ACCURATE SNOW INFO CRUCIAL FOR RESORT SUCCESS
Part of your daily ski routine might be to tune into the community TV channel, look at the grooming report or log onto the resort website to learn the conditions for the day. All of this is helpful information, but have you ever wondered where it comes from?
It takes a team of people, including a dedicated snow reporter, to make it happen. And according to the resort, the accuracy and consistency of each day’s snow report is very important to the overall guest experience.
“With so much variability in weather patterns over the past few winters, the importance of reporting accurate snow and weather conditions has grown significantly,” said Sam Egan, marketing manager for Sun Peaks Resort LLP (SPR). “Conditions can change very quickly and the seasonality has been much harder to predict. At the end of the day, it’s really all about the skiing, and managing expectations of conditions can play a huge part in the experience our guests find on the mountain.”
The snow reporter may only work a few hours a day, but it’s a process filled with tight deadlines and coordination with several departments ranging from marketing to slopes and grooming, to information technology (IT).
The morning begins at 5:30 a.m. The snow reporter is the first to walk into the Burfield administration building. The head groomer, who is still out on the mountain, radios in which runs have been groomed overnight. The local radio station is then called to record the conditions. It’s generally a one-time shot and the reporter tries their best at sounding enthusiastic at 5:45 a.m.
Next, the reporter logs into a web-based telemetry system which collects comprehensive data from around the resort such as snowfall, temperature, snowpack, and relative humidity. The system tracks this data over time so everyone involved is able to observe trends and use algorithms to automatically record snowfall as it accumulates. The system is managed and maintained by the IT and electrical departments and is staggeringly complex, with snowfall monitored and recorded by an ultrasonic probe at both mid-mountain and near Top of the World. This system has evolved immensely over the years and is a far cry from the days of sticking a ruler in the snow and calling it a day.
Providing there are no hiccups in the data, it’s delivered automatically to Sun Peaks’ website in real-time. In 2011, the resort took it a step further and began auto-updating hourly snowfall to the website which was cutting edge for the industry.
But, as we all know, technology can be tricky and when snowfall telemetry measurements seem inaccurate, the reporter is able override the system and manually calculate the correct number by measuring snowfall activity. In addition, the patrol department traditionally measures plots by hand daily to monitor snowpack and keep the automated
system calibrated.
The grooming report is then distributed as far as Vancouver. By 8 a.m. the reporter must update the alpine and Nordic online trails, launch the daily report online, update the community TV channels, write social media postings, and update various snow reporting websites and local news stations.
Catching the first chair of the day to check accuracy isn’t in the official job description, but it’s a bonus to wrapping your work day at 8 a.m.
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