Stowe’s Triple A Program
The Skier Rider Education Team, an ad-hoc committee of members of the ski patrol, ski school and other on-hill departments, was formed because many skiers and snowboarders have said lately that they can’t enjoy the tremendous rushes of freedom and individuality they get from their sports because of hostility out on the slopes.
Stowe decided to act pro-actively and formed the new education team in February 1999. The result is Stowe’s new Triple-A program, an educational campaign centered around three underlying concepts: awareness, attitude and accountability—the Triple-A’s. The resort is striving to raise each guest’s awareness of his or her surroundings, to include fellow skiers and riders as well as conditions and hazards. Guests are thus challenged to exercise a higher level of accountability for their actions.
The Triple-A’s incorporate a number of key educational aspects. The program was a major focus of staff orientation this season and every employee was trained to take a friendly, pro-active approach in spreading the word. Your Responsibility Code, in conjunction with the National Ski Areas Association’s Heads Up initiative, is an important part of the program and will be promoted through one-on-one contact between guests and staff, especially in Stowe’s new Comfort Zones. There is a Comfort Zone trail off of every lift, encompassing both beginner and intermediate terrain on which every guest is expected to be especially mindful of the Triple-A’s. They are not slow zones but areas in which the atmosphere is one of conviviality, where the Triple-A’s are a focus of everyone’s attention. And while the crux of the Triple A’s is education, staff is empowered to take corrective actions.
Stowe is featuring the program on its Website (www.stowe.com), in trail guides, brochures and additional collateral materials. Season-pass holders read about the Triple-A’s before they purchase passes and people from local businesses who participate in the Team Stowe pass program will receive the message directly from resort officials. The local television station will run a Triple-A tape and the local newspaper will feature components of the program in each issue.
Someday, Stowe officials hope to eliminate the Comfort Zones, anticipating that the ethos of the Triple-A’s will spread throughout the resort. As more and more people share the mountains respectfully, more and more skiers and riders can enjoy the freedom.
—Rod Kessler
The Buzz at Vail/Beaver Creek
Skiers and snowboarders at Vail and Beaver Creek are seeing new uniformed patrollers on the slopes this season as management has stepped up efforts to spread the safety message on both mountains. The new Yellow Jackets, named in a local contest by a Vail resident for their brightly colored uniforms, have been charged with maintaining a “highly visible” presence on the slopes to promote safety education and enforce the Your Responsibility Code.
Vail management hired a new staff for its Yellow Jackets, of which there will be eight on the slopes each day, according to their supervisor, Julie Rust, who noted Yellow Jackets pulled 60 passes in the first week Vail was open because many early-season enthusiasts were crowded onto limited terrain.
Rust explains her crew actively seeks out guests who might not realize they’ve stopped in a dangerous spot or blindly crossed a slope to explain the code. So far, she says, the program has received high marks from guests who have said they appreciate the Yellow Jacket presence.
The feeling is similar over at Beaver Creek, where Yellow Jackets, an idea brought to Vail Resorts by its COO, Bill Jensen, have received praise from skiers and snowboarders. The Beaver Creek crew is made up of six or seven ski patrol and mountain information staff supervised by new Mountain Safety Foreman Mike Gibbs.
Beaver Creek Mountain Information Supervisor Doug Lovell was quick to point out that the new program does not seek to take the fun out of the sport.
“We have plenty of areas where fast skiing is OK,” says Lovell. “We’re just trying to make sure there are specific areas that are safe for families.”
Yellow Jackets will pull passes if an egregious offense occurs, a speeder repeats his crime in a slow zone or if a resort employee is caught willfully ignoring the code. They also hand out warnings for first offenses and keep track of names and ticket numbers, and the information is entered into the resort’s computer system at the end of the day.
Management hopes that the Yellow Jackets will eventually be effective in creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and safe sliding on the mountains to make sure skiing and snowboarding remain fun and continue to grow.
—Jonathan Gourlay
