I would love to know how this came about. Was he enlisted or did he volunteer? Obviously it's early - and Vail NEEDS TO FUCKING SHOW ME - but this seems like a fantastic first step.
A Letter from the new Interim General Manager of Stevens Pass
Stevens Pass Community,
I am glad to be coming home, even if just temporarily, to support this period of transition at Stevens Pass.
I grew up at Stevens Pass and my ski career started here, too. My three boys have grown up at this mountain and also call it home. I worked my way through the ranks for 20 years, ultimately leaving in 1999, having served as Director of Operations. Since then, I have been lucky enough to manage a number of amazing resorts across the western United States, gaining new insight and experience along the way. This includes time at Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho as GM, followed by moving to the Tahoe area in 2010, where I’ve held several senior operations roles at both Heavenly and Kirkwood. In 2016, I proudly became the GM of Kirkwood, and three years later, I began serving in my current role as GM at Heavenly.
I understand how special Stevens Pass is. I also know many of you are frustrated – and we’ve heard you. I’m taking an interim GM assignment here to support operational improvement, work towards getting the mountain open as quickly and safely as possible, and to positively change your experience with us.
Stevens Pass is a complex operation...it always has been. That means change will not happen overnight, but I am committed to securing both short-term wins and outlining a long-term roadmap of improvement. With that in mind, I am committed to communicating often, and with transparency.
My history and passion may be relevant, but what really matters today is moving forward.
I am excited to reconnect with friends from the past, and to make new ones on the hill. And most importantly, we want to see SPKA!
I would love to know how this came about. Was he enlisted or did he volunteer? Obviously it's early - and Vail NEEDS TO FUCKING SHOW ME - but this seems like a fantastic first step.
A Letter from the new Interim General Manager of Stevens Pass
Stevens Pass Community,
I am glad to be coming home, even if just temporarily, to support this period of transition at Stevens Pass.
I grew up at Stevens Pass and my ski career started here, too. My three boys have grown up at this mountain and also call it home. I worked my way through the ranks for 20 years, ultimately leaving in 1999, having served as Director of Operations. Since then, I have been lucky enough to manage a number of amazing resorts across the western United States, gaining new insight and experience along the way. This includes time at Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho as GM, followed by moving to the Tahoe area in 2010, where I’ve held several senior operations roles at both Heavenly and Kirkwood. In 2016, I proudly became the GM of Kirkwood, and three years later, I began serving in my current role as GM at Heavenly.
I understand how special Stevens Pass is. I also know many of you are frustrated – and we’ve heard you. I’m taking an interim GM assignment here to support operational improvement, work towards getting the mountain open as quickly and safely as possible, and to positively change your experience with us.
Stevens Pass is a complex operation...it always has been. That means change will not happen overnight, but I am committed to securing both short-term wins and outlining a long-term roadmap of improvement. With that in mind, I am committed to communicating often, and with transparency.
My history and passion may be relevant, but what really matters today is moving forward.
I am excited to reconnect with friends from the past, and to make new ones on the hill. And most importantly, we want to see SPKA!
See you on the mountain,
Tom Fortune
The previous GM was a “sales and marketing” GM from Colorado. Not an ops guy. At Stevens more than anywhere you need an ops GM.
I really have no words. I fucking knew better than to buy a season pass at Stevens. I did because hand full of friends that I normally ride with did too.
The 30,000+ signature petition that is floating around to demand Vail refund season pass money, I'm like signature number 80. They won't do it I think, unless the State AG gets involved. Which he might. I hope.
But most likely I lit $650 on fire.
I still have my Ikon pass and enjoyed 2+ feet of new snow at Alpental on Wednesday. Wore me out, I don't have my legs under me yet.
Sounds like with this storm that rolled through, nothing is open for the foreseable future (aka Sunday).
Except Crystal. They rock.
Fuck Vail.
I hope the AG goes after Vail.
I have a very close fren who was a Director at Stevens for many years.
What they did to that place is criminal.
I would love to hear any of the inside details you can share. And the ones you can't, PM @pawz.
I will post a summary soon. Nothing is confidential.
Seriously fuck Vail and fuck Altera. They are ruining skiing every where.
There was no parking issue at Crystal pre Ikon pass BTW.
I don't begrudge Crystal's recent parking policies. It's simple supply and demand. The Seattle area has exploded in the last two decades and we have no new resorts to handle all of that extra capacity. Even less now that Stevens decided to sell the couch. It sucks, but this is where we are.
