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!

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.

Looking to the heavens

We are all looking to the heavens for a little help right about now. It's time to start skiing and all we need is snow. The staff just spent two days in Reno at Masterfit University boot fitting training and had a great time while learning a lot in the process. Becky, Erle, and Gary got there "Associate plus" degrees. Peter got his "Masters" degree. Martin, John, and I took the "Masters Plus" class which is called The Dark Arts. Masterfit does a great job. The instructors are amazing. Super talented and knowledgeable while being very good (and fun) instructors. They are truly the elite from around the country. Instructors came from Teluride, Aspen, Vermont, Mt. Hood...just the best of the best nationally. While we consider ourselves "top notch", it can be both a thrill and a shot of reality to be together with other shops that take boots as seriously as us. We are not the only boot junkies out there and the instructors are, as a group, at another level. All are either podiatrists or board certified pedorthists. All have decades of experience.

Jim Schaffner of the Start Haus in Truckee is one of those instructors and we are blessed to have him "locally". The Start Haus is the center of ski racing in Norcal and any ski racer worth their salt knows the shop. Jim and the Start Haus are a great assets for the Tahoe region and pretty much all of Northern California. Every boot fitter gets stumped at times and needs to consult with others to get a fresh take. Jim is always willing to give me a tip from the other end of the phone. Being so close to the race scene, he is also always on top of the latest machines and techniques for tuning and is always more than willing to share. On the way home we stopped by his shop and got to play with a new hand held exotic ski edge tuning tool with a diamond cutting surface. Josh Wiltz was there and we checked it out with him while we waited for a piece of machinery to be readied for us to buy for the back shop. Josh's uncle Willie is probably the best known tuner in the US and Josh is the tuner for the Canadian national Skier Cross team. The tool is designed to be prtale enough for field use and so is perfect for his needs as he travels with the team. It was kinda cool to be checking out a $3600 hand held power edge tool with a world cup tech!

Now we finish up our in-house clinics starting with our own "boot camp". The associate degree fitters have a ton of new knowledge. Now I have to help them put it into the context of our own practices. They will learn how to use our forms, tools, and methodology. Using the materials and methods we adhere to, they will practice evaluations, make footbeds, punch, grind, and cut under Johns supervision until he is satisfied. Thank you to Masterfit and Dalbello for providing a dozen or so boot shells for them to practice on.

With Halloween come and gone without any resorts opening yet, I looked at some web sites for opening date speculation. Mt. Rose and Boreal are looking at next weekend. Others the following weekend. I think we will go to full hours the weekend of the 15th. Meanwhile, I will sneak in a trip to Texas to visit an old friend. I also need to finish in house training for the rental department and general binding tech with the newbies. Then it should be skiing and working the sales floor for the next five months or so. I am super ready so... Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Snow in the Sierra!

Well, now we have had a number of weeks when we have "working" been at the shop this season. This time of year is brutal. First, in August, we get in new gear that makes us want to ski. Then, in early September, we have a sale and the brisk business feels like mid season. Then we have the last month or so which is comprised of fine tuning, organizing, tagging, moving diplays, moving them back cause I changed my mind, endless lists of little things to do, smaller lists of important things to do...you get the picture. We have decent customer flow, but we are biding our time from a business as well as personal (ie. WE WANT TO SKI!) point of view. To make things worse, customers are mainly making their one preseason ski shop visit and we feel all of your skiing jones'. Many customers practically vibrate with the excitement of visiting a shop just prior to the season. Many stop by just to get some release of "skiers preseason tension". We feed of of the customers mood and you simply will not give us a chance to forget about our need to ski for even a moment! We must therefore simply try to keep it under control as we know we have to be patient.

Well, I am getting pretty impatient. I desperately want to ski and today they got snow at the higher elevations. Last night it rained here and I got up at 12:30am and sat under the eve on the porch and joyfully listened to it rain for awhile. I am ready! Luckily there is a lot going on between now and spinning lifts. We have clinics (about 15 of 'em) for two weeks. After that we go up to Reno for Masterfit University training (http://www.bootfitters.com/). This year we take 8 employees. Wow! Masterfit ends October 29th. The 30th is a planned Mountain Bike ride on the flume trail if it is open since we are in the area. If not, it as a hike and ski day, just to get some turns. Then the 31st is a) Halloween b)Boreal will open if thay can... c)My birthday. The month will end well.

