Stowe Week 2

Friday I was with administration. I got a perfect day for this because Fridays are the days where all of the managers (head honchos) have a meeting lead by Scott Reeves. This week was important because Chardis (company that owns Stowe Mountain Resort) will be at the resort all of next week, there also will be the Eastern State Cup Race Finals in the upcoming week. The managers were stressing out a little and making sure everything is planned accordingly and effectively. Certain lifts need to be open at earlier times for the racers and groomers will have to groom accordingly for the race and all of the netting that needed to be properly placed on the trail so that the groomer has an edge marker. Communication is needed everywhere and key to running a successful resort. Stowe has these meetings every single Friday and other days if needed...management is run very smoothly at Stowe. Reeves talked about the upcoming project that will happen this summer. Last summer was a lift construction year this year is a snowmaking improvement year. Stowe will add 16 SMI pole cat fan guns, 318 HKD tower guns, and about 20 miles of new snowmaking pipe to the resort...thats a lot of metal. Is there a way to sustain this? Reeves also talked numbers in the meeting. This year Stowe's revenue is down 1% and they are 5-7% over budget on diesel fuel. So Scott told them to think twice before making a trip because every gallon counts. The good thing about Stowe is that it has a special bank in New York that they can take money out if needed and then payback in the future. I want to find out about the other ways on why Stowe is extremly wealthy. Meetings may be boring sometimes but they are really interesting and very important for making sure that all employees are on the same page.
Saturday was probably the best practicum day so far. I got to work lift mechanics.  I started out at the top of the Sunny Quad on Spruce with Lind-say Hill (electrician/mechanic) There was a little bit of ice on the grips which was causing a space malfunction and making the lift stop. Sam and Geoff were at the bottom terminal trying to get the ice off while Hill and I were testing all the switches in the top terminal. Hill took a mallet and hit every tire to check for air. Its a good thing he did that because one of the tires were flat and would not have pushed the chair around the terminal. I took a skinny bar and tested every zone deflector around the terminal. The deflector should be standing up straight and get knocked down if the grip is not properly in place in the zone its in. I would flick the deflector down and then back up to see if it is still functioning. It is very important that the lift mechanics do these tests EVERY morning before opening the lift because safety is number one to our guests. The lift mechanic must tell mountain dispatch that the "blah blah" chair is ready to be loaded. Dispatch will then make the announcement to all radio stations saying, "The blah blah lift is now open and loading the public." Communication! Once all of the lifts were on and spinning Sam and I were with Geoff Myles who was a lift mechanic that just started this past summer. (funny thing is he is from the town next to my hometown and his home mountain is Pats Peak)...small world. Geoff brought us into every single lift terminal at Stowe. It was awesome because we got to snowboard around all day and see what a lift mechanics usual day job is. I'm not going to explain on how the lifts run. I took Jacks class for that...anyways every lift uses the same type of technology to make a lift work, but different maufacturers tweek things in their own way. The strangest lift I saw was the lookout lift. The chairs had to grips. Where a grip would normally be was metal that stuck right into the rope between the strands. That seems like a quicker way to wear out the rope and cause problems, but hey its a part of history. Geoff had to check in with the lift operator and ask if everything is going ok. The mechanic also has to sign a paper in the shack to show that he was there. Lift mechanics rarely interact with the guests, but the lift ops interact with them all day long. The operator must rake/shovel the ramp so that the guests can load and unload safetly.
No break downs happened that day which is great, but it would of been cool to see how Geoff would respond to a broken down lift. Next week should be interesting with Chardis in town.

