Dave's Blog

Hi Dave!  When do you reckon the pipe will be done?  I'm getting excited to ski the half pipe!  Also when are the bigger jumps going to be made?  It would be great to see the down flat down box up soon too!  

Dave's reply: Hi Nina, thanks for your questions. If you've been up on the mountain, you've probably seen the large superpipe construction project making good progress. It should be ready very soon - within days. After that, we have a continuing plan of park projects. It will be different that in the past - and better! Stay tuned.

I wanted to get back to something that was posted as response to your post on Sunday.  To quote directly: <<Milk Run!  Snowmaking?!!!  A disrespect to our planet!  We get the mega-dump with a lot more coming after a record December and a 60" base, and you guys are pumping water from our river and burning energy in order to make snow that we don't need. How does that make Telski look as steward of these mountains?  To see you spitting snow in the face of Mother Nature during a time of crisis in this planet's evolution makes us feel ashamed to be any part of it.  Not cool.>>  You never responded to this comment despite the fact the original poster asked you twice to respond to his specific concerns.  Additionally, I noted when I was riding the gondola back to t-ride this evening that snowmaking was continuing on milk run!  Its snowing right at this moment, when do you plan on discontinuing this?  Come on, what happened to the green initiative?  

Dave's reply: Hi Liz, I'm happy to reply to your questions and concerns.

You may not be aware, but Milk Run is one of the region's best ski race venues. We have several very important state-wide ski races January through the 3rd weekend in March on Milk Run.

Ski racers require a very hard surface - one that snowmaking provides. We have been working closely with our local ski club to provide the venues which they need for our local kids to race on at the highest level.

If you feel that we are not a responsible company due to snowmaking that is your choice but we have strict environmental regulations and restrictions which we follow in order to provide the race venues while protecting the natural resources.

Remember, sustainability is a 3 leg stool: A) natural resources, B) society, and C) economic. From my point-of-view, the ski areas role is to operate in a manner that addresses and honors all three objectives (the triple bottom line). In fact, I believe the entire Telluride community has to think in these terms.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions. I hope you appreciate my thoughts and opinions also.

I have had several great days riding Telluride so far this season and today tops the list, for sure! Wow, what a beautiful day.

I notice a little more congestion in the areas just off the chairs this year. I also notice fewer benches at the top. Certainly it isn't necessary to provide a bench for snowboarders to use briefly while they strap in, but it is a courtesy to everyone on the mountain. I find it speeds along the process of moving forward away from unloading areas and with fewer riders around on the ground, it makes navigation in the area more pleasant for everyone.

I would be very pleased to see a few more benches at the top of all lifts but most especially at the top of lift 9.

You guys are doing a great job this season. I love how you added maps to the safety bars on 5. What a great idea. Really useful for people who don't want to mess with their maps in the wind and maybe loose a glove in the process.

Think Snow!

Dave's reply: Hi Pacie, We can purchase some additional benches for the top of Chair 9 - I agree. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm glad you're enjoying the ski season - it has really been an incredible season so far!

Hi Dave.  You're being quite vague.  A date to when the pipe will be done would be nice.  Also if you believe that 40 foot jumps are better than our sick triple line we had last winter, you must be from the planet of kook vill.  "Wait and see" isn't good enough for me or the other Telluride locals or even the tourists.  All resorts in America have their parks and pipes up by now.  It's quite BS that we can't even get a decent size jump up.  I don't know why your holding back on the park; it has a ton of potential to be a great park again.  Also why are there tiny jumps in the park next to the bigger jumps?  This is just begging for an accident with all the noobs coming to the park to do Texas airs off the little jumps.  I think you should allow the park crew to do what they know how to do best, and you should stop getting in their way of making a good park.  Obviously our park isn't better than last year, and I'm tired of you saying for me to wait and see how great it's going to be.  I don't see anything great about the park, and I'm ready to move to a legit mountain who caters to having a great park.  In the new Transworld Snowboarding for the month of January it has a section on Telluride for having a great park last winter, and evidently we can't own up to that statement this winter.  Please step up, or back down and let the park crew do their thing!  

Dave's reply: Wow, relax Nina... the pipe is under construction now and should be done in a matter of days. This will be one of the earliest superpipes ever built at Telluride. All resorts in America do not have superpipes built at this time.

Do you understand the hard work, resources, and talent that is going into what is happening right now? Our staff would probably appreciate it if you would simply say "thank you".

One change is that we are building more intermediate features this year. Last year all we had was beginner and expert features. We had a meeting just today and the consensus was that as a result of how we have changed things we are getting far more usage in our parks by more of our locals and visitors. We are pleased with that result.

You may know that our snowmaking is sequenced and we put all resources at the superpipe last week. We're planning on rebuilding the Misty triple jump (which will be our showtime venue) and set a line of bigger rails on lower Hoot's as soon as the pipe is finished.

In the future, you may want to consider how you share your thoughts with me. Diplomacy and tact works best when you want to motivate someone - or even get them to listen.

