The Question: Do you know what an Alpine slide or Mountain Coaster is?

We changed things up for this Mountain Spy by spying on your customers. We stuck with your core customers because we figured they would be most likely to know about your summer attractions, and specifically, Alpine slides and Mountain Coasters.

Actually, we already had a theory before commencing, that most customers still don’t know what we offer at our resorts during the summer. Judging from the responses below, we may suffer a bit from assuming, “If we build it, they the will come.”

We didn’t award the best and worst because the answers are all winners…literally.

customer 1: young woman

Young woman, 24, skied her whole life.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Skier: Umm, ha ha, no. Sorry! I probably should know though, right?
SAM: Oh, no, don’t worry about it. If you had to guess though, what would you think it is?
Skier: Umm, I don’t know…an avalanche? That would be what first comes to mind.
SAM: That’s not quite what it is, but good guess…any more?
Skier: Umm, some kind of chute maybe, or a skinny type of trail maybe? Yeah, I’m not really sure on that one.
SAM: OK, that’s fine. What about a Mountain Coaster, do you know what that is at all?
Skier: A Mountain Coaster, hmm, umm… someone that coasts and does big S’s down the trail, going really slowly?
SAM: So you mean a skier going down the mountain?
Skier: Yeah, definitely. A skier that just takes forever and, you know, coasts.
SAM: Good guess. One last question—do you ever think about going to a ski resort during the summer months for any type of recreation?
Skier: I think I’ve thought about it before, maybe mountain biking. I’ve always been near the beach though, so I would never think about going to a ski mountain for the weekend during the summer.

Comment: An avalanche and grandma skier doing “S” turns… not a bad shot in the dark, I’ll give her some credit.


customer 2: young male

Young male, 25, avid skier for much of his life.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Skier: Yeah. It’s like a slide down the mountain that you sled down… not sure what it’s made out of, but you slide down. It’s a summertime ride thing.
SAM: Do you think it is safe?
Skier: Safe? Absolutely not, or, well, not for me at least, ha ha. If you don’t slow down on the curves you’ll go over the top. If you’re not going fast you’ll be fine. It’s wicked fun though, either way.
SAM: OK, well, maybe it’s not suited for mach speed. What about a Mountain Coaster, do you know what that is?
Skier: Ahhh, man, I really don’t know.
SAM: OK, take a guess.
Skier: Ahh, yeah it’s a thing they give you at the ski bar to put your beer on. When you’re all done skiing and stuff and need a cold one. A little mountain coaster, ya know?
SAM: Ha ha ha (come on, I had to laugh). Weeell, not exactly. Any more guesses?
Skier: It’s like a zip line going down the mountain maybe?
SAM: Better guess, but still a little off.

Comment: Rode the slide, but associates the Coaster question with beer...the guess is legitimate, but, yeah, pull your head out of the keg, buddy.


customer 3: young family

Father, 41, married, with 2-year-old son. He and his wife have skied for much of their lives.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Skier: A cement track you ride down on a wheeled cart as fast as you can until you fly off and tear up your knee. At least that's what I did when I was 12. My wife loves Alpine slides, so we try to hit them at least once a year.
SAM: Great to hear. What about a Mountain Coaster?
Skier: I have no idea. I guess it's along the lines of skiing down the mountain on a bike with ski runners.
SAM: Did you think the Alpine slide is safe and fun?
Skier: Sure it's fun, but it doesn't feel safe if you do it right.

Comment: So going down wrong will be safer? At least he and his wife think they’re tons of fun.


customer 4: young family

Family, 3 kids, ages 6-12, they ski every winter. Dad is on the after- work ski team at a local area.
SAM: What is an Alpine slide?
Mom: One of those slides on a mountain. I went on one in Austria many years ago. It was fun. Not safe at all...I remember thinking, geez, if this were in the U.S., you would need all kinds of disclaimers and signs and all kinds of waivers. It was pretty easy to get hurt. My kids have not been on one. I would need to size it up before letting them ride.
SAM to the son: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Son (12): No, but I think I have heard of the word before...I think it's an avalanche.
SAM: OK, that’s a pretty good guess. Do you know what a Mountain Coaster is?
Son: No idea.
SAM: OK, well can you take a guess at what you think it might be?
Son: Ummm, a bird?

