive the parking fee by registering their car with Eldora (one vehicle per Eldora season passholder age 16+), however, we very strongly encourage all guests to use RTD and to carpool whenever possible.

(emphasis added) OK fucking SERIOUSLY, so I'm now being punished for having an Ikon pass. THANKS. I find this pretty fucking heartbreaking, again, INFORMATION THAT I COULD HAVE USED YESTERDAY!!!

[jpcm]

Nope, this is horseshit. Here's why:

The whole point of Eldora for Boulder County people is that you can run up for a few turns. No more running up with your kid for a half weekend day. You pay $800 for you and your kid for the year, and now to ski 10 weekend days adds $200? Bullshit.

You ever take the bus? Standing room only now. Unless they add 3 times the buses, there is no way you are getting up there on the bus. Total shit show.

The other reason to have an Eldora pass for Boulder people is to run up on a weekday for a half day. $20 powder surcharge for 3 mini powder runs before the snow runs out now. Nice to announce that AFTER folks have bought their passes.

Which is the biggest bullshit. Announcing it after people already bought their pass. They are taking hostages. Folks have no choice.

If I was an Eldora parent with a little kid I'd be so so so pissed. This is a big middle finger to their skier base.

I see your point on the timing of the announcement, and frankly it’s another example of poor foresight on Eldora’s part not seeing this becoming an issue. But, the current weekend traffic situation is brutal and needs to be addressed.

No I haven’t taken the bus, nor do I plan to. I’ll maybe go to Eldora two or three more times this year so if I have to pay, I will. I may also be more inclined to drive to WP on those days.

And yea the Boulder dad with one kid gets the shaft but there are workarounds

[Danno]

This isn't going to do shit to congestion. Except put more people on the slopes and more money in Eldora's pocket..

Yep. Exactly. They'll make money in parking and make money because more people are in the slopes.

My only surprise is that Eldora hadn’t fucked this up years ago.

Sadly, true

[fastfred]

ha

like RTD isn't bankrupt and mismanaged, pretty sure they aren't going to send any more buses up there to make sure people can ski
eldora is getting 4 bucks a skier right now from ikon, pretty sure they are loosing money big time

its funny how no one thinks about or looks to address these problems until they reach ikonic shit show proportions

the county has been shuttling people into eldora (townsite/trailhead) for years now because that has become such a cluster fuck, to think I wanted to live in eldora years ago, dealing with boulder trash every weekend would have been numbing

and whoever said bushwacking to the bottom of corona bowl? good luck, if you do it let me know how it goes
eldora was so much fun twenty years ago, I can't imagine what a disaster it has become

[Kinnikinnick]

This sucks. Springing it on us mid season especially

So much for the taking one kid up for a quick couple hours while the other is at dance/tennis.

So much for the quick solo dad trip for 3 hours and a couple BC laps before afternoon responsibilities.

I wrote them a email and told them that this = $0 from me for food or drinks. BYOB. Bringing PBand Js for the kids



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[The SnowShow]

It’s under 400’ vert from the Hessie TR to the lifts. Sounds doable it there isn’t crazy amounts of deadfall.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
eldora was so much fun twenty years ago,

No... no it wasn't. It has sucked for at *least* that long. I suspect you may have been too stoned to notice?

NTTAWWT.

[fastfred]

It’s under 400’ vert from the Hessie TR to the lifts. Sounds doable it there isn’t crazy amounts of deadfall.

deadfall, rocks, super steep in places, easy to get screwed
used to ski the bowl west of corona and half the time mistakes were made and getting back to the ski area blew

[fastfred]

No... no it wasn't. It has sucked for at *least* that long. I suspect you may have been too stoned to notice?

NTTAWWT.

any skiing is good skiing
only bad days I"ve had skiing is when I've hurt myself and ended up in the er
mid week mornings with no one around was always fun at eldora, the place is great

[Fritz]

Has anyone tried to skin from the Hesse trail head to the base of Corona? Are the trees/shrubs just too thick? Thinking no parking fee and first in line for Corona. If it’s not total bush whacking it can’t take more then 15-20 minutes.

I’ve found myself within the eldora boundary many times by accident while skiing out of Hesse /Bryan mountain area. It’s very easy.

[Danno]

People are really really pissed. Yet I bet many don't even know, as they seem to have sent out an email to only some people. And the Boulder Daily Camera and Denver Post have not run stories on this yet.

[Fritz]

They ran a story on 9 news this weekend. During the interview they were claiming that they were doing it for environmental reasons and to take some pressure off of the local infrastructure. I wanted to puke.

[Alpinord]

‘As the Bullwheel Turns’

It’s been a zoo through Ned for decades. I’m surprised they hadn’t done something more creative long ago. Certainly, with more warning.

