What Bend should do with our share of the Obama money: buy Mt. Bachelor and run it as a non-profit. Pay all the employees and officers a fair wage, but run it as a non-profit so that the lift ticket, equipment rental, and concession prices can come way down – lower than any other ski mountain in the U.S.
Why is this a good idea? First, it will keep the mountain from changing ownership every couple of years while the investors try to recoup their money at light speed by raping the wallets of locals and visitors. The city of Bend will own it once and for all and we won’t have to worry about unscrupulous management marring the mountain’s reputation.
Bend buys Mt. Bachelor, runs it as a non-profit, the lift ticket, equipment rental, and food prices come down and we advertise the new affordability of skiing Mt. Bachelor to the world. We get a bigger influx of new, visiting skiers every year because of the affordability and guess what? These guests stay in our hotels, eat in Bend’s restaurants & bars, and buy our gifts and souvenirs. This is how we beef-up Bend’s winter economy. Everybody wins.
Let’s do it, Bend!
Chris Evans
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2009.
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Based on my observations about the way the City manages the bus system, snow removal, and handicapped compliance for the last ten years, this is the most absurd idea I’ve seen concerning Bachelor ever. Only someone who has never been involved with ski area operation and management would think they are raking in the dough. Nice try…
Let’s see…as far as I know the ownership of Bachelor has changed twice in 50 years. Maybe you are referring to the GM? And what exactly would be a fair wage?
You’re out of your mind.
The name “non-profit” does not mean that an organization can run if it takes in less money than it pays out. As a board member of several local “non-profits” I can tell you that the goal is to make a profit (even if we don’t call it that…).
Let’s just say that if the area had the potential to make lots of money, someone would be doing it FOR profit. What the hell is a fair wage, anyway?? I assume that the author of this note was joking, right? I mean, this can’t be serious.
Absurd idea I agree. I get the point of the writer of this, but it is a lot more complex than meets the eye. A lot of people wrote in after MJ was fired and suggested they try the approach of Bogus Basin in 1995 which was to drop the passes from over a grand a month to 299 per season across the board for all persons, kids, adults, seniors and they sold record passes, got the community back into skiing and really boosted the local economy. Also going into a season in the worst economy in history since the great depression and chargine what they are charging is absurd with the number of people that are struggling to keep food and heat in their homes. AK must be asleep at the wheel or just another robot following the beat of his managers, who are out to lunch as well. The people in this area are just done with the lack of ingenuity, sincerity and willingness to work with our community. Suggesting what many communities in the midwest have done with ski areas such as turning them into municipal owned areas where only two or three lifts are present is relatively easy, but Mount Bachelor is much more complex. People vote with their dollars and people are tired of being given no options as there are not local competitors as in Lake Tahoe and other areas but locals are simply boycotting the area due to letting big business know they have to compete for the dollars. AK made a comment in a public place ” people in this area do not appreciate anything, are impossible to please and are in general not grateful” Being he came in from the outside he is too ignorant to consider the long history of how poorly this area was run. He also fails to see how this comment comes across as selfish and arrogant being that a great marketing manager should be selfless and serve his customers and pay attention to what many have shouted from the rooftops for the last decade. Goes to show nothing really has changed and nothing will really change. There is somewhat of a hint of the same attitude of companies such as AIG execs taking bonuses in one of the worst economies ever and deserving bonuses for the worst performance ever.
What they DO NOT teach in business schools is how to fix a long standing poor track record and how to get back in the best of terms with the community they have wronged or upset. Bringing in managers from the outside proves once again the main corporation does not care and want to bring in their specially groomed persons. Absolutely nothing wrong with this if the managers have the leeway to operated according to the locals, local businesses that depend on the ski area as much as the ski area depends on them. But they come in with a bottom line to meet and again end up having a poor season. Doing the same things over and over expecting different results is INSANITY. Dave Rathbun has done the best he knows how and yet the main detriment to his approach is he brought in an approach which worked in another area, which is not working her, has his hands tied by a corporate mentality which focuses on the dollar and not on the solution to the problem. Lowering the prices of the passes for our younger generation was a great idea, but for the rest of us who are out of that age group the VALUE of what they are asking for their passes do not exist. It is overpriced and simply not worth the money. The “black out” times for non holiday passes is a foolish idea as a lot of us locals have friends and family we wish to share the holdays with who come to ski in Central Oregon. This year we all rented a van and skied Willamette Pass and Hoodoo and never drove up to Mt. Bachelor as the prices are outrageous.
