Environmental Entanglements
Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
For 30 years, our family, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, now the Department of Conservation and Recreation, has operated one of the premier ski resorts in New England. No small feat, considering that Wachusett Mountain and the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation are located in Princeton—a small town in Central Massachusetts where the weather is as unpredictable as our local baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.
Wachusett Mountain has operated continuously as a ski area for 70 years and, until our family was competitively selected to run it in 1969, was managed by the state. Our unique partnership with a state environmental agency, along with our commitment to be exemplary stewards of the Reservation, has been recognized nationally with numerous environmental awards for our innovative conservation efforts and protection of the environment. In keeping with our commitment to preserve the environment at Wachusett Mountain, we have dedicated a portion of our annual gross receipts to a State Land Acquisition Fund dedicated to purchasing and preserving open space. To date, more than $1 million has been donated to acquire and protect 350 acres in Central Massachusetts.
Our success has been well-earned but it has not come without significant struggle. In 1993, after experiencing countless days where we had to turn away carloads of families intent on a day of skiing at the mountain, we proposed a modest 18-acre expansion of the 100-acre ski area to meet the explosion in popularity that skiing and snowboarding were experiencing. At the time, we had little indication that 10 years later we would still be debating the merits of our planned expansion—let alone before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Our long-time commitment to the environment and the preservation and protection of the Reservation was further demonstrated in 1995 when, following the discovery of an Old Growth forest on the mountain, we scaled back our expansion proposal to provide a 700-foot protective barrier between the active ski area and the Old Growth. In 1999, following countless public hearings and many tome-like environmental reports that, ironically, likely consumed more trees than we planned to remove, Massachusetts environmental agencies approved our plan. The Sierra Club and other litigious environmental groups, however, went to court and again delayed the expansion.
Finally, this past July, after 10 years, including six years of a rigorous environmental review process and in excess of $1 million in legal fees, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) unanimously ruled in favor of our expansion plan. The SJC concluded that the environmental reports submitted by Wachusett Mountain and the six-year environmental review conducted by the state were more than adequate and in no way conflicted with the Resource Management and Protection Plan for the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation.
Perhaps naively, we began to actually believe our expansion could finally begin. The Sierra Club, refusing to accept both the approval of the state and the highest court in the Commonwealth, recently petitioned the SJC for reconsideration of their decision. We remain optimistic that the decision will stand and that ultimately we will be allowed to finally expand our ski area to provide expanded recreational opportunities for families in Massachusetts.
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups certainly provide a check and balance to ensure that open space remains protected from callous development. The partnership that we have forged with the state of Massachusetts to provide unparalleled skiing and other recreational opportunities in a protected state reservation, however, should be celebrated and recognized as a model by other states. Instead, as we have learned, it has all too often been portrayed negatively and inaccurately by some environmental groups who refuse to concede that recreation and sound environmental practices can go hand in hand. The SJC decision should be viewed as a victory for both the environmental advocates and recreational users of Wachusett Mountain.
The Growth Initiative Is Doing Fine
by Nolan L. Rosall
President, RRC Associates, Inc.
As one of the authors of the Growth Initiative and of the Kottke End of Season Report, I would like to respond to “Whatever Happened to the Growth Initiative?” (SAM, July 2003). The article implied that the industry growth initiative, which focused attention on increasing trial and conversion, was stalled, since the preliminary Kottke report indicated that ski school lessons overall and, more specifically, Level I (entry level) lessons were down this year compared to last. The article concluded that as an industry we are failing in our mission and need to try harder, organize better, and apply more effective tactics in order to regain momentum.
I would like to clarify a few of the points made by Mr. Kahl.
- The lesson participation results in the Kottke report are based solely upon data provided by the 122 ski areas that answered that question in both the 2001/02 and 2002/03 seasons and were not projected to the entire industry. This sample under-represents small- and mid-sized resorts, who actually performed better than the largest resorts this season in terms of growth in both skier visits and lesson volumes.
- A deeper look at the results from the responding areas indicates some positive trends. First, both overall lesson participation, and entry level in particular, increased in all of the resort categories except the largest resorts. Level I lessons were up 2.6 percent at the smaller resorts, and up 11 percent and 2.3 percent respectively in the two mid-sized resort categories. These are the resorts located closest to the major population centers and who traditionally have been the points of entry for many people who wished to try the sport. The strength of lesson programs at these resorts is definitely encouraging. Level I lessons declined, however, in the largest-size resort category by an average of 14 percent, which brought the overall national average down by 3.7 percent.
- Second, children’s lesson participation was up by about 3 percent. Kids’ lessons were up in each of the three small- and mid-sized resort categories and down by less than one percent in the largest-resort category. The overall increase in kids’ lesson participation is particularly encouraging for what it might imply for the longer term.
- Third, if we projected national lesson participation based on data from the 122 areas responding to the question (which we did not do), we would have determined that overall lesson participation, Level 1 lessons, and kids’ lessons were all improved this year over last.
- Fourth, we have observed an increasing tendency for resorts to promote packages of two to three lessons for beginner programs, and to offer private and semi-private beginner lessons. We have not tracked growth in these types of programs via the Kottke report, but it is a further indication of progress in achieving growth initiative objectives through improving the quality of the first-time experience.
In conclusion, I appreciate the effort by Mr. Kahl to draw attention to the growth initiative and to urge resorts to improve efforts to implement its objectives. We all must recognize that the growth initiative is part of a long-term commitment to improve the conversion of new entrants into lifelong “core” skiers and riders. While we need to measure the results year by year, we also note that due to any number of possible reasons such as snow conditions, the economy, etc., progress may not be seen every year. It is the long-term commitment of all resorts to constantly improve and refine their programs and to offer the best possible complete experience to the beginner that will, in time, result in sustainable growth and improved profitability for the entire industry. A more detailed analysis of the Kottke results supports the conclusion that we are making progress.
Mr. Kahl replies:
While this new analysis of the lesson data is encouraging, it still shows that resorts in three out of four size categories came up short of the Growth Initiative goal, a six percent increase in trial (Level I lessons). And that shortfall, in a year that saw six percent growth in overall visits, should still set off alarms. The first-time lesson news isn’t disastrous, but the Growth Initiative requires greater effort yet.
Safety Monsters
by Linda Tikalsky
After seeing Jack Turner’s Snow Monsters program, I strongly recommend that all industry professionals view the Snow Monsters safety film “Heads Up” and support the Snow Monsters program. “Heads Up” is the best educational tool that exists for promoting pipe and park safety.
In all too many instances, resorts play up extreme skiing and terrain park excitement without teaching users that speed and control are the primary ingredients of safe participation. These are educational issues that need to be addressed and “Heads Up” goes further in this direction than anything else I have seen. It is an excellent example of combining entertainment and education into a single package.
It would be quite an accomplishment if risk managers, ski school directors, ski patrol directors, and management throughout the ski and snowboard industry would actively support the widest distribution possible of this educational tool. This would not be just a public service—education can also be good marketing.
