Dave's Blog

Hey dave,

So I remember asking you at the end of October, 24 hrs before the season pass sale ended if there was going to be a pipe this year. You said NO. And now I read YES. Why did this change? And why couldn't you forsee a change in plans?

Every year I choose a ski town to live in for 5 months and ski at to train for competitions I compete in all over the states. I decided this year to live in Mammoth Lakes, prolly the best decision I made. I did live in Telluride your first season on the job and the pipe was present. It was an epic year to say the least. Please be more open and honest with your park plans year in and year out as you lost my business as well as other riders who don't have a pipe to ride in the southwest.  

Peace dude

Dave's reply: I'm sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We didn't make this decisions until lately, and it was driven largely by the snow we made for the World Cup in the area. We also had to figure out a new Nastar location that was at least as good or better than the old location. We'll see how it goes this season.

this is awesome

the race lift for pipe is a great idea

Dave's reply: We'll see how well it's received this year. I'm hoping it's popular.

Your truly a blessed man to live in Telluride. It's undoubtably one of God's natural gifts. Hope the new year is filled with love and powder.

Dave's reply: Thanks Sam, have a great 2010.

Dave, your pictures have been awesome.  We are coming up on January 15th for a week of skiing.  Anything special going on or recomendations for families with young kids?

Dave's reply: Yes, there is a really neat new operation called "Eco-Adventures" that we recently opened. It is located in the breezeway of the Franz Klammer building, like your walking to the conference center in Mountain Village. They have some neat kids and adult programs and the store is like a interpretive center. You might want to check it out. Thanks for chosing Telluride for your vacation!

Thanks for the updates Dave! We're driving up on Thursday (along with 1/2 of Phoenix) for the AZ days trip. Looking forward to hitting Revelation bowl, Alpino Vino and Gold Hill. Keep some snow for us!

Dave's reply: Hi Jonathan, have a great vacation. The mountain is skiing quite nice.

any plans on BIB bowl opening ths week?  Gold hill chutes? Palmyra?       -thanx

Dave's reply: Talked with patrol. They believe we still need a little more snow as it's been wind effected up on the uppers.

Excellent news. I hope it is a great success.

Dave's reply: Hopfully people will utilize it. We'll see how it goes.

Will there be a discounted pass for town employees with merchant passes?

Dave's reply: Hi Neil, considering the costs going into this, we view those rates as discounted =)

Dave,

I just discovered your blog, and I'm blown away!  I can't think of too many other ski resorts, let alone companies of any kind with this kind of communication to the end-user.

I'm a Summit County skier and make it out to the San Juans several times a year, because once you've seen it for yourself, you have to get back ASAP.

Us Vail Resorts skiers ("Front Range Riff-Raff" per Vail Chamber of Commerce) could only wish for a small fraction of the information you are providing.  You certainly don't see Mr. Katz answering blog questions from Joe Skier, and things like terrain openings and info on resort-accessed B/C opportunities only come from the rumour mill.  Your openness with the community, employees, and tourists is a major breath of fresh air.  I wish there were more ski resort executives like you out there.  VR BoD, are you listening?

I'll be out there in March and am bringing a bunch of friends with me, and have planted the seed with my out-of-state family for ski vacation there next year.  Hope you have a great winter and keep up the good work!  

Dave's reply: Hi Pierce, Thanks for your support for Telluride. Let me know if you need anything while planning your trip out here. You can always reach me directly at driley@tellurideskiresort.com

Thanks for considering the Tubing hill for the Pipe and park. I was kinda bummed to see the pricing, but I'm still stoked for some night skiing. From working 10 hour days, now I can get some skiing in after work. Will there be some lofty booters and rails or just a pipe?

Dave's reply: We're planning some rails and jumps, but the pipe will consume a lot of the terrain under the lights. Stay tuned.

when do you think the big jumps will be complete?

Dave's reply: Should be around the middle of the month. Lots of time is going into the pipe right now.

When do you expect to have the super pipe completed. I'll be there during the week of January 19th!

