It’s been a little more than 4 months since the Friends of Alpine Meadows group was born on Facebook. During that time they have grown impressively, with more that 1300 followers on Facebook. They have built a web presence, conducted a public survey, distributed what seems to be thousands of FoAM buttons, and hopefully garnered the attention of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings and KSL Capital.
Not everyone seems to get the meaning of the Friends of Alpine Meadows mission. Reading through the daily commentary on the FoAM Facebook posts, you’ll occasionally see comments to the effect of “It’s just a logo”, “The mountain is still the same”, or “Just go skiing”. But the organizers behind FoAM are on a mission, one that includes reminding people just how much things have changed over the last three seasons. This week, they released a chart that highlights some of the biggest changes at Alpine Meadows between 2011 and 2015, which coincides with the ownership of Alpine Meadows by SVSH and KSL Capital.
One of the largest concerns presented in the chart are the rapidly rising costs associated with calling Alpine Meadows your home mountain. The end result is that many families have been “priced out” of skiing and riding at Alpine Meadows. Although pass prices have remained fairly stable and remain a relative bargain, all of the other costs of skiing with a family have escalated far beyond the rate of inflation. Here’s our analysis:
• Between January 2011 and December 2014, the cost of living rose roughly 7%, depending on exactly which inflation calculator you use.
• Between January 2011 and December 2014, the cost of an adult lift ticket rose from $72 to $119, which reflects a 65% increase in price. Out of fairness, we will note that the more expensive ticket does offer access to both Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. Surveys conducted by Unofficial Alpine and also by FoAM suggest that only a small portion of passholders actually use lifts at both mountains on the same day, with the exceptions of children’s teams. We suspect that day ticket buyers for the most part are not utilizing both mountains either. We believe that FoAM is right in questioning the “value added” of Squaw Valley access when it prices many families out of visiting Alpine Meadows, many of whom have been coming to Alpine Meadows for generations.
• Between January 2011 and December 2014, the cost of a child’s lift ticket rose from $10 to $68, which reflects a 580% increase in price. Children are the future of skiing and riding. Most of us ski or ride at Alpine Meadows because our parents brought us here when we were kids.
• The prices for children’s ski teams have also far outpaced the 7% cost of living increase. Race teams have increased 116% and the all mountain kids programs have risen 78%. So while the cost of passes for adults has remained relatively stable, the cost of putting your kids on a team has skyrocketed. Many families with several kids just cannot afford to put kids on teams anymore. Not only do team programs guarantee that families will come back to Alpine Meadows every weekend, they also create future generations that will want to bring their own kids back to Alpine Meadows.
• Prices for lessons of all varieties have also escalated rapidly. We’ve been stung by the rising costs of children’s lessons several times over the last few seasons when visitors are in town. While we can buy a couple of buddy lift tickets at a reduced costs, our visitors often have young children that need to be in a group lesson. Prices have risen 70% since 2011 for a children’s group lesson. Recently, my brother-in-law calculated that it would cost his family over $750 to ski with us for a day at Alpine Meadows on an overnight trip to Tahoe.
• Seasonal lockers have also risen 40% in Locker Room 3, and even more for those that find themselves in the smaller 12 inch lockers.
• It’s tough to judge the exact rise in food prices at Alpine Meadows, especially since I have stopped buying food and beverages from SVSH. But FoAM is estimating that the cost of food has risen as much as 10-20% per year for many food items.
It’s quite clear that those of us that want to continue to enjoy Alpine Meadows are being asked to pay dearly for the privilege. Without a doubt, there are some guys out there that buy a cheap pass and “just go skiing”, finishing their day out with a Subway sandwich and PBR in the parking lot. Those guys are not noticing these other price increases that are keeping families from coming to Alpine Meadows.
There’s also quite a bit more to a mountain’s culture than “just a logo”. FoAM’s chart identifies several things that are areas of concern regarding the mountain culture:
• Opening and closing dates certainly have something to do with conditions, and the “KSL Curse” has lead to less than optimum snowfall during the last three years. The concern lies in the opening and closing dates that are based on a schedule instead of on conditions. Given “normal conditions”, SVSH’s planned operating schedule would shorten the season by roughly 6 weeks. Previous owners opened the mountain as soon as possible and kept it open as long as possible, ultimately with the goal of having a longer season than anyone in Tahoe.
• You know you’re at your home mountain when the liftees know you by first name, and not because they’re reading it off an RFID scanner. In the not so distant past, you could count on the same people being there year after year, because the mountain made the effort to truly value their employees, like they were family. Few employees are reporting that that’s the way things are now. Many of those employees have become supporters of FoAM and Unofficial Alpine.
• Alpine Meadows specific events are a thing of the past. Over the last few years we have lost the Mad Cow Downhill, Wakes and Gates, the Dummy Huck and the Pond Skim. The Spring Concert series has been reduced from two weekend days to one weekend day. In general, the focus on activities is only on those that will bring visitors to the Village at Squaw Valley.
