Over the years of SlopeFillers I’ve highlighted a few simple tactics that I was sure would catch on extremely quickly in the ski industry.

While my batting average on such predictions is only slightly above what it would be if I stepped to the plate at a Rockies game, three of those really do hold some intriguing concepts and value below the surface.

#1) Showing Photo Location on a Map
(click here for original post)
The work required on this one may have been it’s downfall, but with a simple layered file in Photoshop it shouldn’t be that way. Heck, some upstart developer could use the coordinates in image meta data to do this automatically.

The idea was to simply highlight the location on the trailmap where a photo was taken. Crotched did this when they built their high-speed quad, but this would be even more valuable in winter.

#2) Snowbird’s First Chair(s) Album
(click here for original post)
When Snowbird opened for the 2013/14 season, Matt Crawley took 50 photos, added the Snowbird logo, and uploaded them to Facebook. It was a simple combination of putting skiers’ names up in lights, rewarding locals, and celebrating a big day on the resort marketing calendar.

I fully expected another resort to apply this concept in 2014/15 but, at least as far I could tell, it didn’t happen.

#3) CAD Drawings of Upcoming Features
(click here for original post)
Until ready to ride, a park is nothing more than a pile of snow. So when Cannonsburg whipped up simple CAD drawings to not only start the stoke a little bit early but also get valuable feedback before a flake was every moved, I fully expected other resorts to jump into Google SketchUp and follow suit.

I still think this is an awesome, clever idea (and one that might pair really well with the fall wave of ski-stoke) that can get people excited and save time/money at the same time.

Three great ideas, but not yet replicated. Maybe that’ll change come fall.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.