All for one, and one for all
The upcoming Snow Industry Summit (SIS) promises to blend the freewheeling spirit of Transworld Snowboarding’s (TWS) annual industry blowout with the educational aspirations of Mountain Sports Media’s (MSM) traditional Ski Industry Week. As such it accomplishes a goal that some, but not all, TWS and MSM executives have considered for the better part of a decade: uniting the ski and snowboard industries in one big party and thinkfest, April 1-4 at Copper Mountain.
Actually, it does even more than that. The event, co-sponsored by TransWorld, MSM and SnowSports Industries America, will include cross-country skiers and snowshoers as well. It will include resort leaders, retailers and suppliers. The SIS signals a level of unity and common purpose that has not existed for decades–since at least before snowboarding appeared on the scene. The collision of winter sports should provide plenty of fireworks.
Crash and Burn Brightly
Some people just can’t help but succeed. When snowboard superstar Tara Dakides went on Late Night with David Letterman last month to promote snowboarding, she performed a routine aerial demonstration on a ramp jump outside CBS’ Ed Sullivan Theater. After making two clean jumps, she fell off the ramp on her third attempt and crashed 25 feet to the street below, sustaining a mild concussion and earning a trip to the hospital.
This brought her far more media attention than taking second place in slopestyle at the ESPN Winter X Games in January. Letterman cancelled the evening’s scheduled show, then Letterman visited Dakides in the hospital and invited her back on the air a few days later. In the meantime, she made headlines in The New York Post and USA Today. When Dakides returned to Late Night, Dave showed video of the mishap and presented Dakides with a huge bouquet of red roses–indeed everyone came up roses because for the first time in years, Letterman beat out Leno in that time slot. Drawing her 15 minutes out, Dakides also turned up on Howard Stern. The agony of defeat comes through again.
Mountains of Beer
Skiing and beer go together like Fred and Barney, hip and cool, Thelma and Louise. To celebrate this unity, 12 million specially-labeled bottles of Kokanee beer will randomly display seven resorts in B.C. and Alberta to beer lovers across Canada, subtly encouraging them to enjoy a crisp, cold adventure at Big White, Fernie, Panorama, Sun Peaks, Mount Washington, Whistler, Lake Louise and Marmot Basin. We’ll drink to that.
Show us the money
The Vermont legislature signaled a new willingness to promote skiing and snowboarding in February when it considered a special budgetary adjustment to provide $300,000 to the resorts’ advertising arsenal. The legislation was intended to help the areas counteract the effects of a warm December and the numbing cold spell that gripped the East in January and convince out-of-state guests to visit. What prompted the move? Vermont areas were down 15 to 20 percent from last year’s near-record crowds–disappointing, but hardly a disaster. Two factors caught the legislators’ attention: the state had a budget surplus (left over from the Dean years, no doubt), and (perhaps more importantly) increased traffic at the resorts will keep the state flush. Winter sports visitors pay most of the state’s room and meals taxes from mid-November through March, so the state coffers benefit from skier and rider visits. In addition, winter visitors spend more on state products, from Cabot cheese to maple syrup, than other tourists, according to a state study. So other businesses profit as well.
The funding proposal was still in committee at press time, but was “very much alive,” according to Vermont ski Area Association’s David Dillon.
Freedom from Expression
Aspen Skiing Company fired snowboard instructor Alison Berkley in early January after she parodied her students and their parents in her weekly Aspen Times humor column, “The Princess’s Palate.” Berkley referred to a “fat retarded kid” and “whale boy” and otherwise poked fun at her students and their parents. This set off a firestorm in Aspen between those who thought the column was funny and those who didn’t.
Was this a typical case of a disgruntled area employee striking out at the guests? No, just a momentary loss of judgment. “I never thought in a million years that anyone would take that [column] seriously,” Berkley told SAM. “I really loved the kids and my job.” And she holds no grudge about being canned. “I can see they were just protecting their guests,” she said.
Ironically, Berkley’s column had previously made enough of an impression on Aspen that she’s profiled in the resort’s self-promotional book, “The Power of Four,” along with other legendary Aspen figures.
Tamarack Forges Ahead
Tamarack Resort continues to confound the skeptics (including SAM). In January, the nascent resort sold out its initial offering of 104 vacation homes and lots for $46 million, easily raising the cash it needed to proceed with lift and trail construction this summer and continue work on its base village. Set prices ranged from $230,000 for a chalet lot to $800,000 for a high-end resort-built chalet. Estate home sites were priced from $320,000 to $600,000. Buyers came from 16 states, led by Idaho and California, indicating a mix of both local and destination interest in the resort.
The resort plans a second release of 68 home sites this spring. There’s already a waiting list, comprising those who missed out on the first offering.
The real-estate sales bring Tamarack a big step closer to becoming the first new destination resort since Deer Valley and Beaver Creek more than 20 years ago. Proceeds from the initial sales will fund the installation of five lifts this summer, including two high-speed quads and Idaho’s first conveyor lift, and enable the area to start regular operations next season. Tamarack expects that as many as 70 private homes and 35,000 square feet of resort services space will be ready by then also.
Can Snowmaking Be Dispiriting?
Native Americans have an unusual reason for seeking to reverse a Forest Service decision to support snowmaking plans at the Arizona Snowbowl. The opponents say that the use of reclaimed wastewater desecrates the site, violates Hopi tribal beliefs that katsina spirits grant the rain and snow, and may disturb the spiritual quality of herbs gathered on the mountain and used in ceremonies. “These concerns are focused on the spiritual and cultural issues, not the actual biological purity of the water itself,” the Native Americans said in a statement. Which raises a question: how can you mitigate those impacts?
Straws in the Wind: SIA Show, Retail Audit
The annual SIA Trade Show in Las Vegas Jan. 26-29 was chock-a-block full of exhibitors, new products, and buyers. There was little that was revolutionary, but the enthusiasm of dealers was a sign that the retail business has been strong this season. The solid dealer turnout helped the association celebrate its 50th anniversary and second year in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
More evidence of that strength came from the SIA Retail Audit, which revealed a record December for apparel and snowboarding sales at specialty stores. In addition, a two-year surge in sales of kids’ gear and apparel bodes well for the future. They have to use all that gear somewhere.
One sore spot with dealers at the show was the growing emphasis on ski/binding systems with price tags above $1,000. That trend contrasts with a drop in the average price of such systems at retail, which has fueled a growth in systems sales. (It would seem there’s a simple solution to this: dealers should buy more inexpensive systems. Or are we overlooking something?)
Aside from more systems and more kids, what can areas expect to see on the slopes and in the lodge next year? More soft boots, soft shell apparel, hard hats (Rossignol and K2 are entering the helmet market) and bright colors (yes, get your glasses, neon is creeping back onto the scene).
Wachusett Goes Out of This World
Thanks to geologist Timothy Glotch, a member of the Mars Exploration Rover team, a small hill on Mars now carries the name Wachusett. Glotch chose the name because the Martian terrain reminded him of the beginner area at the Massachusetts area near his childhood home. Unlike the slopes on earth, though, the Martian terrain is almost completely untracked, and powder stashes will remain for–well, centuries.
