disappointing response to a genuine ask for help snowheads:cry:
Not quite sure what you were expecting?
I have a soft spot for Ski Ross, I learned there as a kid (hence the nostalgic post about Hot Vimto) as did my OH. He grew up and his parents still live just down the road, he spent his school holidays for years up there. We have taken our son up there a few times, mostly during the snowy weather last year.
But I don't know how to help the place. AFAIUI the place is run by the council, they don't make enough money from skiers and so they concentrate on kids parties doing tubing, sledging etc. The club house is no more, it is the kids party room now. The EB shop didn't open at all last season, not been up there this season so not sure if it has reopened.
The quality of instruction for kids is very good from what I have seen, and it's very reasonably priced. There are also some very talented kids training up there.
I think one of the real reasons for the decline in skier numbers is that a lot of people don't want to ski on plastic anymore, especially when there is a real snow facility so close and there is not much you can do about that.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
herrprentler, Sorry if you are disappointed.
The situation Rossendale finds itself in is fundamentally no different from other artificial slopes: and I include the indoor artificial snow slopes in that comment.
What all these slopes really need to do is get people through the doors, and provide an attractive proposition to keep those people coming back. The snow slopes with their massive investments do understand this, and thus really work hard on promoting their facilities, and put special offers on for slow times, repeat deals for people coming back, and advertise in local (and not-so-local) media. But the outdoor slopes just don't seem to do this: they do hardly any marketing and seem to just expect customers to magically appear at the door and put up with only-just-adequate facilities.
I like Rossendale. Our club has training days there 3 or 4 times a year. It's a long, varied slope in a location with great views - only artificial slope with a better view is Llandudno.
Have you been to Norwich? If not, then go. They have a much smaller catchment area, but the work they've done over the last ten years is utterly fantastic and the place really buzzes.
And how do your prices compare with Chill Factor? You are in a competitive environment need to ensure you are offering good value - and that people *know* you offer that value.
So specific suggestions:
- Advertise. Advertise. Advertise. Get an decent offer in the regional papers: get it on the regional radio stations. Make sure it is attractive and heavily promoted. Accept that this is going to cost you a (smallish) amount of money in the short term. Offer a local radio presenter a free learn-to-ski package if they cover it on their radio show.
- Make it easiest to get to the cafe: I'm sure some visitors don't even know it is there as they don't wander up the path. Signpost it!
- Get a drinks license, and open a small bar. Look at the one at Swadlincote for ideas.
- Revamp the ski-hire room. It's not a very nice place to change.
- Open up the reception. That little corridor does not give a good first impression of the place.
What is the situation with EB? If they aren't going to re-open, could you move reception and ski hire into there (and the loos!), and demolish the existing ones and replace with a patio? Even move the cafe (with bar) down to the lower level rather that stuck half way up the slope. I know you may claim this isn't sensible/acheivable, but why not??
Also how about opening some alternative activities: a high ropes course? Zip wire? Climbing wall? They will bring in some more customers during the quiet summer months.
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?
hi. Sorry i did not mean your replies were disappointing. I had meant the small number of replies.
I think you are correct about plastic. Your technique has to be so much better to ski well on it. Many people find the indoor snow more forgiving of technique.
It is a shame if Ski Ross closes. It is so much more affordable for many kids and locals. I checked up and a family membership is £60 per month all in. That is for unlimited hire and skiing at any time and includes open coaching sessions. Amazing, so a family of 4 pays £15 each for a months skiing!!
Its crazy then, that the price at the door for 2 hours is £15 each. What are they thinking? That is getting towards chill factore off peak price. (well for one hour)
We will miss Ski Ross when its gone. Maybe there is nothing we can do. It seems to have been run down by the council for several years and does look shabby. And that pricing structure is madness.
idea - you have to have a very good website that is kept bang up to date and kept interesting. Chill factore are pretty good at this.
idea - is it value for money?
idea - does it looked cared for?
idea - do the staff go that extra mile to make you want to come back?
As rob said - you cannot really run a business, especially a niche business, on little or no advertising. The Ski Ross website is terrible, doesn't change from week to week and there is nothing to make you curious to revisit, like 'offer of the week' etc.
advertising for Ski Ross is virtually nil.
I understand that the council have used it as a cash cow in the good years and now dont want to know. I asked quite a few staff last time i visited about how things were. They are enthusiasts and have good ideas but apparently the 'leisure trust' who run the slope are not interested.