With the IKON pass does Eldora get a taste regardless if skiers and riders show up? With Mtn Collective, if it wasn’t used at a given area, that area did not receive a share.


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[Fritz]

Also heard that the city owns the lot and they made the decision. But that was overhead at the bar a second ago so could be bullshit.

[Danno]

There are numerous ways Eldora could have handled this. First and foremost would be to announce the plan well in advance of the season, especially since they are eliminating all fully free parking on weekends.

Other options:

1. A more nominal fee, like $5 or $10, would have raised less concerns.
2. A more clear policy regarding non-weekend "high traffic" days, which is basically powder days, but they have no set policy so nobody knows what days will qualify and force people to pay.
3. A free and a pay lot. Maybe make the upper lot (is it called "north lot"?) free and the lot below is carpool-free/$20.
4. A shuttle alternative. This policy screws "real" locals who don't live in Boulder or elsewhere on the front range; these people have no easy opportunity to carpool (unless they have 3 people in their house). And they can't take the bus because there is no bus.
5. Recognition of their market. Many locals bought Ikon passes because why not? It wasn't much more $ and there was little reason not to buy it. But now they're favoring Eldora season pass holders, as if those people are the real locals, which is not true.
6. Recognition of their market, part 2: many people cruise up there in the afternoon to get a few runs in, or take their kid for a few runs, etc. Their policy basically makes those people SOL. We all know that you either arrive early on weekends or go up in the afternoon, but now they have eliminated the afternoon crowd. Who is going to pay $20 for a few runs (on top of the pass itself)?

And they keep crying about how they are being "transparent", which is just insulting; to begin with, they haven't even announced the policy fully (it seems like Ikon pass holders did not get an email, and while they are getting lots of flack on twitter and FB, those pages don't have a formal announcement of the policy either). Also insulting that they are claiming to do this for the environment, when the real motivations are obviously to get more skiers on the hill (more money from F&B and presumably from each scanned Ikon pass) while at the same time getting parking revenue.

[goldengatestinx]

People with a pass park free. And if there's a pay kiosk, once you leave the car, how do they know there were less than 3 when it was parked?

[The SnowShow]

People with a pass park free. And if there's a pay kiosk, once you leave the car, how do they know there were less than 3 when it was parked?

They’ll probably have people out there sending one line of cars to one lot set aside for carpoolers, and another with people taking your cash.

People with an Ikon pass don’t park free. That’s so fucked up they didn’t tell paying passholders in advance. Next Winter Park will be charging $20 to park at the Jane.

[cdubski]

Sam bass was supposed to bring some professionalism to this little hill. I wonder what his input on this decision was.

[Danno]

People with a pass park free. And if there's a pay kiosk, once you leave the car, how do they know there were less than 3 when it was parked?

People with an Eldora-only pass park free (in a specific car, you have to register the car with them). Ikon pass holders are screwed. And given how much the Eldora-only pass cost relative to Ikon, many many many locals paid the slight upcharge for Ikon.

They’ll probably have people out there sending one line of cars to one lot set aside for carpoolers, and another with people taking your cash.

Nope. Everyone pays at the kiosk (and presumably, they will have enforcement checking license plates against the info generated by the pay kiosk). When you enter with 3 people, they will give you a code to "pay" at the kiosk.

At least that is my understanding. I saw 2 kiosks at the base area. I am hilariously imagining long lines at the kiosks on a powder day.

[Danno]

Sam bass was supposed to bring some professionalism to this little hill. I wonder what his input on this decision was.

Well, he's the name they are putting forward, when they put a name forward. Which is not much, most people I know didn't even get the announcement email, and there's no announcement on their website (other than just info on the program, but no big announcement of it), facebook, or twitter. But the single news story I have seen had him front and center.

[hatchgreenchile]

While I don't entirely agree with it, they had to do something.
They've gotten too big for their own good.

[cdubski]

Well, he's the name they are putting forward, when they put a name forward. Which is not much, most people I know didn't even get the announcement email, and there's no announcement on their website (other than just info on the program, but no big announcement of it), facebook, or twitter. But the single news story I have seen had him front and center.

Bummer. I didn’t get an email, either. I comment on their IG though their comments seemed to be turned off on their most recent post. I hardly go there, and now one more reason not to.

[NorCalNomad]

Glad at least Squaw is only giving you shitty parking for not paying and making you pay for the good stuff if you don't have 3 people.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

IKON pass holders should complain to IKON, since Eldora is effectively reducing the value of the pass.

[Elkhound Odin]

I wonder what will happen if you don't pay? I can't see them trying to tow vehicles as tight as they pack in the rows. Boots for everyone?