217 replies to this topic

[thairston96]

Are they making it a Challnger terminal to match the other terminals on the lift? Also, the pictures I saw of the color scheme on the cabriolet in nothing like this, wouldn't they want to keep them all similar?

floridaskier, on 19 November 2010 - 01:50 PM, said:

The Facebook page says these were taken yesterday. They'll be lucky to open by Christmas with the gondola so far from being done. Without snow down there, they can't open Orange Bubble either, so the gondola is the only way to access the mountain. It looks like they have a ways to go on Orange Bubble too. If they did snap the angle station together yesterday, how long could it be before they were able to open it? Do they have to load test the gondola again? I would assume they tied down the haul rope somewhere uphill of the angle station so they don't have to pull it across the gorge again, but that means they still have to pull it over the last few towers, splice it again, and what else? I'm worried about them making for the holiday rush. Crystal's gondola seems to be farther along than this, and they're not opening that anytime soon either.

[SkiBachelor]

Yes, it will be the Challenger series.

[floridaskier]

A post today from the Facebook wall:

"A Dopplemeyer rep told me the Bubble chair should be working by the end of the week. Followed by certification, the 10th should be no problem. The Gondola has it's power and control cables strung. The angle station looks almost done, and all but the several lower new towers have the main cable strung. I would bet the Gondola will be done as well."

[Tin Woodsman]

Take this fWIW, but I read on another forum that there may be an issue with the Iron Mtn lift as well. Apparently they are concerned that cutting the lift line may have created a slide path that could endanger the bottom terminal and they are evaluating ways to mitigate the risk, including building a large concrete retaining structure. This is like 4th hand stuff heard in a PC bar, so take it with a whole shaker of salt.

[Kicking Horse]

Tin Woodsman, on 23 November 2010 - 11:36 AM, said:

Take this fWIW, but I read on another forum that there may be an issue with the Iron Mtn lift as well. Apparently they are concerned that cutting the lift line may have created a slide path that could endanger the bottom terminal and they are evaluating ways to mitigate the risk, including building a large concrete retaining structure. This is like 4th hand stuff heard in a PC bar, so take it with a whole shaker of salt.

Ah the storys you hear in from the local bar!!!


(but would not surpise me)

[Skiing#1]

The Canyons was planning to open friday, November 26 but they pushed to December 10th due the contructions. I saw the pictures...the new gondola cars are sitting on the ground. Also they work with the new chairlift and Cabriolet lift. The holders are upset.

http://www.ksl.com/?...48&sid=13390673

Construction delays opening of The Canyons; season pass holders upset
November 23rd, 2010 @ 5:35pm
By Jennifer Stagg
SUMMIT COUNTY -- Two massive snow storms in less than a week, and skiers and snowboarders are itching to get on the slopes.

This is Jarrett Killpack's first season purchasing a season pass, and he chose The Canyons. He couldn't wait for opening day, which was scheduled for November 26th. However, when he checked the Canyons' Facebook page this week, he found a press release from the resort, followed by a flurry of angry posts from season pass holders. Opening day is pushed back two weeks.

"It said ‘we are pleased to announce The Canyons will be opening December 10th,'" Killpack said. "Really it should be ‘we're sorry but we're not opening till the 10th.'" [CLICK HERE to read the letter from The Canyons to season pass holders]

Killpack thought about getting a refund and buying a pass somewhere else, but it's long past the deadline for early bird specials. A new pass at a different resort would end up costing him hundreds of additional dollars.

"That's a huge chunk of the season that they've kind of messed up for the season pass holders, and it's really not fair," Killpack said.

Turns out, The Canyons isn't closed for lack of snow, which is the usual cause of resort opening delays, but for construction. The resort is undergoing a major transformation, including heated chair lifts, a "snow beach", new restaurants, and expanded runs.

"We embarked this summer on one of the largest recreation projects of a resort in North America," said Mike Goar, Managing Director for The Canyons Resort.

Goar says the project has been going since mid-June and he admits, they are a little behind schedule. They needed dozens of construction permits and just based on the sheer volume, they are about fourteen days delayed.

"It's a bit of a missed opportunity with all the new snow and we feel worse than anybody," Goar said. "We want the place to be open, and open for skiing and our guests here having a great time."

This afternoon, Goar announced via the The Canyons Facebook page the resort is giving two complimentary day passes to all season pass holders to soften the blow. They can give the passes to anyone they wish. Goar hopes patrons will be patient and come back for what he says will be one of the best resorts in the world, when it's complete.

