play. discover. profit.
SAM Magazine presents a hands-on business seminar for summer operations.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US
AT THIS YEAR'S SUMMER OPS CAMP!
Attendee inquiries: olivia@saminfo.com \ Sponsorship inquiries: sharon@saminfo.com
2016 Summer Ops Camp Wrap Up
> CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2016 SUMMER OPS PROGRAM
More than 160 summer operations managers, vendors, and schemers gathered at the Canyons Grand Summit in Park City, Utah, to explore the state of the art in summer activities at SAM’s Summer Ops Camp, Sept. 14-16. They experienced flow trails, hiking trails, mountain coasters, zip lines, aerial parks, and a variety of other activities at Canyons, Park City, Snowbird, Deer Valley, Sundance, and the Utah Olympic Park. And they heard plenty about how to implement these activities—financially and conceptually.
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Jeff Suffolk of Human Movement outlined how to make summer events "effing" awesome.
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Attendees enjoy cocktail hour at Park City's Red Pine Lodge...
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(L to R) Jay Scambio of Boyne Resorts, Steve Duke of Park City Mountain and Tim Hendrickson of Willis shooting the breeze, talking summer ops.
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(L to R) SAM's Rick Kahl with SE Group's Claire Humber, SAM's Olivia Rowan and Winterplace's Terry Pfeiffer.
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(L to R) Michael Friedman of Adventure Partners Attractions with John Fagan of Duane Morris, LLP, and Park City COO Bill Rock.
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Nathan Rafferty of Ski Utah addressed the group during the opening night welcome dinner.
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Luke and Amy Schrab of mSnow Tubing get SAM's Olivia Rowan and Sarah Ebbott lined up and ready to go!
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Attendees enjoyed after dinner drinks in the Umbrella Bar.
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Did we mention after dinner drinks in the Umbrella Bar at Canyons Village?
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Jordan McCormick of Sesitec USA talks shop with a fellow attendee.
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Attendees stop by the KristallTurm booth.
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Neveplast's Ryan Locher chats with a fellow attendee during breakfast.
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Ralf Garrison of DestiMetrics quantified the growth of summer visitation over the past decade during his market intelligence session.
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The Summer Ops on National Forest panel included (L to R) Sean Wetterberg of the USFS, Dave Fields of Snowbird, Jamie Barrow of Vail Resorts, and Roger Poirier of the USFS.
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SE Group's Travis Beck led the Summer Ops on the National Forest session, which helped explain the Forest Service's implementation of the 2011 Recreational Opportunities Act.
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The Aerial Adventure panel, (L to R) ACCT's Shawn Tierney, Hubbard Merrell Engineering's Micah Henderson, Vail's Jamie Barrow, and Bonsai Design's Thaddeus Shrader, addressed key considerations for park planning.
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Attendees tasted an assortment of adrenaline activities at Park City Thursday afternoon.
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One camper is rather excited for his turn on the Wiegand mountain coaster at Park City.
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Mike and Ryan O'Grady of Fotaflo gear up for their turn on the coaster.
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John Fagan and Kristin Bohm of Duane Morris, LLP, take a ride on the Wiegand coaster at Park City.
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Ski Apache's Justin Rowland and Fred Pavlovic get ready for the Soaring Eagle zip line.
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Crew members from Heavenly and Breckenridge are all smiles after their alpine slide ride.
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Attendees saddled up at Deer Valley for the trail ride of a lifetime.
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The view were stunning on the Deer Valley's trail ride!
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Cara Sherwood of Tree-Mendous Adventure Parks enjoys her ride.
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Attendees enjoyed cocktail hour on the patio at Deer Valley.
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They also took part in fun and games, including archery.
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And cornhole, of course.
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Michael Friedman of Adventure Partners Attractions talks with a fellow attendee during the vendor showcase breakfast.
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Renee Clarke of CCI Greenhart talks with Jessica Ellingson of Mt. Baldy.
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The vendor showcase breakfast on Thursday and Friday was networking at its finest.
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Luke Schrab of mSnow talks summer sliding with Christin Wolff of Kläppen Ski Resort, Sweden.
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Dave Horan of Horan Adventure Development talks with SE Group's Claire Humber.
