How We Would Fix Heavenly (A Ski Resort Gameshow)

[@random_stuff_channel]

this is a cool idea for a new series! love ur vids! i think you should also alternate between shangrei and arjun, instead ofdoing als at once

[@SRGSkiing]

We were considering doing that, and will definitely keep it in mind going forward!

[@Chuck787]

Good video concept. It’s hard to pick a winner I think it really depends on expert skiers vs family and beginner skiers. A couple things I’ve heard about heavenly though out the years. 1. Prior to Vail buying the place there was a future plan to put in a quad from bottom of sky/canyon to the bottom of tamarack. I think that this lift is more likely to happen compared to the lift you both proposed. 2. Galaxy express was allegedly looked into a few years back when the old galaxy lift broke, however they decided against it because there is no power grid infrastructure at the base and would have a significant cost to install. So galaxy high speed is probably out of the question for several more years. 3. Vail really doesn’t want to spend money at this resort it will likely be years before we see any more significant upgrades sadly. In the next probably 3-5 years when comet is due for replacement (it’s now the oldest high speed in Vail’s lift fleet) it will likely just be a terminal replacement.

[@blueskiesskiing]

Interesting idea for a series. Don't know anything about Heavenly, but looking forward to an episode on Keystone where you come up with some fixes for Schoolmarm and Mozart. Agree with other commenter that alternating might work better.

[@SRGSkiing]

We've got a whole list of resorts to discuss, and Keystone's on it!

[@rotorookie-4710]

12:28 - SRG states "Bear in mind, I haven't skied Heavenly", yes I think everybody should bear that statement in mind. I was surprised to hear you confess this after such a perfectly accurate and brilliantly entertaining "Haters Guide" video. I have skied Heavenly for 32 years, worked the mountain for almost 2 decades, year round for most of it, ran lifts, built lifts, turned wrenches on lifts, groomed runs, cut trails, installed snowmaking lines, you name it. I'll tackle these point by point, if I may? - The Aerial tram has pathetic hourly capacity, it's primary value is logistical in that supplies are transported nightly for the lodges and it is an important transport mode for employees of the upper vehicles shop and Lakeview Lodge. Injured skiers are downloaded via the tram to a clinic located at its' base. - Prior to cutting, Pinnacles was called "Ski Ways," the area gets blasted by prevailing winds, when they "Vail", despite being warned, cut the run they soon discovered that the trees were acting as a natural snow fence. The new run was just a wind tunnel. They tried to mitigate this through the installation of wind fences which could be raised and lowered. No further runs were ever cut in this area again and in my opinion never should be. Ski Ways was lost forever. This is why runs dropping off Upper California Trail are unlikely to be cut. - The top of Upper California trail and the bottom of Lower California trail would be terrifying for beginners, regardless of what your cool little gradient graph shows. - A Pinnacles chair would be exposed to crazy winds/ice/rime and would never be practical. Tamarack chair at Tower 8 already gets hit hard. When Sky chair goes on wind hold, Tamarack soon follows. Your thinking on linear wind direction and chair operation does not apply here, topography interferes with the winds, creates pressure differentials causing frequent changes in direction, we would call it "swirling". - There was once a chair proposed (and approved) from the base of Sky to the top of the Gondola, it was designated as J Chair (there is still a survey line visible and dirt pad and access road for the top station at Tower 22 of the Gondola). It would have been a fun little cat track from the top station of the chair to the base of Tamarack or Big Easy in the case of Tamarack on wind hold. This chair would be out of the wind and would bypass Skyline trail, however, it would not open up any new interesting ski terrain so maybe that's why they never bit the bullet on this one. J Chair would change Heavenly and no one knows it. - A Six chair on Dipper is inevitable, maybe by 2044! - Comet terminals need modernization for sure. A more compact base terminal would create more space for a better maze, this area needs 90 degree loading (as is at Powderbowl). - Why does a new Mott need a bend and a mid station? How about a fixed quad from Mott base to top of Dipper? That'll fix access to gates 1, 2 and 3. They need to cut a road from base of Killebrew to base of Mott that a groomer can maintain, that's a different rabbit hole though. - Galaxy should be a detachable, agreed. What wasn't mentioned was the connectivity it could provide from the top of Stagecoach to upper Nevada via a faster Galaxy. Pepis trail from the top of Stagecoach is a flat slog that is often wind scoured down to ice if not dirt, an alternate route would make a difference. - Boulder detach, yep, needed. - Boulder parking garage, interesting, again, would probably be paid parking. Prepare for winter grid lock on Kingsbury Grade! Did I miss anything? Did anyone make it to the end? My son told me nobody would read this, he's probably right. Oh well.

