Next Level Ops Report: Next Gen Teen Takeover
Ops Report 7/27/25: All the Small Things, Kid Bosses on the Move, and Waterville’s Junior Mountain Operations
Hi Friends!
This was the week to check the box on all the small things before we go all out on the t-bar build. One might think that the toughest part of building a lift is erecting all of the steel or installing all of the electronics. To be honest, the most tedious, challenging part of building a lift is putting in the foundations. The foundations on lift towers are the most critical component. An error in the foundations can cost you time and money. So all the small things must be done to make sure these are completely accurate and to the engineered plan.
ALL THE SMALL THINGS
While I have all of the confidence in the world in my team to build this lift, I know I need a little help making sure we are on point. So this week, we met with our concrete supervisor to go over all of the details before we build the forms. For those of you interested, here is a list of all the small things:
✔ MND tower templates on site
✔ MND anchor bolts on site
✔ Plywood and framing lumber on site
✔ Rebar bent to plan and sorted by tower
✔ Special concrete tools ordered and on site
✔ Schedule engineer and tramway inspections
✔ Blaster on site and ready to dislodge the granite
✔ Excavators and track truck in good health, ready to dig
✔ Fill material banked around blast sites to protect TEX
✔ Blasting mats stationed on the hill
✔ Tower backfill and geotech fill on site and ready to be deployed if needed
✔ Mowing of the construction area complete
✔ Wire ties, rebar chairs, standsees, pencil rod, hogs heads ordered
✔ Tower foundations marked with elevations and sizes on the hill, CHECK AND TRIPLE QUADRUPLE CHECK ON THIS ONE
✔ USFS notified of blasting date
And while we got all of our ducks in a row for the t-bar foundations, our mountain ops teams also continued to work on smaller projects - ones we know could get pushed by the wayside once the t-bar is fully underway. Our trail crew and electrical team worked together this week to reconnect the power to the top of Green Peak. At some point over the winter, we lost 480 power to the top of that peak due to two breaks underground. While not completely crucial to our operations, not having this power is a nuisance to everyone. This fix has been on the list since the spring and this was a good week to tackle it. Our lift maintenance and trail crew also continued to work together on a number of projects: building forms for new tee pads for the disc golf course, welding the first light pole for night lighting, demoing old TEX bubbles off the frames and installing new bubbles (8 this week!), and removing material out of the barn and starting the forms for a new concrete work pad for chair maintenance. When our teams work together, we can accomplish exponentially more.
The power issue at Northside I talked about last week? That turned out to be a drive issue. So we had Leighton out this week to look at the health of the Northside and Sunnyside drives. These older model drives are simplistic in their logic but do require continual maintenance. Leighton was able to identify several issues and is helping us to resolve them over the course of the next month, which will help us to ensure that these lifts are in good working order for next winter. Sunnyside also got a little love from the lift maintenance team this week - Line work has been completed and they have rebuilt and replaced 5 sheaves to keep your ride next winter as smooth as possible.
LITTLE HANDS, BIG JOBS
There are also many smaller tasks we complete weekly on the mountain - erosion control, cleaning out silt catches, removing the old Gilmanton frames that cover the sides of the trails, cleaning out drainage ditches, limbing the edges of the trails, mowing the base area, weed whacking around towers and terminals, raking and weeding the gravel walkways, etc. While our mountain ops crew is out straight completing projects, who takes care of all these small things? Let me introduce you to our Junior Mountain Ops Program....
We are well-known as New Hampshire's family resort thanks in part to our "Kids Ski Free" Program. Any adult who purchases a season pass receives one free children's season pass. There are no restrictions on this - if you don't have a child, you can still give this free season pass to a child of your choosing - maybe a neighbor or a friend or a student who loves to be outdoors. We fully believe that being out on the mountain is beneficial to all children and we want to introduce them to this life-long sport we all love. But what happens after kids age out? This happens in all sports, not just skiing - In the teenage years, kids start aging out of summer camps, winter programming and all of these other well-organized activities that keep kids busy and teach them life skills. Several years ago, the Great Lisa Dutto created the SEED program at Waterville, which is a ski program that teaches 12 -15 year olds how to become a ski instructor. Our patrol also has a wonderful program for teenagers called YAP (Young Adult Patroller), which allows kids to learn about becoming a ski patroller. In taking a cue from these other programs, we started our Junior Mountain Ops program.
Four years ago, when my own children started aging out of camps, I looked around in our community to what was available for them to do in the summer that was productive and healthy. In the State of NH, teens can start working at the age of 14; however, our state has very strict laws about working hours and what teens are allowed to do, which restricts the number of businesses that will hire teenagers. Additionally, the fines for non-compliance with these rules are steep and many NH businesses make the conscious choice to limit their hiring to 18 and older because they don't want to take the risk. Most 14 year olds are looking at a choice between bagging groceries, serving coffee or scooping ice cream. To go from summer sports camps outdoors in the sunshine to inside a grocery store seems unpalatable for New Hampshire's teens. So four years ago, we made the decision to start a teen work program at Waterville - not a camp, not an experience, but real paid work for teenagers - outside, doing grounds work both in the town and on the mountain. In that first year the program was quite small, but over the last four summers we have grown it exponentially. And that first set of teens who came to work for us are now adults pursuing their careers and education. Beyond landscaping, we were able to expose the teenagers to multiple lines of work within our resort. All ski resorts are a microcosm of the business world. We don't just have trail crews and lift operators - we have accounting departments, marketing, food and beverage, lodging, guest services, HR, an IT department and even planning and development engineers. Working at a ski resort is a great way for teens to look at different potential career paths to decide what they might want to do in the future.
But right now, for me and my children, it's being out on the mountain that is important. The mountain can teach teens things that are hard to learn in a classroom - perseverance, teamwork, resilience. And while I have two that are working age and have thrived at their different positions within the resort, I have two that are still too young to work here but are looking forward to it as much as they do their ski programs. My oldest daughter is excited to work for the childcare and Mogul Mites program. My youngest daughter tags along with me every winter weekend - when she isn't in her program, you will see her by my side at TEX, greeting guests and playing in the snow, waiting for her time to join the team.
This little tangent of mine on our Junior Mountain Ops program is less a marketing tactic and more of a PSA to other ski resorts and the greater NH business community. We know it's challenging to meet the demands of compliance when hiring teenagers; however, the benefit outweighs the risk. We are teaching the next generation how to put in a hard day's work and how to be a part of the community. We are letting them explore their career options early and modeling work ethic, leadership and teaching life skills. Whether these teenagers stay to be a part of our resort family in their adult years or they move on to the next great thing, we know that we are shaping the next generation of America's workforce and leaving a lasting impact on our community.
M
- Marissa P., Operations Manager