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ZipRider's Eric Cylvick shows Fred Pavlovic of Ski Apache the technical elements of his zip line products.
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Attendees stop by the Gravity Logic exhibit during breakfast.
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Bonsai's Thaddeus Shrader (left) and Greg Gallavan of Amaze'n Mazes enjoy a morning coffee.
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SE Group's Claire Humber and Brad Wilson of Bogus Basin held forth on strategic capital deployment.
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Paul Thallner of Great Place to Work presented the session, How People Fuel Business Performance.
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Tim Yates of Wells Fargo led the risk management session, which focused on key strategies for mitigating risk.
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The risk management panel included Mary Bozack of Willis Mountainguard and Gainer Waldbillig of W|Law.
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Attendees at Utah Olympic Park were excited to try out the ropes courses.
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Jay Scambio of Boyne Resorts kept his cool on the zip line at Utah Olympic Park.
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Jacob Huxman of Big Bear Mountain Resorts enjoyed the Power Fan!
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Emmett Richmond of Heavenly displayed balance on the rope bridge at Utah Olympic Park.
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Deer Valley's Chuck English welcomed attendees to ride the resort's newly upgraded downhill mountain biking park.
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SAM's Sarah Ebbott and Olivia Rowan checked out the new flow trail at Deer Valley... and loved it!
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The trio from Ski Apache, Justin Rowland, Fred Pavlovic, and Jovian Smith, were ready to ride.
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Gravity Logic's Tom Pro, Deer Valley's mountain bike director, Steve Graff, and SAM's Olivia Rowan hit the new downhill flow trail.
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SAM's Rick Kahl got after it on the Sundance Zip Tour.
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Attendees get geared up for the Zip Tour at Sundance, Utah.
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Dual racing on the Sundance Zip Tour.
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Jenna Grubbs and Walt Foley of Red River got photobombed by an eager Park City employee.
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The beautiful base area at Park City was full of summer activities for attendees to try.
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Wiegand's Larry Hays and SAM's Sharon Walsh enjoyed sunshine on the deck at Deer Valley.
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Heavenly's Emmett Richmond and Bahman Azarm of Outdoor Ventures are all smiles at Utah Olympic Park.
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High-speed tubing on the Olympic Park's ski jump landing hill.
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SAM's Olivia Rowan and SE Group's Claire Humber had a seriously good time on the Soaring Eagle at Park City.
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More than a dozen Campers explored the multi-use trail connecting Park City and Deer Valley. Along the way, Charlie Sturgis of Mountain Trails Foundation and Claire Humber of SE Group detailed the financial benefits of trails.
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The Vail crew glowed on the gondola ride down from dinner as they got ready for Galactic Tubing with mSnow's nighttime setup.
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Evacuation demonstrations during the Petzl Rescue workshop.
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Bahman Azarm (left) of Outdoor Ventures and Red River's Jenna Grubbs pause to enjoy the view on the multi-use trail connecting Park City and Deer Valley.
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The Mountain Trails Foundation in Park City maintains and develops a network of multi-use trails throughout the community, and provides maps to help visitors (and Campers) make full use of them.
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The folks from Panorama, B.C. enjoying the Snowbird tram and summer adventure park.
Jeff Suffolk of Human Movement outlined how to make summer events "effing" awesome.
Attendees enjoy cocktail hour at Park City's Red Pine Lodge...
(L to R) Jay Scambio of Boyne Resorts, Steve Duke of Park City Mountain and Tim Hendrickson of Willis shooting the breeze, talking summer ops.
(L to R) SAM's Rick Kahl with SE Group's Claire Humber, SAM's Olivia Rowan and Winterplace's Terry Pfeiffer.
(L to R) Michael Friedman of Adventure Partners Attractions with John Fagan of Duane Morris, LLP, and Park City COO Bill Rock.
Nathan Rafferty of Ski Utah addressed the group during the opening night welcome dinner.
Luke and Amy Schrab of mSnow Tubing get SAM's Olivia Rowan and Sarah Ebbott lined up and ready to go!
Attendees enjoyed after dinner drinks in the Umbrella Bar.
Did we mention after dinner drinks in the Umbrella Bar at Canyons Village?
Jordan McCormick of Sesitec USA talks shop with a fellow attendee.
Attendees stop by the KristallTurm booth.
