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SLIDE WITH RESPECT

Do guests feel safe on our slopes?

Fort Lewis College, Colo., set out to answer that question and others in a fall 2022 survey as part of its ongoing Slide with Respect project. The project emerged after beloved ski instructor Ron LeMaster was killed in an on-hill collision at Eldora, Colo., and is part of an effort to understand and, ultimately, improve safety-related messaging and behavior on the hill. Topline findings from this first survey (additional research is forthcoming) offer interesting perspectives about how respondents perceive on-slope safety.

The findings come with an asterisk: The survey used non-probability sampling (because random sampling was not available), meaning that “generalizations from [the] sample to the broader population cannot be made,” according to the report. As in, the data can only be used to characterize the survey’s specific sample of snowsliders. 

While the final sample size of the survey was robust, with more than 4,300 respondents, the narrowness of the survey audience limits the utility of the findings. The typical respondent is an older (about 68 percent Baby Boomers and Gen X), longtime (15+ years), expert (50 percent), frequent (about 71 percent slide 16+ days) skier (88 percent) from Colorado (nearly half of respondents). 

The data are not broken down based on generation or other dimensions, but rather show overall trends across the sample—which is to say, results skew toward that older, expert participant’s perspective. 

Nonetheless, the survey tells us something about how long-time, frequent participants feel about slope safety. That has value. Older, expert participants in general account for a lot of skier visits, and their attitudes toward safety influence how often and where they ski (according to this survey). 

Slope density is generally higher in the East and Midwest than in Colorado, and collisions are likely to be on the minds of older skiers in those regions, too. So, if the survey respondents feel that safety is a growing concern, resorts might want to address that. 

The Data

What does the survey tell us about its sample of snowsliders? 

A majority of the respondents (61 percent) have experienced a collision over the course of their lifetime. Of that majority, most respondents experienced more than one collision, some of which required medical attention.

Reckless behavior. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that 98 percent of respondents said they have witnessed reckless snowsliding behavior, and that they believe the problem is worsening—90 percent said they feel reckless behavior is as much or more of an issue today compared with their past experiences.

More surprisingly, 59 percent of respondents admitted to having engaged in reckless snowsliding behavior themselves. Still, significant proportions of the group agree that they tend to obey “slow” signs and approach intersections with caution, and strongly disagree that they are likely to slide out of control.

Are those perpetuating reckless behavior, then, folks who are underrepresented in the sample? Do collisions happen regardless of the behavior of those in this sample? Or, is it those instances when skiers/riders ignore the safety rules that they get into collisions? That would be nice to know.

Ski area communications. The “ski area communications and expectations” section of the survey says something about both ski areas’ communication of rules and expectations as well as how our most frequent older guests view themselves.

Asked to share the extent to which they agree or disagree that ski areas do a great job of communicating rules and expectations—for a respondent’s most frequently visited ski area, and for ski areas in general—a majority responded that they’re either in the middle or disagree. 

Yet, a vast majority think they’ve been well educated on rules and expectations, and an overwhelming majority think they have a solid understanding of on-hill etiquette. 

So, were ski areas better at communicating rules when these participants were younger? Or, as people who ski/ride a lot and identify as experts, do they just think they know it all? That would be nice to know, too.

When it comes to the validity of the data, said NSAA president and CEO Kelly Pawlak, “Our primary concern is that the sample was narrow, and we agree with the disclaimer that the sample was not broad enough to draw reliable conclusions about the overall skiing public.” NSAA attended several conference calls with the market research class that compiled the survey, conducted the outreach, and presented the results.

“It is very hard to conduct a survey with broad input without help from ski areas who can contact a wide variety of guests,” Pawlak added.

Next Steps

Dr. Tomasz Miaskiewicz, associate professor of marketing at Fort Lewis College who is spearheading the project with outdoor industry veteran Marty Grabijas, and his students plan to conduct additional, more focused research this fall.

Safety messaging. A spring 2023 class used the findings of the fall 2022 survey as market research to inform ideas for safety marketing campaigns and messaging. Colorado Ski Country USA president and CEO Melanie Mills served as a mentor for this phase of the project. She got involved, in part, because “fresh ideas on safety are always welcome,” she told SAM. 

“I think the title, Slide with Respect, is a great concept and tagline,” said Mills. “It has some legs, and it’s a great teaching vehicle for students.”

Mills worked with students to translate the data into effective safety messaging that could be tethered to “Your Responsibility Code.” She was optimistic both about the creativity and skills of the students as well as their desire to engage anew with safety messaging. “There were a couple of really good ideas that we are going to circle back on with Tom [Miaskiewicz] and the students,” she said, adding that some of the students’ work might ultimately find a home on the CSCUSA website.

Bottom line. However incomplete, the survey offers the best insights we have seen to date on guest perceptions of on-slope safety. It is not the last word on the subject (and it will be interesting to see how the research dials down in subsequent phases), but it opens the conversation in a somewhat informed way. To echo Mills, new information and fresh ideas about safety should be welcome in the industry. We hope that the initial results encourage resorts across the country to help Fort Lewis conduct its next phase of research this fall.

The high-level findings from the survey can be found at slidewithrespect.com/research. 

ANOTHER RECORD BREAKER

The numbers are (mostly) in, and it was another record-breaking year for the U.S. ski industry as ski areas tallied a whopping 64.7 million skier visits and counting—beating last year’s record by 6.6 percent—according to preliminary data from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). NSAA planned to update numbers as ski areas that extended their seasons closed for winter operations.

The total was well above operators’ average estimates in an unofficial SAM poll in April, when only 6 percent of respondents said U.S. ski areas would total more than 63 million skier visits in 2022-23 (see “A Season of More Ups Than Downs?”, SAM, May 2023).

