SNOW PLAY

Let’s face it——kids can’t ski or snowboard all day. Recognizing this, the GM at Mount Snow, Vt., Kelly Pawlak, came up with this creative and affordable idea for additional base area fun. With culvert pipe from the boneyard, Kelly had her groomers amass a pile of snow and bury the pipe through the pile at various angles, creating tunnels and slides for kids to play in. This little bit of fun, and a last photo op for parents, sends guests home happy.


A HELPING HAND

In order to help kids (especially snowboarders) propel themselves through the lift line, Doug Sinsabaugh at Mount Pleasant Ski Area, Pa., came up with this clever idea. Using one-inch fiber rope strung through eye screws in the lift mazes, kids can pull themselves along much more easily. With this system in place, the area reports far fewer falls in and around the loading area.


HOT IDEA

In 2000, the mountain crew at Ski Roundtop, Pa., realized that Lift 6 was far from the lodge and concluded that adding a microwave would save attendants the long walk just to get a hot chocolate. After adding the microwave oven, management noticed how much employees used it for everything from heating up lunch and warming soup to making coffee and drying gloves. Fritz, the nighttime snowmaker, was even using it to dry his socks until the source of the odd odor was discovered. The idea proved so popular that today, every lift operator/ attendant's building has a microwave. A simple, yet great morale booster.