As fall moves toward winter, so are area businesses and programs adapting to change their operations with the seasons.
Several seasonal businesses, including ski resorts and the University’s Outdoor Program, depend on a relatively short time span to bring in most of their revenue for the entire year.
Local ski resorts are now getting ready for the upcoming season by holding job fairs to build an employee base before the first snow falls.
Tim Jenkins, an office manager at Willamette Pass Resort, said it is important to hire a lot of employees now in case the snow is slow to fall. If the season starts late, he said, some won’t always wait.
“If they’re not working, there’s potential for them to just go get other jobs,” Jenkins said. “We can’t blame them. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
Jenkins said ski resorts can work to maximize their profits during the year, but they are still often at the mercy of the weather for success. If a resort suffers a bad snow season, he said, the effects can last into the next few seasons as well.
One such season occurred during the 2004-2005 snow year, when many parts of Oregon accumulated only 25 percent of their normal snow pack, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
“Going through a rough season like that, it makes you really appreciate it when there is snow,” Jenkins said. “It takes a couple years to get out of a bad one.”
Jenkins said Willamette Pass also offers summer recreation programs like biking and miniature golf to help soften the blow, but it sometimes isn’t enough to make up for a bad ski season like 2004-05.
“That is our bread and butter,” he said. “If you really want to know where the gravy is, it’s in the winter.”
Willamette Pass is now open only four days per week, but hopes to expand and extend its hours of operation in the future, Jenkins said.
Hoodoo Ski Area also experienced a financial hit from the poor snow year, but not as severely as Willamette Pass. Part of Hoodoo’s financial success during poor snow seasons is attributed to the fact that it’s the largest campground manager in the state, said Hoodoo Family Recreation President and CEO Charles Shepard.
Shepard said the ski resort accounts for about two-thirds of Hoodoo’s yearly revenue, with the rest coming from the campgrounds. He also said a slow year in one area can – and often does – make up for and even help the other.
“A bad snow year often means a good camping year,” Shepard said, adding that warm weather, for example, may discourage skiing but encourage camping. “The two work together very nicely.”
In Hoodoo’s case, Shepard said, the campground aspect of the business is essential. He said it costs about $2 million to run the ski area for one season, which requires about 75,000 visitors to break even.
“We’ve never had 75,000 skiers in a season,” Shepard said.
While ski resorts gear up for their busy season, another seasonal business – the University’s Outdoor Program, is currently winding down from its more active months.
Cory Lescher, a trip coordinator with the Outdoor Program, said the program’s busiest time is typically in the spring and summer when students rent the most equipment and plan kayaking and rafting trips.
“Spring and summer there are water trips that go out almost daily,” Lescher said.
Lescher said the sunnier seasons require substantial work to maintain rafting equipment that is rented so it is ready to use every day.
Assistant Coordinator Suzanne Hanlon said this is where most of the Outdoor Program’s revenue comes from because it doesn’t rent much equipment during the winter.
During the winter season, he said, there are still snow activity trips that go out from the program, but the program does not currently rent out skis or snowboards.
And though the rafting season is over, Lescher said, he is still preparing to coordinate winter trips.
“At this time right now we’re kind of in the transition,” Lescher said. “We’re waiting for that snow to come.”
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