Snow Industry Insider

Holiday Cheer!

Nick M — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:52:57 +0000

The holidays are upon us, and as I sit here next to my new Avalon double ski travel bag, I can’t stop thinking of shredding pow and parks in Colorado next month. But we all know the holidays are all about spreading the cheer, and even though I was non-stop at work yesterday from 7:30AM to 5:00PM, it was one of the more fullfilling days I’ve had in quite some time. For the past 5 years or so, Toggenburg has used the day before Christmas as an opportunity to give back to the community. By bringing in 2 canned goods or simply making a charitable $5 donation, patrons received an all day lift ticket. Over 2000 tickets were given away yesterday, yielding 3 overflowing truck loads of food and about $300 to the local food shelter. Being a part of this in itself gave me a pretty great feeling, but all the families who came out to ski yesterday were the icing on the cake. Numerous adults made comments about how they haven’t skied in over 15 years, “It’s pretty tough to get out on the slopes in Texas” or “We don’t see this kind of snow in Georgia!” It’s pretty awesome hearing first time skiers come in after a day on the slopes and claim that they “had the best time of my life!” As cliche as it may sound, these little things really made me feel the true spirit of the holidays.

As the day came to an end, however, it was the kids who really topped it all off for me. A mother came up to me asking if we had equipment small enough for her youngest child, who watched her brothers and sisters ski all day from the bottom of the hill. I grabbed the smallest boots and skis we had in the shop, and sure enough, they fit perfectly. Her mom’s expression was priceless, and seeing the two year old hugging the skis as if they were her own, was simply awesome. I know that Toggenburg’s Santa was also a huge hit, as two little girls came in after they were done skiing, searching for the Santa they met earlier out on the hill. I had to tell them that Santa left early for the North Pole, but they were thrilled when I handed them 2 broken candy canes that Santa had left behind. Again, I hate to be cliche, but it’s pretty awesome to see something as mundane as two broken candy canes light up a face. I really do have the best job, ever…

I wouldn’t have this job without the people around me, so I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people who make everything happen. Naturally my family and friends, without them I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today (Thanks for working at Togg for over 20 years Mom!). But just as importantly, I’m incredibly thankful for all the people who help me out in my ambitious ventures at Toggenburg. My park crew is awesome, without you guys the park would not be one of the best in the state. While I was swamped in the shop yesterday, my boy Jack SussBunny headed up the installation of 5 rail features, of which I have heard nothing but rave reviews. It’s nice to know that I can leave these guys to finish up a job and they’ll absolutely kill it. The other group of people I’d like to thank is all the rental shop workers. Though none of them may ever read this, it’s important for everyone to know how hard they work and how much of a help they have been to me in my first year. Without these guys and gals, my life would be way more difficult. So thank you, (caution: yet another cliche to follow) everyone who has helped me along the way and everyone who continues helping me in my journey to better the greatest little ski area in the US, or at least in NY haha.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thanks for reading. Leave comments so I know what you want me to talk about in the future! Time for beers with the family, thanks everyone!

Opening Day

Nick M — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:29:37 +0000

Opening day is easily the most anticipated day of the year for any snow enthusiast. The site of snow guns firing all over the mountain means the new season has finally arrived. What you don’t see is all the work put in by a number of people who get the resort open so you can snag that first chair of the year. On hill maintenance never seems to end, building improvements need to be made, season pass information needs to be processed, the kitchen needs to be prepped, and the list goes on. I could go on for hours if I listed everything that had to be done before the lifts started spinning, so I’ll just focus on the things that my departments are responsible for…

