Working The Pump House

Jay Peak is going above and beyond what other mountain resorts are doing to become a destination, four-season resort.  One of the essential part of their plan to make their mountain desirable throughout the year is the new Pump House water-park. By having an indoor water-park, Jay Peak is able to not only provide skiers and riders a fun outlet when the slopes close at 4 PM, but when they close for the season as well.  Having something like the Pump House also means that you are adding a new customer base to the resort.  There are people going to the resort now purely for the water-park with no desire to ski or ride.  While this can be disappointing to some of the die-hard skiers and employees who've known Jay to be a riders mountain, the resort ultimately benefits from the additional customers and that money can be put towards new investments in the future like the planned West Bowl expansion.  My experience working in the Pump House was experiential in the fact that I had to actually work in a floor position all day because another employee had called in and they were short staffed.  I don't mind doing this, because I think that work experience is never really a bad thing.  Anyways, I rotated around a few different positions on the floor.  I started working at the bottom of "La Chute," the massive red "looping" water-slide that is one of the main features of the water-park.  The thing is huge!  Riders actually have to stand inside a release chamber before the floor drops out underneath them, sending them down the tube, around the loop, and finally to the bottom.  It is very important to note that between every "launch" there needs to be communication between the employee working the controls at the top, and the employee at the bottom to ensure that the rider made it around the loop and has reached the bottom and safely exited.  The reason for this is because there is a chance that the rider does not make it fully around the loop.  If another rider was to be launched while someone was still in the tube, the results would be disastrous.  There is an opening on the top of the tube on the lowest point of the loop, so that if someone does not make it, they can simply step out and be let out of a gate.  This gate prevents the slide from a new launch unless the system has been reset and we are sure that nobody is in the tubes.  This is why the radio communication between the employees is crucial for this ride.  It keeps the customers safe, as well as keeping the mountain free from potential injuries and the lawsuits that would surely follow them.  In addition to working "La Chute," I also was able to work the FlowRider Double Barrel.  This is an artificial wave that customers can learn to surf and boogie-board on.  It is a lot of fun!  I was able to teach a lot of customers how to boogie-board and that was a lot of fun.  I worked back and forth between these two positions all day and it was actually really nice getting wet in the nice warm water-park instead of being outside getting wet in the rain.  Ultimately, with the addition of the water-park, Jay Peak is leaps and bounds ahead of its competition for making their resort an attractive destination during any season of the year.  And, thanks to good training and attention paid by the employees, it can be fun and safe for the customers.  Next week I believe I will be working in the hotel and food services, so we will see how that goes.  The snow is pretty much gone everywhere except Jay Peak, so we'll see how long they can last. Until then, shred the gnar!

Running Chair Lifts at Jay

This week at Jay Peak I worked with a team of guys running The Flyer, a detachable quad chairlift on the far right side of the mountain when looking at the mountain from the base.  While we had some experience at Stowe working the RFID system and checking out the terminals for the chairlifts there, I never really had the opportunity to actually run the controls of the chairlifts there.  However, at Jay, I was actually able to stand, watch, and operate the chairlift throughout the day on Friday.  I thought this was pretty cool but at the same time I was slightly anxious with it being the first time running a lift and I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  Despite my anxiety, the day actually ended up running really smoothly!  There were almost no issues throughout the entire day and besides a couple of falls by customers trying to get on the chair at the bottom there were almost no stops of the chair during the day.  I learned how to stop, slow, reset, and restart the chairlift while working The Flyer throughout the day.  I was supposed to go and run the tram during the second half of the day, however, one of the other lift attendants had called in on Friday, so I was needed at The Flyer all day.  This ended up being important because I became the number three employee at the lift.  Without my being there, the other two lift attendants would have had a much harder day since one of them would need to be operating the controls from the outside the booth while the other ran the controls for the RFID system.  This would leave them no time for breaks during the day, which can lead to a good amount of other issues like fatigue and loss of concentration.  Therefore, my presence alone was beneficial to the employees working at that lift because it made each of our jobs that much easier and allowed us each to take breaks when needed.  In addition to this, having someone constantly looking over the RFID system meant that should there be an issue with a customer's ticket, it could be addressed quickly and that can mean a lot in terms of customer service.  RFID systems can also be a great benefit for the mountain itself as well.  Having an employee to verify tickets and seasons pass holders is crucial to cutting down theft of services at the mountain.  If an employee working the RFID systems notices that a male is using a female's season's pass by the verification picture, that employee can take the customer aside while they wait for proper authorities to come and reprimand the customer committing the crime.  Because of situations like this, many mountains have been upgrading to RFID systems because of the benefits and ability to cut down theft of services.  Another benefit of this system is that only one employee needs to be working at the lift lines letting people through the gates while on a busy day there might be a need for multiple employees scanning lift tickets and organizing lines up to the chair.  This allows employers to cut back on the expenses of lift operations.  Overall, I had a great day working on The Flyer at Jay Peak on Friday.  I was able to work with some pretty funny guys and we had a smooth day with no major problems.  I gained some valuable experiences and learned a lot that day.  Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very well on Saturday and so I chose not to go to Jay.  Because of this, I missed out on working with the Ski Patrol and the Ski School that day.  I have seven years of experience in Ski School, so I don't think that I will have missed out on much there.  I am slightly disappointed that I missed out on Ski Patrol though because I've always been interested in the daily operations of Ski Patrol and what they do.  I guess it's something I'll need to do another time.  That's all for now and although the snow is melting, keep shredding the gnar!

