Stowe

Our last trip to Stowe consisted of trail work on the access road. Our class used rakes and leaf blowers to clean out the culverts on both sides of the Stowe access road. This job wasn't too fun in comparison to the other projects are class has participated in this semester, but I feel that we generally all came together to get the job done cleaning the road. After the manual labor was finished, we took a trip over to the Maintenence building. This building, more like warehouse, houses the entire Groomer fleet, vehicle maintenence, and snowmobiles used by Stowe. I was able to step into a retrofitted Piston Bully Winch cat, which was turned into a guest transport cat equiped with a cabin with seats. This was the first type of Piston Bully machine I have ever seen with a detachable cab on the back. It was really cool. Seeing the new and old Piston Bullys at Stowe made me crave stepping into a groomer this season even more.

Chilli Cook Off

Lyndon State held its annual Chilli Cook off over at the Lyndon Outing Club on November 5th 2012. As well as the cook-off, the LOC put on it's first organized skate jam at the new skate park it installed over this past summer. My group was in charge of sustainability of the event and for future use of the LOC. Our group, along with certain members from trail and building maintenence teamed up to construct a recycle and deposit bin, which is a perminenet structure at the LOC. The bin came out great and contains old cross country skis as trim and decoration. Both the Chilli Cook off and Skate Jam went very well. There was no trash left outside by the lodge and skate park, which really shows that people are becoming enviromentally aware and not littering as much. The Outing Club also put on a ski and skate movie premier as well as a bonfire for all to enjoy later that evening. The fire was created from old wood that was being thrown out and was effectively managed with both shovels and water. All in all. The Chilli Cook off and First annual Skate Jam were both a success.

Burke

Last weekend our class went over to Burke Mountain to install the seat pads on the Willoughby chair. This job consisted of a lot of repetition, but our class made it a fun game by racing against the load and unload side of the terminal. This also was nice because our work got done faster. This was also the first time I operated a lift. It was pretty cool being able to watch the lift stop and go and know I was the one in control. At the end of the day I was once again satisfied for being a mtn. Rec major because of the intense amount of in field experience that we do on a weekly basis.

Bretton Woods

Our class took a ride over to Bretton Woods and the Mt. Washington Hotel two weeks ago to check out their operations at the hill and over at the hotel. We met with many different higher level managers within the organization from sales/marketing to operations. I personally liked being able to check out the inside of the snow making operations and lift services seeing that I have little experience other than class time spent working with these two disciplines. I feel that the more I am involved in constructing projects, such as the recycle bin that was built at the LOC, and LOC cable splice, I am more interested in operations. I am still focused on getting involved with events and ski school to start off given that that is where my experience lies, but I also want to be involved in operations wherever I end up interning/ working this summer and next winter season.

Jay Peak

Last Thursday our class took a trip up to Jay Peak to check out the new expansion projects being constructed there. We got to check out the massive new water park, ice house and hotel/condos. I really liked seeing how Jay kept some of their original buildings and just made additions to the new sections being constructed because it was like stepping into two different periods of time in one building. Mixing the old with the new isn't always a bad thing, unless the building is falling apart or not up to code. Being a senior and looking for an internship this summer, I will be considering trying to be involved in a marketing/event team for summer operations at the end of this winter season at Jay Peak. 

Outing club and Burke trip

I wanted to combine last weeks posts in order to save some time especially during midterm week. This past Tuesday our class was at the outing club to continue planning and designing the chilli cook off, rail jam and year round programs/events. We broke up into our groups to continue developing our project segments. I was able to talk to maitenece and find all of the lumber needed to construct our recycle bins. What we do need currently are tools, screws, door hinges, and a padlock system with chain. I will talk more about the details in class.

