J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Admin IS God ~ and he has a product reputation to maintain!

Really busy for me at this time. Working on tennis club membership renewals, junior coaching, court maintainance, and my 5 year plan to develop coaching qualifications with better Juniors. Plus managing to play 10 hours or so a week.

Then I am planning at least one new bathroom installation, hall/landing decorating, underfloor heating & re-tiling in the conservatory. And those are just the projects that she has told me about.....

Three or four half weeks painting, song-writing, recording.

Oh, a week and a half walking & painting in the Highlands, and looking at a summer week walking in Austria or Northern Italy.

Lots of ski-planning ~ our ski buddies all want to do different things next season, so planning and costing.......

Wow is the word. It was wonderful, pure poetry, gave me flashbacks to the best powder days of my life. Tears of joy, mixed with uncontrollable giggling.

The point at 3m32sec!

I'm surprised, VSB, that the shop would ask you for your DIN setting. The process is they enter your height, weight,age,and ability into the computer, and it gives the DN setting. That is the point I ask them, and I accept 7.0 to 7.5.

Like you,I once deliberately set a low DIN setting, thinking a) I never fall, b) I therefore would be protecting my knee. Then I jumped onto a steep off piste, and, errm, walked out of my ski. The skibrakes didn't work in powder, and I followed the track hip-hoppy for half a kilometer, eventually finding about three inches of tail sticking out of the snow.
Doh!

Have had that happen! Do you know what your DIN setting should be? (Mine is 7), and did you ask the techie what he had set it to?

I know the DIN settings for all my family and regular ski friends.

Quite an interesting discussion.

The analagy of airlines is worth exploring. Airlines adjust prices by knowing the occupancy rate on a minute by minute basis ~ because of the internet. Consequently, the prices change, several times a day, particularly as you get closer to the day.

Many of my ski ventures take place midweek to midweek, simply because the flight element of my ski cost reduces from £160ish, at weekend, to £60ish. However,rail/taxi/b&b/lunch/dinner/drinks/ski hire & lift pass costs all remain the same. They are all predicted at the start of the season.

In reality, some of these prices do change. Accomodation cost will increase in February ~ because owners will predict the numbers of people, based on last years numbers, and the current economic climate. They do not have the instant internet market feedback that airlines do.

Need a different comparitor, I neither drink coke nor eat pizza.

Most times, it is Johannisbeere pur, (blackcurrant pure) 3.00Eu, & Gulaschsuppe, 4.50Eu. Mid morning hot chocolate, 2.50 Eu.

Austria.

FallingDown wrote:

verbier_ski_bum wrote:Well, it's still a very good deal. Lot of people never even get to ski the lower slopes when they open while still paying full price.

Not the point, if 45% runs are shut then they should charge at least 45% less

All businesses operate with fixed and variable costs. So when activity is reduced, the variable element declines,but rarely in direct proportion, for practical reasons, there is usually a time/activity/cost lag. So if 45% of lifts are closed, the VCs may still be 55/60% of full costs.

However, the fixed costs remain the same. The Alpingers, (mountain first-aiders) still have to be in position. Although the piste machines may be pisting less, they have to get from base to mountain and return. The Bergbahn offices have to be manned, and managers have to remain in post. Their insurance costs remain the same.

The machines still have to clear the whole of the car park area.

Some operating costs actually increase. The capital depreciation costs on the mountain lift equipment is often calculated per operational hour. Depreciation will be a significant element of cost, and if the capacity is cut by 45%, it will effectively double on the lifts remaining open.

Unlike North America, where company often owns an area, European lift companies tend to lease farm high alpine ground. All the rich farmers have north facing land! This has to be paid, lifts open or closed. Again there is a unit increase in cost.

So when lifts operate at 45% capacity, FCs may remain at 95% of full costs.