The fairs were designed to give area personnel an unhurried, hands-on look at what is available in the form of ski-specific software programs and computer services. For the providers of this software and services it was an opportunity to show off their wares through demonstrations to area staffers who were specifically interested.
“While we would have liked to have seen more attendees,” said Chris Stoddard of Mountain Education Associates, organizer of the fairs, “the demonstrators felt very happy with the format, and that makes it easier for next year.”
There were ten companies demonstrating at each location; the products and services consisted of ticketing systems, snowmaking control systems, programs for fleet management, lift and vehicle maintenance, food service, rental operations; also engineering applications and services such as CAD terrain analysis.
“There’s only one way to find out what’s out there for us,” said one attendee, “and that’s to sit down and see it demo-ed right in front of you when you can ask all the questions you want and even get your hands on the keyboard. It was great,” he went on, “to have it all in one place. I was like a kid in a candy store!”
Next year, according to Stoddard, the Computer Fairs will be held at a different time — perhaps spring or summer. “People told us there’s just too much going on at their areas in fall, and it’s too difficult to break away.”
At both Loon and Snowbird, the fairs were tied in with the Mountain Management Workshops, also a service of Mountain Education Associates