• Alpine Meadows used to be known for having some of the best terrain parks in Tahoe, and Alpine Meadows has produced some amazing park skiers and riders over the last 15 years. But since the demise of the “made for TV” Mile Long park, our parks are down to almost nothing. Park skiers and riders are just expected to waste a few hours of their day loading onto a shuttle buses and trams to ride at Squaw Valley’s parks.
We applaud all of the people that have come together to state the case and stand up for Alpine Meadows. We’ve been on on that crusade for quite some time at UA, and it seems like the calvary has finally arrived. They’ve made it clear that there is far more that they are concerned about than just the logo, which we believe is still a very important element in customer loyalty. You can check out what’s going on at FoAM via their Facebook page or at the Friends of Alpine Meadows website.
If you don’t like KSL, get a pass elsewhere. After four years as an Alpine Meadows pass holder, I am at Sugar Bowl this year.
That argument is like saying I should move because I don’t like the government in CA, or the US for that matter. You really think I should make a longer commute to an inferior mountain because KSL is a greedy corporation looking out for their bottom line?
To be fair, aside from cursing us with no snow, they have done a better job than JMA – no money holds and at least they have the excuse of no snow to end the season early (we’ll see what happens if we ever have a normal season, and only one season could have had an earlier opening since KSL took over). Season pass prices aren’t stable, they are way cheaper than they were 10ish years ago, and now include Squaw. No issues there. Food…well, in a dozen years I might have spent $10-$20 on food at AM (not including treats from Treats) – don’t know why anyone would ever spend money on food at a ski area. Same with season lockers, unless you hitchhike or ride a bike to the ski area Can’t argue that prices for kids teams and lift tickets aren’t well out of hand.
As for the logo, I can see the day when I can refer to Alpine as “that ski area on the backside of Squaw that no one knows about because it doesn’t have a name and there’s nothing to do but ski and the snow is better but you have to hike to a lot of it even though you pay just as much as the people riding the lifts on the other side of the ridge”.
If you buy a pass at Sugar Bowl instead of Alpine, the terrorists win.
Great analysis of the real issues for those who think FoAM is just whining about the logo. But the replacement of the AM logo is significant because every dollar wasted on new signage or rebranding is a dollar that could have been used to actually improve the customer experience at Alpine or Squaw. These missed opportunities are indicative of the poor management/marketing decisions that we can expect to continue to erode the AM experience.
The other point that needs to be made here is that these huge cost increases have not resulted in any sort of on the mountain improvements at Alpine Meadows. We got a fugly new Chalet with terrible food and new signs on the sun deck BBQ place.
This is totally on point. I got a Sugar Bowl pass and an Alpine pass this year, and to be honest Sugar Bowl is awesome, no crowds, awesome grooming, really nicely done. A total pro outfit. Is the hill as good, no, vertical, no, hiking, no. But crowds, hell yes, no lines, really. When Alpine stayed open to May it was great, but that has changed too. Locals program was awesome at Alpine and reasonably cheap, no more. My kids are growing up at Sugar Bowl. Sad but true. I love Alpine, 35 years there, but sadly this is my last season. D
Stay positive peeps! Remember that with a 116% increase in teams coach wages have stayed the same. It’s not all change.
FOAM would do well to concentrate on the cost issues, length of season, employee retention, and their proposal for a single resort option for passes and day tickets. The logo and web site issues are a distraction and have gotten a disproportionate amount of attention, and changing back will cost (a little) money again. The cost increases are certainly staggering, especially for locals, and bode ill for the future of skiing, but then KSL is in the real estate business, not the ski business, and locals aren’t going to buy million dollar condos.
What cost increases affect locals? It has gotten way cheaper to ski AM. 10-12 years ago, a midweek pass cost around $500. Now, you can get it for less than $400, and it includes Sundays and access to Squaw. You want a better deal than that? I’ve always stayed away on weekends, so don’t know the specifics on a full pass, but pretty sure those are cheaper nowadays plus the value of Squaw and other pass benefits. I do agree that there should be a cheaper AM only lift ticket, but ticket prices as they are tend to drive more people to Squaw, so it gives AM a little more elbow room.
The entire article states that yes, passes are cheap. It’s all of the other costs that affect families. If are one of the people that (used to) have kids on a ski team, you know what we’re talking about.
The price increases are proof positive of a struggling snow industry’s effort to remain profittable/alive at a cost to those who love the sport most.
This campaign is a step in the right direction but I still don’t understand where it’s trying to go. Even if people are aware of how much more expensive AM has been made to ski at, you still have to play by KSL’s rules to ski here, and obviously enough people are still willing to do that, or KSL would have dropped this place.
