A few issues ago we wondered out loud about whether we should still be in the “ski business” when so much of our bread was being buttered by snowboarders? Should we be reporting on “skier visits” as the basic index of participation when a whole lot of people are not skiing, but riding?
The question was earnestly pursued at the Charleston summit, with all manner of inventive, politically correct and inclusive terminology proposed.
It’s too soon to declare a winner, but it looks very much as though we have collectively found the confidence to stay as the rest of the world knows us—in the ski business, running ski areas. Snowboarders may ride at these areas, with tobogganers and tubers doing their things also, but since all of these happy people seem to think they are having their fun at ski areas, why should we be insisting otherwise?
This naturally evolving consensus makes a lot of sense to us. For now, we remain Ski Area Management.
