Ep.22 - Community - The most important piece of any ski area.

Ep.22 - Community - The most important piece of any ski area.

Community. A community is defined as a social group of people who share common characteristics, interests, identities, or geographic locations. Common Characteristics like a garage full of gear for every mountain-related sport, interests like a love for sliding fast down mountains together, identities like the casual nod when goggle tan game recognizes goggle tan game late into the Summer, and geographic locations like anywhere there is slope, snow and people wanting to slide down it.   Skiing at its very core is about community. It was started by communities and welcomes people from all over to come join their community for vacation.  The ski experiences we all love were, at one time, created by and for a passionate group of people with shared interests, and the ski resorts over time that have flourished and been the most successful have been those that lean into supporting, promoting, encouraging, embracing and growing alongside that community. I did a quick search, and the word community came up 168 times in the first 20 episodes of this series. After twenty episodes, we’ve talked about snowmaking, marking, pricing, infrastructure and more,  But when you really start digging into why some ski areas thrive for decades while others struggle, those things aren't usually the differentiators. The differentiator is community. Not the word community that gets tossed into every strategic plan and mission statement. Actual community. The relationship between a ski area and the people who live around it. The people who work there. Raise their kids there. Volunteer there. Argue about the lift line there. And eventually defend that ski area when somebody threatens what makes it special. Today, we're exploring that relationship through the eyes of operators from some of the most successful, unique, and community-minded ski areas we've featured on Selling Snow. We'll hear perspectives ranging from destination resorts to community-owned ski hills, from nonprofit operations to independent family businesses. But together they paint a pretty compelling picture of what community means in the ski industry. Let's go ski an off the trail map run, as we talk community with some of the best in the business.

Ep.21 - Kurt Carter of Craigieburn Valley Ski Area on How the Club-Field Model optimizes for great skiing not profit.

Have you ever experienced a nut-cracker lift? If you have you definitely have stories to tell about it. Today we’re heading into the heart of New Zealand’s Southern Alps to visit a super unique ski area that like most Club Fieldsin New Zealand is power by the nut cracker. Think big alpine terrain, very few people, minimal infrastructure and affordable big mountain skiing. Forget high-speed lifts, luxury condos, and sprawling base villages. At Craigieburn Valey Ski Area,  skiers ride steep rope tows using Nutcracker, stay in a communal lodge where guests help cook and clean, and spend their days exploring some of the most challenging terrain in New Zealand. Joining us today is Kurt Carter, General Manager of Craigieburn Valley. Kurt shares the fascinating history of New Zealand's club field model, explains why Craigieburn proudly operates as a not-for-profit ski club, gives us an inside look at a ski area where community often matters just as much as skiing, and poses the question, " Could this model ever work in North America?" So let’s head out to the access tows for a conversation with Craigieburn General Manager Kurt Carter. We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode to help you up your own game. Find them all at www.sellingsnow.com [https://www.sellingsnow.com/post/ep-21-kurt-carter-of-craigieburn-valley-ski-area-new-zealand]

Ep.20 - Ben Mock of Ben Lomond Alpine Resort on From 17 Days to 100+: Buying a Ski Area and Transforming Tasmania’s Ski Scene

This episode takes us nearly all the way to the Southern Edge of the world. To a place many are surprised to hear has a commercial ski resort.  Tasmania, Australia. Yes, Tasmania has skiing and a ski area that not long ago was fighting for survival. When Ben Mock and his partners purchased Ben Lomond Alpine Resort, the mountain had managed just 17 operating days the season before. Fast forward a few years, and they're now pushing past 100 operating days, investing heavily in snowmaking, growing revenue, rebuilding guest confidence, and helping reshape what skiing can look like in Tasmania. But this isn't just a story about snowmaking. It's a story about patience, persistence, community buy-in, long-term thinking, and what happens when operators focus on delivering a reliable product before chasing the next shiny attraction. We also talk about working inside a national park, rebuilding trust with guests, creating a year-round business, marketing experiences instead of products, and why one of the most memorable parts of the journey might be the road to get there. So let’’s buckle up and drive up Jacob’s Ladder for a great conversation with Ben Mock.   We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode. Find them all at www.sellingsnow.com [http://www.sellingsnow.com]

Ep.19 - Lucy Blyton-Gray of Charlotte's Pass Snow Resort on Turning Isolation Into Its Greatest Advantage

What happens when a ski resort can’t be reached by cars at all? Or when it decides not to compete with the biggest players in the industry? This week on Selling Snow, we're heading to the highest ski resort in Australia At Charlotte Pass, General Manager Lucy Blyton-Gray is proving that bigger isn't always better. Accessible only by over-snow transport during winter, Charlotte Pass has turned what many would see as operational challenges into some of its greatest competitive advantages. Charlotte Pass has built its brand around something increasingly rare in modern skiing: no cars, no queues, and no crowds. In this episode, Lucy shares how Charlotte Pass leverages nearly a century of history, transforms first-time visitors into lifelong guests, uses storytelling to bring its unique experience to life, and stays fiercely loyal to the families who have been returning generation after generation. If you've ever wondered how a smaller ski area can stand out in the shadow of much larger competitors, this episode is packed with lessons you can apply at your own mountain. Now let’s get on the over-snow transport and head up to Charlotte Pass for a chat with Lucy Blyton-Gray. Get all 12 Actionable Insights from this episode at www.sellingsnow.com [https://www.sellingsnow.com/post/ep-19-lucy-blyton-gray-of-charlotte-pass-nsw-australia]

Ep.18 - Christian Théberge of Shames Mountain on How The Community Saved The Ski Hill

Today we're heading north, back to BC, just west of Terrace, to a legendary powder paradise and the only co-op-owned ski area in North America. A ski resort that had fallen on tough times. And a community—and even the former owners themselves—that rallied together to save it. Today on Selling Snow, we’re chatting with Shames Mountain General Manager Christian Théberge for one of the most unique ski business stories in the industry. We’ll hear how a small remote ski area transformed into one of the world’s most fascinating community ownership stories, why building community trust may be more important than building new lifts, and what ski operators can learn about sponsorship, leadership, transparency, and surviving tough seasons. We’ll also hear how bake sales, pet rocks, and a community refusing to let their mountain disappear helped save a ski hill. So let’s put on our gore tex powder bibs, and head up to Shames for a conversation with Christian Theberge. We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode. Get them all at www.sellingsnow.com [http://www.sellingsnow.com]