Hello everyone!
Summer has arrived—it's time once again to reflect back on another great ski season. Everyone will remember the 2006 season for its awesome snow– light, deep powder and perfect conditions. We started a new page on our website—“photo of the day”—which documented our deep powder conditions week after week after week! 50 centimeter snowfalls several nights in a row were not an uncommon occurrence. The skiing remained excellent right to the end of the season. Our last April week saw us skiing powder and corn snow on the same run! Exceptional ski conditions allowed us to ski runs such as Ride the Alligator, Battle Maiden, and Fortitude as well as explore new terrain, discovering some fantastic runs such as Bluebird in the Dome Creek area.
We extend our thanks to all who helped make this season great even beyond the exceptional skiing—to all of our guests—we feel that we form friendships that take us beyond the ski season and we always look forward to speaking with you over the summer and into the fall as you plan your next ski trip here. Our rebookings are the best we’ve had at this time ever. We are on track to book a record number of guests to help celebrate our 15th year at Crescent Spur Heli-Skiing! Special congratulations go to Greg Boulanger who celebrated his 10th year at Crescent Spur!
Many of you responded to our online guest satisfaction survey and we truly appreciate the feedback both positive and constructive. The feedback has helped us to prioritize our projects for the summer and into the future. In the interim, if there is anything that you wish you had included in the survey, please feel free to contact us any time—we want to make your ski week the best it can be!
To thank all of you who participated in the survey, we entered your names into a draw for 3 $500 gift certificates. The winners were Will E., Johnny Mac and Brent K. Congratulations!
So the question that everyone asks—what is being planned for next year, what new things will we see around the lodge? While our project list is not complete, we do have a few things planned….
New for 2007
Group Booking Policy: Our group booking policy offers a 5% commission to an individual who books 10-20 spaces into our semi-private packages. Please see our website or contact our office for the guidelines for this new policy.
Bring a Friend: Our guest satisfaction survey showed that the great majority of our guests were referred to us by a friend. For 2007, we are now offering a $350 credit to you for each new guest you refer to us. Please visit our website for more details and to download an application form.
Guest Thank You Program: We have a lot of great guests that return year after year. The best compliment we can receive is to have a guest say “I’m coming next year!” We would like to thank you for your loyalty to Crescent Spur by introducing the following:
- 5 weeks with CS—guest will be presented with an Arteryx windbreaker—the Epsilon AR Jacket
- 10 weeks with CS—guest will be presented with an Arcteryx ski suit—the Theta AR Jacket and Theta SK Pant
-
20 weeks with CS—enjoy a free ski week with us!!
Frequent Skier Discount: For those of you who just can’t stay away, and are able to ski with us more than once in a season, we are offering you a 10% discount on your subsequent trips in the same season.
Liquor Policy: We would request that ALL liquor consumed in the living, dining and bar area of the lodge be purchased through our liquor license, as required by our licensing regulations. While we have a good selection of wines in stock, we would be happy, with sufficient notice, to purchase specialty wines if desired. Please call our office for more information.
Website: Check our website for new items:
- New photos in the photo gallery and throughout the site
- New photos on Google Earth
- New staff profile page—meet our guides!
- New “Group Booking” and “Bring a Friend” policies
- A typical day at Crescent Spur—an overview
- Get fit for heli skiing
- Video footage
-
Continually updated space availability
The Extra Vertical Debate
First of all—what is vertical footage? For experienced heli-skiers, the answer is obvious. If you are a first time heli-skier or someone contemplating a heli-ski trip, this may not be a familiar term.
Vertical feet: is the vertical distance from the top of a run to the bottom. It is the traditional method of tabulating how much you ski in a run, a day, or a week. If you have a run that is 3000 vertical feet and you ski it 10 times in one day, you have skied 30,000 vertical feet that day.
There are basically two types of packages offered in the heli-ski industry.
-
One package offers a set amount of vertical footage. Extra vertical is then charged once the package vertical has been skied and the guest makes the choice to continue skiing.
-
The second package offers unlimited vertical.
At first, one is usually drawn to the “unlimited vertical”, kind of like an “all you can eat” buffet. It pays, however, to look closely and compare the two types of packages. Crescent Spur does not offer unlimited vertical packages and would like you to consider the following:
-
If you compare the cost of packages offering set vertical against unlimited vertical, you realize that companies who offer unlimited vertical generally charge significantly more for their package in order to reflect the cost of the anticipated amount of skiing.
-
With all monies paid in advance for the skiing, it becomes of economic benefit for the company to ski less, not more, as this saves the company money (less skiing = less flying = cost savings). This can easily be accomplished as the company has control over the ski program.
-
Bad weather, poor skiing conditions, guest ability or other factors can also limit the amount of skiing which would penalize those who have paid in advance.
-
Guests may begin to question the guide’s decisions, perhaps suspecting that they should be skiing more and that the company is purposely limiting the amount of skiing, shortening the day or slowing the pace for economic reasons.
-
Guests may feel they need to ski more than they want, as in essence they have paid for it. This may lead to them to continue to ski past their enjoyment, fitness or ability level.
In our opinion, by keeping our base package price lower with a set amount of vertical, we create a situation where the decision to assume more cost rests with the client.
The decision to continue to ski then becomes a joint one of company and client, with no suggestion that decisions to stop skiing will be made to save money. It is in both parties’ best interest to find the best quality skiing and to continue to ski until the guests are satisfied.
2007 Bookings
Bookings for 2006 are filling up… check out our website for openings. We have space remaining for our New Year’s Family week—this will be a great week. Give us a call for details.
2008 Bookings
Remember that guests currently booked into our 2007 season have priority booking privileges for the 2008 season until November 30, 2006. On December 1, we open up all remaining spaces for general booking. Please mark your calendars so that you don’t miss out booking for 2008!!
Please visit our website for news and drop us an e-mail or give us a call during the summer. Jess and Regina are in the office most days in the off season and would love to hear from you.
Our best wishes to you all for a great summer!
Regina, Mark, Bryna & Jessica