Neveplast's Ryan Locher chats with a fellow attendee during breakfast.
Ralf Garrison of DestiMetrics quantified the growth of summer visitation over the past decade during his market intelligence session.
The Summer Ops on National Forest panel included (L to R) Sean Wetterberg of the USFS, Dave Fields of Snowbird, Jamie Barrow of Vail Resorts, and Roger Poirier of the USFS.
SE Group's Travis Beck led the Summer Ops on the National Forest session, which helped explain the Forest Service's implementation of the 2011 Recreational Opportunities Act.
The Aerial Adventure panel, (L to R) ACCT's Shawn Tierney, Hubbard Merrell Engineering's Micah Henderson, Vail's Jamie Barrow, and Bonsai Design's Thaddeus Shrader, addressed key considerations for park planning.
Attendees tasted an assortment of adrenaline activities at Park City Thursday afternoon.
One camper is rather excited for his turn on the Wiegand mountain coaster at Park City.
Mike and Ryan O'Grady of Fotaflo gear up for their turn on the coaster.
John Fagan and Kristin Bohm of Duane Morris, LLP, take a ride on the Wiegand coaster at Park City.
Ski Apache's Justin Rowland and Fred Pavlovic get ready for the Soaring Eagle zip line.
Crew members from Heavenly and Breckenridge are all smiles after their alpine slide ride.
Attendees saddled up at Deer Valley for the trail ride of a lifetime.
The view were stunning on the Deer Valley's trail ride!
Cara Sherwood of Tree-Mendous Adventure Parks enjoys her ride.
Attendees enjoyed cocktail hour on the patio at Deer Valley.
They also took part in fun and games, including archery.
And cornhole, of course.
Michael Friedman of Adventure Partners Attractions talks with a fellow attendee during the vendor showcase breakfast.
Renee Clarke of CCI Greenhart talks with Jessica Ellingson of Mt. Baldy.
The vendor showcase breakfast on Thursday and Friday was networking at its finest.
Luke Schrab of mSnow talks summer sliding with Christin Wolff of Kläppen Ski Resort, Sweden.
Dave Horan of Horan Adventure Development talks with SE Group's Claire Humber.
ZipRider's Eric Cylvick shows Fred Pavlovic of Ski Apache the technical elements of his zip line products.
Attendees stop by the Gravity Logic exhibit during breakfast.
Bonsai's Thaddeus Shrader (left) and Greg Gallavan of Amaze'n Mazes enjoy a morning coffee.
SE Group's Claire Humber and Brad Wilson of Bogus Basin held forth on strategic capital deployment.
Paul Thallner of Great Place to Work presented the session, How People Fuel Business Performance.
Tim Yates of Wells Fargo led the risk management session, which focused on key strategies for mitigating risk.
The risk management panel included Mary Bozack of Willis Mountainguard and Gainer Waldbillig of W|Law.
Attendees at Utah Olympic Park were excited to try out the ropes courses.
Jay Scambio of Boyne Resorts kept his cool on the zip line at Utah Olympic Park.
Jacob Huxman of Big Bear Mountain Resorts enjoyed the Power Fan!
Emmett Richmond of Heavenly displayed balance on the rope bridge at Utah Olympic Park.
Deer Valley's Chuck English welcomed attendees to ride the resort's newly upgraded downhill mountain biking park.
SAM's Sarah Ebbott and Olivia Rowan checked out the new flow trail at Deer Valley... and loved it!
The trio from Ski Apache, Justin Rowland, Fred Pavlovic, and Jovian Smith, were ready to ride.
Gravity Logic's Tom Pro, Deer Valley's mountain bike director, Steve Graff, and SAM's Olivia Rowan hit the new downhill flow trail.
SAM's Rick Kahl got after it on the Sundance Zip Tour.
Attendees get geared up for the Zip Tour at Sundance, Utah.
Dual racing on the Sundance Zip Tour.
Jenna Grubbs and Walt Foley of Red River got photobombed by an eager Park City employee.
The beautiful base area at Park City was full of summer activities for attendees to try.
Wiegand's Larry Hays and SAM's Sharon Walsh enjoyed sunshine on the deck at Deer Valley.
Heavenly's Emmett Richmond and Bahman Azarm of Outdoor Ventures are all smiles at Utah Olympic Park.
