January 2008 - Posts
Hi Folks!
This has been an amazing season. The snowfall has been astonishing – both in quantity (a base depth that has led the country through most of the season) and in quality – epic powder. The 40th anniversary celebration has been fun – we gave away the big 40 year pass on Sunday in front of a big crowd who braved yet another big Mt. Hood storm system. It was quite the scene, and we still have midweek drawings for a 2007/08 season pass Monday through Thursday through January. It’s exciting to see our guests and staff interacting and involved in these fun events.
We’re also promoting safety on the slopes more vigorously this season, with an effort to educate our guests and staff on the seven rules of the Responsibility Code. The MHM mantra – “Live the Code” has become one of the most popular slogans for the season among our guests and staff.
As you may know Meadows won the outstanding guest service award from the National Ski Areas Association last May. We also won a national safety program award from NSAA (National Ski Areas Association) for our “Are You Aware” skier and snowboarder education program. We’ve made no secret of our goal to win those awards again – using it as both a challenge and a measure to our staff to improve in both areas this season.
So I have a question for you. How are we doing? I’d like to get your feedback. What are your observations and experiences at Meadows this season? Anything you noticed that you would consider to be exceptional by a staff member who provided service beyond your expectation? Have you seen any systematic changes at Meadows which have made your experience more convenient or enjoyable?
What areas would you like to see us improve in? I realize that I’m opening us up for some criticism here which is OK, but I would appreciate it if you offered it constructively, and included a suggestion for improvement, how the problem or issue could be resolved, mitigated or eliminated.
I’m also looking for feedback regarding the “Live the Code” and “Are You Aware” programs. Much of the focus this season has been on boundary management and deep snow issues, because of the nature of our snowfall, but generally, how are we doing in terms of making our guests more aware while on the slopes?
Our intention is to use your comments and feedback to reward and recognize those that have been providing exceptional guest service, and make adjustments to our guest service and safety programs in those areas that need improvement, based on your observations and suggestions.
We are on a journey of continual improvement in all aspects of our operations and you play a key role. If we are successful and win awards again, we will dedicate them to you our guests for helping us to become a company that provides exceptional guest service and safety programs.
Onward!
--Matt
Hi Folks.
I am very pleased to announce that Jackson Hole Chief Operating Officer Tom Spangler will be the new General Manger at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort. Tom has been at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort since August of 1998 as Vice President General Manager, Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure his responsibilities included overseeing all winter and summer operations.
During an exhaustive six-month search for this position, I interviewed more than fifty candidates for the General Manager position. These were executives, managers and directors from ski resorts throughout the United States and Canada. There were many talented, and very well qualified ski resort executives who pursued this position with great interest. But, along with the MHM Director Team, I can assure you that Tom is not only the most qualified candidate in terms of operational expertise, but also the best fit for Mt. Hood Meadows -- our entire team, our guests and our community. Tom has a vast amount of experience in the alpine and nordic recreation industries. He has been directly responsible for operations, expansion projects, USFS relationships, and environmental programs at several major day ski resorts and one destination ski resort in the US. I believe Tom possesses the operational knowledge, leadership skills, innovation, drive, character and passion needed to realize Mt. Hood Meadows’ mission of becoming the ‘Best in the West’ in employee and guest loyalty. I am really excited to have the opportunity to work closely with Tom on site at MHM for the balance of this season and beyond.
Tom is a life-long skier who also snowboards. He has spent his entire career in this industry. He knows first hand what it takes to improve the guest experience, from both guest satisfaction and safety perspectives. With his experience he will help us achieve our guest service and safety initiatives that we have made clear are very important to us. He will be a great mentor for our directors, managers and staff. We are excited to have Tom become a part of our Team as we continue on our journey to build this great resort on spectacular Mt. Hood.
Tom is very excited about joining this team, and helping both Mt. Hood Meadows and Cooper Spur Mt. Resort achieve their full potentials. His experience at Jackson Hole the last nine years will be extremely valuable as we pursue completion of our master plan, guest service and safety initiatives.
I would also like to take this opportunity to again thank you for your input on this blog. Late last summer I posted a blog regarding your thoughts on the qualifications, background and character that MHM's next General Manager should possess to help propel us forward aggressively. At the risk of putting too much pressure on Tom, I don't think you will be disappointed!
As you might expect, Tom has projects that he is finishing up at Jackson Hole, but he will be on-site here at Meadows next month. You'll have plenty of chances to meet him - he'll be on the slopes and in the lodges, learning about our operation and talking to staff and guests.
I hope you'll join me in extending a warm Oregon welcome to Tom as he becomes a key member of the Meadows management team, and thanks again for your input and continued passion for quality recreation at MHM.
Onward!
--Matt
Hi Folks.
Mt. Hood Meadows was one of the first ski resorts to build a terrain park – Park Place was constructed way back during the 1996-97 season. The year prior we built the venues for the inaugural Vegetate event – a boarder cross, half pipe and big air – and knew we needed to have a park for – at that time – mainly snowboarders to freestyle on. We are proud of the tradition and the reputation we have when it comes to building the best terrain features in the west.
So, why with a 104 inch base in the first week of January don’t we have these parks? Incredibly, we have received too much snow too fast to be able to effectively construct quality terrain features quickly. Our incredible crew continues to make good progress, despite the 170 inches of snow we received since December 15. Before that date our crew’s expertise was showcased by building a hugely popular rail park on just 3 feet of base, most of which was harvested from the parking lots. And as I look at the forecast – we’re going to get up to another foot-and-a-half of snow in the next 48 hours. Not exactly your primo park building stretch of weather.
OK. Enough venting. We have an awesome plan and we are working through it. We have begun building the superpipe – pushing huge amounts of snow up out of the gut so that we can tier off the walls. The pipe acts as a natural snow fence during storms so it is likely to fill right back up again after this storm, but we will continue to push the snow out and further sculpt what will be a truly magnificent spectacle of righteous verticality.
It is very important to build the super pipe walls to the correct grade of between 16 and 18 degrees. We build the skier’s left wall, the sunny wall, a little thicker than skiers right wall, the shady wall, to compensate for the melt factor. After we build the walls, we then take a cat through the gut to begin rough shaping the walls. Then we run the almighty Zaugg down the walls so they ride just smooth and rhythmically. Depending on the amount of new snow we receive while building the superpipe, we are aiming to open it by January 10th.
Park Place currently has one butter box, three table tops, and one hip, although we face the same problems constantly battling large amounts of new snow. During these heavy snow cycles, our hardworking crew spends many hours hand digging and re-setting rails. Jumps need to be rebuilt when the landings and take off’s fill in. The Parks crew pretty much starts over during and after every storm -- this is what makes the features not only ride well but makes them easier to properly maintain.
I was looking at the snow conditions at some other resorts across the country. I think I’ll quit whining about the snow, set some dates and work like hell to hit them. So here goes:
The Zoo and Shipyard – Open and continue to maintain and expand features daily.
Rose City – Open and continue to maintain and expand features, perhaps increasing the size of the jumps a bit.
Park Place – Built to completion January 10.
BoarderCross (on Wallflower) – January 10.
Superpipe – January 12.
Forest Park (now on Tamarack) – January 19.
Our Grooming and Parks departments are committed to do their best to meet or beat these deadlines. As always this is dependent on how much snow we receive. I figure we can’t lose. If it keeps snowing we’ll continue to have the best snow in the country. And if it stops we’ll have the best parks in the country. Hopefully, with just a little break in the weather and an enormous effort by our talented and dedicated parks and grooming crews, we’ll have both. So let us know how fun you find the parks and superpipe.
Onward!
--Matt