was no significant snowfall again until March and the area ended up having to close its base area as well as the main teaching terrain by early February. “Tis severely affected our daily walk- in business and we were forced to turn
“IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO REMAIN CONFIDENT AND UPBEAT. NO ONE WANTS TO BE ON A LOSING TEAM.
your staff with the same high level of compassion and empathy for their needs as you would a student/guest,” Byrne said. “Your training as an instructor directly transfers to working with your staff, especially in challenging circumstances!” Another key in lean years is to be
Sean Bold
away the new skiers and snowboarders in our region,” said Bold. “To add to that hit, we could only run four weeks of our pre-sold six-consecutive-week lesson programs. Tese programs make up more than half of the annual revenue of the school. I was forced to close the school, lay off most of my staff, and refund hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he added. A message both Bold and Byrne shared was to capitalize on the snow you do have. At Crystal Mountain, the school managed to salvage two consecutive-week lesson programs for upper-level kids ages 7-18. “We were able to keep running these programs at the top of our mountain, which held snow into April,” said Bold.
COMMUNICATE OPENLY WITH YOUR INSTRUCTORS Fewer lessons sold means less working hours and income for instructors. Tis can be a high-stress situation for many instructors who rely on teaching as their full-time gig. Byrne urges managers to listen closely
to their employees. “Be hyper-sensitive to the predicament of your staff, she said.” Stay on alert for those who are struggling and have an open-door, open- ear relationship.” If you haven’t already, she advised, form
a “working partnership” similar to the “learning partnership” in which you know the profile of your staff, their goals and aspirations, learning style/s, etc. “Address
92 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2015
transparent with your staff, sharing the state of the company and what the strategy is to combat the issues faced. “Encourage open dialogue among staff and management, but remind them to stay true to their beliefs about the customer experience and not put their burden on the guest,” said Byrne. “It’s also important to remain confident and upbeat. No one wants to be on a losing team. You will get through this challenge and be better for it.”
GET CREATIVE WITH STAFFING: GIVE CREDITS OR CREATE SHIFTS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS If your ski/ride school can stay open during a low snowfall season, you may have a chance to get creative with how your staff’s time is used. Squaw Valley facilitated shifts in other departments like guest services or lift operations for instructors who really needed the hours. Staff at Crystal Mountain participated in cleaning, re-modeling, and painting projects. Squaw relaxed its work day commitment
and obligation by giving credit for staff being available versus actual days teaching. Schedules for employees were reduced equally, regardless of tenure. “Many instructors took voluntary time off and enjoyed the opportunity to not work,” said Byrne. “Fewer lessons taught means more time. Time, as we know, is a precious commodity most adults do not have enough of. So, we encouraged staff to take advantage of the situation and schedule travel and activities they otherwise would not have time for,” she said.
POUNCE ON TRAINING AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES You can also use periods of low snow to train your staff. Crystal Mountain took advantage of snow that remained at the top of the mountain, running instructor clinics
on weekends until the snow was gone. “Since the skiing was not great we had nothing to distract us from
working on our riding and teaching skills,” said Bold. Tis can also be an opportunity to
promote certification through PSIA-AASI. Another option? Encourage instructors to work on their own skills and read PSIA- AASI’s technical manuals.
OFFER INCENTIVES OR SWITCH LESSONS UP TO GET GUESTS ON THE HILL When the snowfall isn’t enough to get anyone excited to come to your mountain, you have to get creative. Squaw Valley ran a Learn to Ski and Ride promotion in January and ended up extending it into February through President’s Week. Te ski school also took advantage of third-party sales channels like Groupon and Liftopia to offer more aggressively discounted group lessons. When the terrain didn’t warrant full-day lessons, they shifted to half-days. Capitalize on the snow you DO have.
Crystal Mountain guided snowshoe tours off the gondola at “Mountain Top,” where there was still snow, and they ran more private lessons.
And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to remain optimistic. “A positive outcome (of a low snow year) is that we develop a stronger appreciation for the snow, for winter in the mountains, and for all of the benefits we derive from living in the mountains,” said Byrne. “Tis appreciation gets passed on to our guests, which further enhances the ski school experience.” “Try to make lemonade out of lemons as long as you can, added Bold. “Keep morale high by offering as many training sessions as the school can afford and keep praying for snow!”
Stephanie Prince Alexander is the special projects editor for PSIA-AASI. Email: sprince@
thesnowpros.org
Have your own advice for how to make the best of a low-snow year? And what about
the challenges resorts face when there’s TOO MUCH snow? Add your voice to the conversation at
tiny.cc/b5qc3x.
COURTESY OF SEAN BOLD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124