A Week in Review: The Daily Chronicles of the Loon Mountain Job Share Team (aka Sales Team)
If you have followed this blog, you have read about the multi-tasking sales team at Loon Mountain. Not much has changed since my last job sharing blog post almost a year ago… we’re still at it but we have two new smiling faces on the team- Jon and Emily.
Honestly, I believe they were bred to job share since they were born, what they didn’t know was WHERE they would be honing in on all the skills they have learned in the past 10 years of their existence. We are insanely lucky to have added such awesome folks to the Loon Mountain Job Share Team—and they’re really good at their “real” jobs in the sales office too! Talk about a win-win situation!
In the week leading up to vacation week, the Sales Team could be seen in several departments. You may not have even realized that the folks getting you fitted for rental equipment, selling tickets, or even driving the bus, would be serving you lunch – even ringing you up at the cash register for your amazing meal; that’s us – Team Sales.
Last week our days started early – we hosted over 300 students from the UK and Ireland DAILY (as well as our favorite Cardigan Mountain School on this side of the pond). Andrew was often the one behind the big blue bus driving the international students from their hotel to Loon Mountain for an amazing taste of US skiing and riding. It was often Adam and Jon greeting the eager students, who then made their way to the rental shop where Jon, Emily, and I would be calling out their names for their pre-set rental equipment for the week. After the students made their way through the rental shop, they would be greeted again by Adam, who was busy coordinating their lessons with Casey and the amazing Loon Mountain Snowsports Team. Then they would head out for their two hour morning lesson, and at that time, the Sales Team would retreat back to the office to respond to e-mails, print tickets, and return calls – basically do whatever we could do in the amount of office time we had. Ironically, one of the biggest Hallmark holidays and one of the record days for engagements fell during this week – Valentines Day. Adding to the countless e-mails were several excited newly engaged couples who were interested in hosting their mountaintop destination wedding at Loon Mountain. AWESOME!!!
Following the brief stint spent in the office (and we do apologize for any lag in e-mail response time), we headed directly to the Governors Lodge to man our various stations to help with the lunch rush. Adam and I posted up at the soup station, Jon was the grill expediter extraordinaire, and Andrew was the guy taking in the money. It was like a well-oiled machine. I even got to re-live last season’s pudding cup assembly, pretzel distribution, and fresh-made wrap construction. Although I did have an opportunity to dabble in assembling salads, the push for macaroni and cheese in a bread bowl was overbearing- so much that even the most accomplished soup person (Adam) couldn’t keep up with the demands. Needless to say, it was a great change and really nice to be working with our guests on so many different levels of experience at Loon Mountain. And please don’t worry; we did wash our hands several times after fitting you for boots and BEFORE serving the food…
As we move forward into the coming vacation week, we all have our various tasks and, while our office time is still minimal yet manageable, we are really excited to work with each and every one of our guests on a face-to-face level instead of behind windowless walls.
This week, you will find Jon, Andrew, and Emily selling tickets at either a snowsports desk or a ticket window. Adam will probably be the one behind the wheel of the big blue bus shuttling you from your hotel to the most amazing skiing and snowboarding conditions in the East, and I’ll be perched at the rental shop selling you excellent (and freshly tuned) rental equipment, tickets, and lessons. After the morning ticket and rental rush, Adam will still be behind the wheel of the big blue bus, Andrew will be at a register in the Governors Lodge, Emily could be, well, anywhere, and Jon and I will be in the best-kept secret in Loon Mountain dining- Wanagan’s Slopeside Deli. Jon will be taking your orders and making some of the most intense hot chocolate cups this side of the Mississippi and I’ll be slinging one of the most incredible steak and cheese sandwiches you have ever had. Please, swing on in and say hi. If you mention you read this blog, you might even get an extra handful of the most amazing homemade potato chips with your sandwich. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Until next post,
Abby Guinan
Sales Manager
Cardigan Mountain School Ski Day a Big Success
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This past Thursday was one for the record books. Thanks to Mother Nature and Austen Hannis, the Cardigan Mountain School Ski Day was choreographed to perfection. Sunny skies, 40 degree temperatures, and 200 of the most well-behaved boys on the planet descended on Loon Mountain in nine buses- and within 30 minutes of arrival, they were all issued lift tickets, rentals, and sent on their merry way to make memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.
At 9:01 p.m. last night, the Cardigan Mountain School Headmaster sent out an e-mail to all students- the date of the ski holiday that is a tradition of both Cardigan Mountain School and Loon Mountain was announced. However, in an attempt to throw the students off, the Headmaster started his e-mail video stating that due to lack of snow, the annual ski day would be cancelled.
Shortly after that statement, he revealed that Loon Mountain still had plenty of snow to host the ski holiday. The dorms erupted in cheer and the kids went to bed psyched knowing classes were cancelled and they would spend the day on the hill- tubing, skiing, snowboarding, lounging around their own slopeside lodge, and swimming in the pool AND eating TONS of pizza – 800 slices of pie, to be exact. You got it, those 200 hungry teenagers politely ate 100 pies AND cleaned up after themselves!!!