Stowe Week 1

For the first week at Stowe we worked with the terrain park staff. Personally I am not a big fan of terrain parks, but Stowe's parks have creative features that many guests can enjoy, and parks are a very popular part of the industry. Friday we had to set up features in the North Slope park. Kurt, park manager & designer, would drive the cat with a rail feature on the forks of the plow. The park crew would then hold the feature in place while Kurt pushes/scraps snow around it so that it is securely in the snow. He would then push snow to the front of the feature for the lip. Then backing up using the plow to form the takeoff jump. The crew would then shovel and rake the jump, around the feature, and the landing so that everything is square and smooth. Stowe put in a huge bus that was at Okemo. We raked all around the bus and then tested it out. It was a pretty sweet feature that I liked hitting even though I'm not a park rider.
Saturday we started out by raking the features in the mini park. The grooming from over night messes some of the features up so we have to resquare the takeoffs and level out any snow that builds up around the feature. Park staff life isn't so bad. Rake, ride, rake, ride. The raking and spray painting around the lip are very important because it keeps the feature safe and looking "BA"
In the afternoon we headed over to the bag check on Spruce side and worked with the Mercedes vendor. Mercedes had 3 vehicles that could be test driven by anyone who has a valid license and who is at least 21. The test drivers would get 2 lift tickets to Stowe after returing the keys. Our job was to escort the test driver to the vehicle and show them how the car works. One guy had a car out for about 45 minutes. The test drive should only take 15-20 minutes. They were about to call the cops, but he returned before doing so. Next week Drew might test drive a car so we might get passes..that would be sweet.
Mike gave us an overview of what we'd be doing next week, I'll be doing administration and lift mechanics. Sounds like another exciting weekend to come.

Jay Peak Week 5

Today was sadley, our last day working at Jay. I started out in the Nordic center shadowing Tiffany, the manager, of what her job is. She gives out lessons, snowshoe rentals, cross country rentals, and guided snowshoe tours in the moonlight. The Nordic center may not be a big profit maker to the resort, but it is just another service offered at the mountain. Big events such as high school races happen on the course. Some people enjoy that activety and it is very popular in Canadian resorts. Tiffany must be patient and friendly to every guest that comes in because most of them never have been there before. She gave clear directions on where to hike on the map. The snow has been lacking, but in the woods the trails are really nice. Tiffany and other employees must groom the trails. The groomer cat is similar to the big ones on the hill, but it is much narrower so it can travel through all areas of the nordic trails. If their is thin cover the cat cannot get the job done, it can chew up the ground which is the golf course in the summer. If that is the case, the old pull groomer must get the job done. I cross country skied a few of the trails picking up any branches or trash in the trail. It was a peaceful morning. Once I came back, Tiffany showed future nordic expansion and also told me general resort expansion. New trails were just added this season to the nordic center and they plan to extend those trails out when the west bowl expansion is done. Also building more condos where you can ski and showshoe to your condo. Ski/ride all day, splash in the evening, showshoe/cross country ski in the monnlight to your condo...that sounds like a fun day to me. Tiffany also told me that the stateside lodge will be taken down and a new lodge, ski school, rental shop, and recreation facility with indoor trampolines will be put there. The Bonnie quad will be taken out and put where the Jet triple is and the Jet will be on another part of the mountain mainly servicing terrian parks. A six pack bubble detach will be put where the slow Bonnie is currently spinning. Jay Peak is well on their way to being a colossal, national destination.
In the afternoon I worked in the Ice Haus. There was not much going on today, but the weekend had a tournament and raffle prizes. I picked up some trash and got a tour of all the locker rooms and maintenance rooms. I found out that the ice haus heats the waterpark...thats interesting. A good way to be sustainable instead of installing a whole heating unit for the park. The ice haus also had a shop where you could buy sticks, hockey gear, Jay Peak clothing, stickers, and other small goods to attract customers. Another roomer I heard is that another ice haus will be put over on west bowl side. I am very interested into seeing what happens at Jay within the next decade. Looking forward to be working at Stowe for the next rotation.

