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INDUSTRY EVENTS MIDWEST SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION 2009 MEETING & TRADE SHOW From August 2-5, 2009, the Midwest Ski Areas Association held a trade show and convention at Devil’s Head Resort in Wisconsin. Over 210 ski area attendees packed the classroom sessions and trade show halls to learn, shop and catch up.Also of note at this meeting, the MSAA elected a new chairman of the board—Amy Reents from Afton Alps, Minn. Below are some recaps of some of the sessions, as well as photos from the show. Successful Staff Training – Andy Beck, Huff Hills; Rob Walz, Cascade Mountain; Jon Buettner, Andes Tower Hills This session covered different ways to get employees up to speed before the high season kicks in. At Cascade, a free ski weekend befre the Christmas holidays serves as a practice run for the main event, while also making guests happy. At Andes Tower Hills, management undergoes personality tests before the season starts so that employees can better understand each other when stress levels get high. At Huff Hills, a lift operations training taskbook takes some of the guesswork out of training. Each employee needs to complete the task book and sign off before loading a lift. Conveyor Lift Maintenance - Pete Kavanagh Star Lifts; Jennifer Kelly, Magic Carpet; Sam Geise, Geise Engineering; Dale Walters, Mountain Wire Rope Services; Marc Wood ChairkiD NA. This was a very popular session, with standing room only. Some of the topics covered included the importance of grade, snow pits and splicing methods. There were many photo examples of conveyor lifts taken from around the country and Europe. Also touched upon was the growing popularity of loading/unloading conveyors for fixed grip or detachable chairlifts. Marketing and Groups Show and Tell – Fred Seymour, Hyland Hills; Dan Grider, Great Bear; Chris Thomas, Converdia Marketing; and Mary Jo Tarallo, Winter Feels Good Tarallo kicked off this session with some news about the Winter Feels Good program, which is partnering with the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation to have a 2-day conference from December 3 to 5 at Gunstock, N.H. The focus will be on outdoor adventure education and the development of lifetime pursuits in winter. Chris Thomas followed with a great digital marketing story from Hyland Hills where the area created a text program for its terrain park. The program is 100 percent opt-in and opt-out and was a success among guests. The texts incorporated photos, park updates and event news and could also capture cell phone numbers. At Great Bear, a $5 fifth grade Friday, which included lift ticket, rentals and a lesson, is a big hit. Once a fifth grader passes through the program, they receive a card for further discounts. Better Power and Better Parks with PistenBully Paul Swanson This presentation went over a few of the updates on the PB 600 and what to look forward to in the future, namely a mass compensating system that will decrease the stress damage a tiller in the air creates. Also up for the grooming company will be diesel electric drives, which will hopefully lead to greater efficiency, better fuel economy, and less emissions, CO2 and hydraulic oil. The testing is ongoing so there is no definitive timetable as of yet. Finally, a GPS system called Snowsat is almost ready for market. The system would have live snow depth readings within four inches, GPS positioning and a complete data management system that can monitor up to 51 different things. Snowmaking Under Pressure - Jason Sawin CHS Snowmakers & Turbocristal: This session covered in detail the importance of water pressure. Increased pressure can make a gun 50 percent more efficient and every snowgun will increase flow with higher PSI. With greater production, resorts can open earlier, use less labor and less energy, and achieve the goal of more trails open, which results in happier guests. Investment in electrical efficiency, technology improvements, water pump and pipe upgrades, and hydrants and hose all lead to improved throw and better snow quality. It was suggested that 2009 is the time to make snowmaking improvements as manufacturers are currently offering great incentives coupled with low interest rates, local, state and federal rebates, and tax credits. Summer Attractions That Work – Claire Humber, SE Group In this session, Claire Humber went over all the things areas should consider before trying out a new activity on the hill. The magic combination here are demographics, physical site conditions, operational considerations and financial costs and benefits. By doing your homework well in advance, areas can pinpoint which activities make sense and, more importantly, those that do not. Rental Ski Tuning Helps Turn Customers Into Lifelong Participants: Christoph Deszecker, HEAD Tyrolia Wintersports: In this session, Deszecker compared rental systems of today with the past. For example, rental skis of old had to meet the following criteria: • had to be indestructible • could not be too pretty • were straight as a whistle • should not require any maintenance • should be cheap • and had to indestructible. Things have changed and today's rental skis are: • Shaped skis • Durable • Have attractive cosmetics • Innovative • and they ski well! Deszecker also went over a few tuning tuning tips: 1. Repair the scratches in the base material with liquid P-Tex. 2. Rough stone grinding is then recommended to remove all excess P-Tex and to establish the proper geometry of base and base edge. 3. Fine grinding to give the base the proper structure and to recess the base edge. 4. Base edge tuning at appropriate angles. 5. Side edge sharpening and beveling. 6. Waxing and deburring. What's New In Snowmaking - Joe VanderKelen, SMI This session covered snow quality vs. quanity (flow vs. volume) along with snowmaking cost reduction and a photo essay of the Mt. Snow snowmaking installation. The overall points to note were the importance of keeping snow densities below 45 percent (water content). To achieve this, it pays to understand the flow rates and the costs to make snow at different wet bulb conditions. The snow quality is always a factor and note that more water is not always a good thing. Start with flow meters, but try to also measure the water content and volume.
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EVENTS WRAPUP 
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