SMALL SKI AREAS COMING HOME
A Colorado GM looks back at the Pennsylvania mom-and-pop where it all began, sees what’s changed, and appreciates what hasn’t.
I take the last bend in the road, and see the spot where I first winter-camped when I was 12, the lot where I learned how to do a donut in an old RWD car, the A-frame silhouette of the lodge where I spent every evening after school completing homework, eating sandwiches prepared and delivered by my grandmother in between endless laps of the T-bar while training slalom under the lights. New dorm-style family lodging stands on the site of the original motel, where I worked in the restaurant through college from 1996 to 1999. The old motel burned down in 2000.
Speeding down the dirt lane to Ski Sawmill, I’m struck by the realization that the Norway spruce trees lining the access road are much taller than I remember. In fact, I can recall the year they were planted to help mitigate snow drifts. 1998. How did that happen so fast? I’m visiting my home ski area for the first time since 2007. I round the snowmaking pond, a mod- est two acres, letting the rear end of the vehicle drift just a touch like I did back in high school, my buddies begging me to peg the throttle and risk certain drowning. Plumes of dust follow me.
By Ryan Schramm, General Manager, Powderhorn Mountain Resort, Colo.
Down Memory Lane Everyone has a home hill—some big, some small, and all a launching point for core memories and a tether to win- ter sports. Mine falls squarely into the small category: just 515 feet of vertical and 12 runs. A few T-bars, a double, and a new-ish triple lift installed in 2011—the first new lift in 40 years. My grandfather always joked that 50 feet of the vertical only appeared when the snowmaking pond was fully drained. Ski Sawmill began in 1969 as Oregon Hill, named after the ridge down which it cascades on the northern side. Located in the far reaches of Lycoming County in north-central Pennsylvania, it attracts
Yesterday and Today I see Mike Knefley, the owner, operator, lift mechanic, snowmaker, and groomer, during my visit. Mike is also a ski-patrol- ler and instructor, and gives the lifties their breaks. He is a true owner-operator with a remarkable work ethic. His family bought the resort in 2001, after it had experienced a few tumultuous years on the brink of financial collapse. Twenty-five years in, they are still carv- ing out a niche for an important commu- nity activity. It’s the home mountain for generations of skiers and riders from the surrounding area, including my family. Like many small ski area operators, one of the biggest challenges Mike faces is staffing. Attracting industry-trained experts is not feasible, due to both loca- tion and cost, so he almost always grows his own workforce. The cost adds up over time, and despite good year-to-year reten- tion, training demands a large portion of a modest payroll. Yet, it remains para- mount for Mike. “Our employees are a reflection of us, of the owners, the resort, and our culture. Fostering them is key to make it all work,” he says. I know that well. My personal ski industry journey started here, teaching lessons, running the NASTAR program, and even working nights in the restaurant kitchen. This experience was my first taste of the many hats folks must wear for small ski areas like Sawmill to succeed. »
many of its visitors from Williamsport and the surrounding areas. My dad and uncle both started skiing here with a school program that began the same year as the ski area in 1969. They would constantly beg my grand- parents to take them skiing. My grand- father capitulated and began driving the 45 minutes or so a few times a week. He would sit in the lodge and watch them take lessons and lap the T-bar until, one day, he grew tired of waiting for them and decided at age 42 to learn to ski, too. It was at that moment a skiing family was born—one that continues to this day, with my dad, my cousins, and all the kids.
Ski Sawmill’s A-frame lodge is still just how author Ryan Schramm remembers it from childhood.
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