Saturday, December 20, 2008

Now we are skiing!

I finally got to slide on snow! I went up Wednesday with employees Peter and Becky. We were joined by friends John and Amy. What a blast! Perfect timing! A great champagne powder dump the few days before with bluebird skies for us. We left at 5:30 and were on the mountain early. Great grippy snow on the groomed. Light powder every where else, but caution was needed off piste. The light snow let you sink to whatever was underneath, so we were mainly on the groomed runs.
I started out on my Fischer Race SC's to see if I remembered how to carve a turn. That worked out great so I did some runs on a Fischer Watea 94. Super fun and I was overly tempted by the powder and dinged 'em up a bit. I switched to a Watea 84 and WOW what a great ski. Tight turns, no problem. Let 'em run, no problem. Super fun and versatile. What agreat ski! We saw a few customers, and had a chance to chat with Jim from the Start Haus in Truckee as he was also stealing a bit of "fun time" while others toiled away at the shop. We all had a fantastic time. Get up there! I recommend it highly!
Since then it has been two days of very active retail. The hardcores are all getting their first turns and are coming by for last minute needs. Families are gearing up for Christmas skiing and buying gifts. Rentals are suddenly a part of our lives again. Racers are coming in for the next round of race prep work. New ski packages are lining up in the shop for mounting. I delivered a new ski to a customer in Lafayette this morning before work. It is a non stop torrent of diverse wants and needs. For the most part we are able to accomodate all. Part of the gig this time of yeare is that everyone needs it now. The ski packages are being used asap. The racers needed their gear for this weekend. Renters are wanting to have us set up and reserve their skis. Boot ditting must be done by their ski day or plane reservation (typically "tomorrow"). Tonight John and I were at work until 11:30. We mounted some skis for pick up in the morning, I did a custom insole with an electronic boot heater integrated.
Then we had some fun. JT is a regular customer that has a pair of Atomic SX-9 skis. Loves the skis but feels they are too heavy. He asked today if there was any way to replace his heavy bindings with a lighter pair of Salomon units. Yes! Or at least Mabey! I ahve been dying for someone to request this for a while now, as it is a common "complaint" about the Atomics of a few years ago. The problem is that the skis came with a plate that only accepted the Atomic bindings. A super light ski that is only compatible with a heavy binding should lead, in my mind, to us getting this request. It has been tumbled around in my brain more than once that there must be a good way to make this modification and I had some ideas. I told him I would work on it when I had the time. He wants them for a late January trip. So at about 10 o'clock I finished up my "need it now" work and rustled up a ski with the same system and John and I tore it apart and brainstormed. Very tricky to get the loads distributed safely on the extremely "not flat" Atomic top sheet with its "beta" profile. But we have some ideas. I will pick up some aluminum stock, and we can start fabricating our idea into a prototype to test. This will be interesting, and as soon as I have some free time again between dawn and midnight I will get back to it. I am thinking I may be able to grab a few hours here and there over the next month and if things go well, JT will have the trickest Atomics on the mountain. Stay tuned and I will supply a photo if it works out great.
For now, I am turning in for the night. Happy Holidays to you all, and get up and enjoy the white gold up in the Sierra!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

I hope you're happy too!

Winter looks to be here finally! It should start snowing in Tahoe tonight. The resorts are happy, I am happy. I hope you're happy too. This means that business will ramp up big time. Expanded hours are now in effect, rentals will start needing staff, ski sales will explode. It's all hands on deck through the new year and beyond.

We are ready and able to respond to the surge. Rebecca (daughter #1, pictured above) comes back from Chico on Thursday and will be full time. Brian, Mitsi and Gabe get relief from school and will put in hours. Peter and Gary will add a day extra. Christian and Jeremy are both suddenly available to work some too. John Martin and myself will start with the long days as we do every year at this time. It's funny. I don't look forward to grinding insoles at midnight, but I have fond recollections of working late with Martin and John. Kind of a bonding thing I guess.

In any case, we are (to the best of my ability) well trained, organized, well equipped, and loaded to the rafters with the best ski gear available. Our Winter Sale prices are awesome and the signage is all dialed in. The skis, boots, helmets, bags, boots, and accessories look great. Everyone seems to think we have the best clothing selection we have have ever had- particularly for kids. Overall, I look around the store here a few hours before opening and I think we are ready.

Best of all- let the skiing begin!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Mackie will be the man!

Well, the Sierra looks nothing like this picture! There is no snow and nothing before the middle of the month that is at all promising. Oh well, what can we do? If Ulr doesn't want to deliver then we are at his mercy.

Back at the shop we are staying busy. Good customer flow as well as the ever growing list of projects. The latest "for fun" project was dealt with by Mackie. Mackie is our resident high schooler. Every year I look for a kid that is into skiing and has never had a job. If I find the right candidate, I hire them. I loved my first job (at a bike shop). The Owner as great and I learned and matured a lot there. I want to do the same for others. This year it's Mackie. Mackie is the younger brother of Vonnie who worked for me a few years ago. Vonnie called me about adding Mackie to the team. After speaking to his father and Mackie, we did just that. So far he has shown himself to be smart, attentive, and willing to tackle all projects and tasks thrown at him. Even ones that are broad in scope and short on instruction.

