Snowmaking Labs in Full Swing

This was just filmed this morning after an all-night snowmaking lab. The students who sign up for this lab realize that weather plays a big factor in when we can schedule the labs. We have been waiting for the last two weeks through some of the warmest fall conditions in our history. Then suddenly, a cold front and snow storm came in, so we immediately organized shifts and fired up the system. We will continue running as long as it is cold enough.

New Snow Grooming and Vehicle Maintenance Blog

Here is a new blog site that started with one of my very capable 2nd year students Pat Torsell. The idea came up during one of our class meetings and Pat took the snowcat by the "horns" and already has a large following. Be sure to check it out and become a contributor!

www.slopegroomer.com

Heavy Equipment Labs @ CMC SAO

You call this fun? Absolutely!! Check out this short video and you will get an idea of what learning can be like in some of our labs.

Why does a cat driver need English and math?

O.K., fair question...we get to answer this all the time. Before we were instructors, we also ran departments at ski resorts. There are many examples of how poor basic academic skills affected an employee's ability to help him or herself do a better job (filling out forms and reports, keeping performance data, calculating fuel consumption). Sometimes, bad communications skills can lead to a host of problems with other employees or supervisors and can lead to risk management issues as well for the company. Oh, and by the way, it's not just us who say so...our advisory committee (comprised of lots of department supervisors) also think these skills are way important.

Welcome to the SAO Blog!!

I want to start by welcoming you to the "SAO" (stands for ski area operations) blog. I hope that this will provide an opportunity for any of you out there to find answers to your questions about our program of study and the ski industry in general.

The SAO program has been active since 1970 and is comprised of the 2 year AAS degree program, imbedded certificates in Slope Maintenance and Ski Patrol I and II, and the two Ropeway Maintenance certificates (one for electrical and one for general maintenance).