Thank you.

dave

let's get real  here.  you are blowing aritiificial snow all over this mountain during this biggest snow fall of many decades.  this is environmentally irresponsible.  full stop.  discussing telluride's status as a ski race venue does not do justice to the complexity of this topic.  over the  christmas and new year holiday you spewed snow unnecessarily all over the place to create dangerous, slick conditions for intermediate skiers. i speak here to the intermediate terrain on 6 and the telluride trail where i picked up a lot of ski equipment, avoided numerous pile ups, and listened to a lot of unhappy tourists on the lift.

i see from previous posts that you sometimes get very very defensive in the face of criticism such as mine.  but you've got to understand that my family, and many of us in houston, feel this way.  we are just  being honest texans here who have  been skiing and visiting telluride for about 20 years now.  so i hope you take our honest feelings to heart.

Dave's reply: Hi John, No defensiveness here - just relaying the facts about how we operate a ski area and why we do what we do.

Yes, we have a much better natural base this year and everyone is happy about that. This will allow us to stop our snowmaking operation earlier this year than last year. I just had a meeting over this today with my mountain operations managers.

I'm not making up a story regarding snowmaking to improve our race venue. Why the heck would I do that? It costs us quite a bit to make snow on Milk Run. Alpine ski racing is a very important part of the Telluride community and I'm a very strong supporter of providing exactly what they need.

What's this about "unhappy tourists"? That's far from the truth in Telluride these days!  =) 

I do take your feelings to heart. Thanks for blogging John.

Dave,  Here is a comment a friend sent me.  What's up?   No marshmallows for folks to put in their rather pricey, imitation  chocolate?  Marshmallows are a basic food group !

Now here’s one for Dave’s blog:  Yesterday when I bought my hot chocolate at Gorrono’s, I noticed that the marsh mellows were missing.  I just assumed that some one had forgotten to put them out.  They were missing again today so I asked the young women at the checkout where the marshmallows were.  She said “we’re not allowed to sell them anymore.”  When I asked why, she said “I don’t know.”  Must be I was taking too many!!

Bill

Dave's reply: Hi Bill, If this is the most difficult thing I need to deal with today - I'm thinking today is going to be great! I'll gather the management team together and we'll all vote this afternoon :)

Seriously, I'll fix it. Thank you.

Hi dave,

wondering if you could tell us what the program for opening palmyra peak up will be. Obviouly it will be conditions dependent, but what would those conditions be? Will it be open in sections? will the chutes above lower mountian quail be open earlier? Is the plan for it to be opened to the top? If conditions permit is the plan top get it open before the freeski comp and what specifically would these conditions be? There has been a noticable difference this year in the urgency to get areas open as quickly and safely as possible and ski patrol and your management should be comeneded for promoting this. its good to have new blood with an open mind in the resort. All the work is appreciated and opening the peak would be the crowning jewel. We havnt been legally able to ski it since the inception of prospect bowl and it would be wonderful to have it back and no doubt a great marketing oppertunity.....much better than the picture which appered in a national ski mag earlier in the season . thanks again.

Dave's reply: Hi Julian, I wish I could be more specific about timing. With all this snow falling, my guess is that it will be awhile. Lots of work has been completed though with the installation of new boundary posts and the purchase of the necessary safety equipment which will be helicoptered up to the top in a box in the very near future. I don't believe the peak will be opened in sections. As far as conditions and timing, I've asked that the peak be opened when it is safe - there really isn't any other filter. That call will be made by our Ski Patrol. Thanks for your questions - I realize it's not exactly clear but it's the best I can provide.

Dave,

We're frustrated by your reply.  No one accused you of making up anything.  We suggested that you were not "doing justice to the complexity" of the topic of snow making.  There are energy and water resource issues at stake here.  Perhaps a difficult aspect of this discussion includes whether ski racing has to have snow making.  This is an issue that extends beyond the Telluride ski area, obviously, and Alpine racing could address the possibility of skiing on natural snow when it's available.  

As for unhappy tourists, there were some. Dave, you are accusing me of making things up.  I quote you: "that's far from the truth".  I do not like your accusations.  I'm trying to  be constructive and those dangerously slick conditions where all the moguls were groomed (Wolsely's and the side of Plunge for a couple of examples) alongside artificial snow (also Telluride Trail, Kid's Hill, and Cat's Paw) made for some unnecessarily upset visitors.   It's possible to have better conditions to ski on, and I think Telluride could improve on this count.  Aspen, Vail, and Beever Creek come to mind rather quickly as places that do a better job at grooming and snow making.  

Maybe Telluride could truly show some leadership and start a constructive discussion of good grooming and snow making practices alongside best practices for resource management.    

Dave's reply: Hi John, I'm sorry you're frustrated with my replies.

I've explained our reasoning behind making snow and appreciate that you have a different opinion. I defend your right to hold that opinion, it just differs from mine.

