I sent this two days ago and neither Guest Services nor the Manager of Guest Services have gotten back to me yet, which must mean they are thinking about it. I also BCC'd it to Quiksilver and Oakley.
Dear Grouse Mountain Guest Services,
I am not completely sure to whom exactly I should send this
letter, so, the most logical place in my mind is here. I simply hope
that you will relay it to everyone that it may concern. Thank you.
I would really appreciate it
if you were to take time to read this email. Though it is long, I believe I have some important
points that need to be heard by someone who can relay it to the right people.
For the past five years (perhaps
more, I cannot exactly recall) I have been a loyal Y2Play Season's Pass holder
and a regular skier at your mountain. The main attraction of your mountain for
me is the easy and quick access via public transit, and the superbly priced
season's passes. Until I broke my arm at Blackcomb two weeks ago, I was pushing
50 days on snow, and over 40 of those were on Grouse. Although a few of these
points will not be 100% relevant until next season, I hope that mentioning them
now will give you some time to contemplate them. Here are the issues I am
writing this letter to address…
The Terrain Parks: All season long, there has been a large problem with Grouse Mountain's
jumps in the Quiksilver
Terrain Park.
At the beginning of the season, the jumps were poorly shaped and constructed.
When I asked why it was done in this way, I was told there was a safety issue
with building larger and more properly shaped jumps. Why is this? Because most
people do not see the Terrain
Park for what it is, but
rather "just another groomed run". This leads to families and
inadequately skilled riders hitting the features in the features in the
"Highest Level" park. To make sure that these people did not hurt
themselves by undershooting the jumps, the tables were constructed with a very low
"lip" and a very high "knuckle". So, if any unknowing
person hit the jump, they would only fall a few feet onto the deck of the jump.
Flawless plan, right? Wrong. Even though these jumps have been made safer for
the non-park riders, they have actually been made more dangerous for the
people who the park is intended for. On various occasions this season I and
others I ski with have hit a feature and found ourselves either bouncing off
the highly raised knuckle, sending us into an uncontrolled and potentially
dangerous tumble down the landing. Most of the time, the landings for the jumps
are not nearly steep enough to accommodate the lip of the jump and treacherous
"bombholes" are created as a result, not to mention the painful
impact of a mellow landing. Here are a few specific examples. A fellow skier
and very good friend of mine, Peter Warkentin, who is also an
employee at your mountain, suffered a concussion on January 26th of this year
in the Highest Level terrain park that put him out for 2 weeks. Now, one could
argue that it was his choice to go off of the third jump in your terrain park,
and therefore he accepted the responsibilities involved. Believe it or not,
Peter's injury can be attributed to the construction of the jumps. The landings
of the jumps were not made very steep due to "safety issues". As a
matter of fact, when coming down from the air, Peter landed on the almost flat
landing, therefore not having enough transition to successfully land. Had the
landing been steeper, there is a good chance that Peter may not have been hurt.
Another fellow skier, James, broke his collar bone when he landed on a too-flat
landing with a "bombhole" on it. Once again, I stress, although these
jumps have been made safer for the minority, they have in fact been made more
dangerous for the rest of the riders. When asking if the park would be open the
day after your Snowboarding Competition "Showdown Over the City", a
friend of mine was told that they were actually going to change the park because
the features in the "Highest Level" Park were too big.
Doesn't that sound a bit odd? In addition, the new "Down Flat Down"
rail that Grouse had made for the competition, according to Ben, will be sold
because it is "too gnarly" for Grouse's "Highest
Level" Park.
Where am I going with all this? The
jumps in the Highest
Level Park
are being held back in terms of quality and safety because of the minority of
people who enter the park: the families and young children. While they should
have high lips, flat decks and steep landings, they are actually built with low
lips, high knuckles and too flat landings. With flat decks, some inexperienced
riders may fall short of the landing, but they will learn to clear the jumps.
