TEACHING REVOLUTION IN PIPE AND PARK
Two revolutions, in fact, are changing the instruction landscape this year. First, ski and snowboard instruction in the terrain park and halfpipe is set to take off. And second, this landmark change is percolating up from individual areas and the regional divisions of PSIA and AASI, not coming down from the national organizations as was the case in the 1980s and much of the ’90s.
In a sign that this instruction has arrived, it was the subject of a task force at the NSAA Convention in San Diego and of a second task force set for early September. The latter was to include both ski and snowboard instruction gurus, i.e. not limited to members of PSIA and AASI. The group’s goal is to craft a set of preliminary guidelines for terrain park and pipe instruction by late November, and to draft a more complete set of materials by the fall of 2004. The guidelines will focus on the skills necessary for pipe and park and describe suitable terrain for teaching these skills, and will likely include a responsibility code similar to (or exactly like) Smart Style and a glossary of classic tricks, moves and terms.
But individual areas are already teaching pipe and park techniques. And the divisions, led by Rocky Mountain but including the Intermountain, Pacific, and Eastern divisions, have already developed (or are developing) their own accreditation programs and will be training instructors this coming winter. The national guidelines will be drawn largely from their experiences.
Skiing and Riding–in Oklahoma?
Skiing and riding in flat, low Oklahoma??? That, anyway, is the hope of Dryslope North America, which recently broke ground in Sand Springs for The Slopes, a year-round outdoor ski and ride park. What makes this idea plausible, and who knows–maybe even successful, is a synthetic sliding surface called Snowflex. This is said to be similar to indoor-outdoor carpeting or deep, tough Astro Turf, with a foam backing to soften the impact of a fall. It is said to be flexible enough to form halfpipes, terrain park hits, moguls, even a cornice. Lubricating this surface with a spritz of water every few minutes is claimed to provide a snow-like glide.
Eldora Takes on I-70
When the giants of Colorado’s I-70 launched the buddy-pass price wars several years ago, many industry pundits predicted the fallout would savage the smaller Front Range areas. But the pundits may have underestimated the resilience of the smaller players.
Consider the trio of recent announcements from Eldora, primarily a day area for Boulder and greater Denver. First, the area partnered with local retailer Christy Sports to offer a $159 season’s pass and equipment package for kids ages 6-12. “The Gear and Grow Pass brings skiing into the price range of soccer and baseball,” said Eldora marketing director Rob Linde.
Second, Eldora has partnered with fellow anti-I-70 resort Steamboat on a two-resort discount program. This, too, is a remarkable marketing feat, since Steamboat is part of anti-discount conglomerate ASC (though see related story, below, on ASC’s other discounting moves). These two areas don’t compete for the same visitor.
Third, Eldora has opened a sales office in downtown Boulder, right on the route to the area. The storefront serves as a billboard in the anti-billboard town, and sells everything from discount passes to accessories and Eldora logo items (including the wry, Ghostbusters-style “Just Say No to I-70” t-shirt). All these programs should help Eldora exceed even last year’s record visits, and proves once again that small can be good so long as you’re smart.
One Man’s Dues ARE Another’s Dividends
After hearing the Treasurer’s Report at the NSAA Convention, George Willett, the irrepressible owner of Showdown, Montana, who had earlier received the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, mischievously asked if there were any plans for NSAA to pay dividends to members——a sly commentary on the $1 million-plus fund balance that NSAA has built up. His question echoed what others have said privately: does NSAA need the accumulation of such substantial reserves at a time when many areas and suppliers are struggling?
Willett’s quip aside, consensus is that the industry has been well served by NSAA President Michael Berry’s building of this reserve——which stood at zero a decade ago. Given the economic uncertainties ahead, to say nothing of the hangover from the borrowing binge the industry went on in the 1990s, most feel that NSAA is wise to have the reserves to deal with whatever dues and funding problems may lie ahead. The board, though, is said to feel enough’s enough and that the fund will not be allowed to grow.
It’s Not Easy Being ASC
Some guys can’t get a break. In the past few months, American Skiing Company’s top execs have seen their pay questioned and heard howls of protest from hard-core Sugarloafers upset over the disparity of season’s pass pricing between their home area and that of Sunday River (which shares top management with the ’Loaf) and Attitash Bear Peak.
First, ASC’s B.J. Fair earned nearly double his 2001 salary in 2002, despite the company’s continued dire straits (the stock price has been hunkered around a dime a share for months, if not years). But really, is $800,000 out of line for an executive responsible for seven areas and with the unenviable task of managing their daunting debt load? Given compensation at Vail Resorts, for instance, Fair could be viewed as a bargain.
Now, about those sour grapes at Sugarloaf. ASC, in an attempt to gain market share for Attitash and Sunday River, is offering a two-area $299 pass with 14 blackout dates and a $599 good-anytime pass. Both compete with Booth Creek’s Threedom Pass to Waterville Valley, Loon, and Mt. Cranmore. Sensible enough, but it leaves ’Loafers paying $1,049 for their pass, and many of them feel cheated. No wonder ASC has resisted the discount-pass gambit in the past.
Melting Away in Europe
Europe sweltered through its hottest summer in decades, if not centuries, and most of the half-dozen summer ski areas in the high French Alps had to close in July and August, including the glacier ski areas at Val d’Isère, Alpe d’Huez, Val Thorens and La Plagne. Even the Grand Motte Glacier, with 3,000 feet of vertical for eight months of the year, was forced to close to the general public for a time by temperatures that touched 100 degrees at resort level, and more crucially neared 50 degrees at 10,000 feet where the glaciers are located. In addition, the permafrost that holds mountain surfaces together is melting, increasing the risk of ever-larger deadly avalanches and rock slides and raising the possibility of flooding for mountain communities.
Spotting a business opportunity, the New Zealand ski area of Treble Cone, which hosted Austrian and US national teams this summer, is investing in upgrading its facilities to provide ever better summer training facilities for northern hemisphere teams.
INSURANCE EVERYONE CAN LOVE
The new Season Pass Insurance program from Skier Insurance Services (SIS) could be just the ticket for boosting pass sales even higher than they currently are. It costs pass holders just 6 percent of their pass price to insure themselves against loss of use due to medical reasons and to pay for emergency evacuation coverage. This could encourage more skiers and riders to opt for passes.
Participating areas can earn a 10 percent commission on every enrollment they generate. All that’s needed is to provide a link to the SIS site and include news of the program in newsletters and other communication with pass holders.
The program was announced in late July, and areas began to sign up almost immediately, including Aspen, Mammoth and Eldora. Within a few weeks of the launch, Mammoth had e-mailed every one of the 32,000 downhillers who purchased the area’s $395 season’s pass last May.
SIS is no fly-by-night company. It’s a division of Tourist Insurance Services, with coverage underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company which is in turn a member of the American International Group. For more information, contact Amy Zink at (800) 624-0039 or [email protected].
KOBE IN COURT
With Kobe Bryant returning to Eagle county for a court hearing in October, the Vail Valley is bracing for a long siege by the national media——coverage that may be less than ideal for the fortunes of Vail and Beaver Creek. On the bright side, if the Bryant case continues into the winter, the major cable networks will in effect be providing a live weather cam. Pray for snow!
