Alpental complaint

My letter to the Summit:

By my reckoning you have closed Alpental night skiing earlier than ever before. I am disappointed and much less likely to purchase a seasons pass next year because I feel ripped off. It used to be mid to late March and then mid March and now it's the first week in March. I know it's a business but this is really pushing it in terms of customer satisfaction. Plenty of snow. Unhappy long-time customer. Bad business move.

Were you that guy going 60 up Alpental road about 3:45 yesterday?

Nope. 😄

I speed on the interstate but I take it easy in the neighborhoods. I also check the operating hours before I head out. I complain to The Man but I keep it positive with snow sliding brothers and sisters. Peace.

Bruce

I've heard the Summit Nordic center's last day is March 20. Wonder if they're pulling the plug on the lifts there, too? There's been talk and evidence of management's desire to cut costs this season.

Reply from the Summit:

Hey Bruce,
Thanks so much for your feedback and for being our loyal guest.

I see that your pass has been used primarily in the evening, and we are stoked to be able to offer night skiing/riding as it makes it easy for folks to use their passes or come up for just a few runs under the lights after work. If you would have been here last week you would have noticed that there were probably only 10 people skiing Alpental after 5pm. The issue beyond business levels becomes safety with what we call the "freeze/thaw." During the day the temperature warms and the snow softens, but then when the sun goes down, the temps drop, snow gets hard and becomes dangerous. We have been closing nights at Alpy this same week for many of the last few years, basically all that had normal/average snow pack like this season.

Remember that your pass is good at all base areas including Central where we offer the most variety of terrain giving something for everyone and will be open night for a couple more weeks.

Thanks again for being our guest, and I hope to see you on the slopes very soon!

*** I appreciate a quick response, but I was there last week and had a good time skiing soft snow in the snow/rain until about 8. I looked up an old post of mine regarding the same complaint dated March 19 of that year. Two or three Wednesdays that I no longer get to ski Alpy with my buds. ***

Bruce

I was never a big fan of night skiing at Alpental to begin with. It really frustrated me to see all this epic terrain that only those without daytime obligations could enjoy. Then when I do get the chance to partake in the padded seats midweek, the lower mountain is frequently chopped-up from the night before

What I do miss are weeknights at West. We got like 6 weeks total of night ops there and I was fortunate enough to bag a couple of Wed nights with deep, fresh snow and low crowds. But I sure would've enjoyed more, had I been given the option. Hell, if they'd spin just Wildside at night that'd make me happy