A Newly Re-Organized Vail Ski & Snowboard School will Enhance the Learning Experience for Guests and Employees at the Resort this Winter
As the seasons change, skiing and snowboarding becomes top of mind again, especially with Vail Mountain’s opening day just around the corner on Friday, Nov. 22. For the world-class Vail Ski & Snowboard School, though, skiing and snowboarding is a year-round focus and the school has been hard at work re-organizing its structure in order to provide an even better experience for guests and employees this winter.
Previously the school was organized by base area location with general managers and managers in Lionshead, Vail Village and Golden Peak. Now, a general manager of children’s programs and a general manager of adult programs will oversee all locations, with supporting location managers for children’s and adults programs in Lionshead, Vail Village and Golden Peak. These general managers will report to Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School director, Bobby Murphy.
“At the core of everything, providing a safe and enjoyable experience for our guests and employees on Vail Mountain is the number one priority,” said Bobby Murphy, director of the Vail Ski & Snowboard School. “This re-organization of the management structure for Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School will create more consistency across programs and ultimately allow for better evaluation of existing programs in order to provide the best learning environment possible.”
Changes for the better are already well under way as several individuals have been promoted to the new Vail Ski & Snowboard School management positions. The new leadership team has been busy streamlining the children’s ski school registration process for the upcoming winter by moving all children’s lesson products onto their hard card media (similar to pass products) in order to create an easier check-in process, creating a full-day Max 3 adult lesson product, and preparing for the rollout of the fourth generation of EpicMix – EpicMix Academy. With EpicMix Academy, Vail’s ski school instructors will be able to certify the attainment of certain skills and levels for any of the students in their classes. Children and adults in both group and private ski and snowboard lessons will be able to earn permanent recognition and review their accomplishments online. Parents will be able to track the progress of their kids and the Company's ski schools will immediately know the ability level of every student before the start of each lesson.
Serving as General Manager of Adult’s Programs at the Vail Ski & Snowboard School is Lance Wellbaum, who will oversee adult lesson programs across all Vail Ski & Snowboard school locations. Wellbaum brings 23 years of experience in the ski industry to the job, and has spent the past 20 years with Vail and Beaver Creek’s Ski & Snowboard Schools. Working with Wellbaum to support adult’s programs as location managers in Lionshead and Golden Peak are Gates Lloyd and Jason Schetrompf, respectively. Dave Bolte will serve as the location manager of the Vail Village Ski & Snowboard School location.
Taking over the new position of General Manager of Children’s programs at the Vail Ski & Snowboard School is Greg Willis. In this new position Willis will oversee children’s lesson programs across all children’s locations in Vail. He brings nearly 20 years of industry experience to Vail, having begun his teaching career at Sugarloaf in Maine and then moving to Beaver Creek in 1994. Working with Willis to support children’s programs as location managers in Lionshead and Golden Peak are Dan Houck and Sherry McDonald, respectively.
Rounding out the leadership team for Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School, Murphy’s team is also comprised of Mark Raymond, General Manager of Training and Quality, and Eric Aragon, Business Manager and Financial Analyst.
The Lionshead location of the Vail Ski & Snowboard School will open for adults and children of all ability levels on Vail’s opening day Friday, Nov. 22. For more information or to book a lesson, visit www.vail.com, or call the Vail Mountain Information Center at (970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245).
Previously the school was organized by base area location with general managers and managers in Lionshead, Vail Village and Golden Peak. Now, a general manager of children’s programs and a general manager of adult programs will oversee all locations, with supporting location managers for children’s and adults programs in Lionshead, Vail Village and Golden Peak. These general managers will report to Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School director, Bobby Murphy.
“At the core of everything, providing a safe and enjoyable experience for our guests and employees on Vail Mountain is the number one priority,” said Bobby Murphy, director of the Vail Ski & Snowboard School. “This re-organization of the management structure for Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School will create more consistency across programs and ultimately allow for better evaluation of existing programs in order to provide the best learning environment possible.”
Changes for the better are already well under way as several individuals have been promoted to the new Vail Ski & Snowboard School management positions. The new leadership team has been busy streamlining the children’s ski school registration process for the upcoming winter by moving all children’s lesson products onto their hard card media (similar to pass products) in order to create an easier check-in process, creating a full-day Max 3 adult lesson product, and preparing for the rollout of the fourth generation of EpicMix – EpicMix Academy. With EpicMix Academy, Vail’s ski school instructors will be able to certify the attainment of certain skills and levels for any of the students in their classes. Children and adults in both group and private ski and snowboard lessons will be able to earn permanent recognition and review their accomplishments online. Parents will be able to track the progress of their kids and the Company's ski schools will immediately know the ability level of every student before the start of each lesson.
Serving as General Manager of Adult’s Programs at the Vail Ski & Snowboard School is Lance Wellbaum, who will oversee adult lesson programs across all Vail Ski & Snowboard school locations. Wellbaum brings 23 years of experience in the ski industry to the job, and has spent the past 20 years with Vail and Beaver Creek’s Ski & Snowboard Schools. Working with Wellbaum to support adult’s programs as location managers in Lionshead and Golden Peak are Gates Lloyd and Jason Schetrompf, respectively. Dave Bolte will serve as the location manager of the Vail Village Ski & Snowboard School location.
Taking over the new position of General Manager of Children’s programs at the Vail Ski & Snowboard School is Greg Willis. In this new position Willis will oversee children’s lesson programs across all children’s locations in Vail. He brings nearly 20 years of industry experience to Vail, having begun his teaching career at Sugarloaf in Maine and then moving to Beaver Creek in 1994. Working with Willis to support children’s programs as location managers in Lionshead and Golden Peak are Dan Houck and Sherry McDonald, respectively.
Rounding out the leadership team for Vail’s Ski & Snowboard School, Murphy’s team is also comprised of Mark Raymond, General Manager of Training and Quality, and Eric Aragon, Business Manager and Financial Analyst.
The Lionshead location of the Vail Ski & Snowboard School will open for adults and children of all ability levels on Vail’s opening day Friday, Nov. 22. For more information or to book a lesson, visit www.vail.com, or call the Vail Mountain Information Center at (970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245).
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About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.