Final Day at Stowe

Our final day at Stowe was a great one.  When we arrived, we knew we'd be spending the day with Scott Reeves, and were interested to see what he does during daily operations at Stowe.  We met up with him and Mike Manley, our supervisor and manager at the mountain, at the base of the Gondola.  Scott introduced us to a representative from HKD, a supplier of snow-making equipment, who was riding at the mountain and discussing future business with Scott. We needed to recharge our Stowe Evolution cards to ride that day, so we did so and were told to meet back up with the three of them at the quad.  From there, the morning consisted of riding around with Scott, Mike, and the representative from HKD, looking for strategic places to put snow-making towers on the trails.  I thought that it was very interesting the amount of knowledge that Scott had of both the mountain and the weather conditions on each trail.  For example, he knew that a 30 foot tower in one location was more ideal than a 20 foot tower based on the direction that wind hit the trail and where that would carry the snow.  It was pretty cool to see Scott so casual when discussing business over a purchase that will likely cost more than you or I will make anytime soon.  It really said something about the financial backing behind Stowe (AIG) and how deep their pockets are when it comes to re-investing the various areas and departments at the mountain.  During the runs we took, we also were keeping an eye out for safety hazards and concerns that we would want to bring up to Ski Patrol, such as an unmarked hazard on the slope, or a "slow" sign needing to be put back up near an intersection.  The other very important part of our "morning runs" was to get a strong understanding of the snow conditions and to decide which trails would need to be groomed for the next day.  If there was an area of concern, such as the conditions on the trail Lower National, a double-black diamond, we would take a run on it to see if it needed grooming for the next day.  From a managerial perspective, these runs were important for Scott and Mike so that when the time came for the morning meeting with the heads of each department, they could tell everyone what to expect for the following day as well as any improvements those department heads could provide for the future.  This is exactly what we ended up doing.  For example, Gary, the head of the lift operations at the mountain, was told by Scott that a lift attendant needed to always be standing attentively both in front and in back of the RFID system at the quad.  The reason that Scott brought this up is because when entering the line, he noticed that the lift attendant was not paying attention, that is, until Scott showed up in the line.  While this may seem like a minor issue to bring up to the head of lift operations, Scott takes them very seriously.  Stowe is all about representation.  Their goal is for every employee to represent and maintain the appearance of a world-class resort.  Because they focus on this from top to bottom, Stowe's overall appearance is extremely professional.  The customers also enjoy an added benefit from the information Scott gathers on these morning runs.  Each trail that has been groomed was done so for a reason. The location and quality of the snow from their snow-making department is the product of good discussion with representatives from the companies themselves.  These small considerations on the part of Scott Reeves, and the commitment to a very high standard, ultimately improve the every day experience of the customer at Stowe.  Once the meeting was over, Scott told us that he was booked with meetings for the rest of the day and that we were free to go and ski for the rest of the day.  As you can imagine, we were stoked to here that and took full advantage of the situation.  The conditions were beautiful that day and we had a great time riding until we were ready to go.  We even saw a baby moose on the trail near the end of the day!  When we were done, we said our farewells to everyone we had met and worked with for the last five weeks and thanked them for everything they taught us.  I really enjoyed our experiences working at Stowe.  It was very informative and a lot of fun.  We had the opportunity to work with some great people and had a good number of great days skiing.  However, I'm very excited to see what Jay Peak's program will be like in the second half of the class and I'm particularly interested in checking out their new water park. It should be a lot of fun.
Because this is the final post on Stowe, I thought that I would add a bunch of the photos I took last week as well as the ones from this past Friday. Cheers and keep shredding that snow....wherever the hell it is.

 A day in Guest Services

 The view from inside one of the nicest Condos at Stowe

 View from inside the terminal of the bottom-driven Quad on Spruce Peak

 A second view

 A view looking out at the chairlift from the terminal

 The view from the top of the Gondola lift

 A view from the top terminal of the Gondola

 Downloading off of the quad like a true Liftey

 Lift station at the top of the quad

 Mike Manley at the top of the quad for morning runs

A baby moose!

