Roll out welcome mat
No one needs a demographic study to
recognize the graying of Sun Valley. All anyone has to do is observe the
line at a base lift any warm spring day when the hats and the goggles are
off.
Baby Boomers, who swelled ski industry
revenues and settled in ski towns all over the country in the 1970s, are
becoming the new over-the-hill bunch—though still on the hill. Their
progeny—the Xers and the Echo-Boomers--are the customers ski resorts
need to cultivate now. They also have another name: Snow boarders.
On Baldy, Sun Valley Co. accommodated
boarders while listening to complaints of older skiers who were frightened
by the noise and the sometimes uneven control of the downhill devices.
Unlike some other resorts, Sun Valley wisely did not refuse to sell lift
tickets to boarders. It tried to make peace between skiers and boarders by
designating a couple of runs for skiers only..
However, the company’s welcome mat is
still rolled out only halfway. It still offers no terrain park for
adventurous little skiers and daredevil boarders.
Terrain parks have become the sign that all
are welcome at major ski areas. Families are drawn to terrain parks the
same way they are drawn to burger joints with great toys. Why? The kids
are really in charge of the decision.
Terrain parks aren’t cheap, but nothing
in skiing is cheap. They are, however, the sign that a ski area welcomes
the future. Sun Valley should embrace the future. It’s just smart
business.
