Well, as we head towards the second decade of the third century of the Christian calendar, things are looking good here. We have just had a Christmas that was as white as it can be. From Texas to Copenhagen Denmark (for the Global Warming summit- where there had not been snow on Christmas for 30 years) there was a white Christmas. A friend called from Frisco Texas to tell me there was 3" of snow on the ground Christmas morning. The storm blanketed the entirety of middle America. Usually each winter, some areas have good snow and others are dry. This year for the first time it seems that everywhere people can ski, they are having a good snow year. That is great!
Here in California the ski resorts first opened on October 11. Then many resorts had a "soft opening" at Thanksgiving. Now the storms have hit big to ensure that we had a great skiing Christmas and into New Years. And the skiing masses are responding!
The shop has been incredibly busy! Every day we are working hard with more staffers on hand than ever before. Some days are close to out of control. People are asking if they need to take a number to get a boot fitting done. Rentals are crazy. The store needs restocked from upstairs every day. Clothing racks are getting depleted. The ski wall is shrinking. We are having a record year!
It seems like we are not the only ones either. Most ski shops are having the kind of year we are. I would love to think that our strong sales numbers are something I can take credit for, (and there is probably at least SOME of that?) but the weather is the key factor and all the snow farmers are having a good harvest. Which makes me happy. Other shops need to do well. Lot's of people need to get to ski a lot and have a great time doing it. The resorts need to prosper too. It is good for the sport and the industry.
So I am enjoying it all. I went skiing with the family last Wednesday at Dodge Ridge. The girls cut there skiing teeth there when they were young and so we did a "flashback day". After they had a first year of lessons, and then a year with passes at Donner Ski Ranch, we had Dodge Ridge passes for two seasons. Super fun! Dodge is a great family resort and a convenient drive from the Bay Area. Great terrain and a friendly low key staff. Two of my employees call Dodge their "home resort" for good reasons. Give Dodge a try. I think you will like it.
With the girls home for break from college, they are available to work too. Jennifer has been at it since a week before Christmas. Rebecca got home later and will be here for the first half of January. I love having them around and they are quite useful too! An extra employee that can do anything from waxing and scraping skis for Martin in the shop to dealing with rentals all day long is a great thing to be able to plug in during the busy time of year. It's also just nice to drive in with them to work and chat. Jennifer worked yesterday and then we went to a movie afterwards. So nice to take an evening off from after hours working on boots or the books to spend it with my daughter!
Next up for me is to take a few days off at New Years and go to Northstar with friends. We will ski, we will skate, we will watch fireworks, we will take in the ambiance of a winter playground. I will relax and recharge. Then it is back to the grindstone. I hope you will all do the same. There is nothing better for the soul than a ski vacation!
Last week on the lifts Jennifer and I had a conversation about the things people do and how "weird" she thinks we are as a species. We invent games and sports to play just because we like to. We hike to mountain tops just because they are there. Weirdest and most eccentric of all she decided was that we build contraptions (lifts) that go from many different points below to carry us to the top of a mountain. Then we only use them during the period of year when there is snow on the ground. All done so that we can use gravity to stand on sticks and slide back down and do it over and over! Why do we do this? Because it is just plain fun!
I agree with her. When you think about skiing, it is kind of a strange idea to even have this activity available to us. And if it wasn't such a unique experience we wouldn't go to all the trouble. But it is special so we make it possible. We build the lifts, we buy the chains for our cars, we make the trails on the mountains, we get up before the sun to go there. All because it is soo fun!We certainly are a weird and wonderful civilization to do all this.
So let's all be as weird and wonderful as possible this new year! Ski lots, have fun, be safe. Best wishes from me to you going into 2010!
No comments:
Post a Comment