Week Four at Stowe

This week at Stowe was both informative and educational as it was fun.  Working in lift operations and guest services this week allowed me to meet some pretty interesting and genuinely nice people. On Friday, we were in lift operations. It was really cool being able to take rides up and down the chairlift without equipment on. Coming back down the chairlift was also something I'd never done before.  We were able to check out the terminals of a few different chairs as well as the gondola.  It was really cool to check out the technical aspect of the machines we depend on daily. Everything seems to run so smoothly on a regular basis but there really is a lot going on and to see it all working was pretty cool.  Probably the most beneficial part of Stowes lift operations for the mountain has to be their recent shift to the RFID system.  Similar to EZ-Pass, there are scanners that pick up the lift ticket, in the form of a re-loadable card, on the customer.  When it does, it sends a signal to the stoppers either allowing the customer through or not depending on whether or not their ticket is valid for the day.  The coolest part about it is that it shows all of the customers information to the lift attendant who works at the entrance to the lift.  This information can be useful for many reasons, like identifying a missing individual, as well as cutting down on theft of services.  Its easy to take someone else's ticket, but showing a mans photo with a girl skier is a lot easier to spot out.  This is good for the mountain as well as the customer as they are able to get through the lift lines much quicker than when manual scanners need to be used.  It also cuts back on the staffing needs and dullness of being a lift attendant.
On Saturday we worked in guest services.  We were fortunate to work with a woman named Heidi who was very nice and showed us everything there was to know about guest services. She even hooked us up with some very professional looking vests.  With her we learned a lot about Stowe's program to improve the customer's experience at the resort at all places and at all times.  Each week, a rule is focused on by every department. This week focused on the "zone of influence" rule.  A smile and nod at 10 feet, and an ask for any way to help within 5 feet.  We were also able to fish for e-mails for a survey sent out by a company working for Stowe on how the customers experience was.  The mountain uses these surveys to improve the customer experience in the future.  Almost all of customer service revolved around this point.  The better the customer satisfaction, the more likely they are to return, as well as more likely to recommend it to a friend.  This is extremely important for a mountain, as building their core and returning customers is essential to running in the long term.
I was able to take some great photos from this weekend, and I'll be loaded them up on another post. At the end of the day, Heidi was nice enough to show us the "Front Four."  These are the nicest rooms available for both rent and ownership in Stowe's main lodge.  It was extremely impressive and we were happy to have a chance to check out what is normally an exclusive area. It was another great week at Stowe and we're all looking forward to our last day there on Friday, where we will be spending the day with VP of Mountain Ops, Scott Reeves.

Week Three at Stowe

While we unfortunately weren't able to ski at all during this past weekend at Stowe, we were able to get a very strong base of knowledge on the daily functions of a Ski and Snowboard Rental Shop. Both Friday and Saturday were spent in the Rental Shop located on the Spruce Peak side of the resort.  Due to the professional appearance that Stowe takes with pride, we needed to dress up for this job.  Collared shirts, dark pants, and an overall professional appearance were needed for this job.  It was chaotic at times, as all rental shops are, but we were able to work with some great people and learned a lot of very useful information.
The services provided in Stowe Mountain's Rental Shop are extremely efficient.  Everything from the ground up is meant for customers to be able to quickly get the proper equipment they need so that they can get out and put that $95 dollar lift ticket to use! The fact that they use a large amount of technological assistance means that they can handle a very large body of people with very few errors in a very short period of time.  This is not only good for the customer, who is looking to get through the process quickly, but for the mountain as well, as they can handle a larger number of customers in a shorter period of time.  The employees job is made much simpler by the use of technology in the shop.  for example.  Every piece of equipment in the shop is labeled with a bar code that can be scanned.  This bar code provides essential information on things like where the binding needs to be moved to for a certain pair of skis. A simple scan of a code, quick adjustment to the bindings, and the customer is ready with a factory recommended set up based on their skill level.
By focusing on efficiency, Stowe's rental shop is successful in pleasing the customer quickly as well as making their employees job easier.  This comes together to make for a very profitable business and their numbers certainly reflect that.  It was a great experience to learn and I look forward to next week.