Further the president driving around on his snowmobile telling the local pass holders that certain lifts are NOT going to be open due to not enough people on the mountain. Every lift should run regardless of how many people are skiing on weekdays as we locals are again treated like second class citizens and this is why they passes are overpriced and have no value.
When they sell next season passes for 299 unlimited and offer that price from April to thanksgiving then this town will come alive again and people will buy passes in record numbers. At 299 if they choose to only run certain lifts during the week then no one is going to whine about it, but at the outrageous season pass prices it is simply not worth it.
When families have to choose which family members will ski from season to season due to outrageous prices, then it is not about family or locals, but about money. Mt. Bachelor will make record profits when they get the community back on track and into skiing. Until they get this they are going to have the same results. Being able to ski five days to break even on a pass is more like it. Not twenty days
Passes, five day passes no longer honored at Mt. Bachelor which were purchased from GI JOES. GI JOES is going bankrupt and have apparently not paid Mt. B for the passes so now it is the responsibility of every pass holder to drive back over to the valley and demand their money back before the doors shut as Mt. B. has solved it by blocking these passes. Another goodwill gesture by our great ski area management.
OK….lets give Dave Rathbun a break here. There is no way in hell that one man can change and make up for two decades of bad feelings. Dave is doing a great job and lets give him two to three more years to get things up and running. Keep in mind that he was thrown into a job of being a leader of an area that was essentially neglected for years by managers who barely got thru high school. I would not have wanted to be filling his shoes as there is still al ot to resolve. My suggestion is to get the whole community skiing again and make the season pass prices able to break even in less than five day tickets as that would make sense and make the passes equal for adults, kids and not have black out times. One ski area in Idaho went from 1000 pass holders to 16000 pass holders by dropping the passes to 299 from 1200. Do the math on this and then also see the local attitude change drastically. Imagine what this would do to assist the local economy as people from Portland, Salem, Eugene, Seattle and the Bay area would buy season passes every winter and probably only ski six to eight days a year. The model has worked before and in other areas.
The city of Bend taking over, NO WAY JOSE. The City of Bend is an organization where the one hand has no idea what the other hand is doing. Talk about making skiing cost prohibative and expensive.
So…
Joe’s contracts with Bachelor to sell tickets for a certain amount of money–and defrauds the ski area by not fulfilling the contract.
Joe’s further contracts with the individual ticket buyer–selling them a pass that is a part of that fraud. They know that the purchaser is buying something that is part of a contract that they have no intention to fulfill.
When Bachelor finds out that the party they contracted with has no intention of fulfilling that contract, they cancel it.
The public is outraged at Bachelor because they should honor a contract that they never participated in.
The attitude seems to be that the ski area has unlimited deep pockets that enables them to discount until everyone is happy and give away their product in the name of good community relations which always seem to elude their efforts.
Skiing is like farming–at the mercy of forces that are impossible to control. Regardless, the skier demands a product that is only acceptable if it meets their expectations and standards, and those never are seasonally adjusted.
Bunney–if it were as simple and obvious as you claim, the model you are touting would be the norm nation-wide. Operators aren’t idiots. They are profit driven and if there is a profit to be made, they will be on it.
Bogus Basin is 15 miles away from a population center of over 500,000. How does that compare to Bend?
For skiers from Portland, Salem, or Eugene to get to Bachelor when the conditions are best , all they have to do is drive through horrible road conditions during a four-hour trip and past Mt Hood or HooDoo–both much closer and more acceptable.
Those metro areas from out of state–SF, LA, Phoenix, etc can’t be marketed the way Utah can market the Salt Lake areas of Colorado can market Summit county. After getting here for the single opportunity available they get the Bend apres’ ski experience (Flash Your Pass!)and that is certainly comparable to Vail or Deer Valley, right?