Crikey the place looks shabby now.
You cannot hope to compete with chill factore on a level playing field. Go for the value market. As Rob says make Ski Ross a fun place to be, make people want to come back, make it very very affordable. Better to hire 10 sets of skis at £5 per hour than 2 sets of skis for £15in total for two hours.
Take advantage of your location, outdoors, open air, hills, scenery, diversify.
Maybe its too late?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I see Rossendale made it into the opening sequence of the latest SalomonFreeSki video.
I bet 90% of snowheads and 99% of the skiing public don't even realise that Rossendale have the biggest quarter pipe in the UK - let alone a dedicated freestyle slope as well.
kevindonkleywood, Maybe not. Difficult to tell really. I should have added a "probably".
Not somewhere I've been, and as previously noted artificial slope marketing is pretty dire so I was not aware they had such a facility.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
RobW,
Quote:
artificial slope marketing is pretty dire
I could not agree more! mostly because they are council owned. Some council slopes you cannot even find the opening times or prices online, and they wonder why they make a loss.
Garthdee do very well with their website and there is a real buzz about the place, does make it fairly busy at times but thats a good thing.
The facility was taken out of council control about 3 years ago now and is well marketed, unlike Silksworth (sunderland) Hillend (edinburgh)
I could not agree more! mostly because they are council owned. Some council slopes you cannot even find the opening times or prices online, and they wonder why they make a loss.
Garthdee do very well with their website and there is a real buzz about the place, does make it fairly busy at times but thats a good thing.
The facility was taken out of council control about 3 years ago now and is well marketed, unlike Silksworth (sunderland) Hillend (edinburgh)
Agreed re marketing; at Gosling we are shackled to the rest of the park and have very little control over our own marketing / budget etc. Drives me just a little bit nuts...
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
RobW, Good to here your comments about the slope in Norwich, which I think is a fantastic facility - but then I would as I am an active member and volunteer there, and MrsS is training as an instructor. The fundamental difference between Norwich and Rossendale (and most other slopes) is that the Norwich facilities are fully owned and run by the Norfolk Snowsports club. We do have a modest number of paid staff (maintenance, manager, reception/bar etc), but the instructing is done by volunteers, volunteers do much of the reception, boot room, and the bar (I'll be running the bar tonight as a volunteer while MrsS is doing instructor training). Even with this level of volunteer support, and the subs of several thousand members every year it is still not easy keeping the facilities up to scratch. This formula works really for us, and there is a hardcore of probably hundreds of members who attend Junior club, Masters coaching, Ladies club, Freestyle, Improvers club etc. (and there are even some snowboarders ) Unfortunately I really struggle to see how this could be translated onto a council or privately owned slope.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
kevindonkleywood wrote:
RobW, looks no bigger than Garthdee which also boasts a dedicated freestyle slope.
hi. Yep Ski Ross also has a separate freestyle slope with kickers etc.
RobinS - it is great to hear about Norwich and if ever i am down that way i will have a ski. I believe that one of the 'bidders' for Ski Ross was a syndicate of instructors/staff and members who wanted to 'run' the slope for the council. Apparently they were knocked back because they asked for a one off cash injection to do necessary bits and pieces to the facility. I think the other private bidders did not bring enough to the party and/or their sums did not add up.
oh...forgot to add......it is fantastic that snowheads DO seem to care about a facility like Ski Ross (and the others!) and i want to thank you for the great comments and ideas given in this thread so far.........keep them coming and maybe, just maybe a plan can emerge out of them.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Someone should send this thread to the council and Ski Ross............it might shake them up a bit!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
marketing IS hopeless........... proper snow forecast for friday/saturday and then staying cold. Check the artificial slopes websites (silksworth and rossendale) for NO info about this. They should be ggetting VERY excited and geared up for a BUSY weekend to make some CASH.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
sunnbuel wrote:
marketing IS hopeless........... proper snow forecast for friday/saturday and then staying cold. Check the artificial slopes websites (silksworth and rossendale) for NO info about this. They should be ggetting VERY excited and geared up for a BUSY weekend to make some CASH.
Unfortunately not likely at Rossendale as their access road is very steep, didn't skiross say previously that the police had told them to close? Probably for this reason. One time we went up there last season in the midst of the snow the car park was closed for this reason, we had no problems getting in though with our winter tyres
Oh and welcome to s
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Welwyn will be open what ever happens - I'm opening up Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
skiross wrote:
It is also worth you adding us on fb (skiross) where we post regular updates regarding offers, events etc.
