Skied Friday 12/18 at Hunter Mountain (now owned by Vail Resorts) after the Wednesday-Thursday storm which deposited 24 inches. Here are some observations:
1. "Limited Capacity" is a misnomer. The parking lots were filled to the level of a peak weekend crowd.
2. Lift lines were unreasonably long. The wait for the main lift reached 30 minutes by 10:30 AM.
3. Vail Resorts is not allocating the resources to ensure an excellent product. For example, Hunter squandered an opportunity to make snow Thursday night, despite ideal temperatures and a 24-inch natural base to build upon. Making snow on top of the natural and grooming it out, such as on "The Cliff", would have ensured excellent conditions leading into the holiday period. Instead, The Cliff was skied off on Thursday and closed on Friday.
4. Employees ensure that corporate social distancing guidelines are followed while loading the base area lifts, but not at upper mountain lifts, whose loading were essentially a free-for-all.
5. There is noticeably less grooming than in previous years.
6. The D-Lift's chairs were not cleared of snow, making it unavailable on a busy day.
7. The resort seems understaffed; perhaps because of the shortage of foreign workers, or maybe just cost-cutting.
One of the exceptions to obtain an Epic Pass refund is an unfavorable "Guest Experience". My Guest Experience lasted only 2 hours before bailing, despite being on line before lift opening. The skier parked next to me also quit at 11:00, as did our neighbor 2-cars down.
Hunter Mountain was once a family-owned resort whose owners skied the mountain and strived to consistently deliver an exceptional product. Now the resort is managed by corporate attorneys, risk managers, and remote employees who have likely never skied there. In all, very disappointing. I will try again on Tuesday which should be more representative of a typical weekday.
1. "Limited Capacity" is a misnomer. The parking lots were filled to the level of a peak weekend crowd.
2. Lift lines were unreasonably long. The wait for the main lift reached 30 minutes by 10:30 AM.
3. Vail Resorts is not allocating the resources to ensure an excellent product. For example, Hunter squandered an opportunity to make snow Thursday night, despite ideal temperatures and a 24-inch natural base to build upon. Making snow on top of the natural and grooming it out, such as on "The Cliff", would have ensured excellent conditions leading into the holiday period. Instead, The Cliff was skied off on Thursday and closed on Friday.
4. Employees ensure that corporate social distancing guidelines are followed while loading the base area lifts, but not at upper mountain lifts, whose loading were essentially a free-for-all.
5. There is noticeably less grooming than in previous years.
6. The D-Lift's chairs were not cleared of snow, making it unavailable on a busy day.
7. The resort seems understaffed; perhaps because of the shortage of foreign workers, or maybe just cost-cutting.
One of the exceptions to obtain an Epic Pass refund is an unfavorable "Guest Experience". My Guest Experience lasted only 2 hours before bailing, despite being on line before lift opening. The skier parked next to me also quit at 11:00, as did our neighbor 2-cars down.
Hunter Mountain was once a family-owned resort whose owners skied the mountain and strived to consistently deliver an exceptional product. Now the resort is managed by corporate attorneys, risk managers, and remote employees who have likely never skied there. In all, very disappointing. I will try again on Tuesday which should be more representative of a typical weekday.
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