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A Great Letter About The Spirit Of Alpine Meadows

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As I sit here on vacation overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the thought of one inch of new snow at Squaw and skiing today is far from my mind. But this morning, a friend sent me a link to the latest guest column at the Tahoe Daily Tribune. It was enough to make me get out my iPad for a quick post. Well done Paul.

Here’s a great sample from the letter:

As a skier and marketing professional with expertise in tourism, retail and real estate, I felt compelled to offer this perspective. Living in the East, I offer some distance and objectivity, too.

Mountain Dew and Diet Pepsi are two very different products targeting two very different audiences, yet they are both owned by Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) and their profits end up on the same bottom line. It would be a strange disconnect to see Diet Pepsi ads lining the halfpipe at the X-Games and just as disconcerting to see Shaun White pushing Mountain Dew on Lifetime TV.

It doesn’t take much to understand that Pepsico can make more money building two, different brands that appeal to different types of people rather than push a single brand onto everyone. Selling both through the same distribution network behind the scenes creates the efficiencies that control costs. This branding approach has helped Pepsico record impressive results year after year.

Read the entire column at the Tahoe Daily Tribune

38 thoughts on “A Great Letter About The Spirit Of Alpine Meadows”

  1. Sorry about the bad link posted earlier. This hotel does good poolside beverages but has terrible wifi. Lost my connection this morning

  2. Whistler Blackcomb has done pretty well combining two separate resorts. I actually think AM may suffer by being a separate resort under the same management. If the two resorts were truly regarded as one we might see operations reflect conditions on the mountain, rather than the current situation where Alpine typically opens later in the fall, even when it has better conditions, and is closed midweek during late spring, even when it has better conditions (not necessarily true this season). SVAM faces more important issues than the logo and the name–issues like snow-making, lift upgrades, staffing levels, etc. And Alpine Meadows is not that great of a name anyways.

    1. I couldn’t disagree with ya more! Over 50 years with the name Alpine Meadows sounds true and tested to me!

      #FreeAlpine, drink Al’s Coffee and hand my kid a Mountain Dew please!

  3. Another great letter by Andy Wirth via email today ……”we are not resorts, we are mountains” yet in the credits of the promo video it states “Best Resorts” and with 4 logos …how about ADD logoism people?

    Then I really liked how he pointed out skiing is terrific on the top ” two thirds” of both mountains, yet this weekend Alpine Meadows skied top to bottom off Summit Six. There is no downloading at Alpine thank goodness!

    Also, happy to see those golfing clips from Alpine Meadows last week as I think they know a thing or two about that game.

    P.S. The lame clip about “other resorts closed” should of been left on the cutting room floor.

    1. Are you saying an exec can look at the snow cam and see people skiing allll the waay down instead of watching people downloading!???? Genius! Call KSL and let them know 🙂

      Then I really liked how he pointed out skiing is terrific on the top ” two thirds” of both mountains, yet this weekend Alpine Meadows skied top to bottom off Summit Six. There is no downloading at Alpine thank goodness!

  4. Old Goat, please pull your head out of the powder, ur corn and get off your Rossi Strato 102’s and listen to what is actually going on behind your grey beard! AM has had a character and personality of “cool” skiing with early/late skiing dates, great conditions, hike-to-bowls, back country access, great customer service and personalities and family friendly slopes . SV has always been about “rad” skiing, incredible terrain, world wide appeal , race team recognition, great apres ski bars, high end accommodations and an attitude to cater to the extreme dudes. Each area has a distinct flavor for all skiing abilities and economic status.

    In the past SV didn’t have to compete in selling their mountain to real skiers but SV was losing its edge to the marketing machine at NS because they were pushing the family/kid/shopper experience. KSL comes in with big money and Aspen ideas to reshape/mismanage both mountains to retain the big spender family. This formula will not fly with our community!

    As the letter states, each area has an identity and that identity needs to be fortified not erased. I know KSL has had a bad start with 3 bad snow years in a row but they have had a chance to pull their heads out their a#$*%, give up their snarky marketing ploys and be true to the skiing community so as to keep locals and tourists happy with a good product and not trying to sell us Aspen in a box.

  5. China Hotel Conference next month

    Do these KSL people attend conferences in places like Shanghai May 14-15. http://summit.traveldaily.cn/21/programme_en.aspx?

    There is a big seminar on social media and marketing and retaining brand loyalty with die hard customers.

    Would you brand the adjoining Ihops with PF Changs? (And your Orange Chicken at Gold Cost isn’t Asian, Andy!!!! Peanuts phooey on you, it’s cashews!) What happened to Alexanders at High Camp?

  6. Why would a high flying (well most of the time 🙂 executive upset local die hard customers with that poor ‘shield’ logo

    – when he’s selling season passes
    – building a kerzilion dollar complex that’s going down the toilet
    – he lost 1/3rd of the apartments down the back of a home furnishing store sofa
    – and his ambassador defected to the snowfield socialists!

    For goodness sake, the blue shield belongs on a bottle of disinfectant.

  7. I am a yearly pilgrim from the east coast who treks to the Sierra Nevada’s each winter, and on some occassions twice a season, just to enjoy the experience at SV and Alpine Meadows. Being Military I take advantage of the free lift tickets that is provided by the generous Management of SV. I enjoy SV for about a day maybe two, but the bulk of my time, along with my brother (a Sac resident) is spent at Alpine Meadows. We love that mountain and would be greatly bummed if they were to dispose of the tradition that is uniquely Alpine. I spent a week at SV this past winter at the lodge and it was spectacular. The village is awesome but my skiing led me to Alpine each day. There are no words to describe why we gravitate there. It is in the blood. Like salmon swimming back to spawn each year. To call Alpine anything else would be like changing the name from Yankee Stadium to New York Stadium. IT’s Just NOT RIGHT!

