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Bob’s Bits for March 2024

Steep Management

Bob’s Bits for March 2024

Recently, I intended to send a personalized letter to the upper-level management of ski resorts across North America. The effort did not go as planned. Many of you received multiple emails. and some with an incorrect salutation. For those of you who were affected by my mistake, I want to extend a sincere and personal apology. I am sorry for the inconvenience and clutter this may have caused in your inbox. I believe in the importance of owning up to one’s mistakes and using them as learning opportunities. This incident has been a learning experience for me, and I am committed to ensuring such errors are not repeated in the future.

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March has been a boon for ski resorts across the country, with abundant snowfall. As we step into April, the conditions for spring skiing are excellent in many areas.

There is an 83% chance that a transition from El Nino to ENSO-neutral is likely to occur by April-June 2024, followed by a shift to La Nina according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). I am unsure what that means for the 2024/2025 season, but we can all acknowledge that the weather patterns make operating a ski resort a bit more challenging.

Given the unpredictability of the weather, I strongly recommend considering ARENA Slope Management. This powerful tool, while not a magic solution to weather inconsistencies, is an invaluable asset for optimizing your snowmaking and grooming efforts. I urge you to read my post on ARENA Slope Management to understand its potential benefits for your resort.

I am also including a supplement Katie Brinton’s article in the most recent SAM issue, “Following the Leader”.

Happy Spring.

Reach out to Steep Management, we are willing and happy to help you be better.

We can help you create a healthier ski resort by providing individualized solutions to your specific situation—no matter the size of your ski resort, or where you are in North America.
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Steep Management has experience in ski area operations, particularly with the challenges of strategic daily routines and workflow. Developed For Ski Industry Professionals, by Ski Industry Professionals. Through our software products we can assist you in maintaining focus on those things which you and your team need to meet your goals and objectives.

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Data and Information

Database of record: Centralized and organized data assists in recognizing and evaluating patterns, resulting in more thoughtful planning and informed predictions.

Rapid, intuitive retrieval of current and historical data (accessible on or offsite) improves decision making at all levels of management.

Simple report generation.

Reduces risk and potential lawsuits.

Supports visualization of current and future mountain infrastructure (e.g. Gazex explosives locations, forest thinning, designing new runs, parking, etc.).

 

Please click on the images to learn more

Ski Patrol

  • Ease of real-time data entry (no more logbooks or spreadsheets!).
  • Use of common language allows for consistent communication and information sharing.
  • Increases safety by minimizing accidents through pattern analysis of incidents.
  • Accident Investigation and Risk Management.
  • Snow Safety (Ski Patrol) Training.

The web and mobile application suite will provide editing and data collection tools for mapping incidents (wrecks, accidents) of any kind.

Please click on the images to learn more.

Avalanche Module

 

Ability to document, track and analyze slope conditions with one tool.

Ease of real-time data entry (no more logbooks or spreadsheets!).

 Centralized and organized data assists in recognizing and evaluating patterns, resulting in more thoughtful planning and informed predictions.

Provides detailed current and historical weather patterns for visualizing/predicting.

Saves money through more precise use of explosives. 

Please click on the images to learn more.

Dispatch

The dispatch and risk module leverage Esri’s Survey 123 for ArcGIS, providing an intuitive survey-form, data-driven workflow for point feature collection and reporting. Data collected with SmartMountain Survey apps, which are available for both web browsers and native desktop and mobile apps for standard operating systems, are integrated with one or more SmartMountain modules, providing real-time or disconnected and later synchronized workflows for data collection and integration.

Each ski resort decided what they wish to display on the Dispatch Dashboard including on-hill incidents, walk-in incidents, on-hill refusals,  missing persons, work details for different departments, ski patrol rosters for the day, clearances, and sweeps.

Please click on the images to learn more.

OPERATIONS LOGBOOK

  • Logs for Lift Maintenance, Lift Operations, and Groomer inspections, as well as building inspections.
  • Logs can record data and signatures, can record stops, station assignments.
  • Logs are tracked by calendar.

INFORMATION

  • Management review made easy through the use of Excel – reviewing a major grouping of assets or a single component of an asset such as a drive or a gearbox.
  • All information related to a system(asset) is in one place whether it be a lift inspection report, a manual, oil analysis, a service bulletin, or a letter from a vendor.

DASHBOARD

  • Every user has a unique dashboard.
  • Dashboards can be customized to reflect a user’s specific needs.
  • Quick access to the status of work and cost .

SCHEDULE/ WORK ORDERS​

  • The schedule function in MountainOffice provides for detailed instructions by task, recording of data such as the temperature of a gearbox, and service bulletins.
  • All schedules can have a time or counter trigger.