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.