It is clear to me that you do not agree with our snowmaking. It is also reasonable to expect that we will continue to make snow.

We use the same snowcats and same snowmaking practices as the other resorts you mention. Two years ago one of our groomers, Steve Sanders, received "Groomer of the Year" by Colorado Ski Country USA. We have lots of returning staff members in both grooming and snowmaking as well as extremely talented managers in those departments. We invested heavily over the last summer in both grooming and snowmaking, purchasing the best equipment on the planet. 

I'm afraid we're going to have to agree to disagree on these issues. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions.

Right off the bat i would like to say is so cool to see that you guys are blowing for the pipe already.  Hell, i've seen the pipe open in the middle of february. or not at all. (see the quarter pipe from a few years ago)  So props to telski for getting crackin on that a little earlier than in years past.  I do wonder why we don't do some dirt work in the summer such as dig it out of the ground so it requires less snow to get it up and running just an idea, and not a new one i'm sure. On the subject of the park i'm also happy to see some intermediate stuff going up i have known quite a few of people who got broken off trying to go from the biggest jumps in ute or butterfly parks to even the smallest jump in Hoot's park.  It's good to have some kind of steping stones, not just 10 foot table to 35 foot table.  

As far as blowing snow from our rivers goes i've been told by people that seem to know more than i do that aside from the energy that is required to pump all that air and water it's not that bad for the environment.  Here is the way it was explained it to me snowmaking creats a very hard and dense snow pack that in turn melts much slower in the spring putting all that water back in to the ground at a much slower rate allowing more of it to be retained in the ground instead of just running off in the spring like most of it does.  

My only real gripe is the fact that the end of the season bonuses are not going to be given out this year. i think it may be tough to get some of your seasonal employees to stick it out till the end without some incentive to stay untill the end.  Also a lot of the people that make this great ski resort even possible use that money to get to there next job.  i just think the end of the season performance bonus was a good program and it helped keep here till the end.  just a thought  

Dave's reply: Thanks for recognizing the positive changes and work going into the parks and pipes.

Regarding last years "end of season bonus" program, as I mentioned in previous posts - we took the money and shifted it into a new reward and recognition program which is more contemporary and progressive in structure.

If staff members choose leave prior to the end of the season that would certainly be considered in terms of rehire status for the following season.

We're not dis-investing in our talented staff with this change - we put a program together that provides incentives for those who are strong performers. Ski areas across the country have moved to this kind of program - not to save money but rather to align recognition and rewards with performance more clearly. Thank you.

so it sounds like there will be races till the end of the season on milky? good for the small % of racers, bad for the larger % of skiers who like milk run and it's spring bumps. reminds one of the unfair allocation of funds and nice "community" building [hanley rink] for the select and relatively few hockey players in town. Sorry Dave, I do not mean to sound whiney, but most people can see, regardless of racer's "needs" [ha], that the right thing to do is to stop making snow on milk run [many days ago] and at the very least let the majority of skiers and boarders have it for the 2nd half of the season. As always, thanks for your time. I hope you understand that some of us are only trying to improve the telluride ski mountain experience for all of us, tourists and locals alike. We feel strongly about our opinions and have great insight as we ski here every day, year after year, and have an intimate knowledge of the ski area.  thanks again--steven

Dave's reply: Hi Steven, Thanks for your thoughts on this. It's a tough call but I'm going to lean in favor of the race community on this one.

Dear John from Texas:

Lots of complaints. However, most are Telluride's God-given bottlenecks and not the result of poor management. Let me address them:

Woozley's Way.  This trail is generally a little slick from snowmaking.  However, it is a key traffic trail -- the only intermediate trail allowing access from the summit of chairs 6 and 9 into the Prospect Bowl/Gold Hill sectors. This used to be a great low expert bump area called Silver Glade. However, it is a necessary evil and needs to be open the entire season - hence snowmaking. The reality is that is a little too steep for most intermediates so they ski it off to hardness.

The Plunge.  It has no snowmaking. And can get a little compacted from intermediate level skiers that skid turns. However, it was quite carvable during the holiday period. Unless Telluride groomed the Plunge consistently - intermediates would not be on it. It is 30-45 degrees in some places - not typical intermediate terrain!

Telluride Trail.  This another problem that will never be solved.  Unless there was a major regrading/blasting environmentally-destructive effort to widen, it will be narrow.  And will always be high traffic since it is only the easy way down the front side.

Coonskin.  If you had a racing background, you know what expectations are for a course.  Telluride management is meeting them.  

And as for Vail, Beaver Creek and Aspen -- the holiday skier traffic destroys most of their groomed surfaces by 11am where they would become 'dangerous'.

Telluride is simply a steeper mountain than most and there are some natural bottlenecks that no 'best managment practices' can completely remedy.