I know I blogged about this epic day last year, but I have to tell you, the kids at Cardigan are always such a joy to host at Loon. They are so well-behaved, so thankful, and so happy to participate in a long-standing tradition started by Cardigan many years ago. These students attend Cardigan from as far as California, Florida, China, Spain, you name it. And they get smarter and smarter every year- we had a few students e-mail the info@loonmtn.com address to find out when the ski day was… thankfully, the staff at Loon all recognize the importance of keeping this big ski holiday a surprise and those emails found random replies to throw them off.
You really have to see it to believe how incredible it is to see the nine Cardigan Mountain School buses caravan over the bridge to Loon Mountain- it’s a sight that still, after my seven years of working with this amazing school, gives me a shiver up the spine with sheer excitement. And, less than eight hours later, those nine buses depart- all kids accounted for and happy. We’ll see you next year, Cardigan boys- and no, we won’t reveal the date, no matter how creative you get! Keep up the great work, Cardigan Faculty and Staff- you should be proud of the amazing young men you have at your school!
Until next time,
Abby Guinan
Sales Manager
Ice is Nice
By Lauren O’Reilly
Every truly devoted skier will at some point encounter the slippery surface we all call ice. However, with the proper skills, even the occasional skier can safely navigate the less than preferred polished surface. A light touch and a balanced stance will work just fine. It doesn’t hurt to have your equipment tuned with polished edges either. Maintain even short to medium radius turns, making sure you curve back up hill after every turn. Skidding is a tactic well-practiced. Just like driving a car on an icy road, approach every turn slow and allow the skis to move forward as they slightly skid around the curve. Take every turn in this fashion and you will find yourself maintaining control and gaining the confidence you need to enjoy this ever-changing mountain environment.
12.25.11 Park Update
12.25.11
Happy Holidays. We now have three parks up and running with a variety of jibs and jumps. We are also pumping snow in both the medium park and the main park. One if not both of those will be coming at you soon.
A Word from the Slopes 12.28.11
From the words of Ralph Lewis, Director of Skiing Operations
After the 1.1 inches of rain that we received last night, we are anxiously awaiting for temperatures to drop this afternoon in order resume snowmaking. We will resurface all open terrain for the next two nights as well as opening additional terrain tomorrow. We will work on opening the remainder of the trails after resurfacing on existing terrain is finished. As long as snowmaking temperatures remain, we will be making snow around the clock.
We are very fortunate to have great conditions and a significant amount of our terrain open at this point. This is all possible because of our snowmaking and grooming team and the investment Loon has made to our snowmaking infrastructure.
Until next week …
Park Update
12.22.11
New DROPLINE Park opens Friday morning with with more jibs and one wicked kicka. The 7 Brothers park is still sharp and 4 features deep. Plus be on the look out for another park in the base area coming soon.
12.16.11
It getting cold out! Snowmaking will be firing up shortly and one of the trails we are going to is our NEW Dropline Park! As long as it stays cold we should have that park online some time next week, stay tuned for a firmer date. Till then enjoy the 2 Top Secret parks!
12.12.11
More features as of 9 am Tuesday morning. They shouldn’t be hard to find. See you out there.
12.8.11
Snowmaking goes back on tonight! Which will hopefully result in more park features for the weekend. For now enjoy the jump and jibs in the Sunset Park! Stay tuned.
12.3.11
Good snowmaking temps and the guns were blazing again last night. Won’t be long before we get some more parks up on the hill. For now the park on sunset is still up and looking good. Stay posted.
Holiday Week Preview
By Katelyn Krumperman
Greetings! How are you? I am much better now that we received seven inches of snow last night at Loon Mountain just in time for the holiday week! Even though we have had a tough start to the winter, we are in good shape as we head into the holiday week at Loon. With 28 trails, 178 acres, and over 12 miles of skiing riding, Loon has the most open terrain in New Hampshire!
Our snowmaking and grooming team has done an amazing job resurfacing and opening new terrain to get that Superior Snow Guaranteed that you love.
Looking for something to do this week? Look no further. Here is a quick run down of what’s going on this week at Loon Mountain.
Saturday, December 24th: Non-denomanational Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in the Governor’s Lodge at 7 p.m.
Friday, December 30th: Family Magic Show in the Octagon Lodge at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 31st: Mo the Balloon Buffoon will be at the Governor’s Lodge from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. making balloon sculptures for the kids and entertaining the younger crowd.
- New Year’s Eve: Ring in the New Year at the Bunyan Room New Year’s Eve Party. Live music by 6 Foot Sunday. This is a 21+ event and there is a $25 cover charge. Reservations are highly recommended.
Snowmaking continues tonight and on top of the seven inches we received last night, the conditions should be pretty stellar out there. Enjoy the last week in December and Happy Holidays from all of us at Loon Mountain.
Loon Opens Today for the 45th Season! 11.20.11
Hey guys!
