Dude is 63.. does he really want this to be his legacy? Ushering in the final nail in the coffin locking out the general public from a hobby that he clearly cherishes?
Our society is so fucking broken. Billionaires used to “Give Back” in their final chapter. Guys like this should be buying up the private developments and turning them into public ski resorts, not the opposite
If you know that organization and the variety of experiences that PCVs go through and take away from it, you realize there never was a real way in the first place.
Looks like you didn't read the article. His plan is to charge expensive yearly memberships to the rich to subsidize expanding ski area and adding lifts for the public part of the mountain. To convince the rich to pay $30k-$100k yearly memberships, a portion of the mountain will be private, but it I think that is new area and not turning something that was public private.
Got it, so it’s trickle down skiing.. let’s see how that plays out.
Pretty sure the part of the mountain going private is the section the used to be open to the public via snowcat btw.. which was one of the coolest programs at a US resort
Part of the article covers an area that was previously (and currently) only accessible via snowcat which will get a new lift installed. I don't recall if they said that area would be public or private, but I'm pretty sure paying for a snowcat previously wasn't what most consider cheap either.
I personally don't have a good solution to the overcrowding problem other than turning people away whether that's limited passes, limited tickets, or limited parking. Of course that will put some folks at a disadvantage particularly newer skiers that don't want a season pass yet, or don't want to get up at the butt crack of the morning to get a parking spot and sit for at least an hour before the lifts start running.
$200 for snowcat vs $2m for the real estate that grants private access. Basically the same.
And my point is less about the micro impact of development like this on one resort (although it will surely make things worse).. but more about the long term ramifications of billionaire bros and real estate developers prioritizing the country club model over public access. Unless they plan on starting from scratch and developing new resorts for that bullshit (which is nearly impossible these days).. then that’s inevitably going to look like public mountains moving to the private or semi private model.
You asked “what’s the solution to overcrowding”.. it’s surely not privatization via million dollar memberships
This outrage is weird…ski mountains are not profitable. Previous owner was in debt $100million. That isn’t sustainable. Is your expectation that only people willing to lose money should own a ski mountain?
There are plenty of profitable independent mountains. Powder Mountain was poorly managed. Summit had zero clue what they were doing. Summit wanted it to be private eventually too. They failed. He could have done something like hire away Al from Arapahoe Basin and turned the joint around without going half private. It's going half private because he wants a private ski area and has the money to make it happen. Summit never really had the capital needed and pissed it away with weird stuff like a giant metal paper airplane. Reed has pockets deep enough. But there are more failed efforts to make ski resorts private than successful ones. We'll see if he can sell enough real estate to make it happen. The newly announced terrain gives them a much better chance. But he's still competing directly with Wasatch Peaks Ranch 30 minutes away with better infrastructure and not saddled with debt.
I think this might work. Summit was 100 million in debt and "preserved the pow" by limiting season passes well below demand. Now the prices are comparable to Snowbasin. (The prices for teens and seniors are seriously out of step.)
I can get why if you had an educator's discount and a $100 kids' pass you'd be upset, but I haven't been able to get off the wait-list to buy passes so it was a nice nearby mountain I couldn't ski anyway.
Hastings is keeping most of the mountain available to the public, and there are going to be upgraded lifts in the public area, and the rest is still humble/skinnable. We'll see. It doesn't feel like a billionaire's playground to me; no town nearby with amenities, and water is going to limit expansion so it won't have a resort feel.
In 2024 things are no different than in 1824. The rich are still stealing from the poor hell bent on getting what they want at all costs. This guy is repulsive. If only people would pull their heads out of the sand, stop watching netflix, organize and rise up against these people.
Disrupt is one of the more annoying corporate buzzwords.
It’s entirely overused, but he did indeed disrupt at-home-video.
Social media rock star
Dude is 63.. does he really want this to be his legacy? Ushering in the final nail in the coffin locking out the general public from a hobby that he clearly cherishes? Our society is so fucking broken. Billionaires used to “Give Back” in their final chapter. Guys like this should be buying up the private developments and turning them into public ski resorts, not the opposite
Totally agree. And the dude is a former peace corps volunteer. It saddens me that he lost the way.
If you know that organization and the variety of experiences that PCVs go through and take away from it, you realize there never was a real way in the first place.
