Alpine Meadows is a pure ski resort. You won’t find heated sidewalks, posh mountain shops or glamorous facilities. What you will find is a skier’s mountain, a mountain with history, a mountain that boasts incredible terrain in every direction, zones of massive exposure, low-angle bowls, and steep tree lines. Alpine features a snow pack that allows skiing well past Memorial Day and an open boundary policy that lets skiers take serene hikes down ridges in search of perfection, whether it be for untouched pow or buttery smooth corn. These are just some of the reasons that have resulted in Alpine being known as Tahoe’s locals’ mountain and gathering a cult-like following. True blue, perennially loyal and dedicated passholders. These are also the same usually mellow-minded skiers that were particularly pissed off leading up to April 19. Barely a chair ride went by without a heated discussion about how the mountain is being managed – or more accurately, mismanaged.
JMA Ventures bought Alpine Meadows in the spring of 2007, just a year after they purchased Homewood Ski Resort. When the company came to town passholders cheered in anticipation, believing that JMA was rescuing them from the previous owner, Powder Corp, which had run Alpine successfully for some time, but in the last years of ownership whose level of service slowly degraded and became known for gratuitous ‘Money Hold.’ Money Hold is a term used for the practice of closing lifts for no reason other than to save money.
Although, with JMA, Alpine lost its historical unpublished-yet-always-reliable 8:30 a.m. opening times, during the 2007/2008 season, JMA was aggressive about openings and showed us diehards that Summit Six Chair could run in the wind and that, shockingly, Alpine Bowl Chair could run in the sun – something that hadn’t happened on a midweek day in almost seven years. When they closed early last season, many of us wrote it off because of the bad snow pack and gave JMA the benefit of the doubt. But boy, we were wrong.
JMA showed us their true colors right from the beginning of the 2008/2009 winter. It was an extraordinarily late start to the season and Alpine finally opened on December 12. They closed back down during the next midweek because, gasp, it snowed and they needed to ‘prepare’ for the season; but when they opened back up on Friday they didn’t seem especially prepared. Clearly, they wanted to wait until the weekend crowds could justify spinning the lifts. After enough complaints, they passed the peace pipe to the midweek passholders by offering up some weekend ski days.
The season continued in much the same fashion. They struggled to get the mountain open often, and they closed lifts (sometimes the entire resort) at seemingly any opportunity. Lakeview chair, which provides access to challenging runs and services some of the famous hikes, became a weekend-only chair. Midweek passholders seemed to get one level of service, while weekend skiers got another. But what has spurred many passholders past their usual lackadaisical complaining is the closing date of April 19. This represents the earliest closing since the 1970s. You read that right: decades ago. If you aren’t a dedicated Sierra skier, you might think, so what, why would you want to ski in May? That question can be answered in two words: California Corn. Spring Corn only requires sunshine and cool nights to reach perfection, and because Alpine Meadows is a sun-lit mountain, it features some of the best corn skiing in the Sierra. Traditionally, in May, Alpine opened an hour earlier in order to facilitate access to the southern exposures which soften first. Also, if the snow pack was especially good, the mountain would stay open on weekends through June, moving snow onto thin spots.
Management claimed that the reason they closed early this season is because of the bad economy and consequently the decrease in skiers. Yet Squaw, Sugar Bowl, Kirkwood, and even Mt. Rose and Donner Ski Ranch, who extended their closing date this year, closed later. Other than Squaw Valley USA, none of these other resorts are usually even in the mix. Alpine used to set the standard; now their closing date isn’t even in the same league. Even Squaw, whose closing date is also considered early, stayed open three weeks after Alpine closed. The fact that Alpine attempted to put their closing date in a favorable light by comparing it to Northstar’s closing shows how out of touch they are. To be even more specific, consider that when Squaw Valley ran its most limited spring scheduled operation, they still had six lifts running including the Cable Car. Alpine Meadows on the other hand could have serviced a similar amount of terrain with only two lifts. This implies that Alpine had the opportunity to provide the same service for much lower costs.
Ironically, economic conditions withstanding, Alpine Meadows just received a fancy new groomer. When Alpine makes an unnecessary investment into a piece of equipment that typically costs a quarter million dollars or more, yet at the same time they can’t seem to put together the funds to run the lifts, it sure raises some eyebrows.
If JMA was so worried about the economic conditions then one has to wonder why they didn’t lower ticket prices to attract more business. In fact, to some extent they did the opposite. For years now the spring skiing has been fueled by the Spring Pass sales. Originally this pass sold for $99 and would be start around April 1, giving skiers two months of skiing. What a deal! But in a downtown economic climate Alpine raised the price to $169. Since they closed April 19, skiers barely got three weeks of skiing. Why would anyone buy that? Alpine of course used the inevitable lack of sales to rationalize their early closing. This is just another example of the Money Hold culture that has overtaken Alpine’s management.
JMA has forgotten that they are in the service industry and that the service they provide is skiing. Instead of trying to generate more business and solidify their customer base, they are busy trying to save money by shutting down their business.
Sadly, they seem to be missing the point, and if there were ever an opportunity to generate business in the ski industry itwould be in the Sierra Nevada during the spring. California Corn might be the most marketable ski product out there. Perfect snow, warm weather, can it get any better?
An interesting side story is the special Squaw Valley 2009/2010 season passes. The usually bank-breaking Squaw pass has become affordable for even the crustiest of ski bums. For many of the dedicated but disgruntled Alpine passholders whom JMA seems to take for granted, this great deal is the last straw. Clearly, Alpine is going to lose a significant amount of business.
JMA needs to understand that when they bought Alpine Meadows they inherited longstanding traditions and they inherited an obligation to its customers. A ski resort like Alpine Meadows needs ownership that is enthusiastic about the sport of skiing, not just the prospect of business.
~ Ryan Wexler, Kings Beach