The shittiest part of the massive corporatization of everything skiing is that despite all of the big pockets, no one is willing to make actual big capital investments. These fuckos need to lobby the USFS to open up some more land and develop another resort or two. This shit is only going to continue to get worse.
I really have no words. I fucking knew better than to buy a season pass at Stevens. I did because hand full of friends that I normally ride with did too.
The 30,000+ signature petition that is floating around to demand Vail refund season pass money, I'm like signature number 80. They won't do it I think, unless the State AG gets involved. Which he might. I hope.
But most likely I lit $650 on fire.
I still have my Ikon pass and enjoyed 2+ feet of new snow at Alpental on Wednesday. Wore me out, I don't have my legs under me yet.
Sounds like with this storm that rolled through, nothing is open for the foreseable future (aka Sunday).
Except Crystal. They rock.
Fuck Vail.
I hope the AG goes after Vail.
I have a very close fren who was a Director at Stevens for many years.
What they did to that place is criminal.
I would love to hear any of the inside details you can share. And the ones you can't, PM @pawz.
I will post a summary soon. Nothing is confidential.
Seriously fuck Vail and fuck Altera. They are ruining skiing every where.
There was no parking issue at Crystal pre Ikon pass BTW.
I don't begrudge Crystal's recent parking policies. It's simple supply and demand. The Seattle area has exploded in the last two decades and we have no new resorts to handle all of that extra capacity. Even less now that Stevens decided to sell the couch. It sucks, but this is where we are.
The shittiest part of the massive corporatization of everything skiing is that despite all of the big pockets, no one is willing to make actual big capital investments. These fuckos need to lobby the USFS to open up some more land and develop another resort or two. This shit is only going to continue to get worse.
Dramatic population growth + affluence (i.e., skiing is mostly not for pours) combined with no new acreage in WA would have created crowding issues regardless. But the Epic / Ikon pass compounds the problems immensely but keep the cost of ski days absurdly low. Vail and Aletra's (Ikon) model is too focus on maxium skier visits via Epic/Ikon and then make your money with through lessons, rentals, F&B, etc.
I'd rather we just went back to the days of single resorts season passes and day tickets.
Return on equity ruins everything I love whether it's college football or skiing in WA.
Fortunately, I'm only 30 mins from a good hill that still has enough parking most days and it's too far away from @HillsboroDuck to day trip it.
Still one of the best views in the bidness. Just stunning.
These Blue Bird days are shit as fuck if you ask me. I like Blue Bird days in the spring when the sun hits stuff early and softens things up. We've had like 2+ weeks straight of high pressure crap and the freeze/thaw cycle has left massive amounts of blue, death ice. I thought I was gonna get little piss killed last Sunday.
i was up there on sunday, maybe a few minutes in each line on both the pcmr and canyons side.
the parking at pcmr is just shit, people were commenting on how bad it was but how short the wait lines.
tbh, pcmr is probably more 'family friendly' or if you're on vacation and dont really know how to ski. canyons, more technical.
i think staffing has been an issue, super condor lift hasnt been open much.
Yeah, I think Xmas week was when they got totally crushed.
The Super Condor thing is a fucking joke. That's the best lift in Park City and to not have that open regularly is shit as fuck.
yeah it was that week. we always get out of town then cause its a shitshow in pc (moreso than usual) and our passes are blacked out.
itll be interesting to see how that resort develops over the next 5 years. i think theres going to be one more condo/townhome project put in the canyons next to the silverado lodge. pcmr will be more of a shitshow if that development goes up where the parking lot is.
It's hard to imagine the Seattle folks not fighting more forest land for skiing in court for 30 years
Was on a ski date once and while waiting in a lift line I wondered aloud why Stevens didn't open up more of the hill for skiing. She looked at me like I'd just shot her dog or something.
It's hard to imagine the Seattle folks not fighting more forest land for skiing in court for 30 years
Was on a ski date once and while waiting in a lift line I wondered aloud why Stevens didn't open up more of the hill for skiing. She looked at me like I'd just shot her dog or something.
Hopefully you left her at the top of Nasty Gash (no pun intended) to find her own way down.
It's hard to imagine the Seattle folks not fighting more forest land for skiing in court for 30 years
Was on a ski date once and while waiting in a lift line I wondered aloud why Stevens didn't open up more of the hill for skiing. She looked at me like I'd just shot her dog or something.
Hopefully you left her at the top of Nasty Gash (no pun intended) to find her own way down.
