Employee Focus

Working for a ski resort can be an extremely dangerous job and also extremely important to ensure the safety of both employees and skiers on the slopes. Employees for resorts are the first line of defense between the customers and the perils that can be found on the mountains. In this post I am going to analyze the dangers skiing can have and how keeping employees as the most important assets is key to running a successful resort.

Skiing is an awesome activity for all ages to enjoy and something the whole family can go out and do. It is also an action sport that comes with several very dangerous situations that can help be avoided by resorts investing in their employees. The first situation I will discuss is an avalanche, which we all know to be very deadly disasters that claim skier’s lives each year. They are easily the scariest and most deadly aspect of skiing, because they are essentially giant snow slides that engulf everything and everyone near it. Even the most prolific skiers are not safe from an avalanche, most notably is two U.S. Ski Team members were killed in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps just this past year, which has raised concerns about the safety of skiing. This article discusses the dangers of skiing and how these disasters have become a major concern in the ski community. They are often just unavoidable natural disasters, but many avalanches are man made per se and can be prevented through knowledgeable resort employees. Being aware and knowing the signs of what can cause an avalanche often times falls on the employees and is a major reason resorts that have high safety standards take such good care of their workers so they are always aware and alert to protect the individuals up on the slopes.

The next danger is collisions that happen everyday on the ski slopes. These are largely inevitable and just part of being a skier. What is important for ski resorts is to have fast response to these collisions to make sure the individuals involved do not suffer any further injuries from being left out on the mountain for too long.Fast response is the key to ensuring safety of riders so employees need to be on they toes in order to carry out their job. This requires a focused and aware person who truly cares about their job and the people they are watching over on the mountain.

Investing in employees is not the most important thing in many industries but is definitely the case in the ski and snowboarding industry. With the first major danger avalanches, employees need to know what to do when a disaster of the magnitude strikes and how to help prevent them for occurring. It is key to know the signs and when certain runs need to close to prevent accidental deaths on their mountains. The resorts that take care of their employees and give them the tools to protect both workers and customers do this not because they have too because we all know the dangers but because they care about everyone using their resort. Not all do but several of the industry leaders make a point to look for ways to make their resorts the safest they possibly can be and to always remember that everyone on the mountain has loved ones to go home too.

 

 

One Resort at a Time

Every year around this time in early November, the ski season kicks off starting several months of hitting the slopes for enthusiasts. Riders will begin to flock to mountain towns in droves and will not stop until around March when the snow has melted and the season ends. Ski resorts only have this time open and for the most part the remainder of the year goes into preparing for the next season. In this time many resorts search for ways they can help support the community with the large economic pull their businesses can have.

Charity Events

A lot of resorts have come up with ways they can help the communities that surround them. Charity events that go to the sole benefit of helping non-profits, funding organizations that help underprivileged families, and actually going out into the community and lending a hand to those who need it are just some of the ways resorts focus the power they have in the towns to make them better. In this post I want to look at a few resorts that have made it an emphasis to be a proactive member of the community and be there for its neighbors.

Mt. Bachelor

Mt.Bachelor Resort

The first resort I want to discuss is Mt. Bachelor in Bend Oregon. For many years they have made it part of their mission to support the Bend community. On their website they have a community page where all of the activities they are a part of running themselves can be found. In the area they have held several charity events and donated money to helping kids in Bend and other non-profits. Every year the throw a Charity Ski Week where people are encouraged to go out and build relationships with the rest of the town, and by outing the event on they have been able to raise nearly half a million dollars for these organizations. Along with the Ski Week, Mt. Bachelor holds many other events in support of the community. The most significant of these has to be the Ski for Schools event held each year. It’s a week long event where all daily ski passes are discounted to $25 giving the money that has been discounted to helping fund the elementary and middle schools in Bend. Mt. Bachelor does not need to do all of these events and fundraising but they have become a part of the community and do it because they know it is right to support the community that supports their business.

Aspen

Aspen Mountain Resort

The next ski mountain is the Aspen resort in Colorado. Aspen is one of the largest resorts in the world and encompasses four different mountains in the Rockies. Being so large it can be easy to be disconnected from the people who live in the towns their mountains surround. Aspen however has not forgotten them and had done extensive work to raise support and money for the community. On their community page on the Aspen website allows people to explore the vast work they do. The resort has done its best to work with non-profits and community activists and have raised over $3,000,000 that goes directly to the community, specifically the education system. It has become a top priority for Aspen and their initiatives have gone a long way influencing their communities and other resorts to do their part for the towns.

Both of these resorts have recognized that they have the power to make a difference. Each in their own way has found avenues to improving their communities and the people that support the resorts each year. It is important for others to look at the example Aspen and Mt. Bachelor have set and strive to be more like them. Here I have shown the major impact that can be made and how important it is to emulate this behavior.

Real Results

Going Green

Going green is a continuing trend throughout the ski industry, which has seen companies take a step in a positive direction in reducing impact on the environment. Over the years, ski resorts have taken a serious toll on the mountains and the ecosystems that inhabit them. It is a serious concern that needs to be the focus of industry leaders because the damage could be irreparable and forever ruin the mountains that wildlife need to survive. In the past we used the mountains for skiing and its beauty, and we did this without ever considering the impact we can have. In a prior post Erin, spoke on the environment and specifically examined large companies within the ski industry that have enacted good CSR practices to help reduce the damage that is being done each winter. In this post I will be looking at the impact this good CSR has and how it truly is making a difference.

Electricity

Ski resorts are large businesses, which create large amount of electricity that can cause large amounts of destruction on the local environment. The National Ski Areas Association has begun releasing an annual report of climate change results, for several mountain resorts. The reports show the impact and results of implementing CSR in order to reduce their environmental footprint. One company that I found to focus seriously on reducing electricity use was the Arapahoe Basin Resort in Colorado. The environment has become the focal point for the resort and they have real results showing how their efforts have benefited the wildlife. They have done a lot to reduce their electricity use and in during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Arapahoe Basin was able reduce their use by 5%. This may not seem like a large amount but with all the electricity they use this is a major step in the right direction. They were able to accomplish it in part by simply switching to LED bulbs, which can save up to 45,000 kWh. Continuing to add to new ways to save electricity will only further how much they will be able to reduce and go green.

Emissions

Emissions produced by ski resorts have a tremendous impact on the environment and can be dangerous to the wildlife. Some of the effects of the emissions can be from “photochemical smog, acid rain, and nitrate particulates.” These can come from the motors and machines that are used to create snow and keep the resorts up and running. All of them can seriously hurt the wildlife and are important to keep in mind. In Utah the Canyons Resorts has become a leader in waste and emission reducing practices. One of the major causes of the dangerous emissions is from snowmaking machines. Canyons has done a lot to create more efficient machines, they have added parts such as a “variable frequency drive and cooling tower” which both aim to make the machine run efficiently. They are now projected to reduce their emissions by 15% by the year 2017, which can largely be attributed to the focus on the machines and how they can improve them.

Companies that focus on electricity and emissions have done a lot to do with going green and putting a focus on the environment. For some it has been forgotten about but these resorts here have shown what can happen when you are aware of the environment and care about its protection. Real results are what the industry needs in order to continue in the right direction in having the least impact possible on the world. This is something we all need to realize when we are up on the mountains and do what we can to make a difference.