Thursday, January 17, 2013

Q & A with the GM....


Greetings,

I figured it was a good time to pull out the mail bag and answer some questions……  Between myself and info@okemo.com, we get a few questions as you can imagine.  I will try to answer a few inquiries the best I can.

How come the Amp Energy Big Air Bag is not in place??   If I told you it is on a boat would you believe me?  The skinny is that the big air bag was shipped to Europe to be repaired under warranty.  It had some tears and the grommets were ripping that hold the bag down.  After the Adventure Zone closed, we packed up the bag and sent it on its way.  The rest of the story is how slow the company has been in getting us back the bag, clearing customs, holidays, etc. The good news is we are expecting the bag to be at Okemo next week!

What is the deal with the Amp Energy Superpipe?  The Superpipe is right now a quarter pipe! Well basically one side is done and cut, but we can’t use it yet.  Snowmaking will be working on the pipe tonight and Friday and we then will cut the other side. The reason for the delay has been a couple things. We probably bit off a lot when it came to trying to get the Superpipe, Black Out Terrain Park and the Nor’easter Superpark already at the same time.  There were only so many hours our groomers could work on the parks and Superpipe and the Superpipe requires a little more experience. Since the Superpipe needed more snow made in it, we finished the other two. We are hopeful to have it up and going by maybe Sunday.

Is Okemo aware of the I-91 interstate bridge delays in Brattleboro?  This construction project and delays have been very frustrating for our guests. I have heard from many of you. I have been speaking with the President of the Vermont Ski Areas Association who is our liaison with the State of Vermont as well as I have spoken with our legislators.  The stock answer was the work needed to be done and they were working as fast as they could. The good news is that both southbound lanes are now open and I have been told that both northbound lanes will be open by Tuesday 1/22/13…Finally…

How come there are no picnic tables at the Waffle Cabin at Jackson Gore? I know guests like to sit and enjoy a fabulous Waffle Cabin Waffle, but the space in that area just doesn’t allow a lot of lingering. We feel that since there are tables near the Round House, that guests who do want to linger, can use those tables. For others who want to grab and go, they can get right on the Coleman Brook Express.  Hopefully you will agree that this small inconvenience is ok as long as there is a Waffle Cabin.  Did you know that this Waffle Cabin will be moved to the food location for the Adventure Zone and will be selling summer fare and waffles all summer here at Okemo!

Tell me the snowmaking plan with this cold weather coming? Snowmaking will be going heavy while it is cold. Our plan is to resurface as many trails as possible before the weekend and also work on some new terrain.  Wild Thing and Easy Rider have been opened and we are heading towards the Plunge and Ledges at some point.  We are also going to be building base depths to get our mainline trails into the spring time. Another snowstorm will allow us to open up some more of the natural trails.

If you have a specific question, send it along. I will answer what I can and periodically feature some in the blog.

Thanks for Skiing and riding with us and think snow

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

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