Cutter's Camp 2018 Recap

Last week’s 16th annual Cutter’s Camp enjoyed a picture perfect week of weather at Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore. The event welcomed terrain park professionals from around the world representing more than 60 resorts of all sizes. Discussions were lively and productive thanks to all attendees sharing the same passion—to ensure that resorts both big and small run safe and successful parks. The week was filled with on-hill building, educational workshops, networking, and camp activities.



The week kicked off with grooming demos from PistenBully and Prinoth, showcasing their latest machines and technologies, including snow-depth management software from Leica and SNOWSat. In the evening, campers gathered for a "Fireside Chat” with a packed panel including Krush Kulesza of Snowboy Productions; Landon Taylor, SPT; Nick Roma, White Industries; Lucas Ouellette, Arena Snowparks; and Elia Hamilton of Peak Resorts. The panel’s conversation highlighted lessons learned, biggest risks, and pieces of advice from their experience putting on some of the largest and most notable terrain park events across the globe.

For the next three days, terrain building was the primary focus of the agenda. Each camper was assigned a four hour, one-on-one on-hill coaching block to work with an expert operator on advancing and refining his or her building and shaping skills. 

This is always a valuable portion of Camp, as one camper reflected, “The whole experience has blown me away. My on-hill building session made the most impact on me. Being able to operate new machinery and receive training on top of that has been my favorite part.”

Indoor sessions and workshops on the first day were devoted to risk management, planning and logistics, and building techniques. Sessions dove into groomer technology, terrain park ROI and financial planning, man-made feature design and construction, and mock depositions. That evening, campers experienced the fun of Windells with the 6th annual Prinoth DodgeBall Tournament.

On the third day, campers broke into four groups and participated in the popular Terrain Park Challenge Workshop, which tested their skills in communication, snowmaking budgeting and management, and strategic planning as they worked through real-world scenarios of terrain park management. The afternoon discussions covered a wide range of park topics, from feature construction and vehicle maintenance to events and documentation. The day finished with a session on progression as a business, followed by the PistenBully dinner, which featured a casino-themed evening full of roulette, poker, and craps. As night fell, campers were treated to a one-of-a-kind show from Sol Sport Productions and Samuel Adams, which lit up a snow-tubing feature with an impressive light show.

The fourth day saw campers participate in the “Terrain Park Post- and Pre-Season Game Plan” workshop, which focused solely on providing attendees with tangible information and expertise that they can immediately apply to their park programs. The format included intimate brainstorming discussions led by industry experts, who helped campers create detailed checklists for every aspect of park operation. That was followed by a group discussion, which provided an opportunity for all to share fresh ideas with the group.

All of that served as fuel for what was the most beneficial aspect of camp, according the campers: the conversations that continue through the evening after the workshops end.

As a few campers summed up their experience at camp:

"My experience was an eye-opener. The amount of passion for snowsports at this camp is incredible."
"Excellent. The amount of knowledge that's here and being able to understand what other resorts are going through and succeeding at is incredible."
“The opportunity for all of us to come together, share ideas and drive inspiration for our craft is a thing of beauty. I will cherish and remember these connections forever. This is an experience of a lifetime and I hope that I can come back next year.”
"This camp really inspired me to continue to progress myself in the industry. Hard work speaks volumes and there was a room full of dedicated hardworkers."
"This was my third experience at Cutter's Camp and it only gets better every year."

This important industry resource would not be possible without the expertise and guidance of our core panelists, some of whom have been part of Camp from the beginning: Elia Hamilton, Peak Resorts; Jay Scambio, Loon Mountain; Ken Gaitor, Snowshoe; Chris Hargrave, Chris Hargrave Consulting; Logan Stewart, Timberline; and Mike Bettera, Effective Edge.

Cutter’s Camp is one of the industry’s only open-forum events focused solely on terrain park operations. It was made possible this year thanks to the support of our sponsors, including: BigAirBag, BlackStrap, Burton, Captuer, Gogglesoc, HKD Snowmakers, Leica Geosystems, Omission Beer, PistenBully, Prinoth, Safehold Special Risk, Sol Sport Productions, and Sam Adams. And the invaluable contributions from the industry’s leading terrain park experts bring it all together.

 



CUTTER'S CAMP ATTENDEES  SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE...

“At the start of camp my biggest issue was difficulty communicating with my team and upper management. After camp I have a better understanding of terrain parks role in the “big picture” of the resort and a better idea of how to communicate my needs within that structure.” 

"This has been the best thing I have ever done to better my park. Really looking forward to applying everything I have learned.” 

“Year after year I am able to go back to my resort and apply a new things that I have picked up.” 

"This is a time I will never forget, the friends I have made this week, the knowledge, skills, and tools gained will change our mountain for the better.” 

"Extremely helpful and knowledgeable coaches." 
"I fell in love with the environment and the people that are a part of this industry. I'm glad to see that everyone is moving in the same direction."