    1. what he said. ^^^^^

      Rebadged it’s stlll AM, but its a genuinely friendlier mtn, and its managers threw us a great day.

      It has also always supported the Disabled Winter Sports too.

  8. Squaw : Fights Cavities too

    The shield looks tacky.

    On te one hand you have an olde englishe ‘coat of arms’ from 1000AD

    but the Soul Lives Here font looks midwestern 1800s.

    Together it looks like it belongs on a bottle of Mouthwash. Does it stop bad breath?

  9. The spirit of Alpine Meadows is surely dying if it’s a pow day in April and I have to go to Squaw because Alpine is closed. Yes, it was fun, but I’d take Summit chair over what Squaw had going today anytime. But according to Andy, both resorts -er, mountains- are still open…

  10. Great, great piece. Many thanks to the author, Paul Entin. I’m hoping for clearer heads and smarter goals over there, and that Mr. Entin gets to ski the Alpine he and his wife revel in the memories of from 20 years ago.

  11. When folks ask if I have a pass, I say yes a pass to Alpine Meadows. Super Pass or Squaw are not part of the conversation.

    Should be a good weekend.

    Alpine Meadows rules!

  12. I came up with a logo …. for Mouthwash which I think is apt for all the bad mouthing at Sqabblewood. Will it sell???? Just add it to an aquifer, and Presto! the stink in Squaw vanishes 🙂

    I also think there’s confusion in the destination market between the Vail Tahoe Local and Tahoe Value passes with the “Superpass”. What’s Super about ‘one’ mtn wth one blue logo?

    Hey I bet Andy noticed this: “Our resorts in Tahoe saw improved results in March and April which were in line with our expectations with the benefit of late season snow. Our performance this year reflects our ability to drive outstanding performance across our business despite varied conditions.” How’d Squaw go??? They really do need more flexibility or something. Maybe a free subscription to Unofficialalpine might help them??? 🙂

  13. Apart from a Squaw Institute deal ($179 for a 1 bedroom condo) did KSL or local businesses rush the presses with deals or press?

    How are restaurants advertising with that $697,000 budget or the NLTRA advertisement money that ….helps Nstar and Squaw make booklets for the rooms. …that aren’t advertised as the snow dumps down

    1. facebook is flooding with praise for fosv’s initiative as the tdt poll is 51/40% in favor of township with 7% undecided. Did KSL annoy people on purpose with the Logo, Sov’s storys, and other things?

  14. Quite a while ago at Base Camp the lass and the laddie David told me their figurines are out of date – one building is supposed to be 2 to 6 levels like a ‘tick’. Are KSL ‘stepping” some buildings already? I wish my hoa managers and board would put things in writing with ksl because I like deeds and certainty. I don’t want to see a backflip like the Mtn Kids center farce.

  15. Mark, on p3 at the bottom few lines of the 2nd last para, Andy Wirth warns lafco they might need to bring in paid parking.

    can they do that (and will they do that anyway one day?), and can a planning permit from IOV town ban paid parking forever in perpetuity???

    1. IOV either ‘gets in on it’ for the big dollars or they ban it in the wording in permits or something. Where’s that SOV stand on the issue: they have their own parking areas anyway so they have nothing to lose if they vote for paid parking.

  16. Squaw is like an a anchor dragging down alpine meadows. The over head from the village was the reason alpine had to lay off a good amount of employees this last January. Alpine is a ski hill not a ski resort. Leave it that way.

    1. KSL is supposed to be set up separate to the lift company which means someone should have a look at the books.

      My gut says KSL/Squaw have an inflexible management structure where the chain of command follows orders to the letter. If they’re that inflexible, they’ll fk up. PS Anyone seen 300,000,000 of condos they lost?????

    2. I met guys cut back to 1 or 2 days a week: try living on that! They ended up camping – I hope it was on Andy’s lawn with access to toilets and a jaccuzzi . I sincerely hope IOV can draw up all sorts of conditions if KSL doesn’t lay out a very careful and complete NOP

  17. I’m looking at the exchange between SOv and IOV on theComments in Fred’s letter in TDT.

    Do these people know to never treat a county’s books as gospel.

    The debarcle is pathetic.

    Btw Mooinshine wrote “But not all people in Squaw see it this way. Judy Carini, a member of the Squaw Valley Design Review Committee, believes that the ski resort did the right thing by halting the project. Although the design review committee did not approve the Mountain Kids project — the first time it denied a project since 1995 — Placer County overruled its decision. (However, the committee did not have a quorum.) Carini believes that KSL pulled the plug on the daycare project as a way to avoid angering the community, which was upset over the way the design review committee’s recommendations were ignored.”

    Really. KSL didn’t want to upset the community by not submitted to the DRC. And I thought Ullr was a snowgod. All hail the DRC.

  18. http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/northshore/11161863-113/tahoe-east-west-valley

    East West Partners — remember them, the Colorado developers that bought Truckee when no one was looking? Don’t remember?Think Ritz-Carlton, Old Greenwood and the Gray’s Crossing bankruptcies filed in 2010. Just when you thought it was safe, now in partnership with Sierra Pacific Industries — which owns the land in the Martis Valley — East West is back

    If you get a town, make sure all development is as safe as a bank. Hmmm, let me rephrase that

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