One such project is the new tram. Many of you know that we have an old gondola car from Mammoth Mountain hanging from the ceiling at the shop. I like that sort of ambiance in my environment - what can I say? So, last year I bartered for a "G-Scale" tram with a boot customer. G-Scale is a type of model railroad. They are called Garden Trains in England and they are basically large model trains and accessories designed to be used outdoors. This is a two car ski tram with all the detail including a "tramhouse" (cardboard) and "action figures" like G.I. Joe characters.

I put it up with our antique boots with the thought of setting it up at a later date. It's been a summer gone now and I had not yet put up this new toy.Looking for a good project for our newbie, Mackie got the call. Not exactly sure where to set it up, but knowing that a trial set up was in order I gave Mackie a loose plan. I intended to go into more detail as to the steps of concept, drawing, materials list, implementation, refinement etc. but I got called away and John got there first. Any time there is a project, John likes to take part. Ingenious, smart, and experienced, John is a king of fabrication and modification. He and Mackie were hard at it. A huge platform bolted to the stairs and talk of lag bolts on the far wall were the kind of snippets I was overhearing as I scurried around helping customers.

At the end of the day I went over the project with Mackie. Need longer cables, angles seem sensitive, far wall needs platform. He was on top of it. I told him my idea of a simple set up for now, with the final goal of trying to use the tram to bring rental forms from the upstairs to the front counter. That way it is not simply decorative but useful as well. Mackie nodded like he understood.

I looked for longer cable at the hardware store the next morning. No luck. I told Mackie we would have to table the gondola for a bit 'cause I didn't have the longer cable. Mackie nodded like he understood. Shortly after Mackie brought me a ball of cotton string from the shop. He asked me if there was any reason it wouldn't work for the tram. "At least to test it", he added. Why not, I said? A few hours later Mackie asked me to give him a hand. He had strung the tram from the rental area to the front counter using the "kite string". The motor and bullwheel were attached with c-clamps so they could be easily be moved round and adjusted. I helped him adjust the pulley angle and we fired it up. It worked! There are a few bugs to be worked out but we are now about a year ahead of schedule on the tram project!

So I think Mackie will work out ok. Just so long as I can keep him from getting bored. If you are in charge of personnel for a company that will be hiring in about six years, keep track of Mackie. Mackie will be the man!

Monday, December 1, 2008

I love you guys!

Well, there is a bit of hysteria in the air it seems. An election year combined with global warming to start with. Now an economic meltdown has led, it seems, to the media calling out anyone interested in a full blown freak out. As a retail businessman this is a worrisome proposition. I do sell "adult toys" and if people are going to reign in the finances, the toys get cut first? On top of this there has been no snow to get things going. The sales reps are reporting doom and gloom from the retail sector in California. Some manufacturers are (panicking and) going to "off price" reorders much earlier than typical. I have heard that a few Tahoe shops have closed their doors, which happens in any economy. The reps and shopowners see it as "a sign of the times". My take is a bit different. I think that mother earth is the key component. We are all "snow farmers" here. Crisp, white, fluffy snow is the main component. Regarding the economy, I am probably less optimistic than most of you. That being said, a poor economy combined with a lousy snow year means the entire industry will suffer. A great economy combined with a lousy snow year and the entire industry will suffer. Mother Earth rules. How will the economic situation effect California Ski Company? Well, we will see. I have lost many hours of sleep on that one! I need more evidence before I can prognosticate with authority but here is my hunch: 1) The economy will bring ski shop sales totals down about 15% for the industry across the board nationally. Hit most hard will be rentals (ski 1-2 times a year? May pass to save $), and destination resorts. Instead of Whistler you book a local mountain for the week. 2) Enthusiasts will still ski. Face it- it is a passion and a lifestyle decision for us and we will find a way. Skiing is a priority for happiness and we are just not going to give it up. 3) Skiers can afford to ski. Let's be real. Skiing is not a sport that you can do cheaply. Therefore skiers have some decent dough (if you don't believe me, there are Lot's of median income studies out there I can send your way). While lower income families may have to make cuts, the middle income and above still have disposable income. 4) Things could change for good or bad in the upcoming months which will change points 1 through 3. For now, all I can look at is empirical evidence to base my business decisions on. To that end I ran end of the month reports and year to date comparisons on 11/30 just as I do at every month's end. My evidence shows that we are considerably up in sales from last year which was a record high for sales for the business. We have been breaking sales records as I lose sleep over the economy/business/weather. That being said it really comes down to two things. First is that I love you guys (and girls). Our customers are absolutely kick-a**! Thank you for continuing to support the small local independent ski shops. Second is that I should quit losing sleep over the economy and simply lie awake worrying about the weather. We need snow at this point and if we don't get it I could blame the economy but I think I would be wrong. We all want to feel the sliding action of ski base against snow and the only thing that can stop us is Mother Nature.