Dave's reply: Hi Chris. Nice detailed explanation - better than I did earlier :)

 My suggestion to some of the whiners about where we make snow is to come visit in the summer and hike to some of these areas and see exactly what you are skiing over...if we didn't make snow when and where we do, you'd be blowing out edges on rocks or busting your femur on downed logs...or the run would open much later...lower T-trail would be skiied to rocks in a day..Cat's Paw is a deep creekbed full of old logs...Woozleys used to be great until we had to start making snow and grooming on it to let intermediate skiers have a way to get thru...otherwise you'd whine that there's only expert runs on 6

I agree making snow on milk run sucks..it was the best springtime run..but hey, racers gotta race somewhere..they love that hard slick stuff.

We snowmakers bust our a**es doing this job..some of us are quite passionate about it...I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when you bag on us whining about things you really are uneducated about, it is rather insulting. I'm sure there are groomers who you've insulted as well

ok, i've said my piece :)

Great blog Dave! keep up the great work, you're doing a great job..so refreshing from years past :)

thanks,

  a passionate snowmaker

Dave's reply: My thanks go out to you and the crew. You've done an outstanding job this season! I'm very impressed.

Thanks for posting your thoughts and details.

not to flog a dead horse, but if there is truly no other spot on the mountain for a race course and if telski and the [smaller group] racing community are not willing to share milk run with the [larger group] tourists and locals or at the very least not schedule races after march first [that's 75% of the season for the smaller group!], then RIP milk run! we loved you, and you provided some of the best of our ski memories! too bad, BOO HISS. okay, I feel better now. sorta

Thanks again for providing this forum Dave. Save this issue, you seem very diplomatic.

Dave's reply: Hi Steven, I understand the sense of loss.

I try to clearly explain the reasons for our decision to provide a first class race venue on that run. At some point, I'm obligated to communicate the final decision and that's what I've done. I try not to confuse being diplomatic with agreeing with everything that everyone wants - which is clearly impossible in this business :)

Couldn't you turn the snow blowers off to the side during the day so people can ski that area and put them back when the mountain closes at 4 each day?  I am sure there is some type of compromise.  Do the racers need all of Milk Run?  Why not work on something to keep everyone happy.

Dave's reply: We have to make snow over the run as quickly as possible and then pull off. Snowmaking equipment will likely be pulled off Milk Run by the middle of next week. Then after the equipment is pulled off, it will take 4 to 6 days after that to smooth it all out with the winch cat. We have a race later this month so that is the only way to approach it. Thank you.

We had an awesome visit over Christmas and it has just kept snowing! The mountain was in fabulous shape and the personnel are even friendlier than last year. I'm sure a big thanks must go out to lift ops who are shoveling their butts off to keep the skiiers happy. Wish we were there.

Dave's reply: Hi Frank, Thanks for visiting Telluride! We're glad you enjoyed your vacation and hope to see you again soon. Thanks for recognizing our great lift operations team and the entire staff! We appreciate it.

Hey Dave,

First, for the life of me, I can't figure out where the webpage headline photo was taken...  and given the looks (woman skiing completely virgin powder) I can't imagine it's somewhere in-bounds...  So where exactly is it?

Second, as a new local who was very worried in November and very excited now, I just want to say that I think you're doing a good job of things.  And as an ex ski racer I appreciate your support for the racing community.  My only complaint is that on some mornings  things seem to open a little slow and we're not getting to load the lifts at 9:00.  I think you could   improve in that area.  And I know that Sunday is an exception with all the snow over night.

Third, I would love to see even more information/data on your website snow report.  It would be great to have a total season snowfall count (esp. this year!) and also some temperature readings for down here in town, up in MV, and somewhere else higher on the mountain.  None of us have any idea what the temp and wind chill are on the mountain, and thats good information to have...

See you on the slopes!

Nick

Dave's reply: Hi Nick, I'm not sure where that picture comes from either - it might be backcountry terrain. I'll find out and update this reply. I agree that we could have more robust information on the snow report page. We'll look into that. I'd like to see total snowfall for the year, etc. Thanks for your other comments too. Enjoy the great conditions.

Nothing big Dave but on your trail map why doesnt it show Kids Hill and Sandia Headwall, its not big but the 90 some runs you have would be added 2 (as I said its not big). On other thing is Black Iron Bowl going to be on the normal trail map anytime soon? It seems people who drive into T-Ride or MV might pick up a trail map and not see Black Iron Bowl, nothing big as I said. Keep the blogs coming. Dave hope to see the slopes soon (weather permiting).

Dave's reply: Hi Michael, BIB is on the back of the trail map now. Are you talking about the trail maps on the mountain?