Comment: Maybe it was “Alpine Slide – Extreme!” in Austria? Awesome answers from the son—avalanche and bird?! Come on, those are original.


customer 5: young male

Male, 19, oldest in family of four, skied most of his life.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Skier: It’s a water slide that can be terribly, terribly scary if your father can’t drive it correctly. We went down the fast lane and derailed. I got a scrape and felt betrayed by my father.
SAM: Well, gosh, I’m sorry to hear that. What about a Mountain Coaster, do you know what that is?
Skier: I’ve never heard of it. Sounds like a more legitimate version of the Matterhorn [a really cheesy ride at Disneyland’].
SAM: Well, yeah, that’s a good guess. I’ve never been to Disney, but it sounds sort of similar. Well, for the water slide, do you think that a dry version of it would be fun and safe?
Skier: Yeah. If you know your limits it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and it’s perfectly safe. So a dry version, I think, would surely be the same.

Comment: Maybe parents aren’t supposed to drive adventure rides. We think he can be converted back fairly easily.


customer 6: young family

Family, two kids ages 7 and 9, at least two ski vacations each season, plus day trips.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Mom: Yes, it's a luge you sit in, a sled with a steering wheel with wheels in a half tube thing with curved-up sides...it's a summertime thing. I was on one a long time ago. It was a lot of fun and it felt pretty safe.
SAM: What about a Mountain Coaster, do you know what that is?
Mom: Something on four wheels like an ATV. I believe it's lower to the ground.
SAM: Not exactly, but a very good guess. Have you ever thought about taking the kids up to a resort in the summer for a different type of family outing?
Mom: Well, I always felt my kids were too young for things like an Alpine slide, but now that they are 7 and 9, we would like options for things to do in the summer and I have heard that the resorts have things like zip lines and climbing walls, so we might go back in summer. The only problem is we rent a beach house all summer, so our weekends are already booked. But we would make the effort if the kids were into it.
SAM to the son: Have you heard of an Alpine slide?
Son: No. Maybe. Some sort slide? A water slide maybe?
SAM: Well, it is a type of slide in the summer at least. Have you heard of a Mountain Coaster?
Son: No, never heard of it.
SAM: Well, could you take a guess at what you think it might be?
Son: A kind of roller coaster on a mountain, I guess.

Comment: Bingo! The interest is definitely there and reaching the kids is key.


Customer 7: young male

Young male, 22, East coast recreational snowboarder. Vacations in Colorado at least once a season.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Snowboarder: An Alpine slide issss… a bobsled run?
SAM: Well almost, it’s a summer operation, so what would your guess be then?
Snowboarder: Ooh, it’s a natural rock formation, with a cut in the rock from a stream running over it that you can slide down from algae during the summer. Yeah, what about that?!
SAM: Well not quite, but definitely a creative guess. Do you know what a Mountain Coaster is?
Snowboarder: You get in a trolley car and you roll down the mountain? I’m not sure. Wait, is an Alpine slide a ski jump made out of synthetic materials that Olympians practice on in the summer?
SAM: No, not really, but again, interesting guess. I like your determination. So, have you ever heard of the summer attractions that ski resorts offer during the summer?
Snowboarder: Yeah, but none of those. I know there’s mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing and stuff. Never heard of those slide things though. Wouldn’t mind checking them out.

Comment: I award this guy the creative prize for sure. And he knows about other summer ops, we just have to get this kid up here more often.


customer 8: young couple

Couple, 35, married no children, avid skiers their whole lives.
SAM: Do you know what an Alpine slide is?
Skier 1: Sure, when I was in college a whole group of us would ride it every weekend. What a blast that was.
Skier 2: My dad would take my sister and me for a ride on it when we went skiing at Attitash. We had so much fun, but it seemed kind of dangerous!
SAM: What about a Mountain Coaster, do you know what that is?
Skier 1: No, but if I was to guess I'd say it's similar to an Alpine slide, but with wheels and it runs on a track sort of like a roller coaster?
SAM: Nice guess. Do you perceive them as safe?
Skier 1: I'm sure by now the new ones are much safer than they were in the 1980s. I had some friends that got bad cases of road burn!
Skier 2: No, not entirely safe, but the fun definitely outweighs the risk!

Comment: Fun always outweighs the risk!