Bob’s Bits for March/April 2023

In the previous Steep newsletter, I commented on winter weather being split between the East and West, but now the East has a winter and the West, especially California, and Utah, is getting an overload of storms.  It is easy to blame climate change and the warming of the Earth for the wild swings in the weather, but I would love to see an analysis of snowfall and temperature going back to the beginning of weather record-keeping till now to see if there are patterns to the dramatic impacts of weather.  I am sure it exists, but I have not been able to find it.  If you know of such, please share.  I am not a denier of climate change impact so, please no hate mail on that subject.

Upon seeing the crowds of February and March, I’d say the Covid upswing in skier numbers is real.  I had some doubt we’d see the level of visitation remain strong, but my doubts have been put to bed.  I hope the ski industry doesn’t become complacent and ignore the need to drive growth through diversity and expansion into new markets.  And most importantly, do not ignore the guest experience.

As we move into spring it is a time, especially in the lift maintenance arena for training conferences. There is LMS at Jiminy Peak in the East, 2023 Mountain Works in Wenatchee, WA, for those in the Pacific Northwest, RMLA in Grand Junction, CO for those in the Rockies, and LMOE Conference at Palisades Tahoe for those in California. Please ensure you are taking advantage of these great programs to train your lift maintenance staff. I will not be present at any of these, I have nothing to gain from your staff attending but YOU do -so send them.

Not to leave my organizational health or culture soapbox unattended in this issue, I thought the image below really demonstrates the plus and minuses of a dysfunctional organization. (Please enlarge to read)

In this edition of the Steep Newsletter, I am pushing MountainOffice LITE for small ski areas but I don’t want any ski area not to consider looking at MountainOffice, whether you are small or large or in between.  It is budget season now would be a good time to consider MountainOffice and SmartMountain and be ready for a great season of 2023/2024.