Snow in September? It’s a trend (again) and I’m 100% intrigued.
Gregg Blanchard /
A couple decades ago making snow in September was a sign of a strong start to an early opening for Loveland. From my apartment I’d refresh webcams, check for the “snowmaking” page to be activated on their website, and generally be impatient as I waited for their ribbon to form.
Today, the game is different.
Resorts haven’t started making snow in late September for a while and Loveland has mostly been overpowered by larger resorts and shorter runs and slightly higher elevations.
Well, except for Ski Ward who has, well, none of those things going for them.
Except for an any-temp snowmaking system.
Snow has always been the strongest factor either playing for or against resorts’ plans. Big storms, brown spots, rain, powder days, lack of snow in town, you name it. And snowmaking has, for many years, been both an operational boon as well as a marketing one.
Sugar Bowl just played a very similar card by planning for October tubing thanks to their recent purchase.
New technology is changing that game and, in turn, giving marketers a very strong story to tell. Maybe not as strong as the #racetoopen was historically, but definitely something that packs a punch in the market. And it’s not just a giant shipping container scraping ice off a barrel to shoot out a hose.
I honestly think one of the most interesting bits of tech that will become a key story within the decade is snow preservation systems like Bogus Basin has been testing out (and telling stories around). The cost of snow is only going to make stuff like this more interesting economically and, in term, become more of a story you’re marketing team may need to tell.
This is the game I’m watching closely and this is the game that I think is worth some extra conversation around marketing team offices in the coming years.
Snow remains the trump card in many marketing situations, but snow? It’s changing.
Your operations and marketing may need to change with it.