There are many polarizing topics in the world today, so we decided to tackle one of the thorniest ones for this mission: backpack speakers. And, as a polarizing topic, we couldn’t only come at it from one side—we had to see what staffers said to a backpack-speaker lover AND a backpack-speaker hater.

Yes, questions of whether backpack speakers are allowed may seem inconsequential. However, if a guest’s behavior—in this case, the choice to play their music for all to hear—can impact the experience for others, it deserves some attention by resort staffers. And whether backpack speakers make you nod your head like yeah or shake your fist like meh, we can all agree that it’s important to be respectful of your fellow skiers and riders, and encourage our guests to do the same.

Question on your mind? Send it to jordyn@saminfo.com for the Spy to pose to other mountains! We won’t tell anyone it came from you.

QUESTION ONE: “I have a speaker backpack but at the last place I skied some people questioned whether I was allowed to have it, so I’m calling to check if I can ski with it here.”

MOUNTAIN 1, MN

First Contact: Female.

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: What are you asking? (oh, snippy)

SAM: If I could bring my speaker backpack on the hill.

Staff: What is that?

SAM: It’s a backpack with a speaker that plays music.

Staff: Umm, I have never been asked that question. Can I put you on hold and see?

SAM: Yep.

(on hold)

Staff: Thank you so much for holding. So, we do have a policy about not wearing backpacks on the chairlift. You need to take off the backpack and put it on your lap when you are riding the lift. As far as music, as long as it is family friendly and not obnoxious or distracting to others there should be no problem with it.

SAM: OK, great.

Staff: (now cheerful) Yeah, just make sure it’s not obnoxious or has profanities in the music. And you have to put it in your lap when you ride the lifts.

SAM: Yes, that makes sense. I will make sure it’s family friendly. Thank you for your help.

Staff: You’re welcome! Goodbye.

Score: 5

Comment: The call started out rocky with her having a bad attitude, but it quickly turned around. I appreciate her finding the right answer for me and explaining the rules so there will be no confusion when I arrive at the resort.

MOUNTAIN 2, VT

First Contact: Male. (sounds bored)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Sure, that’s fine. With backpacks on the slopes, you just need to take your backpack off before you get on the lift. You can hold onto it or … (long pause) have it sit on your lap.

SAM: OK, great. Is there anything else I should know?

Staff: No, just make sure (yawn) the music isn’t inappropriate.

SAM: OK, so radio-friendly music?

Staff: Yep.

SAM: Great, thank you.

Staff: Yep, have a good one. Bye.

Score: 5

Comment: Come on, dude, get a little pep in your step! It’s good that he knew the policy, but seriously, don’t yawn in the middle of a phone call.

MOUNTAIN 3, PA

First Contact: Female.

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Umm, what?

SAM: Is it OK if I bring my speaker backpack out on the hill?

Staff: Umm, let me see.

(on hold for 10 minutes)

Staff: Yeah, that’s fine.

SAM: OK. Are there any rules I should be aware of?

Staff: Well, (getting testy now) obviously it needs to be family friendly.

SAM: OK. I will make sure that it is.

Staff: But other than that, you should be fine (sounding annoyed).

SAM: OK, thank you.

Staff: Yep. Goodbye.

Score: 1

Comment: Well, that was off-putting. After making someone wait on hold for at least 10 minutes, I don’t think she’s allowed to be the snippy one. Pro tip: smile when talking to guests on the phone. It makes a big difference in your tone.

MOUNTAIN 4, UT

First Contact: Female.

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: (politely) I haven’t heard of that not being a thing. Hold on, please.

SAM: Thank you.

(on hold, briefly)

Staff: (sounding excited) Yep, that’s totally fine!

SAM: OK, great. Is there anything I should know or be aware of?

Staff: Um, no you shouldn't have any issues out there.

SAM: Alright, thank you.

Staff: You’re welcome. Goodbye.

Score: 8 

Comment: Refreshingly chipper, double-checked with someone else to get the answer, and gave me the greenlight to rock the socks off my fellow skiers and riders. Positive interactions don’t have to be long.

Identity Revealed: Brighton Resort

QUESTION TWO: “I’ve been skiing recently when other people had music playing loudly from their backpacks, and it was disruptive and intrusive. Do you allow people to play music on speakers in their backpacks?”

MOUNTAIN 1, NY

First Contact: Female. (sounds upbeat and friendly)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Um, it is common. But I guess if it was ever too loud or becomes a problem, we’d definitely want to know about it. I have heard it when I’ve been out there.

SAM: OK, gotcha.

Staff: It definitely does happen. But if was too loud it would be fine for us to know about it so we could let the individual know if it was disruptive to anyone else.

SAM: Who would I say something to? Lift attendant or a patroller?

Staff: Yeah, a patroller or a lift attendant—whoever was closest by.

SAM: Sounds good. I hate to be a curmudgeon, but you know …

Staff: (laughs) No, it’s OK! We definitely don’t want anyone to be disruptive, and we want you to have a great experience.

SAM: Cool. Thanks!

Staff: You’re welcome. Bye.

