Bob’s Bits for January/February 2023

I will rate the past holiday season a success as it seems that ski areas did well with visits no matter the conditions.  Albeit the weather was harsh no matter where you were.  However, the West faired dramatically better than the East or Midwest. The extremes were dramatic – see the photo. The extremes sure demonstrate the effects of climate change.

I am happy to share that MountainOffice announced a new product designed for small ski areas and Adventure Centers, MountainOffice LITE; see the details below.

To every Lift Maintenance Manager, Director of Lifts, and VP of Mountain Ops, I encourage you to enroll your new lift maintenance hires in Oregon State University’s Level 1 Lift Maintenance Training program.  As I wrote back in November, the program is excellent, intuitive, and engaging.  The cost is very reasonable, and it is all online.  New hires can start now, and the new hires can be much better trained to be more productive during the summer maintenance season.  The great news from OSU is that they have a pilot program for lift operators being tested at three Northwestern ski areas this winter. NO excuses for not getting your new lift mechanics schooled in the OSU-Core program.

I made it to both the West and East NSAA Winter Trade shows.  It was great to see many of you in person. The skiing conditions at Palisades Tahoe were fantastic.  For an Easterner, seeing that much snow in such a short time was an education.  I have a whole new respect for the effort ski areas have to deal with when dumped on with that much snow.

Presidents’ week is coming up – let’s all think snow and enjoy the middle of ski season.