The Economics of Everyday Things
00:05:57 · Rob Goodell, Zachary Crockett, Andrew Gast
[00:05:57] S3: Within, you know, that one hour drive from the Denver Metro Area, pretty much all the rest of our competition is either with the Ikon or Epic Pass, which is Alterra and Vail Resorts, really puts us on an island that we don't have that cooperative pass with the big guys. [00:06:17] S2: A single day adult lift ticket at a big resort can cost over $300, but many skiers save money buying a season pass. Passes usually go on sale starting at the end of the previous ski season and increase in price through the summer and fall, and they're generally a much better deal. The spring sale price for Vail's Epic Pass is a little more than a thousand bucks, and it gives skiers access to 42 resorts around the world. The smaller independent ski areas have trouble competing with that kind of offer. [00:06:52] S5: Those mega passes are very, very affordable. [00:06:56] S2: That's Andrew Gast. He's the general manager of Mount Ashland Ski Area, a small independently run mountain in Southern Oregon. [00:07:05] S5: And often that pass price is comparable to our season pass, and that's just a function of the fact of buying power and us having to be self sustaining and do everything ourselves. [00:07:16] S2: But Rob Goodell says there are other dimensions besides price that make independent mountains desirable.
00:07:16 · Zachary Crockett, Rob Goodell, Andrew Gast
[00:07:16] S2: But Rob Goodell says there are other dimensions besides price that make independent mountains desirable. [00:07:23] S3: We just do not get as crowded as the bigger guys with those that accept those passes. One of our most limiting factors is our parking. Our uphill capacity far exceeds what our parking capacity is. The experience on the hill is not congested at all because everyone spreads out and is able to find their own terrain. And we are actually, looking to expand some parking so we can accommodate more people. [00:07:49] S2: In the early nineties, Mount Ashland Ski Area was on the verge of closure. The owners, a company called Harbor Properties, were tired of losing money during the drier winters, so they planned to shut down operations. [00:08:04] S5: The community came together and bought the mountain from that company and formed the nonprofit that operates it today. [00:08:11] S2: As a nonprofit corporation, Mount Ashland takes donations, but donations only cover about 1% of their day to day costs. Their operating budget is in the millions. [00:08:23] S5: In a typical year right now, it's a little over $4,000,000. For our particular mountain, the most profitable months are December, January. February is a little bit less so. And then we're actually budgeted to lose about a $250,000 in March. We opened just because it's a nonprofit mountain, and we're there for the community.
00:08:23 · Andrew Gast, Zachary Crockett, Rob Goodell
[00:08:23] S5: In a typical year right now, it's a little over $4,000,000. For our particular mountain, the most profitable months are December, January. February is a little bit less so. And then we're actually budgeted to lose about a $250,000 in March. We opened just because it's a nonprofit mountain, and we're there for the community. [00:08:45] S2: Whether a ski area is a nonprofit, an independent business, or a part of a conglomerate, it's a big operation to manage. Thousands of visitors flock to the slopes each day, and they expect to find plowed parking lots, groomed ski slopes, and functioning chairlifts. Goodell says all of those operations require manpower. [00:09:07] S3: One of our largest costs is labor. We have about 60 year round employees. They will balloon up to just over 600, about six twenty to maybe six forty depending upon different department needs in the middle of the season, the peak times. [00:09:23] S2: Finding so many seasonal workers can be a challenge, especially when your business is located in an expensive real estate market like most mountain towns in Colorado. Loveland provides housing for new employees. [00:09:36] S3: Over the last five years, six years, we have upped our housing inventory. Before that, we would get applicants from out of state and hope that they could find housing. In the last few years, we have been staffed better than we had before. It's so integral. [00:09:55] S2: Gast says Mount Ashland has other hiring challenges.
00:09:55 · Zachary Crockett, Andrew Gast, Rob Goodell, S4, S6, S7
[00:09:55] S2: Gast says Mount Ashland has other hiring challenges. [00:09:59] S5: Last year, we didn't open until January 11 because we got no snow in the month of December. We do our staff orientation in the middle of November, preparing to operate early December. And if something happens, then... And those employees are kind of on standby. They're not earning their paychecks. And often they'll start to find other employment. [00:10:19] S2: There's another group of employees in a ski area that bring a different kind of operational risk. [00:10:25] S3: Our ski patrol not only are emergency outdoor responders, transporters, but they do carry explosives. [00:10:33] S2: That's coming up. [00:10:36] S4: Hey, Fidelity. Can I get a second opinion on stocks in the Fidelity app? [00:10:41] S6: With Fidelity, it's easy to get an outside opinion from independent experts in a single score. [00:10:47] S4: And then? [00:10:47] S6: When you're ready, trade US stocks and ETFs with no commissions. [00:10:52] S2: That's right. [00:10:52] S6: I am always right. [00:10:54] S7: Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. $0 commission does not apply to customers designated by Fidelity as a professional equity trader. A limited number of ETFs are subject to a service fee of $100. See details at fidelity.com/commissions. Fidelity Broker Services LLC, member NYSE SIPC.
00:10:54 · S7, S8, S9, Zachary Crockett
[00:10:54] S7: Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. $0 commission does not apply to customers designated by Fidelity as a professional equity trader. A limited number of ETFs are subject to a service fee of $100. See details at fidelity.com/commissions. Fidelity Broker Services LLC, member NYSE SIPC. [00:11:06] S8: Ever noticed how every new AI tool asks you to explain your business to it all over again? Google Workspace with Gemini skips that. You get Google's AI built right into the premium versions of Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and more. No new tools. No extra logins. Just one subscription that gives you personalized AI right inside your actual workflow. Make work less work. Try Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewith Gemini. [00:11:35] S9: With the Discover Cashback Card, it's payback time when you earn cashback on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5% cashback at different categories each quarter on up to $1,500 in purchases. That's 5% cashback at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to Discover. Terms apply. See discover.com/5 for details. [00:12:05] S2: Loveland Ski Area opens for business each year around Thanksgiving and aims to be open until May. That's usually a hundred and eighty to two hundred days per year that mountain operators pray for snow. But Rob Gudel of Loveland's ski area says more snow means more preparation for ski areas in the off hours.
00:12:05 · Zachary Crockett, Rob Goodell
[00:12:05] S2: Loveland Ski Area opens for business each year around Thanksgiving and aims to be open until May. That's usually a hundred and eighty to two hundred days per year that mountain operators pray for snow. But Rob Gudel of Loveland's ski area says more snow means more preparation for ski areas in the off hours. [00:12:26] S3: We have nine snow cats. Very large, powerful, tracked machinery to push and groom snow that cost more than the first house that I owned. But they're very efficient in what they do. And the operators that we have can take a 16 inch storm and get it ready to open the next day. [00:12:48] S2: Snow cat operators navigate massive machines around the mountain at night, sometimes in whiteout conditions. They ensure that ski trails are groomed by the time the sun comes up. On the ground, there's another group of staff that make sure conditions are safe. [00:13:06] S3: We've got, about 50 ski patrol, and then we also have a large chapter of national ski patrol, which are volunteers that work on weekends or holidays, over a 100 of those that volunteer throughout the season. [00:13:20] S2: Ski patrol are identifiable by their red coats with white crosses. They're trained first responders and medics, ready in the event of an emergency on the mountain. They're also the ones responsible for assessing snow conditions, particularly on the steeper slopes where there's a risk of avalanches.