Score: 7

Comment: She was super nice and fairly empathetic, all the while not totally wanting to turn against the backpack-speaker people with any kind of heavy hand, which is fine.

MOUNTAIN 2, NC

First contact: Female. (asks how she can help, but doesn’t mean it)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Umm, so, we don’t really have, like, a speaker policy? … Um, I haven’t, really, heard of any issues, like, of people complaining.

SAM: OK. That’s good.

Staff: But, um, if you do happen to find yourself in that situation, you’re welcome to tell a lift attendant and, you know, see if they’ll do anything about it (she can’t be serious). But we don’t have any, like, rules against it or what not.

SAM: Right on. You know, I love music. Just when it’s blasting in a lift line it’s not ideal.

Staff: Yeah, if it’s bothering you, you’re welcome to tell the lift attendant and they can decide if they’re going to do something.

SAM: Alrighty. Thanks very much! How’s the snow, by the way?

Staff: What do you mean, how’s the snow?

SAM: Um, uh, like, how are the conditions? Do you guys have snow?

Staff: Yeah, we’re open and operational.

SAM: Well, that’s good news! Thanks again.

Staff: Yup. Bye.

Score: 3

Comment: So, if one is having a bad time at this place due to the behavior of other guests, the advice is to tell the lift attendants and “see if they’ll do anything about it.” Thanks. I’m sure that’ll go a long way. And I had to include the last part, just because. Omg.

MOUNTAIN 3, OR

First contact: Female. (sounds nice)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Um, generally, when they’re out on the mountain and on the lifts and stuff, we do let them have their own audio devices.

SAM: OK. What if the music wasn’t, like, appropriate (explained past experiences again).

Staff: Gotcha. Then, usually for stuff like that when direct action needs to be taken, especially when it’s inappropriate music, you’ll want to notify one of the lifties because they’re actually the ones who can be like, ‘hey, that’s inappropriate, can you please not …’ and then give them the warning. And the lifties would report repeated actions like that to the patrollers.

SAM: So, the patrollers are the ones to ultimately make the decision.

Staff: Yeah, patrollers would be the ones to say they can’t do that, give us your pass, or eff off. I mean, obviously if people are misusing it then it should be reported.

SAM: Right on. Thanks very much.

Staff: You’re welcome. Have a wonderful day.

Score: 6

Comment: Not the most empathetic, but certainly made it clear that there are in fact consequences for disrespectful whippersnappers who blast their inappropriate music.

MOUNTAIN 4, WI

First Contact: Female. (already sounds like she’s ready to transfer me)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: Um. Can you repeat what the issue is?

SAM: Yeah, folks playing loud music from speakers in their backpacks. It happened recently at another ski area and I found it to be intrusive, like in the lift line and I wound up on a chair with one of them. So, I’m wondering if you guys allow people to do that.

Staff: So, yeah. It is allowed. (awkward pause)

SAM: OK. Um. What if the music is disruptive or inappropriate? Can something be said or is it just what it is?

Staff: Umm. Let me put you on hold and I can go ask.

SAM: Thank you. (on hold)

Staff: Hi, are you still there?

SAM: I am!

Staff: OK, I can transfer you to one of my managers and you can tell him about this issue.

SAM: Sounds good. Thank you.

(transferred to a full voicemail box, hung up)

Score: 2 

Comment: “Suck it up, buttercup!” That’s what she wanted to say. No matter how trivial the complaint, have some empathy. And it’s good to transfer me to someone who knows the answer, but please check if they’re available first (and manager, empty your voicemail).

MOUNTAIN 5, CA

First Contact: Female. (sounds confident and polite)

SAM: Stated question.

Staff: You know, I don’t want to say yes or no because this is my first season here, but I will say that [resort] is definitely more family oriented. That’s what we’re known for, so I would assume ski patrol would not want that behavior happening. But, I would also say that it probably depends on complaints. So, if nobody is saying anything, then ski patrol may not do anything about it. But if people are coming up and saying this wasn’t a very pleasant experience, we have children and there was profanity in the music, you know, then that would be a concern. So, I definitely want to make note of this because I don’t know if any of the other representatives have gotten calls about this—so, thank you for bringing this to our attention!

SAM: Oh, geez. I’m so that guy right now.

Staff: No, not at all! We’re a family resort and we need to know about this kind of thing. So, let me talk to my manager, and to ski patrol, and have them look out for things like that because we want to promote, like—if you’re gonna have music playing, play some Jack Johnson or something nice and positive.

SAM: There ya go. I can get down with that.

Staff: Right? Honestly, I ride with a speaker in my backpack sometimes, but it’s never super loud and I try to make sure it’s always good, uplifting music. But now, I definitely want to be more aware of who’s around, how loud it is, what kind of music is playing—so I’m glad that you called in. And it’ll help to make us more aware as a resort.

SAM: Well, that’s awesome. I really appreciate it. Thanks!

Staff: Hey, we appreciate you calling. Have a great day!

Score: 10

Comment: Nailed it! She took my feedback and genuinely sounded invested in improving the guest experience. And there’s a lot of value in being told, “I’m glad you called in.” I’m glad I called, too.

Identity revealed: Soda Springs