Dave's reply: We're hoping to open the pipe around the 14th. Enjoy.

What's worse than not going up today and sking BIB? Going up on a snowskate, which doesn't quite work up there right now with the punchy conditions, and watching it all get skied.  I asked you 2 days ago if ANY of the upper prospect ridge was going to open this week and u told me that "...we still need a little more snow.."   Knowing that, i choose to not take up my skis or board, but a fun training device to play on the groomers and get strong until more snow, thus more terrain opens.  I, along with many others have given u nothing but respect when inquiring about what is going on in our backyard and u HAVE been respectful back even if u do often skirt around the answer.  PLEASE let us know if "plans change" so that we can plan what, or even if to ride.  lets build bridges and not burn them down.  

Dave's reply: I'm not skirting the issue, and can understand your frustration. Patrol made a decision today and I heard about it after the fact, which I'm okay with as I really don't micro manage when they open terrain. From what I learned, they thought it would be okay to get some skier compaction up there, and they may close it again if it gets too skied off. In other words, it may rotate open and closed for awhile. Another storm cycle or two would probably stablize that.

After all that we pay to ski on this mountain it is amazing to me (and all of my friends who hold season passes here) that we have to pay an ADDITIONAL amount of money to ski at night. How is it any benefit to the local community if we have to shell out MORE money to TellSki to use our mountain for a few more hours? AND with all of your charging mistakes this year (you've charged my card several times when you weren't supposed to because of computer issues) you want even more money? Sorry, Dave - not from this local. Night skiing should be free to all season pass holders!

Dave's reply: Sorry you feel that way, but I respect your decision. I'm not sure what the problem was with your credit card, but I assume it's been fixed. If not, please feel free to contact me and I'll get it resolved.

Dave i cant beliuve theres going to be night skiing and a super pip at last a half pipe

Dave's reply: Glad you're happy Andrew. Hopefully it will get utilized.

So stoked to hear that you're reviving the superpipe!  I've  been riding Copper's pipe all month, and am stoked visit Telluride and be able to shred the pipe in T'Ride again!  I will gladly pay the price to ride under the lights!  Way to step it up, Dave!!  I'm sure that all the local groms are stoked, too!  You seem a little skeptical in your comments, but, Dude, It's Awesome!!

Sincerely,

Tom

Dave's reply: Hi Tom,  I'm a little worried that we'll have enough people use it to justify the resources that are going into the whole thing. Maybe I'll be happily surprised.

Hi Dave,

Today was the first day I stayed off the mountain in quite a while. BIB opened today. Damn. Good response to Hinde though, it lessens the sting a bit. Can you let patrol know that we could use a leak of info the day before or at least some texts to some people the day of? That would be helpful. At least I got some stuff done today that I've been putting off. Happy New Year, and thanks for getting us a pipe. So if I go up tomorrow It'll probably be closed huh. Well I'm not going tomorrow so you might as well keep it open till I get there. ha ha

Dave's reply:   :-)

Hey Dave.  Quick question on difficulty of Revelation Bowl.  We will be up next week (not alot of new snow in the forcast)and would like to ski the groomed trail in the bowl.  Our group easily skis Lookout and most ski Plunge (when goomed).  How does Silver Cloud and Majestic compare?  Looking forward to the first of three ski trips this year.  Thanks/al

Dave's reply: Hi Al, Silver Cloud and Majestic are "rotated" on the grooming schedule each night. Majestic is steep than Silver Cloud. If you want the easiest way down off the top of Gold Hill Express (14) traverse past the top of Majestic to Silver Cloud. Silver Cloud skies like a groomed Plunge run. Sunny days in Revelation can't be beat. Have a great time and thanks for choosing Telluride!

Hey Dave

You said that you couldn't make the decision for a superpipe until you found a new location for the slalom course.  Last year my boy Bryce (7) qualified for nationals in slalom and this year he does not have a course to train on.  When is the new slalom course going to be set up?  If the kids around here are going to be able to train and qualify to ski against other ski towns, they need to do so before a certain date (I want to say it is the end of Jan).