Why the discrepency? It seems many believed extreme weather (too much snow or too little) would have a greater negative impact on visitation than it did. While the Midwest and Southeast did report small decreases in visitation this year, almost everywhere else was up.

Consider the Northeast, which faced warm temps and little snowfall until March. New Hampshire ski areas tallied more than 2.2 million visits, an increase of 13 percent over the previous season. Vermont’s 4.1 million skier visits were 3.6 percent more than the state’s 10-year average. And Maine, with 1.37 million visits, had its second best season on record, behind only 2007-08. (Honorable mention: Quebec, which is not included in U.S. ski totals, posted its best season in 16 years with 6.6 million visits.)

Capital investments in snowmaking  are due some credit for the strong season,  according to several state associations.  (Overall 2022-23 capital investment—mostly in lift infrastructure—reached a record high of $812.4 million.) Season passes, which outpaced day-ticket visitation nationally for the fourth year in a row, also likely helped insulate resorts from weather-related variablity. 

Snowfall still plays a major role in visitation, of course. New Hampshire visitation spiked in March and April following an uptick in natural snow. Cold temps and abundant snowfall bouyed business in Colorado, which reported a new statewide record of 14.8 million skier visits. Utah’s 15 ski areas—12 of which broke their all-time snowfall records—combined to beat last season’s skier-visit record by 1.3 million, notching a robust 7.1 million skier visits for winter 2022-23. 

Importantly, the number of unique participants—a far too understated indicator of industry health—grew to an all-time high of 10.7 million.

Good news abounds.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Peter SantiniPeter Santini joined ASPENWARE as vice president of finance and operations. Santini previously spent 13 years at Aspen Skiing Company in various roles, including finance manager, director of business development, managing director of strategic planning, and most recently, vice president of strategic planning.

SNOW PARTNERS named Frank DeBerry its new president. A 32-year ski industry veteran, DeBerry most recently served as COO of Alterra Mountain Company’s four West Coast resorts and president of Crystal Mountain, Wash.

The company also promoted Jeff Boliba, COO of its software division SnowCloud, to the newly formed role of chief growth officer. Boliba will oversee strategic partnerships and future growth across SNOW Partners’ businesses.

ACCESSO TECHNOLOGY GROUP acquired Paradocs Mountain Software. Paradocs’ mountain management solution, MtnOS, joined accesso’s existing product portfolio as accesso Paradox.

PEOPLE

Matthew DarbousIn the West, Matthew Darbous was named as president and COO of Crystal Mountain, Wash. ... Troy Cohee was promoted to director of operations for China Peak, Calif. … Belinda Trembath is now vice president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. … Jordan Adams was named as food and beverage director at Brundage Mountain, Idaho.

Lauren BurkeJohn Merriman was selected as the new president and general manager of Mt. Bachelor, Ore., and Lauren Burke was hired as Mt. Bachelor director of marketing and communications. … Matt Davies was appointed president and GM of Cypress Mountain, B.C.

Taos Ski Valley, N.M., promoted John Kelly to chief operating officer. … Bobby Murphy was appointed as vice president and COO of Beaver Creek, Colo. 

Emma LapriseIn the East, Darren Winslow joined Saddleback Mountain, Maine, as CFO. … Emma Laprise was appointed sustainability coordinator of Pleasant Mountain, Maine. … Bolton Valley, Vt., welcomed Eric DesLauriers as its new mountain operations director.

In Australia, Nathan Butterworth was appointed vice president and general manager of Perisher Ski Resort.

AWARDS

NSAA named its annual award winners at the association’s national convention in May. Among them: former Alterra Mountain Company leader Rusty Gregory was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award; retired insurance expert Bo Adams received the Industry Impact Award; Jeff Grasser, Copper Mountain, Colo., was named the Hero of Sustainability; and Dempsey Mendrzycki of Mountain Creek and Big SNOW, N.J., and Shelley Ekman of Snowbasin, Utah, were named as Safety Champions.

Big SNOW American Dream, N.J., won the Conversion Cup; and Winter Park, Colo., and Schweitzer, Idaho, were recognized for Best Overall Marketing Campaign (over 500k visits and under 500k visits, respectively).

Jana GainorThe Canada West Ski Areas Association recognized several members at its spring conference: Leitner Poma Canada’s Pat Boyle received the Jim Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award; Wayne Wiltse, Whistler Blackcomb, B.C., was recognized with the Rod Chisholm Operations and Maintenance Award; and Jana Gainor, GM of Murray Ridge, B.C., received the Lars Fossberg Excellence Award.

Tom Bates (left) accepting award.Ski New Hampshire recognized Tom Bates with the Whitney Award for outstanding contribution to the industry, Peter Hendel with the Merrill Award for outstanding contribution to cross-country, and James Nelson with the NextGen Award for young professionals. 

Ski Vermont recognized Dave Moulton, Bill Nupp, and Win Smith with Industry Achievement Awards, Ralph DesLauriers with the Founders Award, and Michael Synder and Bo Adams with Friends of the Industry Awards. 

Katie BrintonThe North American Snowsports Journalists Association named its annual award winners: freeskier Glen Plake received the Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award; World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin was recognized as the Paul Robbins Outstanding Competitor of the Year; Mary Jo Tarallo received the Mitch Kaplan Award, presented to the individual whose work and spirit best captures the enthusiasm and dedication of the late Mitch Kaplan; and April Whitney recieved the Bob Gillen Award honoring an individual corporate member’s contributions to snowsports journalism. There were also six Hirsch Award for Excellence in Journalism winners: Dan Egan and Eric Wilbur; Daniel Gibson; Nicole Feliciano; Dino Vournas; and SAM senior editor Katie Brinton for “Fire on the Mountain” published in the January 2022 issue of SAM.