In addition, the Canadian association celebrated its 25 anniversary.
This was the third time in recent years that the two associations had met jointly. “This gives the area operators and the maintenance people a chance to exchange ideas and solutions to problems,” said Doug Campbell, president of PNSAA. “And, of course, they can also meet socially.”
A highlight of the five-day conference was a presentation by Layne Longfellow, Ph.D., on the “North America in the Environment of the 21st Century.” His aim was to present information to motivate people to change environmental attitudes, saying we have only a short span of time in which to save the earth.
“This is a difficult subject with many implications,” said Jimmie Spencer, president and CEO of the CWSAA. “It was controversial because there are people who want to hear it and people who don’t want to hear it. If you can frighten people enough, they will take notice.”
Nolan Rosall, president of RRC Associates, presented the results of a survey of skiers in the Washington and Oregon markets, which indicated the incidence of skiing was three times the national average. Skiers in this market are also likely participate in more than one type of on-snow activities including snowboarding and telemarking in addition to skiing. Rosall stressed the need for more promotions aimed at the teenage market.
Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association, gave a keynote speech in which he outlined problems and solutions facing the ski industry. He said a main goal is to tap the 35 million people who are like current skiers and, therefore, are the potential market.
Other sessions covered cash management techniques, dealing with snowboarding problems, improving advertising and ski theft. For maintenance personnel, sessions covered snow drift control, vehicle maintenance, gear reducers and hydraulics, to name a few topics.