Week Two at Stowe

Well, our practicum class enjoyed what Sean Doll calls a "rare" cancellation of our class on Friday.  However, it came with good reason as most of Vermont was slammed with freezing rain on Thursday night.  Better safe than sorry never hurts when talking about icy roads.
Saturday was still on and as usual, we took off for Stowe.  When we got there, we took a look at our sign-in sheet for where we would be working that day, as well as the supervisor we'd be reporting to.  Mike Manley told us where to go, who to meet up with, and told us he'd be bringing us Stowe jackets to wear while working there.  We met up with a woman named Lauren, who was in charge of the bus and shuttle part of Guest Services.  Our job for her was to assist in the unloading and parking of the tour buses that were coming to the mountain that day.  There was an estimate of about 20+ buses for the day, so it was important that we parked the buses as close as comfortable in order to fit them all within the designated parking space.  Parking and controlling the flow of traffic can be an important job at a resort.  This is particularly important on a day when it is very busy, as customer satisfaction can definitely be affected by a lack of parking.  Luke and I directed other traffic around the designated parking zone and directed the buses where to go as they arrived there, while Dom helped corral the buses into their parking spaces.  We successfully parked and unloaded about 20 buses in a relatively short period of time, as well as providing simple directions to some of the guests as they unloaded from the buses.  Once we were done with that, Lauren said that we were no longer needed and free to do whatever else Mike needed us to do.  We went back to the administrative offices, and Mike told us that we would be sitting in on the morning meeting with Scott Reeves and the heads of the various departments of the mountain.  I found this to be one of the more informative things we had done at the mountain yet.  I am hoping to eventually be the head of a department or work in some form of upper management at a Ski Resort, so to see all of them in one place, getting an overall view of how things were across the hill, was pretty cool.  I also took the opportunity to catch up with Kurt, the head of Stowe's terrain parks department, about holding an interview with him to use in a project for my Risk Management course this semester.  He was happy to help and gave me his business card so that I could reach him. Once the meeting was concluded, we were told that we could go skiing for the rest of the day.  Since Stowe uses an RFID system of ticket checking, we need to recharge our lift cards every week.  Scott Reeves, the General Manager of the mountain, wrote us up the vouchers that we would bring to the ticket counter in order to recharge our cards for the day.  Its hard to not appreciate the opportunity to ride a mountain as nice as Stowe for free.  We had a great time and I was even able to meet up with a friend from back home, who was riding that day with his girlfriend who attends UVM.  Overall, despite a day off and a pretty easy Saturday, I'd still say that there was plenty to take away from our experiences. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next week!

First Impressions at Stowe

This past Friday and Saturday, a few other students and I took our first trip to Stow Mountain Resort for our first week of our Sophomore Ski Practicum.  I was very excited to go and get the hands on experience of working there.  Having worked during the majority of our most recent break between semesters at Jiminy Peak, I was already into the swing of working at a mountain.  However, I was not expecting Stowe to be as big as it was!  I always enjoy exploring and riding a new mountain and we were able to do so during our first week there.
On Friday, our first job was to assist in putting the fencing around a newly put in terrain park near Stowe's Midway Lodge for a rail jam that was to be held later that night.  By doing so, we made sure that the general public did not ride any of the features ahead of the scheduled rail jam.  This meant that the features stayed in the ideal conditions, and were therefore safer, for the riders who would be participating in the event.
After we put in the fence, we were given shovels and hiked a small ways up the hill to a location that was currently being set up for downhill racing.  When we got there, we began to dig a small trench, about a half-foot deep, across the end of the trail.  The reason for this is because a sensor wire was going to be put into the trench in order to record when each racer crosses the finish line.  It was tough work, even requiring a chainsaw in order to cut through the ice that our shovels couldn't.  By doing this though, we ensured that the mountain would be able to record accurate times for the racers who will eventually use that course.
Once we finished digging the trench, we were told to meet back at the terrain park at 2PM and were told we could take some runs until then.  The riding at Stowe was phenomenal with the fresh snow that came down the night before.  At 2, we met back up at the terrain park and met both Kurt, the head of Stowe's terrain park department, and the events coordinator who's name is skipping my mind right now.  We helped set up a small tent and a PA system that would be used at the rail jam.  Once that was done, we were done for the day and took off for the college. It was a great first day at the mountain.
On Saturday, we were told that we would be spending the day with Stowe's Park Crew.  We met up with them and had an awesome day taking runs through the terrain park and learning how to maintenance the features.  One of the park rangers taught us how to properly rake the lips, or edges, of the boxes, rails, and jumps in the terrain parks.  What was really cool about Stowe is that they had multiple terrain parks with a good variety of different features in each one.  By maintaining the features throughout the day, we made sure that the conditions were safe to ride.  This is better for the guest, who can enjoy a safer, better experience in the terrain park, as well as for the mountain, who is less susceptible to lawsuits as each maintenance time is recorded by ski patrol for that purpose. It is also fun for the Park Crew, as they are able to take laps though the park all day and make sure that the features are in good riding condition.  We had an awesome time getting to know the staff and the mountain better on Saturday.
Overall I would say that we had an excellent first week at Stowe.  We were able to meet a variety of staff members, make connections, and familiarize ourselves with the mountain.  We performed a variety of tasks and I hope that I'll be able to apply the knowledge gained at some point in the future.  The fresh snow made it a ton of fun and I can't wait to see where they put us next week.