Snow’s falling, a few lifts are turning – let in begin. Great to see that most ski areas are moving forward getting close to normal operations and dealing with COVID in a responsible manner.

The labor shortage will impact the ski industry for sure It was great to see Mike Solimano of Killington address the issue in a very responsible manner. He shared the Killington was aggressively trying to fill positions yet Killington g=has a plan that would address being 30% short-staffed. I’m sure the Killington customers and staff appreciate the Killington leadership plan for what is realistically ahead. I know others are doing the same, but I’ve heard instances of leadership saying staffing won’t be a problem or we’ll do the best we can. I’d say that isn’t a plan and not very fair to the customers and the staff. Let’s all hope for the sake of the skiing and riding public that everyone has a plan to address being short-staffed – last year should have taught the industry something. Operations can’t be put on the back of our frontline workers, there will just be fewer next year if we do.

This issue of the Steep Newsletter launches the MountainOffice new mobile app with Operations Logbooks, see the video. Culture and retention of staff are also discussed in this short labor market. I talked with a ski resort this week that I had not spoken to within a couple of years, and I was impressed that there had been no change in the leadership team, and they were upbeat – a unique scene in today’s world and one I was not surprised to see at this resort as it has excellent leadership and a healthy culture. The piece is a couple of pages with links, but it is really worthwhile reading.

I do go out on a limb in addressing vibration and how to monitor it. To some, it is old news to others in may sound out there, but I believe it can be a game-changer for those who take the step.