The minor pain in their knees is nothing compared to the danger of high
knuckles and flat landings. Three seasons ago, Grouse had jumps like this. They
were perfect, and safe. I am not sure what has happened since then, but it is
definitely not for the better. Ask your head Park Manager. He remembers the
jumps that I'm talking about. He built them himself. He will likely share my
opinion. At various times throughout the year we have raised our concerns, but
been told that it would not be "safe" for the riders who choose to
cruise the park randomly. How can this problem be solved? The answer is
simple. A Highest Level Park Pass. This would require park riders to
sign a waiver, making Grouse
Mountain not liable for
injuries sustained in the park. It would prevent riders who do not have sufficient
skill from riding the park. Most importantly, a park pass would allow the Quiksilver Terrain
Park to reach its full potential and
gain some reputation as being the best terrain park on the North Shore.
Charge what you like, $10, $15, $20 for the whole season. Not only would Grouse
make MORE money, but it would also greatly improve the conditions of the
Park. Why? The major contributor to the deterioration of the features is caused
by people riding up to the lip of a jump and sliding down the other side,
destroying it. This also holds true for rails and other features. I know for a
fact that everyone I associate with would gladly dish out the small
amount of money for a park pass in return for a decent park. People who want to
increase their skill level could simply use your Rookie Terrain
Park, where the features
could be made as safe as necessary. If the idea of a park pass does not appeal
to you in the least, perhaps consider a less drastic measure. A "helmets
mandatory" in your advanced terrain park. Although this would not
completely resolve the situation, I hope it would at least allow your park crew
to build proper jumps, as many of the inexperienced families at risk would be
prevented from entering the park. Bottom line: You have world-class companies
like Quiksilver, Oakley and Roxy sponsoring your terrain park, and it would be
fitting to give Grouse
Mountain the opportunity
to have a spectacular terrain park.
Please do not misunderstand me,
I am not naive enough to actually believe that terrain parks are a source of
profit to you, but rather I understand that they are a massive expense. Even if
the Park Pass suggestion is not a possibility,
your mountain would have to spend no more money than they currently are
to properly shape and construct good jumps. If tables like the ones I
speak of are constructed, more people will be drawn to Grouse's terrain parks
because of great jump quality. I know numerous people who ski Seymour for the sole reason of knowing that
good jumps will be constructed there. When they come to Grouse, they are pushed
away because of the condition of the jumps. The more people who tell their
friends about how good Grouse's park is, the more exposure you receive, which
could lead to more profit in the long run. I can tell you for a fact that no
one I currently ski with goes and raves to their friends about "how good
Grouse's jumps are." Believe it or not, it is quite the opposite. For
example, I ask, "how was Grouse today?" I often receive a response such
as, "don't bother, the jumps are impossible and the landings are
flat." If there's a "sick" jump at Grouse, word is bound to
spread fast and more people will come to ride.
Lift Lines:[/u] This issue has been noticeable in the past, but it has
becoming alarmingly prominent this year. Nearly every Saturday and Sunday,
provided it is not raining, lift lines are unbelievably long. On average, it
will take a whopping 40 minutes to reach the top of the Screaming Eagle Chair
from the point of lift line entry, not including the multiple times the chair
stops. At a few points this year, the line was actually moving UP the Cut, and
walking up the run was a faster option. How ridiculous is that? You have to
realize that more and more people are coming to Grouse Mountain
to ski, and the lift line problem is not going to go away. If the rumors I hear
of a Grouse Mountain Village
and Hotel being built before 2010 are sure, this makes this problem even
larger. The lines will continue to grow and people will only become more
frustrated. I can't truly offer a solution to this problem, as I do not know
enough about Grouse
Mountain's affairs to
comment on what you should or shouldn't build. However, I am willing to bet
that Grouse is not suffering from financial problems; in fact I would guess the
exact opposite. Do you know why the T-Bar on the skier's left of the Cut was
taken away? That thing was perfect, and would have been a great asset when
trying to divert people from the Screaming Eagle in order to ease the lines. I
can't imagine that putting one back in would make much of a dent into Grouse's
funds, although I could be wrong. If not a T-Bar, then maybe another quad
chair, that only ran on weekends? These are just far-fetched suggestions, but
the thing I know for sure is that something needs to be done. I understand that
there is now heavy snow maker presence in the area where the T-Bar used to be,
so perhaps putting one in, in that exact spot may not be possible. Perhaps a
different location would work. Say a T-Bar were built starting from the bottom
of Skyline, heading up through "Garbage Bowl" and up the far skier's
left of the park, through the open area that is never used anyways. It would
then end somewhere near the top of the park between the Park Hut and the
entrance to Buckhorn. This is both out of the way and would not require huge
amounts of logging. It could even be called the "Quiksilver T-Bar"! I
realize that this would be a huge undertaking and by no means do I expect it to
happen. Think of it as merely a suggestion.