Last Thursday we took a trip over to Burke mountain to check out the new loft being installed next to the willoughby chair and also the new wind tower. I am really excited to see this new lift once it's completed. It will also be nice having a foot rest for once! We also got to see the entire blue prints that were used to design the lift and make sure it fits perfectly in darling state park. The last new piece of technology we got to see was the new wind tower. The wind tower was very impressive,especially seeing and hearing the massive blades being pounded by the wind. It's really cool to see Burke making an attempt to go green. I am very appreciative of being able to get the chance to not only see and take a part a lift at Stowe, but to also get a sneak peak of a new lift at a mountain I will bs working at this season.

Cannon Mtn. Trip

On the 29th our practicum class took a trip over to Cannon Mountain located in Franconia Notch in New Hampshire. There we visited a ski museum and took a ride on the Tram. The Museum was very interested. My favorite part of the ski exhibit was being able to see the old ski, snowmaking and grooming gear that was used generations before us. The innovation of technology used in the industry today compared to the past is mind boggling.  The Tram ride was very cool as well seeing as this was my first ride on a Tram lift.  The scale of the mechanics used to power the lift is huge. I really liked being able to see the massive counterweights and extra cable housed at the summit lift station. We were told that the original tram was installed in the early 1900s and was replaced in 1982 with the lift that is in still operation today. It's very humbling knowing how much technology has changed in such a short amount of time in the ski industry.

Stowe

The other day the class visited Stowe Mountain resort to check out the new high speed detachable lift being installed at the resort. This new lift replaced the old quad which was installed in the 80s. Stowe feels that the new lift will reduce the time guests have to wait in line and will also increase the interest in more trails viewed, "most popular" by guests. Our class was fortunate enough to be able to visit the new lift site and check out the inner workings of a very impressive machine. From there, we hopped back in the vans and took a drive to the top of the lift, where we checked out the terminal, drive motor, and new construction that has taken place on top of Stowe.

After looking at the new lift, the class went down to the base area to help disassemble the tower assemblies of the old quad lift that was replaced. We were responsible for loostening the shiv assemblies, taking off cross support beams, and working baskets and rails. I have never worked on a chair lift before, and I had a great time. The stowe trip was an awesome experience!

Outing Club Last Class

I am a little behind with posts but I wanted to talk about the last class we had at the outing club regarding the roap splice and event preparations inside. I feel that this class was a perfect example of effective decision making. The man responsible of the cable splice could not work in the conditions provided to him at the time of service, so he made all of the necessary preparations to splice a haul rope.  The splice was completed the next morning.
    Later on in the afternoon the class met up back inside the base lode of the LOC. There, we sat and discussed the current status of each group's project for the upcoming event. I am extremely excited for the chilli cook off and for a formal rail jam at the new skate park at the LOC.

Sunday River

I wanted to share a few thoughts about thursdays trip to Sunday River. I thought the trip to Sunday was awesome. Being a senior I'm faced with the challenge of finding a salary job after I graduate this may at age 21. I really enjoyed being able to meet with vendors of the many different products and brands used in the Ski Resort Industry.

I met with Mike Kichenstein, President of Ramp skis and snowboards. Ramp is based out of the west coast. There business message is simple, provide recreational skiers and snowboarders with consumer direct products. All Ramp products are sold through it's website. I thought the skis and boards that Mike and his assistant brought were pretty cool. I really enjoyed the base graphics, which sported an all natural look and feel. As far as board specs goes, I wasn't able to find out a lot of technology that was used in each model snowboard. I have been riding Burton boards for quite sometime now solely for the reason that I can buy new models for very cheap being  a level II instructor, but I haven't been impressed with the structural quality of their equipment since the company began to outsource it's entire board line to over seas. I plan on keeping in contact with Ramp to try and acquire a pro-form for one of their park boards.

Sunday River was an awesome trip! I can't wait to meet even more venders throughout my career in the ski resort industry. I will put up more posts about other venders I met at the expo tomorrow.

Goodnight all!  

New LOC!

Everyone had great ideas about what improvements can be made at the Lyndon Outing Club at yesterday's class! It will be awesome to see these ideas being executed, especially some fun events to bring in more guests to the hill.