It’s time for Bend skiers to grow up and accept that sooner or later Bachelor will develop a pricing policy that balances local demand with profitability. Issues will be resolved and issues will remain unresolved. No one will ever be 100% satisfied. But everyone can still air their views as though they had the secret to success.
It’s amazing how skiers and skiing still suck after all of these years.
You ASSume incorrectly. There are beaucoup different jobs up there, each paying differently. What is a fair wage for a lift op? Or a lift maintenance worker? After all, it’s all relative. Do we compare wages with Tahoe or BC? Do we go local where the ridiculous cost of living makes all but a 40k/year livable? Personally, I don’t think every single job should pay a “living wage.” I think some positions should be viewed as transitory until skills and/or education have grown or developed. If you choose not to progress, grow, develop, whatever, then struggling to make ends meet is a consequence of that.
John,
Not asleep sir. Actually tuned in to every channel and communicating with the public in them as well – to a level never before accomplished here. Giving out the straight scoop at every turn. That quote is cleary fabricated to fit into a equally clear agenda. I take pride in being the primary guest advocate and have fought and will continue to fight for the rights of our guests in the balance of the business.
I am not ignorant to the history – it’s all there for folks who want to read about it. I am very aware that the holes we dug in the past have burned plenty of people. Even created a segment of folks who would prefer we fail and are frustrated by any improvements in our operation or reputation. This years improvements in that regard have made many happy and a few frustrated. We will continue to try and increase the folks who are satisfied and have their expectations met or hopefully exceeded.
I would be happy to chat more about this at anytime.
first initial last name @mtbachelor.com
First of all, the idea that City of Bend purchase and run Mt Bachelor is simple ludicrous. Enough said. At least most the people posting seem to agree.
For those who have been to Bachelor this year, you already know the mountain is making strides to turn things around. Some of the deals theyâ ™ve offered are hard to beat. If you donâ ™t own a pass and donâ ™t know someone who will hook you up with a $29 ticket, youâ ™re not a local yet. Thatâ ™s a kick ass deal and a lot of my outta town friends have been stoked. They flew to Bend to spend their money here because I got them a couple of cheap tickets.
Things arenâ ™t going to change overnight but changes at Bachelor are more visible this year. The good olâ ™ boy regime is out (about time) and the new management is at least trying new things. Give them a break and some time to figure things. You would have never seen the old Marketing Director throwing her neck out and saying bring hate mail the way AK does! Itâ ™s refreshing to see that kind of dedication.
“Personally, I don’t think every single job should pay a “living wage.” I think some positions should be viewed as transitory until skills and/or education have grown or developed. If you choose not to progress, grow, develop, whatever, then struggling to make ends meet is a consequence of that.”
So true Joe!
Something worth noting: The public ALREADY owns the land the ski area sits on. The corporation is merely a tenant.
Yes–the ‘Public’ owns the land that the ski area sits on. For the privilege, USFS leaseholders pay monetarily and bow down to the restrictions and demands of Government oversight and interference. There are those who will say that the leaseholder doesn’t pay enough and that the restrictions are necessary to keep the greedy corporate types from running wild and destroying the resource they are allowed to use. The fact is, public lands are where the best ski terrain and conditions are found. The fact is the few ‘private’ ski areas get involved in chasing the fabled cash cow called real estate and destroy the skiing product in the process, i.e. Tamarack in Idaho. The fact is that the market will determine how an area runs–if it runs at all. If the management doesn’t respond to market conditions and skier needs and expectations, they will fail.
This doesn’t mean the have to respond to EVERY perceived skier need and demand–nor should they. Some skiers are unreasonable in their expectations–the center of their own little skiing universe. If everyone would just do what they say, things would be perfect. Well, for those people, there is always the free ski experience of the back country. Otherwise, you have to pay to play.
They are doing better at Bachelor this year. Hopefully they will be there a second year so they can continue to make progress. But if the skiers think a pot full of money is going to be spent this summer on improvements, where do they think that money will come from? It hasn’t been a banner year for anyone–and we know Bach is suffering with the rest of us.
Nobody sleeps well at night any more…