Report from Portillo

This post comes from Joe Schmitt, one of our regular customers. Joe lives in Sonoma County and has been a regular customer of ours for a number of years now. Joe helped me connect with Peter Keelty, John Clendenin, the Clendenin Ski Method (http://www.skidoctors.com/ or phone 970.544.0300), and ultmately our association with the Realskiers ski reviews (http://www.expertskier.com/) and their related web site. Joe has spent a good amount of time learning from both John and Peter. He has attended John's camps since 2002. This report is from his most recent experience. Greg This was my third trip to Portillo and proved to be one of the most memorable as compared to the others. Conditions were excellent with ample snow coverage giving us the opportunity to explore the many off piste areas accessible by the lift system. The lack of weekday crowds provided for all the skiing we could manage, especially with the lifts operating until 5 PM. Nancy, and I were part of a group of 20 students attending the Clendenin Method ski week in the Andes. We were split into three groups based upon skiing ability and enthusiasm levels, which were pretty high judging from the fact that most of us were on the hill on the first Saturday afternoon following a long overnight flight from the US. The coaches consisted of three top level Aspen ski instructors and two time world freestyle champion, John Clendenin. A typical day would begin with a warm up run or two followed by intense drills emphasizing the skiing techniques particular to this program. During the afternoon we were on the steeps and bumps applying what we had learned from the able teaching staff. There are some runs that actually drop down from either side of the valley into the frozen lake requiring a hike out and up to access the lifts. Some of the runs are so steep that the only lift system capable of withstanding the regular avalanches is a cable serviced multi-seat poma device that can be tricky to negotiate since you are riding shoulder to shoulder with four others. We enjoyed the US and Canadian world cup teams training while we were there. Several members of the group opted for a day of heliskiing making descents from 13000 feet in the shadow of Aconcagua which loomed above at over 22800 feet. The slopeside hotel supplied us with comfortable rooms and three gourmet meals a day to fuel ourselves for the abundant amounts of vertical taken in. However, the lunchtime vista from a mid-mountain restaurant called "Tio Bob's" proved to have views too incredible to pass up on clear days. Finally finishing with a morning ski on the eighth day, we returned to Santiago for a final evening's dinner with a lot of the people giving testimonial on the past week's highlights and skiing breakthroughs, or as John likes to call them "epiphanies." On Sunday, before flying home, we had a chance to take in some much needed hydration and carbohydrate replacement therapy. I have been skiing with John Clendenin since 2002, attending many of his ski camps and establishing a lasting friendship. Here we are sharing a moment in the South American sun.

Free Avalanche Awareness Class

I got this email from Rich Meyer. He works with both Shasta Mountain Guides and Nastac. Rich guided me on Mt Shasta this last spring. Great guide, and a great guy!

Greetings

The free avalanche awareness slideshow is back again this year.Mark your calendar for Wed evening , Nov. 19th. This show will be very similar to last years show. Lots of good advice and some good raffle booty. Maybe a little more video! Check out the details below.

Cheers,

Rich

FreeAvalanche Awareness Slideshow

Nov. 19 6:30-8:30 pm

AT Clif Bar Headquarters

1609 Fourth Street, Berkeley CA 94710

Warehouse ramp entrance

Rich Meyer, certified avalanche instructor, skiing and climbing guide will be presenting a free avalanche awareness slideshow at Clif Bar on Nov. 19th in Berkeley. Come on out and learn to recognize the hazards of traveling in avalanche terrain. We will cover some of the basics, and give folks the tools to more confidently choose where and when to get out and ski in the backcountry.We will also be hosting a raffle to benefit The Friends of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center. Participants will have the opportunity to win backcountry gear and help a good cause.

Guide bio for 2008

Rich was hooked on guiding and teaching after completing a fall semester in the Rockies with NOLS in 1992. Since then he has been guiding and instructing in both climbing and skiing in the United States and abroad. His adventures have taken him from trekking in Bhutan, skiing the Haute route in the Alps, to guiding in Ecuador and Alaska. Rich has been a featured skier in the Unparalleled Telemark ski films and has logged numerous ski descents in the lower 48, Alaska, Canada, Argentina, Chile, France, and Switzerland. Rich also guides on Mt. Rainer and Denali, but is most often found in California working for Shasta Mountain Guides, where he guides various routes and ski descents in addition to teaching glacier seminars and avalanche courses. Rich is currently working toward his AMGA certification, and Wyatt’s (his six year old son) reading skills.

