Snow park closed to the General public for good :(

Well that fucking sucks.

wow closed permanently???? thats fucking horse shit

This is something I havent considered when skiing entered the Olympic scene: Reservation of the good terrain for exclusive members. It does not mean that you cant have access indefinitly, but the use cannot be for fun; but for specific training exercises and competition preparation. However, if you have a crapton of cash, you can inscribe yourself in a team to use the park.

this is unique scenario, for sure. we can all be assured that we won't experience this divide of exclusion between who gets access to skiing great parks and who doesn't. honestly, i'm not even sure how this makes for a viable business model for Snow Park and it is a shame that the course for the world cup in august won't be available for public use. still though, this isn't going to become the norm. it doesn't make sense economically or otherwise for this to become a widespread problem in skiing. every once in a while we'll see it (e.g. Mammoth and Bachelor spring training camps) but it's not like parks across the world are going to be converted into private training facilities.

Why wouldn't it become the norm? Check private ski clubs in ontario.....pay to play. It is probably one of the worst things that would happen to the industry, but it comes directly from the expanding competitive scene. Rich moms and dads that want to see their kids go to the Olympics, and will pay whatever it takes to make that happen.

Hell look at Momentum, Windells..... amazing facilites...... open for those who have the cash.

From what I read it will mainly be for racers not freestyle use. The report I read said the main use is going to be for the automobile industry which I would think has been the main money maker for snow park for a while. From what I understand they are opening up lanes for racers to train on but not create any freestyle terrain. I may be wrong though.

I think you all read this wrong.

“We may cater for some race teams, slalom and GS teams, with race lanes in late August this year or future years.”

Instead the facility will be used for ice driving experiences for European car manufacturers’ New Zealand dealerships and conference and incentive groups.

They are basically saying there is more money in using the terrain for driving experiances and not as a freestyle facility. What it boils down to is that building and maintaining a pro level facility, running lifts and staffing is extremely expensive and for them the return on investment simply isnt there.

Renting out lanes for racers is a far better option because the amount of money they will pay for training terrain is crazy. If all they need to do is groom it every night then it's worth their while.

This is nothing like the private ski clubs of Ontario as they are essentially skiing all together.

This is sad. But it was expected when a car driving company purchased the mountain.

People in this thread have the reading comprehension of a 5 year old.