End of Season Uphill Policy Feedback Survey Results

Background

Shames Mountain made some significant changes to our uphill policy at the beginning of this season. We solicited feedback from our uphill users before the season started and passed that information onto the Board of Directors who make the final decisions about policy. You can see the results of that earlier survey here. In the latter half of the ‘23-24 season, we launched another survey in an effort to check in on uphill usage and gauge membership sentiment around the policy. This report summarises the feedback from this follow-up survey.

As with our previous survey, this report is intended to communicate the feedback we’ve received to the board and management, but also to maintain transparency with the membership and public.

Uphill Policy Revenue and Numbers

Our Uphill Policy and subsequent program/products raised a little over $15,000; exceeding the original $10,000 estimates.

Management had estimated that 30% to 50% of our adult pass holders were uphill users. Our data shows that of the 369 Uphill season passes or addons sold, 91% of them were sold to Coop members. A total of 644 adult season passes were sold this season, 489 of them were to Coop Members. There are two possible interpretations of the disproportionate representation of members in our uphill pass sales::

Uphill skiers are disproportionately Coop Members relative to the broader community.
Non-member Uphill skiers did not know or care about the policy, meaning that better communication could yield more pass sales.

MMC-Shames Uphill Committee Updates

Shortly after the release of the last survey report, a number of people left the committee. It is currently composed of:

Robin Cecioni, Shames Outdoor Operations Manager
Nick Gottlieb
Yan Kaczynski
Mitch Blaine
Sebastien Charest

If you are a co-op member interested in helping shape MMC-Shames’s uphill-related policies going forward, please consider joining. For further information, contact us at [email protected].

MMC-Shames Uphill Policy Mid-Season Survey Results

The Numbers – 153 responses

75% co-op members
72% season pass holders
92% were aware of the policy prior to taking the survey
64% bought an uphill ticket or pass
30% reported not skiing uphill at all this year, suggesting that, at least as far as respondents goes, nearly everyone who skied uphill bought a ticket

Open-ended Feedback

We received ~100 responses to each of the following three questions. The results have been summarised as best as possible here, including both common responses and individual ones that merit highlighting.

Have you found MMC-Shames’s uphill policy to be clearly communicated? If not, please explain.

20% of responses indicated positive feedback about the communication
There is no way to pay for a day uphill pass on-site when the hill isn’t operating
Confusion around whether and why an uphill add-on was needed in addition to a season pass (particularly for people who bought their pass prior to the launch of the uphill policy)
A number of responses highlighting the inconsistencies between various communication channels – if you’re not on Facebook and/or not receiving emails from Shames, you may not have heard about this at all
A number of responses indicating they would prefer this be included with the season pass, with an option to buy an uphill pass for non-passholders
A number of responses indicated continued opposition to the premise of having to pay to access the area during non-operating hours

This is all both helpful and legitimate feedback. We hope that the large new sign on the exterior wall of the lodge will help with some of the communication issues.

Has the uphill policy changed how much or when you ski at Shames? If yes, please explain.

A number of responses indicated that the uphill policy made them feel better about skiing at the hill outside of operating hours because it made it clearer that it was allowed
Many responses indicated that, for a variety of reasons including the cost, the closure of the black diamonds, and a general feeling of alienation, the policy has made them ski at Shames less
- Some respondents indicated they will no longer buy a Shames season pass because of the uphill pass

Any other feedback for the uphill committee to keep in mind as we work with the board and management team going forward?

Many responses indicated that they felt that the uphill pass, along with other similar add-ons like the dog pass and overnight pass, are “nickel and diming” (this phrase and others like it appeared in numerous answers) coop members and passholders. Most of these responses said they would prefer the season pass to just cost slightly more rather than have all these “micro transactions”
Around 20% of the responses indicated appreciation of the uphill policy and work into it.

A couple responses suggested kids or youth be exempted from having to pay for the uphill add-on

Key Takeaways

Six responses indicated explicitly that they might not or will not buy a season pass next year, despite being regular passholders in years past, because of the uphill policy. Many more responses indicated dissatisfaction with it and suggested that the uphill pass, along with things like the dog pass, were alienating members and longtime passholders.
Communication could, as always, be better. Part of this should be solved by our new sign and continued improvements to the website.
Continued work surrounding closure hours and trying to maximise access while maintaining safe operations could assuage a number of ongoing concerns.