Certifications:Leave No Trace, certified trainer

Wilderness First Responder, certified by Wilderness Medicine Institute

American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education, (AIARE) Level I II III

AIARE certified avalanche instructor Level I II

Kickin' it off!

Well we are 2/3 through the fall sale. So much fun! It's like a reunion combined with a busy day at the office. Lot's of "regulars coming by just to say "hi!" combined with lot's of sales. It is always great to see the regulars that are as much friends as customers by now. Some like Joe from Sonoma come from pretty far away just to say hello and check out the shop with little intention of making purchases. Awesome. Others like Cindy and Stefon (Spelled wrong) have decided it's time for killer new gear. Also awesome. David Hudson is always there the Friday before the sale starts bright and early- just to be first. Amazing. John says we are the "skiers barbershop". Pretty close to the truth.

The sale has also gone fantastic from a sales/business point of view. We are WAY above any previous year. Mainly accountable for this is the fact that John talked me into doing advertising beyond our postcard that we send to our customer database. For years, the annual "were back and having a sale" postcard and yellow pages listing were our entire budget. The business has grown every year so I was content with that. Still we have new customers every year that are local skiers and yet did not even know we existed. John argued that we can convert any skier to becoming a regular but they needed to know about us. "Get 'em in the door" he felt, "and we can make 'em ours". Well I cane to agree and did some print ads and an online piece on the chronicles web site. Seems to have worked!

At least as important is the support we get from companies like the Bay Area Ski Bus (BayAreaSkiBus.com). Brian sent an email to his customer base about the sale. That's 12,000 emails! Wow, what a great partnership. You have probably heard me praise his company before and now they are doing week long trips to destinations outside of Califnia as well. Very cool! If you are using the ski bus or want to check it out once, give us a call or drop by and we can give you a code to save $10 on a trip.

Also fantastic is that we have added a few new staff members that are working out great. Gabe is doing the school thing and will be playing a part time/fill in role. He was in shopping last season. We were very busy. Both John and I were dealing with multiple customer at the same time. Gabe started chatting with a customer that was patiently sharing John with a few other boot shoppers. Before we knew it, he sort of jumped right in and sold the customer some boots for us. Not a normal thing for a customer to do. John was monitoring this occurance closely out of the corner of his eye and it was clear that Gabe had some serious bootfitting experience. They chatted afterwards. Yes, he had sold boots and knew his way around the bootfitters bench. He also worked ski patrol at Deer Valley for five years, is very bright, and has an engaging personality. Just my cup of tea. We talked about him putting in some hours this season, traded contact info, and said we would pick up the conversation this fall. I had his info on my desk with the intention of calling him as I checked emails about three weeks ago and the email on top was from him. Oooh- karma at work. Gabe has been working the sale and is everything he seemed to be. Plus he's a bike geek to boot!

Tyko and I met when he was about twelve. His mom Cindy was a regular at my bike shop, and wanted to build him a race bike. She brought in a hand built custom frame that she wasn't using any more with a box of parts. "Can you make a bike out of this" she asked? She left Tyko with me to sort through the parts. Some pieces were missing so Tyko and I got very "creative" in getting the parts necessary. Well, actually we sort of absconded them from an abandoned bike near the shop I had seen slowly being stripped of parts over the past few months. Cindy was not pleased at first, and I think the word "criminal" was even used. She came around however, and Tyko and I sort of bonded that day. Now Tyko is a man and had worked last year at Wilderness Exchange, a local new and used outdoor shop that sells a lot of tele gear. Just back from riding his bike solo around Europe over the summer, he came looking for work. Hired. Tyko will be the "rookie" this year and will work significant hours. An accomplished skier that has been primarily tele skiing the past few years, my goal is to keep his heel down this winter.

I will probably hire one more full timer to take Todd's slot and have a number of quality candidates to interview. I won't say more 'cause I don't want to jinx it, but the staff should round out nicely. As usual it will be a core group complimented by "a cast of thousands". Which seems to just be our shop culture. In any case, it works for me and I am just pumped up to be back at it and giving all of you the best ski shop experience I possibly can. Thanks to those of you that have been patronizing the shop. To the rest of you- come on down!