Dave's reply: Is your child part of the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club? They ususally do some training in different locations. If you're talking about the Nastar course, it's going to be moved to Bumpy Butterfly around the middle of the month. We have to install some new infrastructure for the timing. Thank you.

Hey you guys who are complaining about paying for night use of the pipe -

It is not free to the ski area.  Most, if not all areas, offering night skiing charge.

Ski areas are, surprise, not in business to give away their product.

It cost money in terms of staff and utilities.  If a pass holder uses it  20 nights

the cost per night is $7.50 - a six pac of decent beer.  OK maybe PBR is a bit

less but you get the idea. I have no association with the ski area, have never met

Riley, and do not always agree with him but this is a good deal for the ski

area and the region.  A "world class" resort should offer this amenity to their

customers.  Don't like the extra charge, don't take advantage of the opportunity.

Dave's reply: Thanks for weighing in Bill.  

Dave,

Same question as Scott Lambert. No we're not speaking about NASTAR, we are speaking about " real" alpine training for kids and adults who compete on the national level.

By the way, did you know that you have 3 USSA Masters National Champions living and ( in the past) training here and representing Telluride when they travel to such areas as Sun Valley, Mammoth, Aspen, Sunday River?

I think you get the point.

Dave's reply: Beyond Nastar, the ski area has never set up technical training courses for individuals. Through a partnership with the ski co. the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club is the resource for competitive racing in the area, and they do provide special venues for training periodically. You might contact them for information. Thank you.

Dave,

When you say that NASTAR will be set up on Butterfly, do you mean the part to skier's left where the video analysis is, or the main part of Butterfly?  If the former, that is going to be sweet!  I bet a lot of people will really value the opportunity to get video of themselves racing.

I had a blast at Telluride this week, and hope to return soon.

Dave's reply: Hi Jon, it will go down to the right of the video run. It's a great recreational race hill with a perfect pitch, real wide, great visibility, etc. We're excited about it.

Thank you i will stay tuned. I'm very interested in the turn out of this location

Dave, so far it seems like Telluride's park has been the only terrain park that has actually regressed over the past few years...Purgatory has a better park than Telluride...are you kidding me? Many resorts (Breck, Keystone etc) opened with a 3 jump line that were bigger than the jumps in Telluride once you have finished making the Hoot's park (rip).  Copper opened with a 22ft superpipe. Do you not see a value in putting effort into making a terrain park?  Obviously not, even though most other world class resorts do... There's talent in the youth in Telluride, unfortunately they are being so extremely limited by what is offered, it's a shame...

Dave's reply: I'm not sure I totally agree with everything you're saying, but I respect your opinion. If you're looking for 70 foot jumps, which only 10 people in the area will dare to use, your looking at the wrong resort.

Thanks for your input though. I'm looking forward to some interesting changes in our parks and night super pipe when it opens shortly.

Dave,

Thanks for your response. I'm well aware of what the ski area has offered over the pass 16 years. I'll leave it at that.

Having said that, I am enthused by the fact that you indicate your support of the ski and snow board club. That's great! Certainly different then a year or two ago. Keep up the good work.

Just an aside. Have you noticed the absolute baby boom in Tride in the last ten years? Imagine how many families will have kids in the ski club in the future?  Fun Stuff.

Thanks again for your response. Great blog.

Dave's reply: Thanks Steve.

I do appreciate your response Dave and I understand what you been by a 70 foot jump and the select few that would use it, however, over the past few years it seems like the park has somewhat regressed both in size and when the park is even completed.  I am not hoping for 70 foot jumps, even though it would be nice :), I just hear the need for a park that is constantly evolving, creating unique features, a park that will make people come to telluride for the terrain park.  It just reminds me of years ago when we had the upper and lower terrain parks, hosting the USASA National's and that was before the year 2000.  I am looking forward to the nighttime super pipe and I do see some of these steps being made, I just hope that in someway this has made a positive impression.

