Asteroid Belts, Family Values, and Recession

This past Saturday morning, I stood with a student of mine on the side of Heaven’s Gate, a wide, rolling intermediate run typical for Okemo Mountain Resort. We spoke quietly and calmly, having the run all to ourselves for a moment. A brief moment. Shortly after our conversation began, we each glanced up the trail and saw a veritable wall of humanity coming at us. Seriously. Heaven’s Gate went from a tranquil ribbon of white to the Santa Monica Freeway in a span of a minute or two. The throngs of people continued unabated for several minutes while we stood there, incredulous and unable to move. Then, as quickly as the crowd had appeared, it vanished and we were left alone once again. It was as though an asteroid belt had passed through, a metaphor that has proven apt for the continuing madness of Presidents Week. I now wear a helmet while teaching skiing and, when the asteroids fly by, I wonder if I’d be better off sitting in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon instead. Fasten your seat belts, Chewy, it’s going to be bumpy. And in a down economy, the asteroid belt phenomenon is a good thing.

Generally speaking, in the snowsports business there are three periods of time which can make or break a season. They are the holiday period in December and the beginning of the new year, the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend in mid-January, and Presidents Week in mid-February. By way of example, if the weather doesn’t cooperate during one of these stretches when the vast majority of schools are on break, it can have a major effect on our business. This winter, MLK weekend coincided with the Presidential inauguration, two major football games, and Northeastern weathermen predicting doomsday cold. So, despite the fact that conditions here in Vermont were absolutely superb, business was down considerably relative to last year and it’ll have a big effect on our seasonal bottom line.

Needless to say, we do all have a sense that the resort is going to have a down season on the whole relative to last year (bearing in mind that the 07/08 season was exceptionally good). I am not privy to the numbers, but Okemo certainly feels a bit less busy. Those of us who work at the resort typically gird ourselves for an onslaught of humanity during Presidents Week and, while we are busy, we’re certainly not overwhelmed, asteroids or not.

I remain optimistic that ski trips to mountains close to home represent precisely the type of activities families will continue to do even though the economy has turned sour. Extravagance may be out, but fun, active, outdoor activities which kids and adults of varying ages and abilities can enjoy together are wonderful remedies for the ills of every day life. Certainly, our chosen sports and the environment where we participate in them represent the kind of values people look for in difficult times. Whether they represent enough dollar value remains to be seen. For me and for all of us who teach skiing and snowboarding for a living, making our guests feel that their money has been well-spent, recession or not, remains a welcome challenge and a worthwhile endeavor.