last weekend at bretton woods!

This weekend I spent time in the repair shop on Friday and with lift operations on Saturday.
From a sustainability perspective, they don't really have anything to do with being green. However, both departments allow for financial sustainability. People buy their lift tickets to use the lifts so they don't have to walk up the mountain. The repair shop is also financially stable because people need to have their skis and boards tuned and waxed to be in proper working condition. They might not necessarily go to the shop on the mountain they are at, but having a repair shop at the mountain makes it super handy to get your stuff worked on.
Both departments are alllll about service. Courtney (supervisor of lift ops) told me that the people who work the bottom of the lifts are the ones who run into the most customers which is true because you get to see everyone who is going up to ski or ride. It is important for the lifties to have good customer service skills for obvious reasons. Also, the repair shop is all about providing a service to people...Again, the obvious.
Safety is very important. Sometimes, in the repair shop, skis have been grinded and tuned too much and if they are grinded any more, they will fall apart. There comes to be a point when you can't grind or tune skis anymore and they must be rejected and they customer must be informed. If equipment falls apart on the trail, it could cause a catastrophe which is why the repair shop is not willing to make themselves liable for anything like that. The lifts also put safety at the top of their priorities because there's a lot that could go wrong and if safety isn't first, people could get injured and maybe even die.
Lifts benefit the consumer so they don't have to walk up a hill. The repair shop benefits the consumer so they can conveniently get their skis or boards tuned at the mountain they are riding at.
Both departments benefit the employee because they give them a job... Employees use the lifts and they also have an opportunity to get a quick wax or tune because normally, mountain employees use their equipment more than the general public (depending on your department).
The owners benefit from the lifts because everyone pays for a lift ticket to use the lift, bringing in revenue. The repair shop also brings in some extra cash for the resort, benefiting the shareholder.

guest services bretton woods

I was in guest services at Bretton Woods all weekend! This was the most involved I've been in any departments anywhere. I did everything from investigating lost items to taking payment and printing out lift tickets for customers. I enjoyed guest services because I got to use my customer service skills and have lots of interactions with customers!
From a sustainability perspective, guest services doesn't have any environmentally friendly policies but it is a department that brings in revenue for the mountain. People buy their lift tickets at guest services but they also redeem coupons for free tickets.
Guest service is the most important service on the mountain. Without them, people wouldn't get any questions answered and they wouldn't be able to get their lift tickets. The department is all about serving the guest.
Safety is a concern in guest services. We have the most interaction with the customers so they are able to give us their feedback. On Friday, because of the rain the previous day and the ungroomed trails, customers came to tell us how unsafe the conditions were. We were then able to pass that information along to mountain ops and they made a decision to groom some of the trails for the safety of the customer.
The guest benefited from guest services for obvious reasons. It has the word guest in the title so it must have some benefit for the guest.
Guest services benefits the employees because any questions are answered and we have things that people need such as scissors and rubber bands.
Guest services benefits the shareholder because it brings in money. It is also an opportunity to be nice to the customers and make them want to come back and keep spending money.

nordic marathon! good time for a goggle tan!

This weekend we all worked together at the Nordic Marathon at Bretton Woods. We got to shovel on the first day because there wasn't much snow on the trail but there was plenty of snow off the trail. The second day we got to set up fencing, direct the racers, and give the racers food and beverages.
From a sustainability perspective, the Nordic department is financially sustainable. Bretton Woods uses its golf course for its nordic trails so that the golf course can be used year round and bring in revenue.
The Nordic Center offers a beneficial service to its users. Cross country skiing is great exercise and the lodge offers services such as rentals, lessons, and use of the trail system.
While safety is important, there are not many injuries in cross country skiing. However, in a race, some people tend to get competitive and the starting line sometimes brings injuries. Luckily, there were no injuries in the start of the race over the weekend.
Nordic benefits the customers because it is for the customers. It gives customers a great opportunity to get outdoors and get some exercise.
Nordic benefits the employee by giving them a job. There are also nordic instructors that probably enjoy teaching something they are passionate for.
Nordic benefits the owners because it is an easy way to make money. By charging for passes, rentals, and lessons, they have an opportunity to bring in a lot of revenue with minimal expenditures. Nordics expenditures only include groomers and labor wages, among a few other things.

First weekend at Bretton Woods!

This weekend I got to hang out with ski patrol for two days and it seems like a pretty sweet job. The tasks are pretty simple and almost all of them involve riding! Ski patrol does everything from fixing pads on towers and guns to responding to accidents to putting bamboo above hazards.

