Karl Kullberg sits a bulldozer visually surveying the resort around him as he has done for the past twenty-six years. While he talks, he points out all the qualities and features about the mountain; he knows every detail. Mt. Peter is a family-owned ski resort and when there is an opportunity to talk to long-time… Read More »

Among others honored, the late chairlift engineer Jan Leonard was inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame this past September 21 at the Alf Engen Museum, home of the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame. “Leonard founded one of the most recognizable ski-industry companies in the world. A 1968 graduate of Penn State, he was… Read More »

In 1938 when the Mellon’s developed Laurel Mountain as a private ski club, the Ligonier Valley was a playground for the wealthy with fox hunting, trout fishing, and the Rolling Rock Club. This valley was where the Westinghouse, Carnegie and other famous Gilded Age families mixed socially for holidays away from the city heat and… Read More »

What were you doing 18 years ago?  Comparing ski industry notes and some personal ones, from 1998. You’ve been an engineer in the ski resort industry for 29 years; that’s nearly three decades of your neighbors watching you put your skis in your car when heading to work. You got your start in the wire… Read More »

Nicholas is a snowboarder. When comparing any climate that has chairlifts, maintaining a tramway in a desert area doesn’t have as many differences as you would anticipate. When talking about the lifts in Southern California, our hot weather here is equal to the snow and cold of somewhere else. It’s all relative. Most of us… Read More »

In June, Skytrac installed a new fixed-grip triple to replace a 2002 Yan for the Cal Expo/ California State Fair. The former Sky Ride’s Yan was removed in 2007, and the Fair is happy to have their new and profitable chairlift operating again for their long-waiting patrons. The Sky Ride is specifically Skytrac-engineered for it’s… Read More »

Doug is a Skier. At the completion of the ASC B77.1 Committee meeting held in Nashville,TN, Doug Allen, VP of Mountain Operations at Steamboat Resort and LeRoy Shultz, past Chairman of the B77, received the Jan W. Leonard Award. This inaugural award is given annually “for exceptional contribution to the B77 American Standards Committee.” The… Read More »

If the Social Benefits Are Worthy and the Economic Benefits Are Real, You Should Be Doing It. Mike is a Skier. Michael Pratt is waiting when I call him Friday morning. Not for me, but for the new cable for Gore’s Northwoods Gondola. While the cable is stuck at the Canadian border, the crane truck… Read More »

Lift Maintenance Manager, Snowmass, New Chairman ANSI B77 Committee. Mark Thorpe is a Skier. Two days before the NSAA Keynote speaker addressed the issue of aging resort leadership, the ANSI B77 committee announced Mark Thorpe as the Committee’s new Chairman. “Getting qualified younger people involved is crucial,” expressed Maynard Russell, who is stepping aside to… Read More »

Mark Wait received the RMLA Maintenance Person of the Year plaque at the awards breakfast held on May 5th. The function was attended by hundreds of resort and services lift people and the finalists included mechanics from Breckenridge, Steamboat and Vail. Mark was given the award by his manager who said “Mark Wait is a… Read More »

From: Billerica, MA Family: Dad of a 9-year old daughter Offtime: Fish, ride dirt bikes, hang out with his daughter Jasen is a skier. Career History: “At 18, my ski industry career started out as a lift operator at Waterville Valley, NH. While I liked it, I decided to move forward and join the U.S.… Read More »