"The wait is well worth it for all we're doing, and we're going to take care of them," Goar said.

http://media.bonnint...63/24886342.pdf (letter to the holders)

Dear Canyons Season Pass Holder,

I understand that some of you are frustrated with our recently pushed-back opening date and I am very sorry that we had to do so. I appreciate your eagerness to get out on the mountain now that the first substantial snow of the season has arrived. It’s one of the reasons many of us choose to live in Utah; we love the snow and want to get out and enjoy it as soon as possible. One of the other great things about Utah is that you also have many terrific resorts to choose from when deciding where to buy a season pass and we are honored that you have chosen Canyons.

As all of you know, we have embarked on one of the largest re-creation plans undertaken at a ski resort in many years. A number of the projects were not able to begin until mid to late June due to circumstances beyond our control but I take full responsibility. I am immensely proud of the hard work our team has put in under a demanding schedule. A number of the projects are complete while others are 7 – 14 days behind schedule. I am disappointed that these delays have caused us to push back our opening date. There is always the chance that resorts might not open on their projected opening dates but you have my commitment that we will always do our best to get people on the hill safely and as early in the season as we possibly can.

As a season passholder we value you and appreciate your business. You should feel confident that your home mountain will respect your concerns and make every effort to address any issues you might have. As a show of our appreciation for your patience, I invite all season pass holders to please accept two complimentary day passes to Canyons from myself and the Canyons team. Give these passes to whomever you want and treat a friend or family member to a day of skiing or riding or donate them to a worthy cause in the holiday spirit.

Again, I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience our delayed opening has caused you and please be assured that we are working as hard as possible to bring you a phenomenal home mountain and an awesome 2010/2011 season.

Sincerely,

Mike Goar Canyons, Managing Director

Redeem day passes at any Canyons ticket window. Season pass holder must be present to receive passes. You can redeem passes one at a time or both on the same day. Day passes are valid from December 10-19, 2010 and January 3-through the end of the season.

[ewillso7]

It's a shame they're missing out on this big storm thats rolling through the Wasatch....

I was reading the Orange Bubble lift is around 9500' long? That's one massive lift. Plus, the second stage is more of a shuttle, since you're only gaining about 300'.

[CH3skier]

Skied Park City today, and stopped by The Canyons one my way home. The Orange bubble chairs are online, didn't really get a good look at the gondola though. Also rode up a chair with a season pass holder from the Canyons. PCMR is selling the Canyons season pass holder's day passes for only $25. I thought that was nice of PCMR, probably trying to covert a few over for next year.

[floridaskier]

That's a great move by PCMR. Deer Valley passholders get the discount at Park City too, and it's a really good deal for them, since they knew DV's opening date when they bought their passes. Solitude is giving half off to Canyons passholders too. It's really a shame for the Canyons, the Park City area is having one of their biggest opening weeks in years after a few down snow years in a row

[Peter]

The midstations of both lifts:

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[floridaskier]

Some new pictures posted on the Facebook page by visitors, not the resort. The official word is that Orange Bubble chairs will all have been put on the line by the end of the day today and load testing will start soon. The angle station for the gondola looks better (and it does look like a custom-made Challenger model). Another post says that the pilot line for the gondola is up, which would indicate that they're farther along on the gondola than these pictures show. Heroic effort on the part of both lift manufacturers getting this much done in a week

Distant shot of the Orange Bubble bottom terminal. At least now they have enough snow to probably open Doc's Run, and therefore open the resort without the gondola.



In memory of the late Golden Eagle double chair, ~1966-2010. No way in hell they would have bothered to run it open on December 10 if it was still there.

[Peter]

Red Pine Gondola update: Additional work is being completed early this week in order to prepare the lift for gondola cabins to be installed starting Friday, Dec. 3. On schedule to be open to public starting Friday, Dec. 10. Woot Woot!

Meanwhile, the mud slinging continues...

Quote

THE
RESORT IS OPEN! ...If you are the CEO of Talisker or one of his family
members-you are stoked on the private playground. Never use local
businesses to drive you to a certain lift, the word gets out quickly.
LAME.
And what's this I hear about a new opening date of 12/18?! You guys have got to be out of your minds if you push it back any further.

[floridaskier]

Orange Bubble line shot from the base. The snow is sure looking good out there, this is at about 6500 feet

[Andy1962]

Skier, on 29 November 2010 - 07:25 AM, said:

Red Pine Gondola update: Additional work is being completed early this week in order to prepare the lift for gondola cabins to be installed starting Friday, Dec. 3. On schedule to be open to public starting Friday, Dec. 10. Woot Woot!

Meanwhile, the mud slinging continues...

