Member of the Month

JalmarKalmar
April, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Dear Mt Hood. An open letter to MHM.

profile picture
[Toby]
Posts: 766 - Karma: 10
I'm writing this letter to my Ski Hill, Mt. Hood Meadows on their possibility of table size limits and other steps to make crappier parks. The definite rules have not leaked yet but I am writing this in an attempt to influence them before they are established.

Any and all advice will be used (unless its crap), the end  and therefore the actual suggestions are unfinished because i don't think i can individually ask for the restrictions i believe only NS has the right to do that.

Dear new MHM management

I have heard of your plans to increase safety in terrain parks, and I applaud your efforts! I have seen too many kids suffer life changing injuries as a result of poorly designed parks, I and many other skiers and boarders enjoy recreating in these parks and therefore I on behalf of the young (14-27) season pass holders, I want to sit the record straight.

            We the youth, are cheap. We wear baggy clothes and parents for their children’s sake, are frightened of us. We are not MHM’s ideal customer; but we offer a service no other group provides, we provide a sense of community. We come every day of the year [minus school hours (minus “sick days)]. We provide atmosphere from the lift line through the lodge. Though we may be cheap, we spend as much as we can. And are parents are not, and we have their credit cards! And we actually are nice, even though parents are intimidated.

We are at risk of leaving MHM forever, and the change will be noticeable, never again will a naked skier bless your slopes. The very change you seek to save our lives may force us to leave yours, if you set unreasonable park limitations we will leave, and will not return for the 40+ years remaining of our skiing lives.

We understand responsibility and do not deny that reasonable restrictions must be made, we only ask that the following be entertained as the possible limits.


Oct 2 2008 12:33AM
0 0
profile picture
-Nick-
Posts: 1479 - Karma: 24
the way you wrote that, im not sure they would even care if we left haha
Oct 2 2008 12:37AM
0 0
profile picture
Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,861
some punctuation and spelling problems.
it also doesn't flow that well or make much sense in some parts, read it out loud and go from there
good luck! the new park restriction popping up are bs
Oct 2 2008 12:38AM
0 0
profile picture
huckaberry
Posts: 993 - Karma: 14
Do it, I'm from meadows and i would like to see the parks improve.
Oct 2 2008 12:38AM
0 0
profile picture
[Toby]
Posts: 766 - Karma: 10
I know its shitty at the moment i wrote it in 10 minutes. And yes i wanted it to address the fact that they don't like us, because they don't and there is no use to lie. I won't send it until it paints us in a much more positive light.
Oct 2 2008 12:41AM
0 0
profile picture
Funnel
Posts: 7808 - Karma: 1,414
Damn dude meadows had like the best park on Hood too.  I can't imagine Sammy, Pollard, Ike, or any of those big name guys being too happy with that at all.  Luckily T Line builds good parks too but I always see MHM building the biggest stuff.
Oct 2 2008 12:42AM
0 0
profile picture
Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
some punctuation and spelling would be nice.
Oct 2 2008 12:48AM
0 0
profile picture
[Toby]
Posts: 766 - Karma: 10
I already changed a lot of the big punctuation errors.

i'm looking for suggestions on what i ask for the limits to be.
Oct 2 2008 12:55AM
0 0
profile picture
MC_POUTINE
Posts: 1380 - Karma: 115
NO LIMITS!
jumps have to be correctly built. do what stevens pass WA did. get a parents signed waiver and make them watch a movie. their injuries almost went to nothing last year. They also have one of the sickest parks in the nation with over 40 jumps including an 80 foot step down. people need to educated
Oct 2 2008 12:59AM
0 0
profile picture
SHastatahoe
Posts: 3414 - Karma: 19
Take the age bracket out of it, and they will think some cute 11 year old wrote it.  People love children, just not teenagers.
Oct 2 2008 1:13AM
0 0
profile picture
snowboardersrule
Posts: 1077 - Karma: 15
that letter is not convincing in anyway. state the problem: that valued guests will leave for other mountains if they have crappy parks. mention how you're young so you are part of their most important client base, which is families. make sure you stress that size restrictions dont make the park safer, only proper park construction and maintence will do that. dont say anything bad about freeskiers. they already know what they dont like about park rats. tell them what they do like about park rats and why they dont want to lose them.
Oct 2 2008 11:03AM
0 0
profile picture
Klick_2_klaim
Posts: 3396 - Karma: 25
is this a joke? If it isnt, pump your breaks.
Write a serious letter, with petition, with parents sigs, they might not listen, but they wont listen to a letter like that with threats of people never going back. imo
Oct 2 2008 11:11AM
0 0
profile picture
mwagner
Posts: 274 - Karma: 4
Was that letter in English? I do not understand one message you were trying to get across.   I did see something about a threat to leave the mountain, do you guys pay full price for season pass or do you get a huge discount?
Oct 2 2008 12:01PM
0 0
profile picture
iggyskier
Posts: 10434 - Karma: 9,753
What you need to remember about this situation is they are a business and are probably going to do what they feel is right to protect themselves.

