Last week I had the chance to visit Copper Mountain and see some of the cool work that Dwight, Austyn, and the rest of the Copper crew have been up to. During our afternoon I admitted that the last (and only) time I had been to Copper was in Spring of 2012.

In the context of our conversation, it was true. But the last time I had stepped foot in their village was the year before when I rode Vail Pass with a friend and occasional cycling partner, Trevor Giles.

That was the last ride we took together because after cruising over to the Vail Time Trial (part of the Pro Cycling Challenge), he lost control, crashed, and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Stepping Up
What makes me happy as both a friend and a resort marketer, is to see what Arapahoe Basin recently did. According to Summit Daily’s Joe Moylan (who, interestingly enough, I met at Copper last week):

“In addition to the Pug Ryan’s fundraiser, Peggy Hiller, A-Basin’s assistant general manager, announced Thursday that this year’s annual Enduro will be hosted in the Giles family’s honor.
The Enduro, now in its 25th year and scheduled for April 16, is a 10-hour, two-person team endurance race on the Pallavicini chair. Entry is $150 per team, capped at 30 teams, Hiller said. “

But this is one person, right? He taught at A-Basin, but just part time. Doing something for Al Henceroth is one thing, but Trevor Giles?

Names & Faces
This is one name, one face, in a community of skiers. But, being part of such a group, I think Arapahoe sent a powerful message to me personally and that community as a whole.

That every skier and employee matters.

Trevor isn’t alone. Tragedies – large or small – happen daily within these families of skiers. To me, doing good for these people isn’t about capitalizing on tragedy, it’s recognizing that communities make resorts successful and acting on that knowledge.

Again
So, again, a huge thanks to Arapahoe Basin for their selfless act on behalf of a friend and serving as a solid example for the rest of the industry.

It’s means a lot to a long list of people, including me.

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.