Looking into the Crystal Ball.....

Greetings,

I’ve stopped complaining about
the weather. I was told when I was young
to only worry about things you can control.
No doubt the weather is out of our control. Okemo is continuing to make snow when we can.
We are well on our way to the 400 million gallon number that we normally use
for snowmaking each year. Snowmaking
will continue to be aggressive as temperatures permit. Okemo snowmaking has been working on
completing the snowmaking trails and we now are headed to the Morningstar
trails, Upper and Lower Nor’easter as well as finish up some of the smaller cut
thru’s. 25.7 miles are now open for
skiing and riding.

With the sporadic snowmaking
temperatures we have faced during the season, the Grooming staff has been
bringing the trails back to life each night.
We are doing a trail or two a night with the winch cat. When this
process is done, the winch cat either hitches off another cat at the top of a
steep trail or hitches into a cable which is drilled into the ledge during the
summer. The winch cat then brings the
snow up from the bottom to help spread the snow out. Midday grooming is also happening on most
weekends to freshen up the snow and enhance the skiing and riding experience.

Looking at the long range
weather, my crystal ball is showing a change.
I anticipate a change beginning after Martin Luther King weekend and
looking colder and stormier. We are
hoping to begin making snow in the Superpipe during the next cold snap. Everyone should also be on the lookout for the
Amp Air Bag. This unique feature will allow skiers and riders to ski down a
ramp and do your favorite trick and land in an airbag similar to what Hollywood
stunt men use. Should be fun to do and
watch.

As always thanks for skiing and
riding with us. If you want to follow what is going on from my desk, follow me
on twitter @okemogm


Happy Holidays and see you on
the slopes……….


Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM

Spreading a little post-holiday cheer

No doubt the last week has been challenging. I am super proud of the Okemo team for making it through the week. So many employees went above and beyond to make the Okemo experience the best it could be. Here are a few nice notes I received...

I was not sure who best to send this to, so I will ask you to forward on to the right person. I just wanted to send a great big thank you and job well done to Mountain Operations and the grooming team. I am a Ski Instructor based at Jackson Gore. I was so impressed with the conditions this past week, when you consider the challenge Mother Nature gave us. We may have had limited terrain and yet what we had was safe and skiable. I was able to find fun and teachable terrain for my clients and we had a great week. That would not have happened without the tremendous effort put forth by the grooming and ski patrol teams. So again please pass on my personal note of thanks.

Barbara Newton
Ski Instructor – Jackson Gore

---

Hello Shannon-
I would like to thank you again for working with me to re-book the lift tickets and lessons for our 5 kids this morning. I know how difficult days like today can be with bad weather on holiday weekends and having customers like me who "didn't know" can only compound the problem. I also saw and heard you dealing with a particularly offensive man before me and you are to be commended for your handling of that situation as well. (I'm not sure I would have been as polite as you were after he
started swearing at you...)

Anyway, thank you again for accommodating us with a smile and we look forward to coming back here many more times.

Very sincerely,
Erik Liebegott

---

I teach snowboarding at the Jackson Gore base. Late this morning I happened to be along the Coleman Brook trail with private lesson clients as the mid-day groomers traveled up the trail, leaving behind a terrific new snow surface. The four grooming machine cast an impressive image in their own right, but the accompanying team of snowmobiles, ski patrollers, safety patrollers, and mountain ambassadors is truly awe inspiring. I can’t imagine how much choreography is required to move that team around the mountain so efficiently, but golly-gosh it is an impressive show.

I know our guests appreciate the freshly groomed snow at lunchtime, but even more than that, witnessing the massive Okemo Snow-tilla gives them a firsthand look at the skill and professionalism of our mountain operations team, and helps them understand how important this often hidden work-group is to their Okemo experience.

Please share my appreciation, and please pass along the wonderment of my Ski and Ride School clients. Everybody involved in the mid-day grooming operation deserves a big pat on the back!

Tom Buchanan

---

12/30,

Mom called at 4 pm to book a snow star lesson for 12/31. She hadn't intended to book for tomorrow when...little Owen....stated "I have to go back!" He had such a good time and didn't want to miss tomorrow.

His instructor today was Phil Peterson in Snow Stars. Just thought you'd like to hear a nice report from a parent!!!!

Fredda in the Call Center

---

Finally this one is a bit small, but I thought it was worthy of sharing.




Good job everyone,
Bruce