 Poster: A snowHead
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Just had a magic week in Saas Fee on the glacier, but I couldn't believe that the lift pass was the same price as in the winter - for a hugely reduced ski area. I didn't pay the full price as I had a good deal from my tour operator, but that is not the point! And my hiking companions found that they could only use the (same) pass on one or two local lifts. Is this the same for all countries/resorts in summer?
When I was pushed aside by racers in the (admittedly very limited) lift queues, I was tempted to ask them who paid for their passes - presumably their sponsors. But of course, being British, I let them get on with it, came over all star struck and hoped some of the glitter and sweat would rub off.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Quite right too scream, they, the racers that is, are after all at work.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I don't expect priority over tourists when I'm on the way to work. AND I pay for my own petrol.
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scream, you have to bear in mind that the glaciers barely break even during the summer months, it's just not economic for them to open up for less. The racers - most don't have personal sponsors by the way, and pay a fair chunk of their costs - do however have subsidised passes. They wouldn't be there otherwise, clubs/skiers couldn't afford it. And the other side of the coin is that without the racers/clubs, the summer areas wouldn't open at all, as a negligible number of ski tourists make it to the glaciers.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I take your points, David and PG, and most of the racers were beautifully behaved - just one or two who put my back up. But my point is mainly about the lift pass price. Yes, PG, of course the lift companies have to cover their costs. It seems quite fashionable now to knock them but, when you consider the logistics of what they provide throughout the year - engineering, maintenance, manpower and, above all, safety measures, I think they provide pretty good value. I often hear skiers moan about lifts being closed during bad weather; they're usually the first to complain when someone gets hurt after doing something stupid like going off-piste on their own etc. I also experienced a very good week in Cervinia last January when it bucketed snow and many lifts had to be closed. With a little ingenuity and use of buses, I found perfect runs and was able to ski every day except one - and I'm a long-in-the-tooth intermediate skier, not a powder hound. But everyone around me moaned that they had only managed to ski on one day - and it was all the lift company's fault.
Anyway, back to my point, which is that demand and supply rules. Few people ski in the summer - this was my first time and I'm a convert, but I only discovered this delight by default - I was offered a too-good-to-refuse half-price offer. There's surely a whole new potential market here - but won't most people be put off trying it if they know it will cost as much to ski a few short runs as the whole-mountain winter experience? There's possibly an argument for bunging a bit on winter prices to subsidise the summer operation - I think winter lift prices are probably less price sensitive. Then, the more summer ski-ing is encouraged, the more cost-effective it would be for the lift companies. This would also benefit the summer hikers, encourage tourism in the summer etc. Or is my economic theory shakey?
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Resorts such as Tignes and 2 Alpes do promote summer skiing. Still, the conclusion seems to be that most skiers/boarders aren't really interested - not a question of price - just that they've got other things they prefer doing in the summer months. Getting up to be on the first lift by 7.30, invariably skiing on slush by midday, same runs over and over again, doesn't really appeal to the vast majority. Locals, who pay next to nothing, rarely bother.
Then there's a limit to how many people can comfortably ski on the ever-shrinking glaciers in the summer months and a minimum lift price cost below which it's just not worth operating the infrastructure. Plus contracts with clubs/teams that place a large chunk of the glacier effectively out of bounds.
Resorts do promote a broad range of summer activities alongside the limited glacier skiing, and I doubt they will think it worthwhile changing their approach. TOs are not likely to be interested, most don't even cover the full winter season.
The Compagnie Des Alpes controls Tignes and the little glacier at La Plagne, and they've certainly got the muscle to market it if they felt it worthwhile. But let's face it the way things are going the glaciers won't be around that much longer anyway... 
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| scream wrote: |
Anyway, back to my point, which is that demand and supply rules. Few people ski in the summer........ Or is my economic theory shakey? |
It's fine now, I cut the bit that was shaky  You were here (Saas Fee) last week, it's hard to see how many more skiers could be accomodated on the glacier. Saas Fee does very nicely in the summer vacation business compared to some other glaciers, there's way more going on than Tignes for example. In point of fact our ski passes are typically a lot better value than the pedestrian passes.
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