When it comes to summertime, the folks at Mt. Hood Skibowl do not mess around. They’re not out to simply keep visitors interested in the off-season with some mountain biking (40 miles of trails), hiking (got that, too), and an Alpine Slide (have had one for 28 years). Actually, summer visitors to this small ski resort 50 miles east of Portland in Government Camp, Oregon, might think the X-Games and Teva Mountain Games have uprooted from Southern California and Vail, respectively, and set up shop here.

With an Adventure Park offering more than 20 summer activities—including a freefall 100-foot bungee tower, a Rapid Riser reverse bungee, 500-foot-long zipline, trampoline slingshot, IndyKarts, batting cages and mini golf—the only trouble might be deciding what to do with your time.

Summer revenue is an essential piece of the Skibowl business plan. In 1987, when current owner Kirk Hanna purchased Mt. Hood Skibowl out of bankruptcy, the ski area had been closed the previous two seasons. “I evaluated the business of what previously was here at the resort, just the Alpine Slide, and knew we would need summer activities to make it financially viable,” Hanna says. “The goal was to make it a day and multi-day destination.”

Almost immediately, Hanna began making major winter improvements. But he paid just as much attention to summer ops. In 1988, he brought in mountain biking, IndyKarts and mini golf. The 100-foot bungee tower and several more activities followed in 1993. As recently as 2006, a new synthetic-surface summer tube hill came online. “We offer a unique mountain adventure,” Hanna says. “We’ve taken advantage of extreme sports that the current generation is interested in.”


OFFERINGS FOR ALL AGES

The goal in developing the Adventure Park has been to offer attractions that, like skiing and riding, allow the guest to actively participate. “Our theme is: ‘You control your adventure,’ as opposed to just taking a ride,” Hanna stresses. To that end, they actively target all segments of the market—families, teenagers, mature adults and corporate outings.

Along the way, Hanna and his team evaluated activities that would fit within the theme and appeal to certain segments of the market. “In order to develop a comprehensive summer program we needed to expand and diversify activities to provide something for all age groups,” he says. “Our goal in expanding our attractions has been to sell half-day and all-day packages to people instead of having them spend only a few hours at the area with the limited attractions of the past. The goal was to increase visits and revenue per visit.”

Typically, Skibowl’s summer recreation season lasts from Memorial Day weekend to October. In 1986, the year before Hanna purchased the area, it saw 52,000 summer visits (with an Alpine Slide and not much more). In 2006 and 2007, the visitor totals were 122,000 and 123,330, respectively. In 2008, summer visits dipped to 103,655, as heavy winter snowfall delayed the opening of the summer attractions until after July 4th.


ORGANIZED FOR SUCCESS

With all its attractions, Skibowl can entertain all age groups, from toddlers to senior citizens. The increased summer visits also impact the local community. “Area shops, hotels and restaurants have seen more business as our visits have increased,” Hanna says.

The adventure activities are grouped into two areas. The east side features the more “urban” activities, such as bungee jumping, the zipline and a rock wall—what Hanna calls the extreme sports for the new generation. These urban-type adventures were set up on the area’s existing east side parking facility, which is on private land as opposed to Forest Service land, meaning the use of the land is more flexible. The west side offers adventure activities like hiking, biking and the Alpine Slide. “On the east side we try to target to teenagers by having it in a separate area in kind of an action park,” Hanna says.

“We balance out the west side mountain adventure attractions that are sensitive to the environment with the east side attractions, which are more action/urban oriented,” he adds. “If you are an active environmentalist and do not care to participate in IndyKarts, you are able to stay on the west side and appreciate the attractions that are more conducive to the environment.”

The mix has evolved over the decades. “Through trial and error we added things and moved through the years to develop what we had,” Hanna says. Power skateboards and paintball were given a shot, but didn’t fit the environment. “We’ve tried most everything out there,” he adds.

