WARNING NSFW
- Long-winded diatribe on Mt. Bachelor below
While I feel for Mt. Bachelor's snow reporter / spokesman, who's has been
diligent in reporting and communicating the mountain's message much better than in the past, I can't help but use my own space to offload on some of my thoughts on this year's Mt. Bachelor
snowriding season...
First off, after last year's debacle, and firing of the heads of a dysfunctional organization,
POWDR had a very tough job coming into this year. Years of neglect since their takeover of the mountain had seen what was once N. America's
perennial "Best Lift System", had become what many now called, "
Brokedown Mountain". Safety allegations, disgruntled employee stories, we had heard or read it all...
So, from my perspective, when someone asked my participation in a focus group for the mountain, I took the opportunity very seriously, since after having spent 10 winters in living in Bend, and having ridden the mountain since childhood I felt I had some valuable information which might (for nothing else but at least in my own self-interest!) keep the mountain running. I let them know that the main objective was to "do what you say, and say what you do", something their GM wrote up on the board as one of many issues of possible concern. I told him that was the most important thing they could do, especially in regards to keeping the lifts running, which we all agreed upon was a
prerequisite to customer satisfaction and their continued business success.
Most of a season later, I have to laugh at the snow report today, and many others I have read this year. The communication HAS been much better, although they haven't really changed a thing on the format of their report. Lots more honesty, at least, but glaring examples of how far there still is to go in creating better channels of communication among their own organization. Better spring hours communication lead to their decision to close the Sunrise lodge (but not lift), and this decision promptly hits them in the ass when the
mtn closes down, except for the the Sunrise lift, which they have locked off as closed.
This brings up the next point, which is the truly timid (or unfunded) nature in which they now run this mountain. I remember, as a youngster and in later trips under the old management when they regularly ran Summit, (and later
NWX) through snow and windy conditions, In fact my take-away memory of skiing Mt. Bachelor when young was the orange and green balls they put up to guide you down the run when it was so socked in and windy that you could barely see the next one. Maybe not my funnest memory, but still, they were OPEN. -40 windchill -yep 12-24" of new snow - yep all but the windiest days - yep. And they staffed the mountain with the objective of opening regularly, on time, and with a smile. Now a few employees (compared to the previous ownership) take on the big task of trying to open the entire mountain (1 or 2 lifts at a time) while the public is on the hill and waiting. This is the main cause of frustration amongst the public - They get to wait and watch and bitch, instead of arriving to on-schedule and reliable mountain lift service.
Reliable lift service brings me to my last point, which is crowds, and line management. The first and foremost thing Mt. Bachelor could do about crowding and lift lines (IMHO) is to run the lifts. Simple as that sounds, the Bachelor lift system, when in full operation at regularly scheduled opening times, rarely produces large lines.
Probably due to complaints about how "unfair" the current line system is, management is currently "testing" new ways to improve throughput onto the chairs by taking advantage of all the closed lifts to capture the crowd, and try new techniques for scanning and loading riders. This involved shutting down half the
liftline the other day, and forcing everyone to run around to one side and group up in fours before gaining access to the turnstiles.
Debate is going on about how and if this could speed up loading of the chairs, but let's face it, full-speed on time chairs clear things out better than any new line scheme.
My own two cents on the lift line issue (maybe more now that I look back at this rant!) is that there will always be people in a hurry, and people waiting for others in their group. The objective of any line system should be to remove those passengers who are "not yet ready to fly" from the maze of people trying to load the chair. It would seem that the most sensible idea would be to create several gates for people to enter with their pass, then allow those that want to load to do so, while moving those that are not ready to the side. If this system produces a "line" inside the corral of
passholders, then an employee can assist in helping to group four at a time. This seems less labor intensive, and more sensible all the way around.
After all, if the singles line is open, and you are in a hurry, you can always step on up on get on the chair, rather than wait in line - That's the way it's been wherever I have been in the West, and the reason nobody complains at those resorts is cause those lifts work, and open reliably.
