Not sure paying a full day/multi day pass for a tracked out Heavenly Valley (and a good part of the other accessible areas) is going to go down to well with a lot of people.
*Me Circumstances don't allow more than a few days for me per season for the foreseeable future. I generally only go during those perfect condition scenarios (fresh snow- dont care about weather) and I'm more than happy to pay for it..... However losing that 1st hour makes the whole thing redundant for myself. I'll just do BC or hope Buller has an off piste base (low chance) Let's say you're a punter on your twice a season weekend trip and you fork out all that hard earned....for a tracked out mess. Don't think they'll be happy...
Hmmm.... Maybe I'm jumping at shadows! ?? The first hour is the best hour... Hate to lose it! I'd happily pay $80 just for the first 2 hrs and then piss off
It’s being going on at Perisher for years. Available for all, free for pass holders. I have no idea of the paid price as I’ve always had a pass. Same deal for night skiing.
I find that there’s always a good few hundred people ready to go at 7:30 on a powder day so all you get is 2 runs max before it’s cooked.
But those are the 2 that I'll pay for... And it's usually 3 ... plus one for the standard walk around pre opening = 4 And then the other 3 or 4 a little farther afield but accessible. That's THE hour.
Yep. For epic pass holders. But maybe opposite. Putting a bunch of other people off side too. Nice troll though. In any case, with an increase in pass holders id wager you won't see a drop in numbers if that's what you're after. An increase if anything. That 7.30 thing flys under the radar a bit still for non regulars. Just a drop off in people like myself. And we're hardly going to make a difference to the bottom line.
At falls this year, early opening was only for season pass holders. BTW IIRC it was 8am and only halleys and towers, while normal opening of summit was 8:30 anyway.
Yep Pretty simple and more reason to get a season/epic pass Any added bonus is a little reward Want the benefits Get a season pass Pretty simple
'pretty simple' eh? Not for everyone. I would most certainly if it was feasible. Close family health circumstances dictate this decision. Those couple of powder mornings a year keep me sane
If it is the same setup as Perisher it will be open to all but at a cost. Current price for first tracks Adult: $36, Child: $22
Vail has also taken away the discounted FC & Hotham pass for ski retail workers which is a bummer. Won’t affect my team as I pay for a SP as part of their contract but it’s an extra cost for me. Buller still retaining the discount.
July school hols (vic only IIRC) plus weekends in July & Aug I've seen it as more about a response to the prospect of very crowded runs. Get the keenest people out early and they might be happier to take a break once lessons and others hit the most popular slopes
Race club and early lessons were going up from 8:00 at Falls, and the Epic concession for the holidays was off the back of that. OK for general access up the mountain onto groomers, but maybe not a good idea for choice runs...
Hotham has had the 7.30 Heavenly start for over 20 years. Be a shame to make it 'exclusive' going forward. And certainly of no benefit to your once or twice a year skier who do make up a majority of $ spenders on the whole. Heavenly is fairly unique in breadth of terrain it gives access to. Half the mountain. Sucks to be me I guess.
Agree. Big fan of that kind of thing. I'd happily pay $100 for a 7.30 to 10 am pass at Hotham Or a top up kind of thing where you pay per ride. 10 bucks a ride or something. That first few hours is all I'm interested sans family
Pretty sure you can buy it stand alone. Same as night skiing. But yes add on to normal day pass if you want all day.
If they did that at Falls it would have to be pretty attractive to BC skiers - get a few warm up laps then be at the top to start a day tour. Might be an answer to the perpetual problem. OTOH they probably wouldn't do it because no RFID gates over the back to easily enforce the cutoff time.
https://www.perisher.com.au/plan-your-trip/activities/first-tracks Yuk. If you have to go through all the briefing like at Perisher. Is that a once of (season) thing for epic pass holders? What a rigmarole
I did First Tracks at Perisher a couple of years ago. Safety briefing was pretty much just a ski patrol member behind the rope telling everyone to take it easy. As soon as the rope drops, its a free for all.
Only place they could do that would be the captive audience at the bottom of Heavenly........after everyone's already done a run
Isn’t the reason to have Heavenly open before the Village loop hordes descend is so that one doesn’t have to take it easy? Audi Quattro chair not running is the safety precaution.
