There’s a type of content on the web that ski, for the most part, is completely missing.

Yet this content is some of the most engaging, most viewed, and most shared that break out of their normal niches and into my feeds on a somewhat regular basis.

And while the sport may vary, the concept does not. In a word, they’re challenges.

Golf
Golf is a sport that we can learn a lot from and this is another example. Here are a few I’ve seen recently.

Instead of playing a famous course the way the designed planned, Rick Shiels teed off from the 1st but trying to reach the 8th green. A 1,500 yard hole “par 10”.

An amateur challenged a pro to a round of golf with one catch: the pro had to use foam balls.

The European Tour challenged their pros to try to make a hole-in-one in 500 tries.

These are such simple ideas, but the content is some of the most fun, engaging stuff I’ve ever seen. And it showcases a course or a player in a totally new light.

Ski
So how does this translate to ski? One brainstorming session could probably generate a couple dozen better than these, but here’s what comes to mind right off the bat:

• Hickory Skis Challenge: have local racers try the slalom course on antique hickory skis
• Longest Run Challenge: give two skiers a run-tracking app and challenge them to ski the longest “run” down the mountain by going way out wide, winding back and forth, etc. with a time limit of maybe an hour.
• Gear Switch Challenge: have a snowboarder and skier race a NASTAR course, then have them switch gear and race again.
• SlopeSide Challenge: have people race from bed in the slopeside hotel to the lift by eating some amount of breakfast, putting on gear, etc. on their way.
• Tow vs Lift Vert Challenge: in the midwest? have two skiers try to rack up the most vert (maybe after the resort closes), one on the lift and the other on the rope tow
• Resorts in a Day Challenge: have a few resorts in the area? try to ski all of them in a single day

Like I said, none of those are completely brilliant, but hopefully you get where I’m going with this. Find a fun new way to experience the resort and you’ve give your guests a fun to way to experience it virtually.

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.