Michael

Hello Dave,

I'm a 17 year old local girl and a snowboarder.  I've lived in Telluride since I was 5 and have seen many changes.  I remember when our half pipe was on Humbolt and hand dug -- we used to have our USASA competitions on it.  We've seen alot of changes since then!  These days, I compete at a National level, and have spent at least a month, during the summer months, in New Zealand shredding at Snow Park.  Hearing all the discussions about our current park, and riding it every day, I must say, that I tend to agree with many of the points that "Nina" posted.  Let me say, I know the park crew, and I think they're great!  They have a ton of good ideas, and I personally loved the first, big step-up jump that was later taken down.  The problem that I see with our park now are the smaller jumps along side the bigger jumps (but not big enough) which tend to bring skiier/snowboarders into the park who don't really have a clue as to park etiquite (Mom's with cameras standing on the landings, people riding down the middle and cutting into the landings, etc.)  I realize from your blog, that these are suppossed to be "intermediate features", but it seems that it was alot less congested last year, with Ute Park available, and also alot safer for the people wanting to ride the big park.  

And from another point of view, there are alot of kids in Telluride who kill it in the park!  We compete and would love to have the bigger jumps to practice on!  (And it's more fun, too!)  Next week, I'm going to Copper to compete in the Revolution Tour, onto to Park City from there, Mt. Hood, etc.  and the tour goes on, and I've not been able to hit any jumps that are even close to what I'll be riding in my comps.  I'm not trying to sound self-centered, but all my shred-buddies are of the same mind-set. The park crew is totally cabable of making safe, big jumps!  But the problem I see is the smaller jumps drawing the more inexperienced riders into the big park.  Something to think about would maybe be bringing Ute Park back.  I know alot of parents would be happy to keep their little kids are safe, also.

I know that sometimes change is good and we have to try different things, but after riding here most of my life, I'm not sure that this new park idea is really working!  And I've ridden and competed at almost every major mountain in the US.  

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to our pipe being open soon!  I see that it's been moved over a little, and maybe that will save the sunny wall a bit.  

Thanks for reading this and I think that your blog is great!  P.S. Please keep Chair 9 as it is!

Dave's reply: Hi Molly, Thank you for your thoughtful remarks. Sorry for the long reply -  I'm very passionate on this subject.

As I told Nina, please give us the opportunity to finish the superpipe, rebuild the new triple jump on Lower Misty, and add the advance rails on lower Hoot - all while maintaining the new beginner and intermediate lines.

We have a sequence laid out. The only reason this is taking so long is because of limitations on our snowmaking system. We do not have a system that will do everything at once. 

With respect to snowmaking, we prioritize critical trail links between chair pods and major necessary runs for the Christmas Holiday first, Jeep KOTM second (on lower Misty - where we reused the snow to construct the new triple jump line which has been very popular), superpipe third, Milk Run forth (for our important ski races), then lower Hoot fifth (snowmaking is going to begin the middle of next week) - with many other small projects.

You've probably heard me say already that we don't want to "banish" the beginner park to Southwestern Sibera (Ute Park) anymore. We want to bring all parks in closer for better quality control, safety, and management.

We also want to offer our guests true beginner, intermediate, and advanced lines for everyone to enjoy - Something Telluride was missing in the past.

You may not even know it but we also built an extremely popular new kiddycross under the Chondola.

Our snowmaking crew has done an amazing job sequencing out all these projects and many other smaller projects all in the matter of less than 2 months. They really deserve recognition for their productivity and results. Most people have no idea what this department has accomplished this season. They had a very slow start - essentially no cold tempuratures in November - then totally cranked in December and January. A big THANK YOU goes out to this crew!

We have joint meetings with parks/pipes, snowmaking, grooming, and mountain operations weekly to talk about where we are, where we want to go, and what we need to do to get there. This is a major priority for us and we're investing in the product for our freestyle community. We purchased new Planet rails this year, bought new snowcats which are the best machines for freestyle terrain park construction in the world, and hired Josh Huber from Big Bear and Kevin Mand from Squaw Valley to lead our freestyle staff this year.

It's January 9th and we are in a far better position than ever at this time of year. As I told Nina - it would be really cool if some of the local riders would give props to the crew. Some of them have been working more hours per day than you can imagine.

The reality is that the high-end competition rider really has no need for beginner and intermediate jumps, much less an alpine race course. TSG is forced to make decisions and set priorities. I outlined them above.

The big jumps and the big rails are at the end of the list I specified above. We set those priorities based on the ratio of people who use the features. It may not please the minority in the short-term but that's the basis for how we laid out our program.

We'll get you what you need - according to the sequence above.

Thanks for communicating your thoughts on the blog. Good luck with the tour!

To all the concerned citizens about milk run:

I remember a time when milk run did not have snowmaking.  Yes the spring slush was fun there but there are so many other bump runs on the mountain how can you miss just this one.  Without snowmaking the trail did not open early in the season and was often skied to the ground well before we closed.  Even with the days that it is closed for races the run is open more days, with better conditions (wide open ripping groom) than it ever was with natural snow.

Is there another place for racing?  Well there was, it was called lower see forever.  This has since been hi-jacked by the terrain park who packs in more man-made snow than milk run in much less acreage.  Add in the 15 million gallons of water you have in the stunt ditch along with all of the other satellite parks and the piles of snow would probably equal the total amount of man-made snow on the entire rest of the mountain.  If you want stewardship and sustainability the just tell dave that you can do without the superpipe and terrain parks instead of blasting him about milk run.