While they maybe losing business by making park jumps smaller this year, it in their mind helps decrease the costs associated with people who are not experienced in the park and maybe at risk for stupid injuries, like the one experienced at the Summit and Snoqualmie several years ago that led to a million dollar payout to the injured skier.

The point being, yeah, they may lose a few season passes, but they believe they have a better chance at avoiding a 10 million dollar lawsuit coming their way.

that is my read anyway.

I will add, too, that I just moved down to portland so Skibowl and Meadows will be my home mountains this season, so this doesn't really sound awesome at all.  Park jumps that short are going to definitely limit the capabilities of the skiers at meadows.

But my understanding of the ski scene at Hood, meadows can afford to do that because considering the other options in the area, there really isn't that many other places to ski.

Sure, Tline will have a dope park, but the mountain is a joke otherwise. 

And Skibowl is awesome, but only when the snow level is low enough that they are not getting rain.

And Bachelor is 3 hours away.

So it sucks that it is happeneing, but it is going to make the park at Meadows a lot shittier, I don't think coming in from a money aspect is going to really sway their decision.

But who knows, maybe it will.
Oct 2 2008 1:42PM
0 0
profile picture
titsLOL
Posts: 7485 - Karma: 396
finally someone is here to sit the record straight!

and I would advise writing that quite differently. When they read that they will think great, if we change the parks this kid and his friends who can't even afford to buy our most profitable services will stop crowding the slops and make room for more wealthy gapers...
Oct 2 2008 1:45PM
0 0
profile picture
Pipe_Munky
Posts: 10887 - Karma: 2,165
you are going to need some compelling arguments to get them to listen to you. what i might suggest is searching for some statistics regarding skier visits to hills that have taken similar precautions (ie RCR resorts in Canada). without data backing up your claim that they will lose money you're basically up shit creek.

also, re-word the letter. right now you sound like a whiny little kid. if you want people to take you seriously, make it sound more educated. remember, these people that are reading it are business people. they want to minimize their liability so come up with other viable solutions for them (ie park pass, waivers, ways to cover additional insurance).

regardless of how you approach these people you need to give them alternatives to their plan. they will not change their decision because they want to cover their ass as best they can so show them how else to do it.
Oct 2 2008 1:57PM
0 0
profile picture
milkdud951
Posts: 960 - Karma: 21
I'm gonna sound like an asshole right now, but if I were an MHM executive, that letter would only give me further reason to ignore what you want. I would sincerely advise you to scratch that letter and start over. Make it professional. There's more to it than just spelling and punctuation, which were pretty bad, but also having a respectful, not threatening approach. Tell them why they want to keep you as a customer, not why they don't want you, and give them some legit reasoning for your argument (well built features are safe, not smaller ones). Good luck
Oct 2 2008 4:58PM
0 0
profile picture
westcoastkid1
Posts: 10 - Karma: 10
Bachelor does not need any more people.
Oct 2 2008 5:54PM
0 0
profile picture
VT_scratch
Posts: 8714 - Karma: 5,627
did you proofread?
Oct 2 2008 6:01PM
0 0
profile picture
Bentley@DOSMedia
Posts: 1410 - Karma: 1,827
Hmm... its definitely a valid idea to write a letter to them.
We went over there last year for West Coast session and was not very impressed.
I remember last season was the first season under new management at Alpine Meadows and they put some pretty hefty restrictions on jump sizes and rails on Jonas (top 3 jump builders in the us) and he got all pissed and by mid season the only people in the park was the ski team. For that manager that was good cuz he doesnt even want a park there and wants to make the resort some place where you go to cruise groomers Yeah ironic cuz it has some amazing terrain there and used to have one of my favorite parks around as well as being one of the only places where major companies like mack dawg would show up and film on a public jump...

Anyways i would hate to see that happen to more resorts, especially meadows cuz they were known for having the best winter park on hood, and we were very disappointed when we went. Have your mom help you, get a bunch of people to sign, and you seem young so i assume you have an english teacher, so have he/she help.
Oct 2 2008 6:01PM
0 0
profile picture
.jr
Posts: 5313 - Karma: 356
There is no need to state or imply that they dont like us, even if they dont, they won't ever admit to and neither should you (in this letter anyway). The only good point that I liked in there was the fact that if you make the changes then we wont be here for the rest of our careers (40+ years).. Expand on that and get rid of the whole us being cheap and naked, those points only hurt your case.

Remember if you want to get an adult to respect you, you must act like an adult.. not a cheap punk teenager.
Oct 2 2008 7:07PM
0 0
profile picture
*WonderBread*
Posts: 401 - Karma: 13
haha my freinds brian shatter his back at hoo and he got all fucked up spent a week in the hospital and racke up a mega obese! hospital bill and he thinks it would be dumb that they make this limit crap
Oct 2 2008 7:11PM
0 0
profile picture
no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,271
you, need, to, learn, the, appropriate, uses, of, commas
Oct 2 2008 7:28PM
0 0
profile picture
Tbrody
Posts: 1597 - Karma: 685
I'm guessing you don't take your education very seriously.
Oct 2 2008 8:19PM
0 0
profile picture
*WonderBread*
Posts: 401 - Karma: 13
haha double true
Oct 2 2008 8:31PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4)