Another season is upon us. Today is the day you have been anxiously waiting for. We are opening today for the 2011-2012 winter season! Thanks to our fabulous snowmaking and grooming team and some cold temperatures we were able to open earlier than anticipated.
5 trails will be open today from 12-4pm. The East Basin Lift will be open with downloading on the Gondola. The following trail are open; Upper Bear Claw, Bear Claw Ext., Grand Junction, Link, and Upper Picked Rock.
Tickets are $20 today. So come on up to Loon Mountain and enjoy the first day of the season! I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one. Stay tuned for more information and pictures from today.
Katelyn
On the Road … Again
It’s a busy time of year for the Loon Mountain Sales Team and we are spreading our wings all over the globe… well, maybe not ALL over the globe, but we’re still marketing the Resort in three countries in three weeks! Jon, our newest addition to the Sales Team, and I headed to Toronto two weeks ago for a six day stint- four days at the Toronto Ski Show and two full days traveling in our trusty Toyota Minivan. Jon’s first day on the job consisted of 13 hours in the minivan and changing windshield wipers (he’s a pro) and co-piloting the excursion. Since I tend to get car sick, I was the one behind the wheel and tried to keep it entertaining by hitting rumble strips to wake up the back-seat passengers… while successful, I don’t think they were as pleased as I was to have two new folks to chat with from the back seat…
We rented a few condos about 1 mile from the Toronto Ski Show. We thought condos would be much more fiscally responsible and allow us room to spread out- after spending five nights in a hotel room the size of a cardboard box in past years, all I really wanted was a couch and a kitchen. The condos were nice, economical, and although we had great intentions of cooking a family style meal each night after the show, reality hit. We were all so exhausted after 10+ hours on our feet that it took all we had just to change and head out to find a place with a reasonable menu to fulfill our cravings of anything BUT pizza. After we broke down at the end of the show, we did find the energy and time to make an excellent feed for all of us while the guys watched baseball…
This past weekend, Adam returned from two weeks in the UK and Jon returned from his second trip to Canada- the Ottawa Ski Show to be exact. Ottawa is always a fun time and the ski show is hands down one of the best. However, as I write this, I have clothes in the washing machine getting ready for the next voyage- Pennsylvania and New Jersey Ski Council Shows. The same host for our Spring Travel shows is putting these shows on and I really can’t wait to get on the road. Sure, being on the road is tough- you’re away from family and the work load never ceases, but we all do a great job of making the most of the great areas we find ourselves in. Greg and I are spending our one day off in Amish Country and, if you know us, you know how psyched we are!
Following our epic road trip to Amish Country and all areas in between, we return for a day before heading out to one of my favorite ski club events of the year- New Hampshire Ski Club Extravaganza. The NHSC folks are just, well, plain AWESOME and it’s always a good time. Following that show, we head directly to Boston for the Boston Ski Show and the last of the travels for this girl until Spring. Bernie and his team always do a great job and I can’t wait for another spectacular show at the Seaport World Trade Center! If you haven’t planned your weekend yet, be sure to visit BEWISPORTS.COM and purchase your discounted tickets for the Boston Ski Show- with Tommy Moe as an honored guest, tons of specials, discounts and more- you can’t go wrong! And, while you’re there, definitely stop by the Loon Mountain booth and purchase your discounted Frequent Skier Cards or purchase your New England Pass! Hands down two of the best deals in New England Skiing and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!!! Hope to see you there!!! Sure, you could spend the weekend going to the dump or doing household chores, but there really is not better way to save a ton of dough by attending the Boston Ski Show!!!
Think SNOW!
Abby Guinan
Sales Manager
4/2/11 Mountain Operations Update
By Ralph Lewis
Director of Skiing Operations
Loon Mountain
With the weather changing, we have been very fortunate to have cold nights and nice days that have provided great skiing surfaces over the past two weeks at Loon Mountain.
We have had very little loss of snow coverage due to the unseasonable cold temperatures. South Peak will be closing for the season after this weekend. The closing of South Peak will effect ticket prices.
Our closing date, will be Sunday April, 17th. We are very thankful for a great season and we are looking forward to a busy summer.
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays from Loon Mountain! Between the upcoming holiday events and fresh snow that is on the way, this week looks great for skiing and riding!
With the addition of 428 new tower snow guns, we were able to open more terrain earlier in the season. Going into the holiday week, we will have 299 acres, 22 miles and 43 trails open and we expect to open more terrain soon.
Our superpipe opened on Thursday, Dec. 23 just in time for the holidays making it the first superpipe open on the East Coast. We were also featured in Transworld Snowboarding.
I just checked the radar and the snow is on its way! Come kick-off the last week of 2010 skiing and riding at Loon where we are expecting some fresh powder! Here’s to a safe and happy new year. Happy Holidays!
*Think Snow*
Katelyn Krumperman
Marketing Manager
Carving turns on Upper Bear Claw on Christmas Eve.
Santa standing at the bottom of the first superpipe to open on the East Coast.
Will Mayo going BIG in our first to open in the East, Superpipe!