Milk Run is the most challenging race venue in the Rocky Mountain region and perhaps the entire country.  In the past 10 years Tellurides' races have seen Olympic and World Cup athletes in the race field such as Ted Ligety, Lindsy Vonn (formerly Kildow), Jake Zamansky, Tim Jitloff, Julia Mancuso and Sarah Schleper just to name a few.  Telluride has a reputation for hosting the best races in the division and I would hate to see our grades drop.

Milk run is a kick a$$ race hill and I speak for many others when I say keep making snow until its ready.  The RMD Junior FIS Championships in March and our future World Cup and Olympic racers need it wide and deep with the hardest snow you can make so that we can continue to prove that Telluride is Unmatched in North America with elite level racing.  How about we take it to the next level by hosting a Nor Am?  This would be the first step to hosting a World Cup.

Thank you dave for supporting racing in Telluride.  Our future Olympians appreciate it.

Dave's reply: Hi racerX, As mentioned before, I'm committed to alpine racing in Telluride and I agree that the north side is a very important venue.

 -- Let's not turn this into a racer verses freestyler debate though :0

Justin Chandler, Bobby Murphy, and I met this fall to discuss the future of racing at Telluride. Our dream is a course that ends at the bottom of Chair 7. The experts have advised us that this would be the finest and most challenging GS and S course in North America - sounds like the Telluride way. That's very exciting to TSSC and TSG. It would require a few guns on Stumper but that's not that big a deal. It would be beneficial to the core businesses in Telluride and MV also to get some top races scheduled prior to Christmas.

Thanks for your comments. I was waiting for someone from the race community to speak up!

1. dave-great job on this blog. i agree or disagree w/ things said. but who cares. its a blast reading these items. love your comments when dealing with some of these "unhappy tourists and chair 9 riders (locals)"... now you now what the mayors go through w/ lift 7, valley floor, aff. housing, icey sidewalks,...

2. guys drop the milk run thing. it is ONE run. get over it. it now gives telluride THE premier race venue in the country. coaches have told me.

3. snowmaking-they are still planning on the end of march and april and the slushy areas that melt off and all the troubled areas - they HAVE RECORDS  BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE!!!

4. the shot is inbounds, left, upper lookout and 3-5 grt. turns. it's next to north chute and if you're good enough to ski that line, then you are probably skipping those 4 turns and going to north chute.

5. as for "direspecting our planet" comments earlier, maybe we can build some more homes and condos, increase our carbon footprint a little, BECAUSE it's just too cold this past week. so much for global warming. i want the sun back.

dave, if you wanted to exceed the guests expectations:

sunny all day

snowwing all night

c what you can do!

thanks again

p.s. good base on chair 9...and 6 and 12 and 14 and 8 and 7,..... nice job

Dave's reply: I've felt a little battered on the blog over the last few days. I'm not sure what's more challenging, local politician or ski CEO. Thanks for making me laugh tonight =)

It's all good though - and it's pounding snow again out the window tonight!

P.S. I know where you're talking on that line - thanks ;+)

Just another point of view, I actually really liked having the beginner park in Ute Park last year.  As a pretty advanced skier, but only just starting to jump, it was great to be away from all the crowds at lifts 1 and 4. Do you think it might be possible to put a few little jumps in Ute Park in addition to what you're doing on 1 and 4?

Also, this is more a question for blog readers than Dave, but what would people feel like if Woozley's was allowed to get bumped out? Yes, it would take away the quickest intermediate way from 6 and 9 to 12 and 14, but if people aren't using it anyway because it's so icy, and it doesn't actually take much longer to go down See Forever and take 4 and 5 up (and that is a very scenic route, I often do it because the snow is nicer and the view is nicer), well, what would people think of that?

Dave's reply: Hi Snowball, Concentrating our parks concentrates the staff and management (improving quality control), and the travel time for the cats is reduced - making their shift much more efficient.

PS. Kevin, I think it's the point where the two top parts of Coonskin meet, just cuz I'm pretty sure you can't see the gondola from anywhere on Lookout.

Really shut up people. This is not a jury. Telluride is lucky to find a guy like Dave to interpert ideas not complaints. If you do have a complaint don't always give the blame to Dave, go to ski patrol or whatever. Remember to first blog he wrote i July. Sorry Dave for all the junk you have to put up with.

Dave's reply: Hi Fritz, Oh - that's okay. The benefits of blogging far outweigh the brain damage. Thanks.

Hey Dave,

Do you have someone who makes sure the Denver news stations get photos and snowfall amounts?  When I have watched the news the past week they are not showing photos or snowfall amounts for Telluride.  They are showing photos from Silverton and snow amounts from Grand Junction.  If someone is not sending in regular photos and snowfall amounts maybe you should consider it.  With all the great photos on this blog I don't know where you could begin.  Thanks for lisening and letting people be heard.

