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Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Thursday, March 11, 2010
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Mammoth Mountain: Still in the business of putting smiles on guests' faces |
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Saturday, 10 November 2007 |
By Bob Cox
Special to the Mammoth Times
 Broadway Express ready to sweep skiers to their first turns of the 2007-2008 ski season.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTOS/SUSAN MORNING
After back-to-back years of record snowfall and record crowds, 2006-07 was the year management at the High Sierra resort relearned the true hierarchy in the world of winter sports.
“This was another reminder that Mother Nature owns the place, we just rent it,” said Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory.
Gregory has been following the footsteps of Hall of Fame ski legend Dave McCoy for more than a decade, and now he’s starting to sound like McCoy, who may have said something strikingly similar after a previous drought year.
For two straight years, Mammoth recorded more than 50 feet of snowfall (607 and 668 inches, officially), before last year’s dry start dragged on into February before totaling 231 inches. Mammoth was able to open early, thanks to snowmaking, but the snow depths never reached Mammoth-type depths and the crowds never hit expectations.
“We started the year with a new ownership group (Starwood Capital), and this was their first foray into the skiing business, and despite all that happened, they were quite pleased,” Gregory said. “We experienced a difficult year, yet felt we are able to take care of our guests and still emerged financially sound.”
Sound seems an understatement, considering Mammoth went ahead with plans to spend $6.5 million on a new 6-seat chairlift which replaces the aggravatingly slow Chair 9. The new lift, dubbed Cloud 9, will open the east side of the mountain to many more skiers.
“At the end of the day, we still like building lifts,” Gregory said. “That’s the way we do things at Mammoth. We’re still in the business of putting smiles on guests’ faces.”
What the newest lift offers is a five-minute ride up more than a mile of terrain, connecting the Canyon and Eagle Lodge portion of Mammoth to the Main Lodge side quickly and expediently. It also offers skiing in the often under-utilized bowls above Chair 9. With the stability of a six-pack and the speed of an express, it changes the way we move around the mountain.
“You used to be able to get on Chair 9 as a teenager and get off as a senior citizen,” joked Gregory.
Mammoth has been speeding into the top tier of ski resorts for the last half dozen years, with refinements and improvements geared to matching or exceeding the expectations of guests. Everything from a new logo to new restaurants and lounges speaks to the new feel. And the network of high-speed chairlifts all but expunges the memory of 20-minute lift lines for skiers and snowboarders.
For the hard-core skiers among us, chairlifts, snowmaking and grooming are the items of most interest. But snow sports are no longer just about sliding down the slopes on skis or snowboards. The ambiance and amenities are keys to the enjoyment of many guests.
That’s why Gregory was pleased to announce a joint venture with restaurateur Joachim Splichal and his Patina group to handle all mountain food services. Patina is a recognized brand for top-tier restaurants, as well as the caterer at the Hollywood Bowl and a number of other facilities.
“They offer everything from fine dining to beer and pretzels,” said Gregory. But with change comes caution. Management is sensitive to the concern that improvements will mean price hikes.
“Patina will offer our customers the opportunity to pay more for high end food and a higher quality of service, but we have a broad range of customers, and we are not going to be jacking up prices across the board,” said Gregory. “Our goal is to improve service across the board, and that means more and better microwaves in the brown-bag areas, as well as high-end food. We want to serve our core customers at all levels.”
When Starwood Capital bought controlling interest from the McCoy Family before last ski season, Gregory anticipated the criticism that Mammoth was selling out the loyalty of the long-term customer for a new class of customer with more money than time. It’s a concern he addresses regularly.
“We’re the same company we’ve always been,” said the CEO. “While we miss Dave McCoy’s daily presence, there are things he taught those of us in management over the last 20-to-30 years that we can’t forget.
“Working for him, we learned that we have to take care of our guests, and be sensitive about the price of skiing. For years, our guests have been saying, 'you’ve got great skiing, but you need better food, and more things to do when we’re not skiing.' Those are the elements we have been working on.”
Improvements in the town of Mammoth Lakes include an ice-skating rink to give visitors an additional off-hill venue for activities.
“We’re also working on a joint-venture restaurant with Patina in the Village, and we are ready to break ground next summer on an expanded kids' facility at Eagle Lodge. These are the kinds of improvements that will provide more for kids to do and a higher level of service for our guests.”
Other focuses this year will be on the college skier and snowboarder market, recognizing that the tens of thousands of current students will be the consumers of the near future. Mammoth will offer bargain pricing for the college market, including a club card offering $10 off daily lift ticket prices—remember this concept?—and a college pass.
“The important thing for us is to stay positive and stay focused on our core Southern California visitors, especially the families, Gregory added. “We have to do the right thing by them.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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