[@SRGSkiing]

You're son's wrong 😂. For the record, Arjun wrote the Heavenly Hater's Guide, hence why it was so accurate. We will never make a video that solely focuses on a ski resort we've never skied. Between the two of us, we have to have authentic experience skiing it (unlike some channels).

[@JamesBenedictFitzGerald]

not even sure how this showed up in my YT algorithm but i was pleasantly engaged with your young mind ideas, critiques and positive character on the concept here - the idea can be profound when you take on all of the hills/resorts etc.. Good Luck!

[@kristopherhannis9825]

This is a great concept for a video. I found it more useful when you showed the terrain map as opposed to the satellite view. Look forward to more.

[@kirkwoodbharris5110]

Interesting ideas. How about another gondola between the north side of Stateline (Mont Bleu area) to Boulder base with a mid station that can pick up those skiing the firebreak BC gates. To further extend this vision, build another gondola system from Fox and Hound to Walleys Hot Springs in Carson Valley (which I would assume could also be a good acquisition target for Vail's real estate division)

[@SRGSkiing]

Interesting idea!

[@cheyenne7982]

Love this video concept! I like the idea of alternating like others had mentioned. Also it would be cool if some of the projects were themed (i.e. most profitable, most needed, traffic control, terrain/feature expansion, etc.)

[@SRGSkiing]

Great ideas, thank you!!

[@Coasterpostalt]

Both proposals seem extremely promising to me! I think Shangrei won by a slight margin. For me, it was a toss-up until Shangrei's last 2 projects where he explained why it may be better for the mountian to replace Boulder instead of Dipper. Great job to both of you and I wish they would try and do this sooner!

[@SRGSkiing]

All that's left is for us to be hired by an actual resort 😭😭

[@Coasterpostalt]

@@SRGSkiing real 😭

[@SalmonPowered]

I haven't skied Heavenly much, but personally I'm against the idea of a pinnacles express, especially if it involves cutting runs below it. The trees in that area are already naturally gladed and spaced pretty perfectly. Plus, the crosswinds coming sideways past Tamarack tend to create a massive wind lip, followed by bare rock. It'd be very difficult to keep snow on the groomers there, and it'd probably end with your groomers having large, impassible rock patches more often than not. I suspect this is a reason the resort hasn't cut runs there already. On the plus side, it means that if you're willing to explore and maybe take your skis off a bit, nobody ever goes there. Those trees are incredible powder skiing that almost nobody ever skis, I've gotten knee-deep first tracks in there at 3 PM during MLK weekend. I'd prefer to see a lift from Sky to the goldola unload area, followed by a lift from the bottom of Tamarack to near the top of Olympic. Solves the Sky issue, adds a third lift to get back to the Nevada side, and relieves pressure from people coming up the Gondola from town.

[@ytpete2]

They should just do some tree thinning in that area between the bends of California Trail. It _would_ be great glades (like Pinnacles / Ski Way) but it's just too dense of a thicket right now.

[@rambultruesdell3412]

Airel tram at HV is 😎 ... no hate the tram .... bring railway, oh 😎

[@sidmasih6998]

You should do one for Little Cottonwood Canyon ;)

[@SRGSkiing]

On the list!

[@chow-chows855]

ShangRei definitely won

[@utahdiner7601]

Where'd you get that slope profile data?

[@SRGSkiing]

Openskimap.org

[@random_stuff_channel]

@@SRGSkiing good website

[@scarface548]

face reveal

[@ReetDiny]

The face reveal was not what I was expecting... Really cool idea though, would love to see one for some Killington or other east coast ski resorts. Now sort of on topic of this video, a discord server for this channel would be cool. I don't know who would join but I love the interesting stuff I learn about different ski resorts during each video.

[@SRGSkiing]

Never used Discord in my life, but we'll consider it

[@random_stuff_channel]

ik there was a face reveal