Jay Peak Week 4

Friday, I was working in the lift ops department. I started out at the flyer (detach) and started pushing 90% of the chairs out of the barn. It is an everyday operation before the lift can run. Every lift also needs to be running earlier in the morning that way they can make sure that all the switches are working and safe to load, because the second a guests feet leave the ground, the resort is liable until they unload the lift. Lift ops employees working a detachable lift is a laid back job. One will stand near the buttons in case of emerengy and be friendly to the loading guest while the other employee would stand on the inside of the RFID gate holding a small computer that shows if the customers ticket is a season pass or an adult, junior, or senior ticket. Season pass holders would come up with a picture so you could tell if it is them or not. A lift op that catches someone using someone elses pass gets $100...that's a pretty sweet deal. The lifties also had a rotating system that will let them catch a run or two throughout the day (depending on the crowd). A good way to keep an employee happy and on their feet at work.
In the afternoon I headed up to the tram. The lift head honcho and the lady that always work the tram were their eating lunch and she has to count 55 guests to load the tram each time. I checked out some of the controls used to run the tram, but I wasn't their for long. The head honcho sent me to the Jet triple because they were short a man. Employees at a fixed grip job is a little different. One employee must swing the chair around the bullwheel so that the guest can safely be seated on the chair. It keeps it from being a hard wack on the shines which can cause people to fall and get injuries. The other employee would be doing the same RFID computer ticket checking. I was checking out the system and there is a statistic button. I could see how many times a customer passed through each gate and the total for the day. Last saturday the Jet had about 7200 custmers just on that one lift. Friday by the time I left for the day the lift had 2600 people...big jump on the weekends. One liftie was talking about how eventually every guest will be able to log onto a computer and check where they skied/rode, and how many runs they did. That sounds like an awesome idea. It would help get accurate statsistics for the mountain administration and the guests. Win win.
Saturday, I worked ski patrol. There was a bordercross event that we needed to set up on the "720 Park" which was the lower part on stateside. We started out by setting up the fencing around corners, high rollers, and areas that the guest had potential to get hurt if they slipped out (its been pretty icy). The patrol manager Brian had to think where those potential spots were and direct us where to put the fence. Then we set up all the gates and got ready for the race to start. My job was at the finish line. Brian would talk to me over the radio saying if he needs just the 1st place, 1st & 2nd, or 1st 2nd and 3rd, depending on the particular heat. I had to make sure the competitor cleared the last gates and get their bib number so that I could tell Brian the place order. We also had to make sure that the course was safe and clear to send the next heat. Once the race was over we immediately broke down the course. Once we were finished taking all the gates down I headed over to ski school. They had nothing for me so I rode...late in the afternoon the edge of the trail is the only slightly safe place to ride. Its deathly in the center, accidents are much higher this year due to the lack of snow. Lets hope we get some soon.

Jay Peak Week 3

On Friday Jay Peak had 700 guests coming in on buses from Toronto, Canada. Our job was to help unload the buses and assist the guests to Jays shuttle buses. I was with Tom Howel, director of sercurities and parking, and we had to go to the Canadian border because 2 of the buses drivers did not follow their duty. One of the drivers bought alcohol and could not bring it passed the border because he is a commercial driver, if he had patience and waited until he was at the Jay hotel, he would be able to purchase alcohol. The other driver had a criminal record that would not allow him into the U.S. so the DMV officer at the border had to escort him to a hotel. (talk about embarrasment on that bus company). At least at Jay Peak the guests will be welcomed and treated the way they should be with no hassle or confusion.
On Saturday I worked in the Pumphouse Waterpark that holds 300,000 gallons of water. The water gets recycled and cleaned all year. Most of the day I was shadowing Jason Bays who is the lifeguard supervisor and manager. Safety is the most important part of the waterpark. The park will have about 25 lifeguards on duty scanning every single area where guests are swimming. The lifeguards must pass the training that Jay Peak does at the beginning of the season following the Ellis and Associates lifeguard program. Once they pass that training they are cleared to go and guard a specific area of the park. The lifeguard supervisors (Jason, Amanda, Scott) go around to every lifeguard making sure that everything is going ok and that they have their water bottle with them because it gets extremely hot in there and they already have had 1 lifeguard pass out on the job from dehydration this season. Jason is also handling any questions or incidents that happen with the guests. Common incidents are locker malfunctions, directions, injuries, and other general info that a customer may need. Jason also controls employee payroll and scheduling. They use a program called "When to Work" where every employee can sign in, see their hours, messages, trade shifts with other employees, and request a certain date off. If an employee wants a date off they will make it and any other employee can claim those hours, but the employee that is scheduled must work unless they make a trade. I thought the program was very cool and would make every departments life easier if they all used that program. If everyone used that program the mountain administration would have no problem checking out every departments payroll and costs. Looking forward to seeing what changes in the park and management thoughout the years because things are never 100% perfect when a new attraction is built.