If you want to solve this problem, you have to speak the language of a capital investment firm. You have to speak to their pocketbooks. Grassroots campaigns are fine and all but if you ever want it to be more than an echo chamber, someone has to find a way to affect their bottom line.
I agree that the most effective way to impact KSL is though their bottom line. FOAM believes that KSL’s current business model is unsustainable and it is one of our goals to make this point clear to them. A good business owner will listen and respond to its loyal customers. The more supporters FOAM has, the stronger our message will resonate.
If we do nothing, we can’t expect anything to change for the better.
Amen
about another trippy-hippie save our mountain campaign in light of the current ongoing severe drought. Bigger issues at hand.
KSL capital partners is a huge Wall street equity firm people who’s concerns and interests are $o, 000,000,000.00 much larger than little ex AM.
Keep tryin though and remember David v Goliath is a myth,,,,
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this comment are for entertainment purposes only.
Exactly. This is why you actually saw some kind of defense against the Olympic Valley incorporation efforts, because it would forcefully limit their ability to expand and thus churn a higher profit out of the place. You’re never going to see so much as an acknowledgement of this group if nobody can figure out how to pull their strings a little bit. KSL certainly won’t change their mind out of sympathy.
Quite frankly, I hope it continues not to snow. Maybe they’ll pull out of it then.
I can’t really sign-on to the sentiment of your final paragraph. I would, however, like KSL and their investors to understand that their concept for Alpine Meadows misunderstands their product, market, and long-time customers. If they aren’t willing to listen to the customers, I’d like the for their experience of owning Alpine Meadows to be so expensive and/or unpleasant for them and their investors that they decide to sell it to someone else who is more clear on the concept.
Ksl doesn’t give a rat’s a$$ about ‘long term’ Alpine meadows customers. They are only concerned about over selling season passes and attracting ‘new’ customers to help their bottom line.
The idea that a Colorado corporation financed by mega wall street sharks cares about local passholders views on product delivery and global marketing of their brand is absurd. Get over it, we’re screwed.
Funny how many people claim that they hope it doesn’t snow to drive away KSL, but I feel the exact opposite. The lack of snow is giving them an out. They can pin all of their problems on snow pack. If we were in the middle of a record season would they be open untill Memorial Day? My heart says no. Would they run all the lifts and properly staff the mountain? Doubt it. What we really need (in more ways than one) is a big winter to reveal to the rest of the world what a terrible job they are doing in just about everything. Untill that day comes KSL will always point the finger at Mother Nature and not be held accountable for their own mismanagement.
The longer season was a huge draw, back in the day. Scott chair was awesome in the Spring as was Alpine Bowl. I am going insane right now.
Is it official that Employees seen wearing a FoAM pin can be terminated ?? According to a few I spoke with today after noticing an obvious lack of FoAM pins being worn by staff today (1/23) that up until today were proudly displayed by many.
This may not be “official” but many employees I spoke with informed us this was why they weren’t being worn by staff, from what I saw today the mandate from on high seems accurate.
Crazy.
It’s always best to manage your employees through fear…
I have to agree with Rats a$$. KSL doesn’t care about long term Alpine customers. I would like to be optimistic about the future of Alpine (and the future of the ski industry in general), but I am afraid that the way CEOs are guiding the industry, it is only a matter of time before the whole thing implodes on the backs of greedy investors.
The 580% increase in child lift tickets says it all to me. It is as though the CEOs of resorts have made a conscious decision to compete after the top 1% money and have written off the 99%.
Every significant increase in the cost of a child lift ticket prices out portion of the next generation of potential skiers. While there are a lot of things wrong with the ski industry…this trend will be the most significant reason for the on going loss of interest in skiing for generations to come.
I applaud and support FOAM, but unless all of us that support the mission of FOAM can come up with a way to change the myopic view of the CEOs whose mission is to make money (today) …I am afraid we will continue to see generational disinterest in skiing as the years go on.
This generational disinterest will ultimately be the downfall of the entire industry.
And it needs to be mentioned how executive salaries and bonuses play into the cost structure.
Operating a ski resort in today’s world takes exhorbitant liquid capital, thus the effects of this model we all feel.
If foam even will matter in the least the first logical step would be to engage ksl in positive dialogue with the approach of how foam may be able to help ksl achieve some of their goals. Goals would need to be clearly stated and not waver.
Ksl may listen with that type of approach.
Good luck
I used to buy an Alpine pass in addition to my one at Squaw just for the park (back when it was on Kangaroo), As much as it saddens me (and it really does) how far the park has fallen, trust me when I say this is a company wide problem. Squaw’s park is an absolute joke, like everything they do it is all show and nothing practical. It’s all about the feature/jib count to them, not how functional anything is. You know its bad when the freestlye team is skiing at Boreal. Don’t take the shuttle to Squaw, buy yourself a Boreal pass.