MARKETING
Best practices in snow reporting, as told by an OG snow reporter who used to walk uphill both ways…in the snow. ANOTHER BLUEBIRD DAY
By Halley O’Brien
The snow report is a magical commu- nication concoction: it’s information with a touch of safety messaging, a hint of sales and marketing, and a sprinkle of personality and entertain- ment. Mix it all together, and bam! You’ve got a snow report souffle. As that recipe suggests, for the pur- poses of this article (and for many, if not most, ski areas) the term “snow report” refers to more than just snow totals—it also includes, at least, the day’s weather forecast, surface conditions, open trails (and which ones are groomed), and lift schedule. It’s an amalgamation of data and information that helps guests pre- pare for a day on the hill. Behind every good snow report is a person or team of people, and to be a part of that team is a gift. I speak from experi- ence. Despite the wicked early mornings, being a snow reporter was the best job I’ve ever had. (At 22, I didn’t like coffee but relied on it to get that oh-so-peppy snow phone voice.) A good snow report- er understands the importance of the role, and takes pride in it. When was the last time you thought about your snow report, though? I mean, really thought about it. What are you reporting, and to whom? How are you getting your information? How are you delivering it? What is your snow report’s voice? Is it a clean cut, high and tight with bare minimum info? Or does it pres- ent more as a mullet, with surface condi- tions up front and après promotions in the back? How are you leveraging tech- nology, from on-snow hardware to artifi- cial intelligence? We spoke to a few resorts from differ- ent regions to learn how they’re doing it. Here’s what we discovered.
Right: White Pass’s mobile app hosts early morning snow reports and updates throughout the day, plus other important info for guests.
Snow Reporting Processes The snow reporting process necessarily varies from mountain to mountain, but there are also lots of similarities. Beech Mountain, N.C. As should be the case for all ski areas, accuracy is cru- cial to Beech Mountain in North Caroli- na, where the weather can be especially fickle and a large share of guests are new- bies or occasional participants. “People rely on our reports—guests, media out- lets, and customers—and we take that responsibility seriously,” says marketing director Talia Freeman. So seriously that patrol director Michael Stanford is the resort’s snow reporter, taking care of the entire pro- cess—from measuring snow depth to updating the website data and writing a narrative covering events, snowmak- ing, and conditions. Stanford is rarely off during the winter, but Freeman says sev- eral members of the management team are trained in the process, too. “The snow report goes live on our website at 7:30 a.m. and is streamed live through an RSS feed to our ticket booths,” says Freeman. “We also display the report on TVs around the resort. For those who prefer it, we offer a voice recording of the report, which still has a surprisingly loyal following.” White Pass, Wash. Andy Mahre, snow reporter at White Pass in Wash-
ington—a 1,400-acre ski area that aver- ages 400 inches of snow a year—is also predominantly a one-man band in the mornings, which typically begin no later than 4:30 a.m. Much of the process is done remote- ly. From home, Mahre analyzes weather reports, reviews NWAC weather station info, records summit and base temps, snow accumulation per hour (and 24- and 36-hour totals), wind speed and direction, etc. He then calls White Pass snowcat operators for on-site observations. “The weather stations tend to be close to accu- rate, but not always perfect, so first-hand information is important,” says Mahre. After double-checking the weather forecast on NOAA, he inputs all the col- lected information to the resort’s web- site and mobile app, records a 60-second audio clip with conditions, events, and info to send to local radio stations by 5:30 a.m., sends a conditions email to an opt- in email list, and, finally, posts a social media story with an overview of the con- ditions—all before driving to the moun- tain, where he updates the snow report throughout the day as needed to reflect any operational changes that occur. The daily email, which also includes pertinent marketing info, is the biggest lift, says Mahre, “because it takes thought to write with personality instead of fairly simple data input.” » continued
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