Jay Peak Week 2

On Friday I was supposed to be working in guest services and food&beverage. The weather was bad and icy so we could not make it. On Saturday I was in the Tram Haus Lodge observing people check in and out of the lodge. The lodge doesn't do anything out of the way for safety, the hotel has a fire system, housekeeping, inspected elevator, and the lisence to operate that expires every November, so the inspectors have to come in yearly before the ski season kicks off to make sure everything is safetly operating.
As far as the service for our guests, the hotel provides valet parking and they have employees that will bring the luggage to their room. The employees must be patient and friendly to all of the guests even though some of them may be difficult or not in a good mood.
For sustainability, the keys for their room is also their lift ticket. The RFID cards saves them from printing out tickets and key cards. The RFID cards are also erased when the guest leaves so that the same card could be used again. Each card is about $2.00 so it would add up quickly if you had to order more every time.
The hotel managment must keep everything on file so that they have the correct information for billing and what rooms are vacant. Their is a computer system that the front desk employee can use to check what rooms are vacant or occupied. VD means "Vacant Dirty". VC means "Vacant Clean" OD means "Occuiped Dirty". The housekeepers will change VD to VC when they are finished cleaning the room. That way the front desk employee can assign a room number to a new guest coming in.

Jay Peak Week 1

On the first day we met up with Tom McGrail. He gave us our schedules and told us a good overview of what we'd be doing here. We got a quick tour around the lodges and got to see the pump house up in action. Then we boarded the tram and shredded the pow. It was nice to be riding in the trees again.
On Saturday we were put to work. The rental shop may not be everyones preffered department to work in, but its an important one. Just in that one shop people are coming in and out all throughout the day. Getting rentals, returning them, boots are not feeling right after a run, somethings breaks, attemping to get deals/discounts, and other small things that keep the employees on their feet. It gives a pretty good contribute to the resorts profit. The shop isn't a huge contribute to sustainablilty, but all of their Burton LTR equipment users a safe plastic, and they also rent and reuse.
An employee that can test skies before giving it out to every skiing customer must be certified. That makes sure every guest is safe with the proper equipment. The snowboareds have safe Burton LTR strap-in bindings, so the leases are not needed anymore. All of the employees must work as a team to get the customer all of their equipment. The cashier would hand down the form to the boot person who would find the proper size in stock and then give one boot to the customer to make sure it fits. The other  boot was giving to the next employee would looked at the height and weight so that he/she could get the correct skies or board. Then they would use that boot to make sure it is properly adjusted and mounted. The employees must smile and be patient to all of our guests because most of the crowd will be beginners.
From the management side of things, Jason and Rebecca must make sure that the whole shop is running smoothly and correctly. The managers have a budget, just like every other department. The shop has to order new equipment every five years. That is the maxium amount of years they are allowed to use it. Equipment, tools, and wax for the repair shop is also part of the shops budget. They also have to take inventory of all of the equipment and file the form to make sure everyone returns the equipment.
 Doing payroll for all of the employees is another task that needs to be done daily. The manager would check the punch in/out clock and make sure that the employees are doing that properly, and when to go on break. If its a slow day the manager will have to send a couple people home so that payroll doesn't get high.
The managers and employees are pretty laid back and have a great sense of humor when appropriate. I think you'll see that in many departments.