Painting, mowing, dusting, tuning skis, flushing out the sewage treatment plant. . . From one end of the country to the other, ski resorts are busy preparing for opening day 2004-05. “It seems like everything is a last-minute preparation as we get closer to the season,” says Dax Schieffer, public relations manager at Big Sky, Mont. And indeed, “last-minute” seems to be the operative word. No matter how many times they’ve done it before, whether they’re big or little, drive-to or destination resorts, ski areas all become hectic at this time of year.
For the most part, opening day preparations are routine: testing lifts and equipment, unpacking and inventorying supplies, upgrading websites, hiring and training employees, laying carpet, changing mattresses. But there are a few unusual twists. Here’s what we found when we peeked in on a few resorts this fall to check on their opening day progress:
Beyond the Norm
On a beautiful, warm, late summer day at Okemo, Vt., candidates could be heard auditioning for snow reporting jobs: “Good morning, skiers. It’s another great day on the slopes at lovely Okemo with a fresh new carpet of snow, temps in the teens and all lifts running.” Outside, the robins were still singing. “It’s a little disconcerting,” admits Pam Cruickshank, public relations director.
Mountain High, Calif., hosted the local high school football team for its annual fall rock-picking day, to clear the slopes so that even thin snow cover is enough to keep the ground covered. Mountain High (in conjunction with many of its winter partners) also sponsored its last ocean surfing contest and the resort’s final staff surfing outing, and shot video of a snowmaking test (“It’s only water but it looks like snow, so it’s always big news on all the local TV stations,” says general manager Karl Kapuscinski). Fall preparations at Mountain High include flushing the area’s sewage treatment plant, setting up the winter web cams and positioning all the terrain park features so the parks are ready for opening day. “A lot of areas wait to open their terrain parks until after opening day,” Kapuscinski says. “We’re ready to go on day one.”
Other chores at Mountain High include filing the area’s annual fire evacuation and air quality plans. These spell out exactly when the area can make snow. “Air quality is a big issue in California,” Kapuscinski explains.
Fall is also time to prepare experiments for the coming season. At Bogus Basin, Ida., opening-day preparations this year include installing a novel, experimental solar-powered lighting system on a half-kilometer stretch of the Nordic trail system (the area is also extending its 35-kilometer trail network by several kilometers). The lights will be powered by photovoltaic cells, which charge the system’s solar batteries. The project is a joint venture by Bogus Basin and the engineering school at Boise State University, and is funded by a grant from the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation. If the test is successful, the system will be expanded to cover 5k of trails for the following season. “We’re pretty excited by the project,” says Mike Shirley, president and general manager at Bogus Basin.
The Staffing Game
As usual, many resorts, especially in remote locations or tight labor markets, are putting a lot of energy and emphasis on their recruitment and training programs. What’s unusual is the way many areas are approaching this task.
After a nearby casino opened offering year round employment and good benefits, Holiday Valley, N.Y., decided to turn its annual job fair into a carnival with displays, games and prizes for prospective applicants. “We’re talking about jobs and that’s serious, but we also want to get across the idea that working at Holiday Valley is fun and it’s OK to be a little crazy,” says Jane Eshbaugh, marketing director.
To prove the point, Jane’s husband, Dennis Eshbaugh, president and general manager, addresses new hires at orientation sessions in a sumo wrestler blowup costume. “We’re trying to make orientation fun and informative and introduce the idea that if employees are having fun, the customer will have fun, too,” Jane says.
Diane Mueller, who directs the employee training program at Okemo and sister resorts Sunapee, N.H., and Crested Butte, Colo., is using a Colombo theme this year at the resorts’ orientations. The presentation includes a video starring a detective type in a trench coat with pen and paper in hand, checking out each department to find out what makes it unique.
“We use the same video and orientation for each resort,” Cruickshank says. “The message changes for each area, but the vision and values are the same.”
Massanutten, Va., is using its fall job fair to staff up not only for the winter ski season but also for its new water park, which will open next summer. “We’re trying to staff ourselves up six months in advance for an operation we’ve never operated before,” says Steve Showalter, general manager. “Hopefully, a lot of people who work for the ski area this winter will be able to transition over there next summer.”
Transition is already the name of the game for many employees. On any given day in the fall, you can see Patrick Garvey, who directs the golf center at Okemo in the summer and the nordic center in the winter, with a golf club in one hand and a ski pole in the other. Like other year-round employees, multi-tasking is just part of the job description. But by opening day, the focus will narrow to Nordic for a few months, and he’ll have ski poles in both hands.
