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Uh oh. Fast Tracks at Powdr resorts is coming

givethepigeye

Really, just Rob will do
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ok - spend as much energy on eliminating the ski school line and I will believe you actually believe this is all about inequality……..on a ski hill…….where passes are nearly $1k and day tickets +$100.

we get it - your po’d. The “fight club” secret side door is now out in the open for all to see and use…..if they want to.
 

crgildart

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ok - spend as much energy on eliminating the ski school line and I will believe you actually believe this is all about inequality……..on a ski hill…….where passes are nearly $1k and day tickets +$100.

we get it - your po’d. The “fight club” secret side door is now out in the open for all to see and use…..if they want to.
imagine the rage if they shut down the singles line ENTIRELY for only FTP members and made the locals commune with the unwashed masses in the regular corral to coordinate and fill up seats starting from the back?? Oh the humanity!
 

Philpug

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I see social inequality is when you do not have the opportunity someone else does. In this case, anyone who buys a lift ticket or a pass has the opportunity to upgrade to this. We are talking skiing here, not yacht racing or sports that you Forbes level wealth to participate in.
 

jmeb

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Theoretically, if inequality of income and wealth continually increases, eventually one person has everything and the economy collapses. Historically, extreme inequality ends in political instability and/or economic disaster, but that will never happen here.
This is either great satire, or American exceptionalism at it's finest.
 

Nancy Hummel

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I guess I view it like the toll lanes on I-70. Same amount of traffic headed to Denver. If people want to pay to go in the toll lane, the lane I drive in is less crowded. Whether they get there faster than me, so what.

There are days I need/want to get to Denver faster and I am willing to pay for that convenience.
 

Vinnie

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Just got this from my son:

Especially out west where most ski resorts operate on public land, equal access for all users should be the rule.
 

CascadeConcrete

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The ski resort's very existence provides unequal access. Either you can afford the lift tickets to use it (or season passes to use it a lot) or you can't. Maybe you can afford the cheap weeknight tickets, but not the full holiday weekend rate, etc. There's tons of other similar public land nearby that's completely free to use. Love or hate the fast pass, this is a laughably flawed argument.
 
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blackke17

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Man, I just heard about this today . gonna be interesting to see the results at Snowbird this winter. if one can get 2 or 3 runs completed in the same amount of time it takes the regular line to get one in. how much is that worth? ..... honestly, I may be asking myself that question this winter.

I spent some very frustrating days in LCC last winter

alot of great comments in this thread
 

Andy Mink

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I think we're having two discussions here, though related. One is equity, one is impact.
 

crgildart

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I guess I view it like the toll lanes on I-70. Same amount of traffic headed to Denver. If people want to pay to go in the toll lane, the lane I drive in is less crowded. Whether they get there faster than me, so what.

There are days I need/want to get to Denver faster and I am willing to pay for that convenience.
It's more like a better onramp to the same highway where you displace someone else waiting on the onramp that was there before you but you get on the road first cutting them off on the way.

A toll lane would be like a different lift running along side just for the toll pass holders.
 

François Pugh

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How do you feel about CLEAR then at the airport? I pay extra for it, I walk up and get escorted to the front of the line and in front of you. I don’t have to get to the airport 2 hours early, basically it’s a leisurely stroll from curb to gate. Same, same.

I get the salt, but this model is place virtually everywhere.
Let's just say I hope the ski industry doesn't use the airline industry's customer service as a model.
 

Nancy Hummel

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It's more like a better onramp to the same highway where you displace someone else waiting on the onramp that was there before you but you get on the road first cutting them off on the way.

A toll lane would be like a different lift running along side just for the toll pass holders.

This is how I view it. You are entitled to your own interpretation.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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I think we're having two discussions here, though related. One is equity, one is impact.
You are on a roll with rational posts in this thread.

I'm not entirely rational about this topic and definitely have a "side," but I like the way you're trying to apply some level of science to the conversation.
 

crgildart

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It's definitely paying to cut in an established line ahead of other people already there. But, it's freaking skiing where there are plenty of other tiers of access and privilege happening already..
 

raisingarizona

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I don't see the difference, if you assume (as I believe often happens) that it's not really a lesson, but just a way to cut the line.

And I think Copper has had it for several years now, but maybe only on pass products (rather than daily purchases)? If so, that would have served to limit how many people would buy it.

That said, I'm not really in favor of it if it was up to me... I don't like the impression/idea that it creates different classes of access out on the mountain. (I think likewise for the amusement parks.) But I don't believe it's a big deal.
One could argue that the difference is that by taking a lesson you are at least supporting a local by getting your instructor paid and tipped. That gives back to the local economy instead of just padding the pockets of the ski area.
 

crgildart

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One could argue that the difference is that by taking a lesson you are at least supporting a local by getting your instructor paid and tipped. That gives back to the local economy instead of just padding the pockets of the ski area.
And if all the instructors are taken they can't sell more <line cutting> lessons. Makes them want to hire even more staff when demand is high. You're a "job creator".
 

Nancy Hummel

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Ski areas are in the business of making money. Many people on this website love and purchase the relatively inexpensive passes. I don't see the problem with them generating revenue in other ways.

Ski school lines are a perk for people who buy lessons. I can only imagine the complaints if people purchase a $800 per day private lesson and spend half of the day standing in line.
 

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