She was my ride home, but things ran their course pretty quickly after that day.
Is that recent? Yella don't do tight trees in freeze/thaw cycle set up cement.
Yes, this afternoon. After the thaw.
Not great but I'll take it the first tim the backside has been open all year at Stevens. The variable conditions keep you on your toes, but just soft enough to not be miserable.
Honestly it was fascinating to see Corona bowl this way. Riders have a way of pushing snow in different directions, causing different undulations. So in a way, today was pure terrain. I enjoyed despite the non-optimal snow.
Looking forward to Monday after a scheduled refresh Sunday.
Comments
https://www.facebook.com/stevenspass/photos/a.118373430597/10158242058850598/
Stevens Pass
A Letter from the new Interim General Manager of Stevens Pass
Stevens Pass Community,
I am glad to be coming home, even if just temporarily, to support this period of transition at Stevens Pass.
I grew up at Stevens Pass and my ski career started here, too. My three boys have grown up at this mountain and also call it home. I worked my way through the ranks for 20 years, ultimately leaving in 1999, having served as Director of Operations. Since then, I have been lucky enough to manage a number of amazing resorts across the western United States, gaining new insight and experience along the way. This includes time at Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho as GM, followed by moving to the Tahoe area in 2010, where I’ve held several senior operations roles at both Heavenly and Kirkwood. In 2016, I proudly became the GM of Kirkwood, and three years later, I began serving in my current role as GM at Heavenly.
I understand how special Stevens Pass is. I also know many of you are frustrated – and we’ve heard you. I’m taking an interim GM assignment here to support operational improvement, work towards getting the mountain open as quickly and safely as possible, and to positively change your experience with us.
Stevens Pass is a complex operation...it always has been. That means change will not happen overnight, but I am committed to securing both short-term wins and outlining a long-term roadmap of improvement. With that in mind, I am committed to communicating often, and with transparency.
My history and passion may be relevant, but what really matters today is moving forward.
I am excited to reconnect with friends from the past, and to make new ones on the hill. And most importantly, we want to see SPKA!
See you on the mountain,
Tom Fortune
No seriously. That place has always been second rate among NW ski areas.
Also exploring new terrain at Crystal.
the canyons village at park city mountain resortthe canyonspark west is basically you got to get there at 8amlines on the mountain arent bad though, not all the chairs are open, not sure if thats due to a lack of workers or vail being vail
i know the pcmr lifties and vail avoided a strike, would have been a shitshow if that didnt happen.
The shittiest part of the massive corporatization of everything skiing is that despite all of the big pockets, no one is willing to make actual big capital investments. These fuckos need to lobby the USFS to open up some more land and develop another resort or two. This shit is only going to continue to get worse.
I'd rather we just went back to the days of single resorts season passes and day tickets.
Return on equity ruins everything I love whether it's college football or skiing in WA.
Fortunately, I'm only 30 mins from a good hill that still has enough parking most days and it's too far away from @HillsboroDuck to day trip it.
The potential strike with Vail was ski patrol. Pretty crazy how shit those guys are paid in conjunction with the level of responsibility.
When were you not seeing lines @rodmansrage ?
the parking at pcmr is just shit, people were commenting on how bad it was but how short the wait lines.
tbh, pcmr is probably more 'family friendly' or if you're on vacation and dont really know how to ski. canyons, more technical.
i think staffing has been an issue, super condor lift hasnt been open much.
These Blue Bird days are shit as fuck if you ask me. I like Blue Bird days in the spring when the sun hits stuff early and softens things up. We've had like 2+ weeks straight of high pressure crap and the freeze/thaw cycle has left massive amounts of blue, death ice. I thought I was gonna get little piss killed last Sunday.
The Super Condor thing is a fucking joke. That's the best lift in Park City and to not have that open regularly is shit as fuck.
itll be interesting to see how that resort develops over the next 5 years. i think theres going to be one more condo/townhome project put in the canyons next to the silverado lodge. pcmr will be more of a shitshow if that development goes up where the parking lot is.
as we say, should be chinteresting.
Not great but I'll take it the first tim the backside has been open all year at Stevens. The variable conditions keep you on your toes, but just soft enough to not be miserable.
Honestly it was fascinating to see Corona bowl this way. Riders have a way of pushing snow in different directions, causing different undulations. So in a way, today was pure terrain. I enjoyed despite the non-optimal snow.
Looking forward to Monday after a scheduled refresh Sunday.