Closing Date and Late
Season Jib
Park:[/u] A wiser man
than I once wrote: "Grouse is focused on getting corporate sponsors in a
transparent attempt to build false press while all the while hoarding money at
the expense of its loyal customers." How true is this statement?
Your mountain is closing on
April 15 with a 400+ cm snow base. This is very disappointing to me. I
understand that there have been years where you have had no choice but to close
early due to lack of snow, but the last two years have not had this problem. I
have been told that "no one comes up after the Easter long weekend."
Is this statement based on a bad year for snow or a good one? This is a serious
betrayal of your loyal customers. Many mountains would love to be able to stay
open as long as possible. The fact that Grouse receives this much snow that
lasts this long is a blessing and I feel deeply saddened that Grouse chooses to
not take advantage of it. I know that everyone I associate with (well over 30
people) would ride Grouse down to the very last patch of snow. When I talk to
other people on your mountain about this, they feel the same way. Perhaps a
survey is in order? This aside, you should at least keep your Paradise Jib Park
open as long as there is snow in that area. Having it remain open would be of
minimal, if any cost to your mountain. The Paradise
rope tow would not even have to be running! We would be glad to hike! Please
see that there are still some loyal customers who would love to hit rails!
Your mountain didn't get to
where you are today (#1 north shore ski resort) by ignoring your core business
(snow-riding), but if you keep running things the way they are, sooner or later
people will realize it and Grouse's popularity may begin to go south.
This is a response to a friend's suggestion letter on the
same topic:
"Thank you for your suggestion as it is very much appreciated; however,
we are unable to keep any of the runs open past April 15, 2007. The
reason for this is that we require time after the winter season ends to
prepare for the Spring/Summer season, and this means that all of the
snow must be melted. If we were to keep some runs open, it would put us
behind schedule for the upcoming Spring/Summer season."
Would it really put you behind
schedule just to have the small area that the Jib Park
occupies still covered with snow? Do any important summer activities truly take
place on that small slope? I understand that you want to have the exclusive
Alternate Action Films photo shoot in the terrain park undisturbed after the
runs have closed, but can't the Jib
Park remain open? Please?
If I remember correctly, two years ago an effort was made to keep the Jib Park
open after all the runs had closed, and that required snow to be moved! This
time no snow needs to be moved, all that needs to happen is for a few rails to
be put in. We would gladly do it!
If I have provoked thought in your
mind on even one of these issues, my goal in writing this letter is fulfilled.
I dearly hope that there will be some change for the better on Grouse Mountain
in the years to come.
Andrew Pires
P.S. Why are no skiers allowed in the competitions at
Grouse? Why is the Showdown Over the City only for snowboarders? Why
are
snowboarders the only ones who win prizes at the "Oakley Night Jams"
when the skiers who attend are clearly out performing them? Attempts
have been
made by a member of your park crew to plan a ski event at Grouse, yet
we have been told there are not enough skiers to make it happen. In
truth, there are probably more regular park skiers who ride Grouse's
park than boarders. It's frustrating.