When the parts fit, the revenue potential is significant. Mt. Hood Skibowl sells an Adventure Pass at different price points (ranging from $15 to $30 for 2008) for two hours, a half- day, or all-day. A season’s pass was $150 last summer. The Adventure Pass offers unlimited access to most of the activities, including disc golf, Alpine Slide, summer tube hill, mini golf and various kids’ attractions. Adventure Pass holders pay a discounted fee for each of the more extreme attractions, like the bungee tower, zipline, reverse bungee, and IndyKarts. An Action Pass ($59 a day in 2008) is also available; it offers unlimited access to everything that the Adventure Pass does, plus single rides on six additional attractions including the bungee tower, zipline, reverse bungee, IndyKarts and rock climbing wall.

Despite all the extreme sports offerings, summer at Skibowl still has firm roots in traditional mountain adventure. The area boasts 40 miles of mountain bike trails for riders of all abilities, serviced by two lifts, along with guided tours, race clinics and a race program. The Scenic Sky Chair targets naturalists and hikers, transporting them to the top of Skibowl Peak and offering guided interpretive hikes in conjunction with the Forest Service. Outdoor lovers can also take advantage of a self-guided Nature Tour that outlines the areas’ historic sites and common plants and animals.


BENEFITS BEYOND REVENUE

Beyond generating additional revenue and exposing the resort to people who might not visit during winter, there are ancillary benefits to summer operations. The biggest: “From an operational point of view it allows me to keep a core of managers and focus on improving their training,” says operations manager Hans Wipper. “Before, we had to train a new management crew every six months, and they train new employees, so it’s the blind leading the blind. Now we have 30 managers working full-time, which basically allows us to have higher standards for operations, quality and customer service. There is a lot of depth in our organization.”

For example, many members of the ski patrol staff are recruited for summer work, and their experiences and interests in activities such as belaying make them ideal for the types of activities offered. Every attraction has a full operating procedure, and the resort does extensive training of its employees—each gets certified before working on an attraction. “Our safety record is very good,” Wipper says. “We have had more than 40,000 bungee jumps and have yet to have a single incident. As long as all procedures are followed, it’s actually very safe.”

The development of 200 condominium units over the last four years, 70 of which are available for overnight rental, has allowed Mt. Hood Skibowl to tap into the lucrative market of corporate outings. Companies use overnight trips to promote bonding between employees, and individuals often return with their families. “We had up to 4,200 people from an electric company visit us, and that exposes all these new customers. We get word of mouth about the great time they had,” says Karen Norton, Skibowl’s marketing/corporate sales manager. “With accommodations, we can offer team-building and overnight stays. One utility company came through that had never been to one place for more than three years in a row; they’ve visited us for nine years, seven consecutive.”

Norton says the area has 120 full and part-time summer staff. Logistically, catering to groups and picnics with large numbers makes it necessary to bring in additional temporary staff for parking, crowd control, and activity operations. The majority of the facilities are not permanent, so there is extensive set-up and tear-down required. “We do it all in-house,” Wipper says. “So that goes back to your experienced managers.”


MARKETING AND PROMOTION

Skibowl markets summer fun to its winter database, of course, in addition to targeting corporate outings. Additionally, all Mt. Hood Skibowl-owned entities, including the Ratskeller Pub and Pizzeria, the High Alpine Bakery, Collins Lake Resort (vacation rentals), and The Grand Lodge provide opportunities for cross promotion. “There’s no one else that I compete with that has something for all age groups,” Norton says. “Some areas in Portland cater to one demographic, and that separates us from others.”

Skibowl targets four specific groups: day-use customers, multi-day customers through its affiliate Collins Lake Resort, corporate events visitors, and visitors to events like mountain bike races and weddings. It markets to those groups using television and print ads, its brochure/ summer trail map, the Portland Oregon Visitor’s Association Brochure, billboards, indoor/outdoor signage at various off-site locations, direct mail, radio, its website, e-mail blasts, newsletters, co-op advertising with the county tourism agency, and cold calls.

When it comes to summer activities, the overall impression is often greater than the sum of the parts. “It isn’t a specific attraction that is the most popular, it is the sum of all the attractions providing a unique, memorable mountain adventure,” Hanna says. “We provide enough activities that will entertain all age groups. And it’s just as important to educate and inspire the parents in order to bring families up, so they have as much enjoyment as the children.”