STOWE prices: Fraud, Ripoff, or Are They Ever Worth It?

Kinda cool how this started as a flameout, and has turned into a real, insightful discussion. With some help from TC and the regulars.

I agree with Patrick about improvements. A slower ride on the chair can mean freshies last longer. Gore's got a nice setup I think. Two detachables get you to different parts of the mountain. But the dark side for example is served by an ancient, poky chair, and the goods last a long time over there. A HSQ would really change the mountain.

Another thing about Gore. EVERYBODY (except me) wants more parking. THAT I don't get. But hey...our place is 15 mins away and I'm always one of the first in the lot.

Improvements...watch what you wish for.

Mark
 
Harvey44":lxa0y5j1 said:
Improvements...watch what you wish for.
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Case and point, the Cloudspliter gondola at WF many years back. An improvement, somewhat? I was very satisfied staying on the double on Mountain Run or the Summit Triple then Quad. The new lift changed lifts opening regarding the double on quiet late season days and lift ticket price jumps by a huge margin for that season.

Another classic example that has been discussed greatly here: K Peak double replaced K1 gondola.
 
Is Stowe more reliable on powder days is a question I sort of already addressed when I suggested the best mountain out of this lot is the mountain you know the best on a powder day.
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I sort of presumed that Riverc0il knew all of them in Vermont in minute detail by now :wink: .

I do think we have to separate the ambience of ski areas from their natural attributes. People rag on Vail all the time because of "who skis there." The fact remains that it has more diverse terrain and usually more snow than its regional competitors. So I really don't care who else is skiing at an area as long as lift lines and skier density are reasonable.

If Stowe's pricing/reputation are designed to "keep the riffraff out," that would imply to me that the powder might last longer. Considering the steep premium we pay for freshies via snowcat, a higher lift-served ticket price is nothing IMHO if powder odds are being improved even modestly.

I'm in full agreement with the majority of FTO that too many ski areas are chasing the high end market, at the expense of wider demographics and future growth of the sport. I'm just pointing out that perhaps there are some times (powder days) when you might turn that strategy to your advantage.
 
amazingly well put tony!!! i gladly pay extra for powder of the untracked variety all the time. deer valley's pricey but on a powder day it can be truly priceless. same goes for stowe.
rog
p.s. i'm tryin to bribe one of my coworkers with cash to switch days off so i can ski sun-mon instead of my tues-wed. will pay for powder.
 
icelanticskier":3tj4do8k said:
i'm tryin to bribe one of my coworkers with cash to switch days off so i can ski sun-mon instead of my tues-wed. will pay for powder.
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Leave form is in, I'm not working on Monday. \:D/

PS. If only they would sign the one I submitted for that February week. :(
 
Article on trail expansion at Stowe from StoweReporter
http://stowereporter.com/news_tool_v2.c ... lnews&om=1

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Long Distance traveler and I choose Stowe again this year because of their pricing.... (went to SunValleyID last year - good, but not nearly as interesting as Stowe)

Here's the math:

6 traveling -- 2 adults, 3 teenagers + Kid (11)

Lodging - $950 for week (7nights) rental 2br Condo at Von Trapp Lodge (found on CyberRental) (no 10% state tax)

Lift Tickets - 5 days at Stowe Using their VRP pricing - $1380 (5adult tickets - + 1 free kids ticket + 4-5 day ski rentals) (one bringing SBoard) (+1 flex day)

StoweToys demo center 5 day rental $208 (I like the toys)

1 day at SugurBush @$62/day

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$2900 for 6 days of skiing at the best resort in the East (or)

~ $80/day/pp includes Lodging/Lifts/Rentals/Ski Storage (and no gear to lug around)

Consider if you were sending your kid to Harvard at $48K/yr what is the per day rate.....
 
Is your trip over, or upcoming, and is it during the holidays? That's a really decent condo rate, especially if it is peak.
 
One quick point back to the topic for the price of lift-tickets.

Yes, I believe Stowe probably the best mountain ski area in the East. However I DON'T necessarily think it's ...

65% worth more than Smuggs (based on discount tickets available - 32% window ticket)

46% (and 125% weekdays) worth more than MRG.

27% more than Jay's window ticket (some discounts can be found here).
 
I have been one of the those bashing the price of stowe during this discussion... so, I sheepishly come back to let you know about my weekend at stowe.

I was able to catch a great deal on tickets through working advantage (2 day ticket for $110) and a hotel with a pool for the kiddies for $81 a night.

The pow was incredible. Angel Food of the Gondola and the woods off the quad were great. Lots of sweet lines. It was surprisingly uncrowded.

I had great time. Still...$84?

asland
 
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