Thanks.

Dave's reply: Well, I can say that what we are doing this year will be quite different from what you've ever seen -  and progressive. Hopefully you'll enjoy the results of the efforts of our park crew and grooming crew. They are certainly putting in the hours constructing...

Hi Dave, tomorrow is our first ski day at Telluride this season!  Hooray!  We've had some folks staying here at our RV Park in Dolores that have been up skiing already, and we were suitably jealous... but now it's our turn.  Can't wait... we're fully expecting a perfect blue sky and equally perfect temperatures!

Dave's reply: I love the excitment, even though you may be doing a little light advertising on my blog :) I delete many people trying to do the same, but what the heck, go for it.

Where can one find the list of next week's SnowFest activities and times?

Thanks, Sam

Dave's reply: Hi Sam, This year includes snowsculptures, a slope safety fair on the 16th, and apres ski specials at the Hop Garden.

Dave,

Will there be any competitions at night in the terrain park?

Dave's reply: Hi Patrick, thanks for the question. I've been thinking along the same lines. Why not?

Hi Dave,

I think that the new location for the superpipe is a perfect fit! It's at the base of the mountain for better access/competition viewing, the slope angle and length is perfect. There is snowmaking, lighting, and an under-utilized surface lift already in place as infrastructure!

I think that this will turn out to be one of the best "new ideas" of the season. Thanks.

Dave's reply: I hope you're right Will. We're workin' away on it.

Hi Dave-

I will be there next week and I was wondering if I can order up some cloud seeding. Looking for about about 8" - 12" each night followed by blue skies for about 4 days. How much? Let me know if you need to know exactly which runs just in case you offer a' la carte service.

Will the pipe be open by the 14th?

Thanks!!

;)

Dave's reply: Telluride Ski Resort, in partnership with the Dolores Water Conservancy District, Southwest Water Conservation District, and Western Weather Consultants, LLC does cloud seeding currently. It basically enhances snowfall when a storm is coming in. In other words, it doesn't work when the sky is clear. We're shooting to have the new superpipe done by the 14th, but we'll have to wait and see. It's getting close.

Hey Dave,

I'm hardly well educated on this subject, but I had read that Vail has met some quantifiable success with their Cloud Seeding project in recent years.  I know that the repercussions of tampering with the weather need to be considered, but if the eco-ethics of it prevail, has Telski ever considered trying out a cloud seeding operation with the hope of stimulating some precipitation during these dry spells we're having?

Dave's reply: See my reply to Lou. Thanks.

Thanks for the great pictures and updates.  We'll be up in a week or so and I'm wondering about the conditions.  I imagine that it takes a lot of snow to build and maintain a large terrain park.  With so much snowmaking being diverted to this park and with so little snowfall in the forecast, I'm a little concerned about the conditions in the rest of the resort.  Should I be?  Thanks for making yourself so accessible to those of us who are forced to monitor the activities remotely!

Dave's reply: Hi Dan, We've had an exceptional snowmaking year because of consistently cold tempuratures in November and December. Where we have the capability of making snow, we've already put down the base that is necessary to provide great coverage. I was out skiing yesterday, and although it was not a powder day, it was really good skiing in the sunshine. The grooming department is doing a great job too.

Hi again Dave, thanks for not censoring me earlier!  What a great day we had skiing Friday... absolutely perfect conditions and weather.  For those of you asking about adequate snow... I can tell you first hand there is plenty!  And they're just making the already awesome runs better and better.  It was pretty cool watching them build the superpipe, too.  We're thinking of coming back up next Friday, the forecast says sunny with a high of 35 degrees, a perfect day on the Mountain!

Dave's reply: Went out today between meetings - it was awesome.