Did anybody manage to find them on facebook? I can find nothing under "skiross". For "ski ross" you get a business page with no content other than a map pointing to the wrong location. For "ski rossendale" you get a page with 2 members and no content. There is also a "Ross Ski" person, but before asking to be his friend you can't see anything, and he's probably nothing to do with the place.
I live nearby, I have disposable income, I have a Yad Moss season ticket (who make good use of FB) but would like to go somewhere more local, that isn't Chill Factore, I was aware there was a slope there but it looks dull on the website and I've never skiied on dendex. I am Rossendale's untapped market... There are many of us out there... But for goodness sake they've got to actually market to us! (People's comments on here have done far more to entice me to visit than their website ever has.)
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?
sarah wrote:
sunnbuel wrote:
marketing IS hopeless........... proper snow forecast for friday/saturday and then staying cold. Check the artificial slopes websites (silksworth and rossendale) for NO info about this. They should be ggetting VERY excited and geared up for a BUSY weekend to make some CASH.
Unfortunately not likely at Rossendale as their access road is very steep, didn't skiross say previously that the police had told them to close? Probably for this reason. One time we went up there last season in the midst of the snow the car park was closed for this reason, we had no problems getting in though with our winter tyres
Oh and welcome to s
thanks sarah - i asked someone who lives on the approach road and they said its almost always useable as there are lots of houses and an estate up there. They agreed the access road to the slope is steep and so people just park on the main road when its shut - no restrictions apparently. They also said the slope has a mini tractor - so they could clear the access no problem and grit etc
as the chap from Welwyn pretty much implied - its whether the staff and council can be bothered to make the effort.
wigan - yes i saw your post about the ski ross facebook site. So i checked it out and found the same as you - its not there. Ski rossendale do say earlier in this thread that it is kept up to date..........are they thick or deluded?
hi all, looks like bad news, very bad news. I have heard local Manchester Evening News papers (free press) and the Lancashire telegraph are running front page stories about the likely closure of SKI ROSSENDALE as early as March 2011 !
Future of Ski Rossendale hanging in balance
8:30pm Wednesday 15th December 2010
THE future of Ski Rossendale is hanging in the balance after desperate attempts to find private investment have failed.
The artificial ski slope which has been losing £100,000 a year is now under threat as the government announce cuts to Rossendale Council’s budget of £2.4million.
Councillor Jason Gledhill, portfolio holder for leisure, said: “We are having to make some very tough decisions and it is clear that among them we have to take a serious look at the future of Ski Rossendale.
“I know it is an iconic feature for the area and has helped put Rossendale on the map. But the reality is that our efforts over the last few years to try to attract the funds it needs to help it survive and prosper have come to nothing.
“Given our current funding concerns we have to be able to justify every penny we spend and in that context, when people are losing their jobs and other services and funds are being cut it is hard to make a special case for Ski Rossendale.”
Earlier this month the Lancashire Telegraph reported how plans to sell the ski centre had gone back to the drawing board after the submissions of two preferred bidders were found to be ‘unviable’.
Ski Rossendale has been badly hit by the opening of the skiing centre Chill Factor near Manchester.
A report looking at various options for the 40-year-old facility including its closure will go before the Cabinet in January.
The artificial ski slope which has been losing £100,000 a year is now under threat as the government announce cuts to Rossendale Council’s budget of £2.4million.
apparently ski ross breaks even but they have to pay £100,000 back to the managing leisure trust each year ! thats where the 100k loss fugure comes from. [quote]
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:
Councillor Jason Gledhill, portfolio holder for leisure, said: “We are having to make some very tough decisions and it is clear that among them we have to take a serious look at the future of Ski Rossendale.
Great work Wigan - i read the article with dismay. I think this readers comment below (taken from the papers website) says it all and backs up what Herrprentler said.
This Rossendale Leisure Trust (RLT) has been using the profits made by the Ski Slope to prop up other failing sports facilities within Rossendale and not re-investing into the slope, so they are 100% to blame for the failing of the facility. It is well used by people all over Rossendale and beyond. Shame on you RLT! And what tosh about the Chill Factor - that centre is holding on to its business by the skin of its teeth too. Its a joke to keep using the Chill Factor as an excuse. Deliberate lack of investment by RLT is to blame, no-one else.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
) Unfortunately I really struggle to see how this could be translated onto a council or privately owned slope.