While I feel for Mt. Bachelor's snow reporter / spokesman, who's has been diligent in reporting and communicating the mountain's message much better than in the past, I can't help but use my own space to offload on some of my thoughts on this year's Mt. Bachelor snowriding season...
First off, after last year's debacle, and firing of the heads of a dysfunctional organization, POWDR had a very tough job coming into this year. Years of neglect since their takeover of the mountain had seen what was once N. America's perennial "Best Lift System", had become what many now called, "Brokedown Mountain". Safety allegations, disgruntled employee stories, we had heard or read it all...
So, from my perspective, when someone asked my participation in a focus group for the mountain, I took the opportunity very seriously, since after having spent 10 winters in living in Bend, and having ridden the mountain since childhood I felt I had some valuable information which might (for nothing else but at least in my own self-interest!) keep the mountain running. I let them know that the main objective was to "do what you say, and say what you do", something their GM wrote up on the board as one of many issues of possible concern. I told him that was the most important thing they could do, especially in regards to keeping the lifts running, which we all agreed upon was a prerequisite to customer satisfaction and their continued business success.
Most of a season later, I have to laugh at the snow report today, and many others I have read this year. The communication HAS been much better, although they haven't really changed a thing on the format of their report. Lots more honesty, at least, but glaring examples of how far there still is to go in creating better channels of communication among their own organization. Better spring hours communication lead to their decision to close the Sunrise lodge (but not lift), and this decision promptly hits them in the ass when the mtn closes down, except for the the Sunrise lift, which they have locked off as closed.
This brings up the next point, which is the truly timid (or unfunded) nature in which they now run this mountain. I remember, as a youngster and in later trips under the old management when they regularly ran Summit, (and later NWX) through snow and windy conditions, In fact my take-away memory of skiing Mt. Bachelor when young was the orange and green balls they put up to guide you down the run when it was so socked in and windy that you could barely see the next one. Maybe not my funnest memory, but still, they were OPEN. -40 windchill -yep 12-24" of new snow - yep all but the windiest days - yep. And they staffed the mountain with the objective of opening regularly, on time, and with a smile. Now a few employees (compared to the previous ownership) take on the big task of trying to open the entire mountain (1 or 2 lifts at a time) while the public is on the hill and waiting. This is the main cause of frustration amongst the public - They get to wait and watch and bitch, instead of arriving to on-schedule and reliable mountain lift service.
Reliable lift service brings me to my last point, which is crowds, and line management. The first and foremost thing Mt. Bachelor could do about crowding and lift lines (IMHO) is to run the lifts. Simple as that sounds, the Bachelor lift system, when in full operation at regularly scheduled opening times, rarely produces large lines.
Probably due to complaints about how "unfair" the current line system is, management is currently "testing" new ways to improve throughput onto the chairs by taking advantage of all the closed lifts to capture the crowd, and try new techniques for scanning and loading riders. This involved shutting down half the liftline the other day, and forcing everyone to run around to one side and group up in fours before gaining access to the turnstiles.
Debate is going on about how and if this could speed up loading of the chairs, but let's face it, full-speed on time chairs clear things out better than any new line scheme.
My own two cents on the lift line issue (maybe more now that I look back at this rant!) is that there will always be people in a hurry, and people waiting for others in their group. The objective of any line system should be to remove those passengers who are "not yet ready to fly" from the maze of people trying to load the chair. It would seem that the most sensible idea would be to create several gates for people to enter with their pass, then allow those that want to load to do so, while moving those that are not ready to the side. If this system produces a "line" inside the corral of passholders, then an employee can assist in helping to group four at a time. This seems less labor intensive, and more sensible all the way around.
After all, if the singles line is open, and you are in a hurry, you can always step on up on get on the chair, rather than wait in line - That's the way it's been wherever I have been in the West, and the reason nobody complains at those resorts is cause those lifts work, and open reliably.