In response to "bill schiffbauer", you don't seem to mind paying that extra $150, curious...did you already spend upwards of $2000 for your pass? Yea, still sounds like a good deal huh? hahah

Dave's reply: Hi Albert, Let's remember Telluride created the "4 Pack" this year which effectively lowered the price on the early-bird unrestricted season pass from $1,200 to $1,000. That is a screaming deal when compared to other remote destination resorts (non- I-70 style). No, I don't get your complaint at all. Even if you were not part of a 4 Pack, you could have purchased a pass for $1,200. $150 for a night add-on is also a great deal. The ski area is not the "cash cow" as you might suspect. We're still paying down the off-season losses...

Dave-

The superpipe is available during regular resort opeartions at no additional charge via chair 4 for anyone with a lift ticket or pass. I don't get the beef with the charge for the night / exteneded hours use of the park + superpipe.

You just increased my available on mountain time by 57% for about 13% of the cost (season). How is that a bad deal.

Dave's reply: Yes, I agree.

Hey Dave - just got home from the weekend in Telluride.  Had an awesome time.  I wanted to take a moment to comment on your top-notch waitstaff up at Alpino Vino.  The hostess (didn't catch her name) was wonderful and so was our server.  We went up there for lunch the first day and had an excellent time.  Great views and supergreat service.  I about had heart attack at $10 for a bottle of water, but the good service made up for it.  

Also, there wasn't a single run that I can recall where the Liftie on duty didn't say hi.  That makes for a great experience.  Keep up the great work and we'll see you again in March... hopefully with a little more snow on the ground...

Dave's reply: Hi Justin from Phoenix, thanks for your blog comments, I'll make sure the lifties and F&B folks hear about your compliments. I'll also look into the water prices up there.

Dave,

Even though comp hill is gone, the half pipe looks great. Hope it works out. By the way, those that don't want to pay the buck and a half? Do the math, great deal. And I don't even snow board! I still can't figure out how in the world you justify the expense ie return on investment for such a project. Let's see if my cash outlay is a couple hundred thousand ( and that's probably low) and my year end profit is 5% to 10 % that would mean my sales just for the park expenses would have to be at least $4,000,000.!!! Wow, great investment! Hope it works!!!

Just to let you know, the TSSC has been terrific!!! Great program!!! Thanks for the lead and I hope you see their value in the future for promotion etc.. Racing is tough and I'm sure not one of your favorite disciplines, but it's sort of like a half pipe, a necessary evil in the ski industry. I think you'd agree.

Pray for snow!

Dave's reply: Hi Steve, there are many things which are very expensive aspects of the ski business. Our focus is to provide exceptional experiences for our customers, with a long-range attitude.

so will the whole park be open on the 14th or just the pipe?

Dave's reply: The most current thinking is that the pipe will open Friday night the 15th. It's taken a little longer to build than we projected. The additional rails and jumps in the area under the lights will be constructed over the following days. Hoot's park should open tomorrow or the next day. They've made good progress on that too. Enjoy.

Hi Dave, I was wondering if you were going to give kids a break on the nite superpipe pass? 150 sounds fair for adults but for kids that's almost another season pass. I hate to sound cheap but with all the different organizations we have to join in order for our kids to compete and the travel and so on, it adds up quickly. How about $75 for under 16 year olds since an early bird kid season pass is only $175 if I remember correctly? Thanks for any consideration for financially challenged parents!

Dave's reply: Hi Steve, We discussed this early on and concluded the $150 is a great price, considering the resources that have/will go into this night operation.

Hi Dave, It’s nice to see you keeping up the blog. The new terrain at Telluride will force me to go there on my next Rocky Mountain road trip with my son. And I haven't even made it to Vail yet, maybe the trip after telluride. It's sad to see what's happened to the MHM blog, its censored big time, they only post the most flattering posts, and it's such a shame they can't post ANY constructive criticism :(

Dave's reply: Hi Mike, Hope you can make it back to Telluride soon. As far as sensoring this blog goes, I have to delete some people's posts usually when they get into legal issues, etc. Otherwise, I try to be liberal with posting. Blog comments are helpful to the operation.