From a sustainability perspective, ski patrol doesn't really have anything to do with sustainability. They do not make the mountain any money or save the mountain any money. They just offer a free service to guests.
Ski patrol is all about service. Without their service, hurt people on the mountain would not be helped and hazards would not be marked by bamboo. They must have good people skills and be patient because when people get hurt, they sometimes get scared or they act different.
Safety is the main focus of ski patrol. They aim to prevent accidents on the mountain. However, even though accidents do happen, their job is to make the situation as safe as possible for everyone involved. Something they do to promote safety has to do with driving a snowmobile. They try to avoid driving the snow machine during high volume times. When they do drive it, they stay off to the side of the trails and they don't ride under people on chair lifts.
Ski patrol is all about the guests. They provide first aid for injured guests at no charge. They also answer questions from guests and they are constantly working to prevent injuries among the guests.
Ski patrol is good for the people who do it because they are happy knowing that they are helping the people who come to the resort.
Shareholders don't directly benefit from ski patrol because they don't charge anything for their service. However, if it wasn't for ski patrol, there would be guests who might not be able to return to the mountain.

guest service weekend

This weekend I worked at Guest Services in the morning and Food and Beverage in the afternoon on Friday and at the Tram Haus Lodge on Saturday.
From a sustainability perspective, guest services uses the most environmentally friendly practices. Guest services is where everyone picks up their lift tickets and season passes. Because RFID cards are reloadable, guests are encouraged to recycle their used RFID cards at the end of the day. The recycled cards can be used again for future guests.
From a service perspective, of course guest services is the most related. The guests go to guest services to buy lift tickets and ask questions. The people who work in guest services must be extremely knowledgeable about the mountain. Food and beverage is also important for service because you have to make sure you get the guests their food without making them wait. During a big rush, people had to wait for cheeseburgers and hot dogs for a little while but because we worked quickly, the customers didn't get angry for having to wait. The Tram Haus Lodge also revolves around customer service and even when people are being mean, you must remain nice to them. The hotel provides people with the service of a place to sleep and everyone likes to sleep comfortably so they must be treated with a smile and a friendly attitude.
Safety is most important in food and beverage than in the hotel and guest services. In f&b, there are hot grills and sharp knives. It is important to be careful and pay attention to everything you do in f&b to make sure you avoid injury. Mike showed me the best way to cut with a big knife without risking cutting myself.
Guest services and Tram Haus Lodge benefit the consumer in similar ways by offering them the service of a good experience by selling lift tickets and hotel rooms. In guest services, there are many ways to pay for a discounted lift ticket, and the workers are responsible for trying to get the guest the best price on a lift ticket. Food and beverage benefits the guest by providing them with an opportunity for some different options for lunch, so they don't have to pack their own if they don't want to.
Guest services benefits the employees  because it is where employees go to pick up their season pass. During my time there, a few of the Pump House employees stopped in to get their picture taken and pick up their season pass. The Tram Haus Lodge may benefit employees in case they need a place to stay for a night in case there was a huge snow storm or accident. Also, the valet employee benefits because he receives tips all day. Food and beverage also benefits the employees because employees get a 50% discount on food so they don't have to pack their own lunch.
All three departments benefit the shareholders because they all make money for the resort. Hotel rooms are not cheap and on weekends, guests are required to stay at least two nights, meaning that each bill is at least a couple hundred dollars up to over a thousand dollars. Guest services brings in revenue from the sale of lift tickets and food and beverage bring in revenue from hungry guests.
Next weekend I get to be in the Pump House! I'm pretty pumped!

Special events and Rentals

This weekend, there was a "special event" but really it was about 10 buses coming from Canada to Jay Peak for the weekend. Our job was to assist in unpacking buses. However, there was an issue with a couple of buses getting through the border smoothly so we had to go up there and switch people from one bus to another bus. It was really easy but it was cool because we got to hang out with Tom Howell who is in charge of security, parking, and transportation at Jay Peak. On Saturday, I got to work in rentals all day. I got to be the one to get the boots for the customers because I'm not certified to tech skis. It was fun for the most part, but it gets boring when there's no customers coming through.
Neither department I worked with really had anything to do with environmental sustainability. However, financial sustainability is an important part of both departments I worked for. Having about 700 people come to the resort in buses from Canada is a great way to bring revenue from Canada to the Northeast Kingdom. On top of those that came by bus, there were many other people on the mountain spending money at Jay Peak. Rentals is a great way for financial sustainability because you pay one price for the boards and skis and you can use them over and over again. Rentals has a hugeeee opportunity to bring in a high amount of profit.
From a service perspective, both departments are extremely important in providing service to customers. Because of communication with this large group of Canadians, the mountain was able to plan and accommodate many people to be on the mountain throughout the weekend. Without the planning, everything would have fallen apart. Working rentals is all about service so good people skills is a must. Customers come to have a good experience and by providing the option of rentals gives people a chance to learn without spending crap loads on brand new equipment they may never want to use again.
Safety is important all around the mountain, but we didn't really have to think too much about safety while working special events. We just had to keep peoples' bags safe and not throw them around. In rentals, safety is very important. All skis are set to a certain DIN setting that is safest for the person using them. Also, if there is equipment involved in a case that ski patrol deals with, that equipment must get a torque test in order to be allowed to be used again. This prevents equipment damaged in collisions or accidents to cause any more problems for others. Unsafe equipment will never be rented out.
Rentals are very beneficial to the guest because it makes it so people who don't use equipment a lot are able to rent it at a low price. It is especially important for beginners to rent because they are not always sure that they want to continue to ski or ride after a first lesson. The special event was beneficial to the Canadians because they got to take buses to the mountain and not drive their cars. They were able to come as a large group so there were probably a lot of groups of friends who wanted to hang out together.
Having a special event planned is beneficial to the employees because it brings in more people and generates revenue. It is also good to plan a mass amount of people to show up so that there is plenty of staff scheduled to take the extra volume. Rentals is beneficial to the employees because it gives them a job! Employees who normally ride could rent some ski to try something new for free.
For the shareholders and investors, special events and rentals are important because they make a lot of money. Having 700 people show up to the mountain as well as all the people who were going to show up anyway brings in a lot of revenue. They are all taking money out of the Canadian economy and putting it into the American economy. They spend money on lift tickets, rentals, water park tickets, food and beverage, hotel rooms, and retail. All departments benefit from having a higher volume of people on the mountain. Rentals can also make the mountain a lot of money because the same equipment is being used over and over again until it is time to replace them.

