“The ski industry is an important part of our community and it is an industry based on the mechanical technology of snowmaking, snow grooming and lift operation. It’s essential to develop a short and long range business plan that provides for year round maintenance and refurbishment for all equipment, includes ongoing capital upgrades to replace older components with new equipment and technology and also adds something new every season,” says Ron Schmalzle, President of Recreation Management Corp, operator of Ski Big Bear.
“The sport of skiing is an investment for a family and we are committed to our goal of offering our customers one of longest winter seasons in the Pocono Mountains. Our customer has developed confidence that we will continue to invest in our product and offer the very best and safest product possible. We feel this dedication to our infrastructure coupled with an experienced and customer-focused staff is the reason for our extraordinary growth during this challenging economic period,” says Ron.
One of the major improvements for this season is replacing the original 35 year old Thundercloud chairlift with a new double/double chairlift. The new double/double chairlift is two new lifts sharing the same towers enabling Ski Big Bear to transport twice as many people. Combining this latest upgrade with last years second Magic Carpet lift, all 6 lifts are new or totally rebuilt within the last 12 years.
Other parts of this latest capital improvement plan include expanding an already impressive snowmaking plant to include a new fleet of low energy snowguns, tower and fan guns, increased water pumping capacity and expanded electrical capacity. The final stage of the capital improvement plan will include continued expansion of the terrain park by developing more terrain, building and purchasing more rails, boxes and equipment, re-grading parts of the mountain, adding drainage, increasing the parking capacity and eventually creating a new maintenance area and Ski Patrol Center. Ski Big Bear also plans to expand the rental shop building and continue to purchase new ski and snowboard equipment.
On the marketing side, the Ski Big Bear slogan is “WE ARE WINTER”. Ski Big Bear launched a new website last year and continues to build the website to enhance communication with customers. This season Ski Big Bear added a number of live web cameras throughout the mountain so people can see a live shot of what’s going on. New for 2009 is an online storefront to sell products and Ski Big Bear logo items.
Ski Big Bear is embracing the social media realm to ensure constant updates and communication with an information seeking customer base. “Our customers want to know what we are doing when they are not here. Through social media avenues we can stay in touch and ensure everyone is aware of upcoming events, new snow or a big enhancement,” says Lori Phillips, administrative and marketing manager. “Customers can become a fan on our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, make us a favorite on YouTube, get snow condition texted to their mobile phone or visit our website Ski-BigBear.com for daily updates. We have a wonderful social network that generates excitement for the winter season at Ski Big Bear,” says Lori.
Ski Big Bear is open for skiing, snow tubing and snowboarding December 12 (weather permitting) until mid-March. Visit Ski-BigBear.com and check out our live web cam, conditions, hours, news/events and more. Season passes and season rentals are on sale now and additional information is available at Ski-BigBear.com or by calling 570-685-1400. The Mountain Top Village, all built over the last 5 years, includes a country store, skier services building and beautiful 25,000 square foot lodge that is home to a great variety of food and beverage services.
Ski Big Bear Info
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