Dave, I just heard a nasty rumor that the pipe will ONLY be open at night to those who purchase the night pass. This has to be false, right? Thanks, Steve

Dave's reply: Hi Steve, yep - that's a nasty rumor. It will be open day and night. A night season pass or night ticket is necessary to ride the park/pipe at night.

Awesome, thanks Dave!

What happened to the monday night Avalanche series?

Is the resort still sponsoring these?  

As you know Dave, education and practice are the key to safety and prevention for backcountry users....

We have such great resources in our back yard, it would be a shame to see them close again (like they did before) due to some people making bad decisions.

see this article in the denver post

www.denverpost.com/.../ci_14169778

Dave's reply: Hi Chris, We offered lift tickets and season passes to the Outdoor school but cut the $5,000 in cash back after not receiving a good explanation as to how much of the cash was actually used to teach the classes. I'm not sure what their plans are at this point.

I'm psyched to see you using the under-utilized lift 2 for the pipe, and I think you are providing an economic boost to the entire Mountain VIllage.

Seconding Steve's point, when I was a kid here (in the 80's...), we could not have afforded paying for a night pass that was equal in price to the season pass when I was 10-18 and would most wanted to use it. Now I can, and think that is a fair price for an adult add-on. Please reconsider the pricing vis-a-vis the kids.

I'm a HUGE fan of all you've done for the area since you came on. Thanks for listening.

Dave's reply: Our day-time kids season passes are some of the cheapest in the industry. That may be why a $150 night pass looks expensive. We're comfortable with the price, given the resources that have gone into this venture. Thank you.

Not to press the issue of the nite pass price but just for your information, Crested Butte Mountain Resort just hooked up the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club last week with season passes for $115, which is quite a bit less than our still reasonable kids early bird rate. They indicated that they really appreciated our coming all the way to CB to compete with their kids and wanted to make it as accessible as possible to any families willing to come to their mountain. This is about as grass roots as it gets. If we could do this for our own athletes, that would really help out some people. But then again, I'm just glad we now have a pipe that we can ride during the day without paying extra for it. The nite option is great and I think it will be successful but I really think more parents would ultimately sign their kids up if there is a break in the kid price over what an adult pass costs. Hook us up if you can! It would create even more good customer will, but I'm sure you know this.

Maybe in the future you can offer up some sort of break on a nite pass for kids and their coaches to help us go out and properly represent TSG. Even a $25 break would be something meaningful and would go a long way in developing lifelong, loyal customers as well as possibly create a more vibrant night scene.

Anyway, you do what you gotta do and thanks for the open line of communication and the ear, Steve

Dave's reply: Thanks for the input Steve, not that you're pressing the issue =)

Let's not undervalue the tremendous support TSG provides to our local kids as well as the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club.

Given that the kids are probably only in CB for a weekend or two this season, that's not exactly comparable to the utilization a person will get at home,,, right?

Dave, I appreciate the support you do give local kids and clubs and my intention is not to undervalue it, sorry if it came across that way.

Times are tough and any help is always appreciated and remembered! Thanks

Dave's reply: no worries.

I think the night prices are absolutely fair, some of the people who post come across as extremely ungrateful, and condescending.  Something gets built and carefully planned and they find another way to complain.  There is plenty of time in the daytime to ski and snowboard on the parks, if you really want your children to ski and snowboard additionally at night, perhaps you should tell your teenage kids to start looking for a job.  It takes additional money to run something of this degree, and if they short change it, they will not be able to provide the proper level of service in order to make it successful, and if that happens once again you guys will appear with more reason to complain or should I say whine.

 These families should consider themselves lucky to live so close to such amazing terrain, and beautiful terrain.. be thankful for that.  Plus the pass is cheaper then like 2 rounds of golf try to put that in perspective compared to 3 1/2 months of additional skiing.

Dave hat's off to being upfront about everything, and running a great resort. Keep up the good work!  

Thoughts from someone on the east coast.  I don't want to sound so negative, but it is just so frustrating to hear people continue to "complain" when they should be excited about the new additions to your resort and town.  I would think these people would be in the minority anyway.

Dave's reply: Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Trevor.