Frostbitten fun!

Yesterday was our first day of being in the field! We got a quick tour and learned what was expected of us and where to go for each department. After that, we got to shred it up!! It was definitely my best day of the season so far! The glades had at least a foot of powder in them! I wish Burke would get some snow! It was an awesome way to start out Practicum!!

Today was awesome!! First half of the day was spent with the Lift Ops guys! I learned about RFID technology and got to see the different aspects of being a liftie. Its a pretty laid back position which is cool...Its colddd though! I ended up with frostbite on the bottom of my feet but no big deal! Means I'm hardcore! I worked the Flyer high-speed detach at Jay which doesn't involve much. Just gotta make sure everyone gets on the lift properly and when people don't read signs, you have to reiterate to them. A lot of people wondered why the gate wouldn't open for them and mostly it was because they put their pass in a pocket with their cell phone or credit cards which makes it not work (There's mad signs everywhere saying to put your pass in a pocket without anything else in it). There's a handheld computer device to check as people are coming through and season pass holders have a picture that shows up to prevent the sharing of passes. There's a computer in the lift shack that shows a lot of information. It has a diagram of the chairs and proximity switches and zoning for the anti-collision system. Everyone was excited that I have a level 1 lift mechanic certification because some of the lift mechanics there don't have it. 

The second half of my day was spent on the tram where I was able to be more involved with the actual operations! I did a lot of counting people to make sure the tram didn't get overloaded. I also got to drive the tram a couple times! I was really cautious and the dial is really touchy so I ended up stopping the tram a few times before it actually reached the loading dock. I also rode the tram a couple times and I got a tour of the bottom and top tram rooms. I got to see the hugeeee counterweights for the tram! Holy crapp they are like 10,000 pounds! 

Everyone that I met today was a bunch of goof balls! They just like to have fun which is why they're in the ski industry. Everyone was really happy and most of them have been working at Jay for a while! My first day of working was definitely a day I will remember! Next time I get to ride with ski patrol and do ski school!! I can't wait to ride arounddd and enjoy the trails!

From a sustainability perspective, operating the lifts and tram doesn't really have much relation to it. There is an electric motor for the tram which is more sustainable than the back-up gas motor, but that's about it.

Operating the lifts and tram is a very important part of service. Without these things, customers would not be able to make it up the mountain easily. I spent my morning at the high-speed detachable Flyer quad lift and from a service perspective, it is very important to have at least one high-speed detach that brings guests to the top of the mountain. A long lift ride is normally not preferable so it is important to have the option of a faster ride. Also, the tram offers protection from the wind while riding it, making it very pleasing to the guests.

Safety is very important when it comes to running the lifts and tram. Many things could go wrong such as people falling out of chairs, people getting hurt, or the lift breaking. Also, the lift mechanics need to use safety precautions when working on the lifts. Two people had to ride in the crow's nest on top of the tram at one point during the day to check out the brakes to make sure they were working properly. They had to wear harnesses that were connected to the crow's nest to prevent them from falling off. I learned that long ago, there were not many safety precautions and the lift mechanics suffered because of it. Now that there are so many rules and regulations, the mechanics are able to stay safe.

As mentioned before, having chairlifts and a tram available to customers is extremely beneficial. Without the lifts, customers would have to hike to the top of the mountain, allowing for only a few runs to be taken in a day and a very tired guest! 

The lifts benefit the employees the same way as guests. When the employees are free riding, it provided them with a quick and easy way to get up the mountain. Also, having lifts creates many jobs. It takes 4 or 5 people run a lift and 4 or 5 people to run the tram. It is not difficult work but it needs to be done by someone.

Again, the lifts benefit the owner and management because the customer pays to use them. People pay for a lift ticket or season's pass so that they can use the lift. The more lift tickets are sold, the more money the mountain makes.