High-speed tubing on the Olympic Park's ski jump landing hill.
SAM's Olivia Rowan and SE Group's Claire Humber had a seriously good time on the Soaring Eagle at Park City.
More than a dozen Campers explored the multi-use trail connecting Park City and Deer Valley. Along the way, Charlie Sturgis of Mountain Trails Foundation and Claire Humber of SE Group detailed the financial benefits of trails.
The Vail crew glowed on the gondola ride down from dinner as they got ready for Galactic Tubing with mSnow's nighttime setup.
Evacuation demonstrations during the Petzl Rescue workshop.
Bahman Azarm (left) of Outdoor Ventures and Red River's Jenna Grubbs pause to enjoy the view on the multi-use trail connecting Park City and Deer Valley.
The Mountain Trails Foundation in Park City maintains and develops a network of multi-use trails throughout the community, and provides maps to help visitors (and Campers) make full use of them.
The folks from Panorama, B.C. enjoying the Snowbird tram and summer adventure park.
Camp opened with the chance to experience the bike park, zip tour, and other activities at the Canyons base area. Petzl conducted a demonstration of high-angle rescue and evacuation of both zip lines and ski lifts, and Jeff Suffolk of event producer Human Movement described how to choose events that can serve as anchor attractions and produce significant revenue.
Ralf Garrison of DestiMetrics charted the explosive growth of summer business in resorts across the West and helped quantify the magnitude of summer’s revenue potential. He noted several trends: the blossoming of integrated activities, such as “bleisure” (business and leisure) and “framily” travel, the importance of health and wellness, and the exponential growth of Airbnb.
Planning for summer activities received special focus. Travis Beck of SE Group led a panel of Forest Service representatives, who offered their perspectives on how the agency is moving to implement the 2011 Recreational Opportunities Act. Claire Humber of SE Group and Brad Wilson, GM at Bogus Basin, Idaho, dissected the 10-year plan the resort has created for its summer operations, and showed how careful phasing can minimize the need to raise outside capital. And a panel of experts from the adventure park world described both the potential benefits and the frequently overlooked details that can frustrate or disappoint operators entering the aerial realm.
The hands-on aspects of Summer Ops Camp remain one of its major draws, and Campers had several opportunities to actively participate. Thursday afternoon saw attendees playing and exploring Park City’s extensive activities, including its new kids adventure center. Later, Camp headed to Deer Valley for horseback riding, mountain biking and exploring Deer Valley’s signature flow trail, as well as a hike on the trail that connects Park City with Deer Valley. The hike showed how such trails give guests a way to explore the region and can drive significant indirect revenue, from lodging to F&B and other services.
To help resorts acclimate to summer employee culture, human resources consultant Paul Thallner of Great Place to Work outlined what it takes to build a culture of trust and an effective, productive team. He cited relevant examples from like-oriented companies to inspire managers and suggest ways they could alter their own systems and processes.
In another session, Tim Yates of Safehold Special Risk, Mary Bozack of Willis, and ASDA attorney Gainer Waldbillig discussed four strategies to mitigate risk in the summer months.
Last but not least, attendees visited nearby operations for first-hand and behind-the-scenes tours. Snowbird took Campers through its mountain coaster and other activities, and offered a backstage look at its Oktoberfest. Other attendees toured the Utah Olympic Park, Petzl’s elaborate Technical Institute in Salt Lake City, and flew down the Sundance Zip Tour.
In all, it was a jam-packed three days of workshops and field testing that left many participants, both attendees and vendors, gushing about valuable contacts forged and information gained. The future of summer business in winter resorts looks bright.
And that will be the focus of Summer Ops Camp 2017 next September when we go to an eastern location, which will be announced shortly. Make a note to be there!
A look inside one of SAM's Summer Ops Camp...
2015 Summer Ops attendees visited Mountain Creek for an on-hill bike park tour...
Thanks to all those who have joined us over the past six years at Camp!
SUMMER OPS CAMP 2015
> 2015 SUMMER OPS WRAP UP
SUMMER OPS CAMP 2014
> 2014 SUMMER OPS WRAP UP
SUMMER OPS CAMP 2013
> 2013 SUMMER OPS WRAP UP