The rental shop, what did I get myself into? This is my first year working in a rental setting, so why not start out as manager and jump right in with little to no training. Solid, let’s do it. But, even with all the stress and learning from my mistakes, I’m absolutely loving it. Who would of thought I could get paid for working on skis and helping people enjoy the sport that I love so much? But back to my main point, the work needed to get done before we open. The biggest task in front of me and my guys is waxing, tuning, and testing EVERY single ski and snowboard in our shop. That’s about 400 pairs of skis and 110 snowboards, awesome. We’ve been at this for about a month now and we’re just getting a view of the finish line. Aside from this obviously huge chore, the shop needs to be cleaned up, fixed up, and painted. Seasonal rentals need to be set up and filed. Group preset rentals need to be put into a computer, organized, and filed. Staff needs to be hired and trained. Customer skis and boards need to be sharpened, waxed, mounted, and adjusted. Reps need to be contacted to update inventories. You might now see why I’m asking myself, “what did I get myself into?” I know, however, that all the work being put in before the season will be well worth it when we help the thousands of renters who will come to the ski area this season.

As for the terrain park, this is more of my comfort zone. I’ve been the terrain park manager at Togg for the past 4 seasons. I’ve been lucky enough to have a great group of guys who have helped me setup, change, and maintain the park every year. Without them practically volunteering their time year after year, Togg would not be able to lay claim to one of the best terrain parks in New York. The biggest task for myself and the park crew is making, repairing, and prepping all the features that will be used in the park during the season. Every feature needs to be sanded and painted. Many need minor repairs such as welding, cutting, and re-skirting. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, many features need major repairs or complete rebuilds. On top of all this, you need to keep the park fresh with new features every season. Other pre-season tasks include maintenance on the park sound system, taking inventories on park signage and safety materials, and scheduling events and finding sponsors. Next year, we will be taking on a huge upgrade of our parks, moving the locations of the two current parks and adding three more! We’re really excited about the project, but the amount of work involved is insane. Hundreds of trees will be cut, earth will be moved, snowmaking will be upgraded, and the sound system has to be moved. Can’t wait for next summer! More info on this project will come in future posts…

All of this work comes together throughout the fall months so that the resort can open once the temperatures drop and the snow flies. Hopefully that gives you a little more of an idea about what goes on at a resort during the off months. So when you get to the mountain for your first day of the season, be sure to thank someone who worked hard to make that opening day possible. Good luck getting first chair, you’ll need it to beat me there! Cheers to the ’09-’10 ski season!

Snow Industry Insider Blog Premise

Nick M — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:05:10 +0000

Hey all, welcome to my first ever blog. If you haven’t already figured it out, this blog is all about the industry I love, the snowsports industry. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to have a career that allowed me to ski as much as possible. Working at a ski area not only allows me to ski all the time, but I’m also surrounded by the sport I love all day. For this reason, I have a hard time calling what I do at the ski area “work”. In the first couple months of my first full time position in the industry, I’ve found myself almost feeling guilty that I’m getting paid to be there. This isn’t because I’m not getting anything done, but rather because I absolutely love the “work” that I take part in each and every day. Whether I’m mounting a pair of bindings, tuning a pair of skis, working on park features, or designing a terrain park, I love what I do.

This blog is a result of the love for my job and the industry that I am a part of. The snowsports industry itself is not a particularly easy industry to get yourself into. Without strong connections and a lot of experience, it’s actually rather difficult to get your foot in the door. Throughout my college career, I searched for my dream job within the snowsports industry. Regional marketing director for Head, design engineer for K2, the list goes on. Little did I know that my best option was right back home at the very hill that I learned to ski on. Ultimately, I’m thrilled with my position at Toggenburg, but it took me four years and a lot of headaches before I figured it all out. In future posts, I’ll share things that I’ve learned about the industry and the experiences that I’ve had in my career search and the short time I’ve spent in the industry thus far. I hope that this blog will become a valuable tool to kids who are hoping to get into this great industry. I also hope to shed some light on things that happen behind the scenes at ski areas that many ski and board enthusiasts may not know about, but should. With that said, if there is anything that you’re particularly interested in hearing about, let me know and I’d be more than happy to tell you everything I can about it. Thanks for checking out this first post and I hope you’ll come back for more!

As a ski film-making legend once put it about working in this industry, “I got to travel to fantastic places, and share experiences with a lot of great people. As a result, I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life.” Cheers Warren.

Nick