If I Could Tell Every Skier in America One Thing, I’d Say This…
Gregg Blanchard /
That video above is from a Kickstarter campaign that many of you are aware of. Created by Tyler Wilkinson-Ray, the idea is to tell the story of small ski areas, especially in the East, and how awesome they are. Here’s the overview from the campaign:
“We want to show people why skiing at your local hill can be as fun as heli-skiing in Alaska and a whole lot more accessible to local residents and children. The film will be both documentary and ski film, including narrative and footage of skiers of all ages. For us, telling this story is our small way of giving back to the community of skiing in Vermont and will hopefully gather recognition and publicity for these ski areas with little advertising budget.”
The response was pretty awesome with over $10,000 pledged. And what have people been saying about it? Here’s how almost every comment starts…
“This project is awesome, I used to ski _______ area when I was a kid. Love that place!”
Yet, therein lies the problem. Not in the first part, but the second part. The one that starts, “I used to…”
What I’d Say
So, if I had every skier in the United States in one, massive room, this is what I’d say:
“Friends, skiers, countrymen. I am here to tell you that fond, childhood memories don’t pay bills. Loving small ski areas of your youth can’t turn lifts. There’s a reason so many of these mountains go under. That reason is you. Mourning a ski area’s death seems silly when you haven’t given them a cent of your annual ski budget during the last decade. You can’t be an Amazon Prime member and feel bad with the local shops close. You can’t be a large resort pass holder and shed a tear when the local hill stops their lifts for the last time.”
I love that people are so excited about the project, but love doesn’t keep resorts afloat. Money does. Money that comes from people choosing to ski at Monarch instead of Breckenridge, McIntyre instead of Waterville, and China instead of Mammoth.
What I’d Do
So, if I were the Wilkinson brothers and I were about to write a script for a documentary about small ski areas, I’d make it awesome and tell a story as best I could. But, I wouldn’t be afraid to be honest and realistic about what I said above.
In other words, I’d try to make people feel a little bit guilty because, if they really love all these areas as much as they say they do, they should be.
That’s what I’d do.