Thanks, Big Guys
Operations Manager, Wissahickon Ski Area
Like many smaller resorts, at Wissahickon Ski Area (top elevation, 500 feet, vertical drop, maybe 300 feet), a ski hill outside of Philadelphia, our snow comes from above, and not from fans or guns. Unlike, say, Alta, though, we are not in a location that has reliable snow. Our season began Dec. 6 and ended Mar. 20. We had enough cover to operate for a total of 12 days during that period.
As such, we need to be ready on all fronts when nature favors us with three or more inches of snow. To maximize usage, we cut grass down to one inch by early December. This past winter, extreme cold and well-timed and executed grooming (we have some home-built grooming drags pulled behind two sleds) maximized usage in spite of the relatively high skier visits logged (an average of more than 30 sliders a day). A rosy picture for the front office, but high pressure in the operations division.
To turn up the heat, on the early afternoon of February 1, 2004 (Super Bowl Sunday), during a great, sunny and busy time on the mountain, we detected a suddenly noisy sheave train on the return side of our next-to-top tower on our Poma T-bar. Following lock out/tag out, we made a visual inspection, determined an ok-to-run condition, performed short-term, remedial lubrication measures, and got back in operation for four more hours. Thanks to the distraction of the Super Bowl, we shut down early without complaint and without risking equipment damage. (At no time was there a safety issue.) Repairs were scheduled for a day we would be closed due to thin cover.
On repair day, use of heavy equipment was not an environmentally acceptable option because of the tower location and mixed mud and icy surface conditions. Standard scaffolding was therefore trucked in from the summit access road to within walking distance of the tower. A seven-man crew carried the scaffold, tools, replacement sheaves and other items the final 100 yards to the work site in spite of tricky footing. No environmental damage resulted from this approach. Once everything was staged, the controlled deropement, sheave train replacement, and alignment process were accomplished in short order. All this on a sunny, moderately warm and low wind day, unusually good conditions near our summit.
All mountain managers everyday must balance the competing demands of the ticket windows, the capacity of lifts, trails and snow conditions. This is not always an easy balancing act. We must never discount or forget the contribution that our “ops” crews make usually (and hopefully) behind the scenes to the safety and enjoyment of the mountain visitors.
Those of us who manage more modest facilities often rely on managers like Mike Pratt at Gore Mountain, supported by Kurt Wisell and a very able staff of technical wizards, and Dale Walters, our wire rope splicing and inspection specialist, and a host of others who provide important guidance. We benefit from and thank you all for your ongoing willingness to share your knowledge and vast experience.
Delivering skier safety and enjoyment also rests on the shoulders of the many others who toil behind the scenes. Our many happy skiers surely benefit from what your staffs all generously share with us. As our skiers continue to graduate from our modest facility, they will continue to head eagerly to visit many of you. We look forward to sharing our ongoing interest in increasing safety and maximizing skier enjoyment. Have a warm, healthy and relaxing summer.
Downhill Lessons for X-C
by Roger Lohr
SAM’s interview with Michael Berry (“Our Time of Opportunity,” March 2004) was very relevant for the Alpine ski world. But the points raised are equally true for the Nordic ski world.
In 1988, the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) Sports Participation Study showed that there were 5.8 million X-C skiers, and in 2002 the same report showed a drop to 2.2 million. Preliminary NSGA X-C skier numbers for 2003 are even lower! Why the 62 percent decline across 15 years?
Berry’s reference to the ski industry’s operational orientation rather than marketing orientation is very relevant to X-C ski areas. In fact, the parallels are everywhere. There are no statistics available, but it’s certain that X-C ski resorts have lower revenues and that the percentage of those revenues directed to marketing is most likely lower than the 5 percent reported by alpine areas in 2003. This may be the most important element in the decline of X-C skiing.
If we look at societal and demographic factors, cross-country would appear to have a wonderful opportunity to increase the number of skiers. There is extensive noise now about child obesity and the need for fitness, and X-C remains one of the best forms of aerobic recreational exercises available. On a positive note, the NSGA age statistics show that 12.7 percent of cross-country skiers are 7 to 11 years old. According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation’s “2004 Consumer Outreach Report,” if we “invest in recruiting participants at a young age, they will become lifelong participants because they develop ‘ingrained behavior.’ This behavior develops because young participants are heavily influenced by their parents, and the introduction to the outdoors teaches kids to love and appreciate the outdoors.”
The age statistics also show that X-C skiers 45 and older represent 47 percent of the cross-country population, a figure that matches the age statistics of the general population (the Baby Boomers, who make up a good portion of the over-45 skiing population, will remain the largest age group throughout their lives). This audience, too, can be lured to the sport.
But while recruiting adults to become first timers is more profitable in the short term (because they purchase equipment, clothing and accessories), very few adults develop ingrained behavior in the outdoors. This results in lower commitment to various forms of outdoor recreation, and participants’ interest often lapses. It’s no wonder so many cross-country skis gather dust in the garage rather than being regularly used.
Like Berry and his son, when I compare watching my daughter play soccer versus spending time with her on the trails—there is just no comparison in terms of value and quality of time spent. And that applies for both of us.
In short, we must all make an effort to go to the schools, develop kids’ programs, get kids to the trails, and pounce on the fitness and quality time aspects of our sports. XC needs to step up to the marketing plate. Then, perhaps, just perhaps, we can get wintersports growing again.
The United Colors of Snowsports
A SAM editorial
At the TransWorld Snow Industry Summit April 1-4, we were reminded once again of the value of listening to the viewpoints of business leaders from outside the snowsports world. In this particular case, to Nissan VP of Marketing Steve Wilhite, who gave the concluding keynote speech. Beyond the company’s lessons about branding, his presentation dramatized the importance of reaching out to ethnic markets.
Wilhite acknowledged how focused Nissan is on ethnic marketing and the reasons why Nissan’s ethnic focus apply to snowsports as well.
It’s all in the numbers. Wilhite pointed out that today, the under-18 population is 30 percent Latino, 28 percent African American, 21 percent Asian, and 21 percent white. He described how some of Nissan’s advertising has been targeted directly at racial groups and won awards for their implementation and success.
The snowsports industry has talked about ethnic marketing, too, but has lagged behind other businesses in implementation. Our marketing budgets are smaller, and we have to use them as efficiently as possible. We have concluded that marketing to ethnic minorities is not cost-effective. But these groups are already the majority in the under-18 audience that we are targeting with the Growth Initiative, and we simply must find ways to reach them.
Fortunately, help is available. The ten-year-old Snowboard Outreach Society has brought thousands of low-income kids into mountain sports. Roberto Moreno and his Alpino Group in Denver have introduced several hundred Hispanic teens to skiing and riding. Wayne Jennings and the New Hampshire Cultural Diversity Awareness Council have done the same with mostly African-American groups through a Martin Luther King-inspired ski/ride/education program at Waterville Valley. Hank Lamport, a teacher in the Denver Public Schools, has made skiing and riding part of the educational program for hundreds of inner-city kids. We suspect there are other examples across the country, too.
Collectively, these individuals and their organizations demonstrate that business, school, and cultural associations can organize and motivate large groups to experience snowsports. They can efficiently reach potential audiences that the resort industry has not been able to get to. And while these organizations may not target the financial demographic that resorts have come to rely on as customers, remember that these groups are largely made up of kids. Their futures are not determined and by exposing them now to alternative lifestyles, we can create a grateful, diehard pool of clients down the road.
So, while it would be great to develop in-house ethnic marketing expertise like Nissan, it’s not the only way for resorts to proceed. We have willing partners who are anxious to assist us. All we have to do is invite them to join us.