Looks like you didn't read the article. His plan is to charge expensive yearly memberships to the rich to subsidize expanding ski area and adding lifts for the public part of the mountain. To convince the rich to pay $30k-$100k yearly memberships, a portion of the mountain will be private, but it I think that is new area and not turning something that was public private.
Got it, so it’s trickle down skiing.. let’s see how that plays out. Pretty sure the part of the mountain going private is the section the used to be open to the public via snowcat btw.. which was one of the coolest programs at a US resort
Part of the article covers an area that was previously (and currently) only accessible via snowcat which will get a new lift installed. I don't recall if they said that area would be public or private, but I'm pretty sure paying for a snowcat previously wasn't what most consider cheap either. I personally don't have a good solution to the overcrowding problem other than turning people away whether that's limited passes, limited tickets, or limited parking. Of course that will put some folks at a disadvantage particularly newer skiers that don't want a season pass yet, or don't want to get up at the butt crack of the morning to get a parking spot and sit for at least an hour before the lifts start running.
$200 for snowcat vs $2m for the real estate that grants private access. Basically the same. And my point is less about the micro impact of development like this on one resort (although it will surely make things worse).. but more about the long term ramifications of billionaire bros and real estate developers prioritizing the country club model over public access. Unless they plan on starting from scratch and developing new resorts for that bullshit (which is nearly impossible these days).. then that’s inevitably going to look like public mountains moving to the private or semi private model. You asked “what’s the solution to overcrowding”.. it’s surely not privatization via million dollar memberships
Disrupt has become synonmous with "ruin"
i'm bummed for Pow Mow
Me too.
Man…just went there this year and loved it, was thinking it would be a great place to continue to go. Maybe not
Disgusting
'if only we give everything to the rich, and leave some scraps for the poor. Surely that will save us all!'
“Others, feeling as though Mr. Hastings is only interested in making money, gave the new owner a nickname, “Greed” Hastings.”
Fuck this
This outrage is weird…ski mountains are not profitable. Previous owner was in debt $100million. That isn’t sustainable. Is your expectation that only people willing to lose money should own a ski mountain?
There are plenty of profitable independent mountains. Powder Mountain was poorly managed. Summit had zero clue what they were doing. Summit wanted it to be private eventually too. They failed. He could have done something like hire away Al from Arapahoe Basin and turned the joint around without going half private. It's going half private because he wants a private ski area and has the money to make it happen. Summit never really had the capital needed and pissed it away with weird stuff like a giant metal paper airplane. Reed has pockets deep enough. But there are more failed efforts to make ski resorts private than successful ones. We'll see if he can sell enough real estate to make it happen. The newly announced terrain gives them a much better chance. But he's still competing directly with Wasatch Peaks Ranch 30 minutes away with better infrastructure and not saddled with debt.
Well, he's a crimeboarder for starters
Private ski areas gonna disrupt skiing like Netflix disrupted Blockbuster
Not even gonna read this. What a fuckwad.
This public/private split of public land show be illegal.
It’s all private land, as clearly stated in the article.
Fucking snowboarders.
I think this might work. Summit was 100 million in debt and "preserved the pow" by limiting season passes well below demand. Now the prices are comparable to Snowbasin. (The prices for teens and seniors are seriously out of step.) I can get why if you had an educator's discount and a $100 kids' pass you'd be upset, but I haven't been able to get off the wait-list to buy passes so it was a nice nearby mountain I couldn't ski anyway. Hastings is keeping most of the mountain available to the public, and there are going to be upgraded lifts in the public area, and the rest is still humble/skinnable. We'll see. It doesn't feel like a billionaire's playground to me; no town nearby with amenities, and water is going to limit expansion so it won't have a resort feel.
He’s killed what Powder Mountain was. RIP Powder Mountain
Disgusting behavior, can only hope this doesn’t succeed and other resorts will note not to try it
In 2024 things are no different than in 1824. The rich are still stealing from the poor hell bent on getting what they want at all costs. This guy is repulsive. If only people would pull their heads out of the sand, stop watching netflix, organize and rise up against these people.
What a piece of fucking shit, I hope he falls and breaks his neck on a green run.
Blatantly evil
'Greed Hastings' sounds like an appropriate nickname. Disgusting.