G$

Dave's reply: Excellent point. I'll walk down the hall and see how aggressive the communications effort is with the Denver media. I know they've been sending press releases on the conditions but the question about digital images needs to be asked. Thanks!

hi dave,

is there a way for lift lines (when we have them) to alternate one last time BEFORE you get to the 'last' alternating point?

for example, a bnunch of your chairs have 3 or 4 lines all coming down to 1. "this guy goes. that guy goes then i think it's my turn,... oh no wait. it's them over there"

i have seen success with 4 lines to 2 lines to 1 line and maybe then alternate w/ ski school. here in telluride it would be 2 down to 1,... blah blah blah. enough of me talking.

this would save on money and employees. you then won't need the upper management out in lift lines helping to alternate people in.

nick, bobby and eliz. are way to valuable to be alteranting people in line.

great to see you bloggin' late at night. thaanks for your time.

Dave's reply: Thanks for the suggestion. I'll talk with the managers to consider adjusting so as to experiment with alternative ways to improve the flow.

The shot you guys are wondering about is just left off the upper lookout trail.

I know because I shot the photo!

Dave's reply: From the horses mouth - so they say :) Thanks Doug.

DB

Ok.....here we are again talking snow making 101 and the ways of Mountain Operations.  Well, lets first talk about super pipes.  I was wondering if there is anyone out there who can fathom the amount of effort, man hours and resources that go into making a super pipe.  I, would be more than happy to go into detail about what it takes to amass the kind of snow reserves it requires to shape a super pipe.  I mean, its a passion of mine park features, pipes, jibs....all things freestyle.  Not to mention the lack of big patches of brown all over come march.  

But, back to my point.  The super pipe is ahead of time frame from previous years.  I mean lets think back.  I remember two years ago NO super pipe.....    : (...tear.  So how about just a little bit of love for the blood sweat and tears.  People are putting their lives on the line.  All, for the sake of sliding.

Finally, Milk Run.  Now, I sensed a lot of tension on this whole subject.  I think in order to understand this situation.  We, again have to go back to snow making 101.  Water used in the snow making process is not wasted.  The water pulled from prospect  creek,doesn't go away.  It is just suspended as frozen snow until it thaws and is reintroduced into the water table.  As for mother nature well.  From the looks of our base and the amount of fresh we are STILL getting.....I would have to say.  "Mother Nature...she is pretty stoked with Telluride"....

Happy Sliding!!

Bro

Dave's reply: Hey thanks Bro, always good to hear from you. Great job this year!

That makes sense on the park. And I'm sure it helps cut down on gas/pollution for the park equipment stuff to not have to drive all the way up there too. My bad on the picture, I must not be good enough yet to get over to that part of Lookout. Now I have something to work towards!!!

Dave's reply: There is always something to look forward to at Telluride Ski Resort!

can we get the photo in question back up somewhere so we can get our bearings? thanks

Dave's reply: Yep, I'll ask to get it back. No problem. Thank you.

It would be a real benefit if we could get a pipe and real park up earlier in the season.  Not only for the tourist but for all the local kids who need to practice for competions this season.  These kids are about to go to competions and have to compete with kids who have been training on pipes and real parks for months.  Just a thought.

PB

Dave's reply: I can understand that - really. I outlined what the sequence was above. Did you see it?

I've lived in Telluride for 8 years now and love it. This is the best place in the world!!!! I think the ski resort is operating much better this year because grooming is better, lifties are better, and the food is much better. Some won't admit it but we're lucky to have a new CEO with your skill and experience. I'd like to say thanks for your good work and accessiblity on the blog. I can't believe how well you deal with all the bloggers and moving parts in your 1st season. It's also nice that you are actually a skier. This place has not been run by a real skier for as long as I've lived here. Thanks for getting Black Iron Bowl open so early this year. Talk on the street is that it would not have happened without you because prior management did not understand the value to the locals or the touristas. Thanks for supporting TSSC. My friends and I were talking last night and we hope you stay around Telluride.

Keep up the good work.

Hang in there with us.

We're not the easiest locals sometimes but don't take it personally.

And keep the snow coming.

P.S.  We decided it would be good for you to load chairs at 8 some morning.

P.P.S We like Proteau also.

Dave's reply: Hi Chris. Thank you so much for recognizing Jeff Proteau - he's been awesome to work with.

I realized today that it has been almost 6 months now since the Riley family moved to Telluride. It has gone so fast. My wife, daughter and I are happy to be here. It's a great community  - and I love the people I work with - and truly love this great resort. It's an honor to be a part of Telluride.

Fact is that I'm only one guy and I want to make sure that all my team members get the kudos. We've got about 800 employees and they are the folks that really make Telluride Ski and Golf what it is today!

Thanks for your nice blog post. We appreciate it.