"the mudslinging continues" ?

please kill the suspense for us. Those of us who are non locals want to hear about all the dirt and inuendo.
Tell us the story.

[Lift Dinosaur]

Andy1962, on 29 November 2010 - 07:21 PM, said:

please kill the suspense for us. Those of us who are non locals want to hear about all the dirt and inuendo.
Tell us the story.

I think it boils down to the "experts" that paid $399 for a season pass bitching about the "experts" that spent $10M for their sorry a$$es to ski and they're pi$$ed because the couldn't ski rocks for Thanksgiving! BFD you missed 10 days of a 120 day season-

Out- Dino

[boardski]

floridaskier, on 29 November 2010 - 07:11 PM, said:

Orange Bubble line shot from the base. The snow is sure looking good out there, this is at about 6500 feet

Looks like they'll have to fix that chair-spacing problem between the 2nd and 3rd tower eh?

[lastchair_44]

Lift Dinosaur, on 29 November 2010 - 07:49 PM, said:

I think it boils down to the "experts" that paid $399 for a season pass bitching about the "experts" that spent $10M for their sorry a$$es to ski and they're pi$$ed because the couldn't ski rocks for Thanksgiving! BFD you missed 10 days of a 120 day season-

Out- Dino

Yeah, or maybe get a job at a ski area before you start bitching about workers skiing the hill before it opens to public?

[Andy1962]

Andy1962, on 29 November 2010 - 07:21 PM, said:

"the mudslinging continues" ?

please kill the suspense for us. Those of us who are non locals want to hear about all the dirt and inuendo.
Tell us the story.

Having thought a little bit about all of the information available, and the possible reasons why some workers would be on skiis at various places around the Resort, I owe the Canyons and this Forum an apology for my comments above. I don't live local to the Canyons. I do not know anyone who works there and there are many reasons why workers might need to move around a resort preseason (before public gets to ski).

Possible reasons why some workers might be on skis or snowmobiles:

Movement of safety signs, poles, ropes, flagging tape etc.

Placing of same signs, poles, ropes, tape to mark cliffs, hazards, low snow conditions etc.

Economy: Worker is at the top of the mountain, and needs to move to a point lower on the mountain. Who the hell am I to place judgement on a decision to move the worker on skiis rather than on a snowmobile.

I can also imagine that there are tons of workers all over the Canyons right now, and since there is now snow on the hill, it is probably difficult to drive pickup trucks up slopes that were easily passable a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I apologize for sticking my nose in where it does not belong and will hold my opinions on the Canyons until the day that I actually get to ski the place and can make up my own mind about the final product being delivered - how good is the skiing.

[Peter]

Some of the Facebook comments are too funny:

"Some of us are in high school and don't have the money to do that... and I think we have more right to ride then the owner. we pay for it, he doesn't."

[Tin Woodsman]

Lift Dinosaur, on 29 November 2010 - 07:49 PM, said:

I think it boils down to the "experts" that paid $399 for a season pass bitching about the "experts" that spent $10M for their sorry a$$es to ski and they're pi$$ed because the couldn't ski rocks for Thanksgiving! BFD you missed 10 days of a 120 day season-

Out- Dino

This is so off base it's not even funny. The Canyons set the price - no one put a gun to their heads. The buyers put down their money under the explicit expectation that the season would begin on November 26. Now, if there's no snow on the ground then tough $hit. But that wasn't the case here, so your reference about skiing rocks on Thanksgiving is completely disingenuous - it's the best early season in many years in Utah. Record setting, in fact, as the pictures on this page of the thread well attest to. It's not often that you have that sort of coverage at 6500' on a due E aspect in late November.

Even assuming The Canyons is able to meet its new deadline of December 10, that is actually 15 days out of a 135 day season - greater than 10%. You think that's nothing? How would you like your income to be reduced by 10%? I'm sure you wouldn't be saying BFD then. It's a big damn number. What's worse is that The Canyons waited until the last possible moment to announce this to their customers, even when it's been clear to anyone checking in here for the last two months that they wouldn't make opening day. Flights were reserved, rooms were booked and plans were made on the basis of that opening date, but it was radio silence from our good friends at Talisker. To add insult to injury, they completely botch the announcement ("proud to announce!") w/o offering any sort of apology to their passholders or other customers. It's only AFTER a mess of blowback that their GM gets a clue and issues a half-assed apology ("reasons beyond our control" - yeah right) with some modest compensation to passholders. I hate people who think they are entitled to this, that or the other, but that's just not the case here and any reasonable person can see that. Where I come from, your word is your bond, and Canyons doesn't have much credibility right about now.