Pingback from  re: Helitrax helps Ophir and Telluride with avalanche control

Hey Dave, great job with everything you do.  I lived in T-ride for the better part of 8 winters. I visit every year for a ski/work vacation and can only say that since I left from a full time basis the mountain has grown in all aspects.  Ownership, management, staff, grooming, activities etc... you can see where I am going with this. I'll pop in and say hey when I get out there.  Keep up the good work!

Dave's reply: Thanks Steve, Telluride has a very bright future!

Steven,

A vertical of the image in question from earlier in the week is in the Multimedia gallery on this website under the "The Mountain" header.

Doug

Dave's reply: Good point - thanks Doug.

Dave, what is the standard tipping rate for ski instructors.  We want to show our appreciation but the lessons are pricey to begin with.  I'm referring to private lessons.  Suzie Remec is the greatest,

Dave's reply: I asked our VP - Resort Services, Bobby Murphy to answer this. He says:

Dave,

I would like to give Props out to Patrick Berry, our Manager of Audits and Budgets here at Telski.  My son lost a ski in deep powder yesterday and couldn't find it.  Knowing that Patrick is a good skiier (and not being one myself) I called to ask his opinion on what I could do and he graciously volunteered to go with my son to retrieve the lost ski!!!  Now could be that he needed to get away from the bean counting for awile, or it could be that he was tempted by the case of beer I offered - either way he came through for me in a BIG way!!!  He found the ski and now my son is Almost as much of a Pberry fan as I am.  I just wanted to publicly recognize him for going above and beyond!  THANKS PAT!!!

Dave's reply: Thanks for recognizing (and rewarding) Patrick! He's a good man.

Been loving the skiing this week! EPIC!!! Anyhow I comment because I've seen a few instances of inconsiderate and reckless behavior from some of the ski patrolers on their sleds. Yesterday, while walking up to Gen on the 12 hike-tos, a patroler revved his snowmobile right up behind me, and made me get out of the way when there was a visible snowmobile path less than five feet to my right. After dropping off his load at the top, speed racer patrolman flew down the hill over 30mph and came within 6 inches(no exaggeration) of my friend who was sitting down and strapping in. This is not the first time this has happened either as I have heard the same story from other people.

I greatly appreciate all of the control and safety work the patrol team does, however the cavalier attitude and reckless driving I could do without. If Im going to be injured on the hill I'd rather it not come from the treads of the people whose job it is to ensure my safety.

Thank you for listening. Keep the powpow coming!

Dave's reply: Hi Tom, I'd be happy to discuss that problem with the ski patrol director. It would be helpful if you could provide a date and time though if possible. Our patrol department is very oriented towards safety so I don't want to generalize against everyone. It would be better to narrow it down to the individual(s). Thank you.

Why have you not put any new pictures up? I thought you were gonna make some big post about chair 9 soon! Can we please have some pictures!

Dave's reply: Hi James, yes - I'll get with it. Last week was so busy for some reason - sorry.

My daughter is working at the resort for the first time and as a coastal California native from the redwood forests Telluride is a whole new world for her. I find this blog an excellent way to find out what her world there is like. Thank you for producing it. Question...when a commenter indicates a bad customer service experience at a particular time/date/location does someone in management have the ability to get back to that employee and in a polite way point out what the problem was? It might be a good idea...Katy

Dave's reply: Hi Katy, Thank you for your post and we're glad you enjoy the blog.

Yes, if someone has a service complaint of any kind regarding an employee, we do follow up. It's most helpful if they narrow it down to the time, place, etc.

Even if those details don't exist, I we immediately discuss the issue among the management team of the department at issue, then the issue is brought up in the morning meeting with the staff.

With 800 employees, we try real hard with our communication systems - and the blog is one of the tools where our guests can communicate with us easily and quickly. Many of our employees read the blog daily and I've asked our managers to read it daily.

I hope your daughter is enjoying her work at Telluride Ski and Golf - you should come visit!

Dave

I've just finished reading all the coments on this blog and looking over your other blogs--WHOW!--you'd think that some of your posters had their 4x4 passes snatched because they were skiing to fast on the cut-off to shooting star or the Glacier out-burst was never going to end--what passion over guns-n-water!(especially with such a epic yr. at Telski)

Matt's doing pretty good w/the blog, but he's not you--we'd take you back anytime--I guess since you jumped into the frying pan, you can handle the fire(we trained you).  Got to be at TL in early AM--bye for now.

Dave's reply: Hi SDS! Great to hear from you. I see you posting on Matt's blog too. Looks like things are going well on Mt. Hood this year - great snow and a rare sunny day today.

Yes, the metro / gorge crowd trained me on most everything that one could possibly face - it was a great experience. I'll always be proud of that resort and what we accomplished as a team.

The extreme loyalty toward Mt. Hood Meadows is a facinating thing - great people who love their resort with a strong passion.

Stay in touch - and if you're ever in the mood for a destination resort vacation - I know one to recommend ;-)

Pingback from  Golfing Facts - Improve your game!  &raquo; Blog Archive   &raquo; You Can Golf ?? Blog Archive ?? Golfing Facts - Improve your game ...