VAIL SUCKS

[joshua segal]

Joshua, the work you have done in solstice is special.

Thanks. It's amazing how much work it takes to keep glades skiable. You would not believe the amount of deadfall I have picked up this summer already. In addition, there are usually a couple of very large trees that block prime lines that come down every year and require extensive work to clear. For those not familiar with Solstice Glade (the Galde - not the trail of the same name), it is so clear of rocks and stumps, that I will ski it with a good pair of skis with as little as 3 inches of natural snow.

 

[bigbob]

Licenses and experience required for lift mechanics...LOL. Not in America.

I was referring to the electricians, the other positions do require experience. Would you want some kid out of high school repairing the lift you would be riding on with at the minimum supervision by someone who has done this before?

 

[Smellytele]

Judge hears harsh criticisms of Vail Resorts labor lawsuit settlement

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A fair calculation of wages owed to Vail Resorts workers would be easily found by viewing company records of employees’ scheduled hours, and then subtracting the hours for which those...

www.tahoedailytribune.com

sums up Vail ....it sucks

Actually proves lawyers suck as well. Taking a 1/3rd of the money. I know it is common for that which doesn't make it any better. Class action suits are always a little dubious.

 

[ss20]

I was referring to the electricians, the other positions do require experience. Would you want some kid out of high school repairing the lift you would be riding on with at the minimum supervision by someone who has done this before?

Uh... this is pretty normal practice, hate to tell you. 20yo-somethings working under a 30yo-something super. Lifts are a great way to gain experience in a ton of different trade fields. Work on a lift crew for a few years, learn some fabrication, mechanical, and electrical skills, and ski for a few years.... then when you're 25 move on to something that pays more than $22/hr. No one who works on a lift crew for their first season would meet your definition of "experienced". Here's a job posting I found- https://jobs.wavy.com/jobs/lift-mec...m_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

Pretty much the same job requirements as positions in the rest of the industry- "breathing"

 

[crystalmountainskier]

I was referring to the electricians, the other positions do require experience. Would you want some kid out of high school repairing the lift you would be riding on with at the minimum supervision by someone who has done this before?

Many lift mechanics start with no experience. It is extremely common.

 

[Newpylong]

Uh... this is pretty normal practice, hate to tell you. 20yo-somethings working under a 30yo-something super. Lifts are a great way to gain experience in a ton of different trade fields. Work on a lift crew for a few years, learn some fabrication, mechanical, and electrical skills, and ski for a few years.... then when you're 25 move on to something that pays more than $22/hr. No one who works on a lift crew for their first season would meet your definition of "experienced". Here's a job posting I found- https://jobs.wavy.com/jobs/lift-mec...m_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

Pretty much the same job requirements as positions in the rest of the industry- "breathing"

This job description is misleading, that position is more for a lift operator than a mechanic. 95% of the functions in that job description are performed by a typical operator or lift supervisor. There isn't even any mention of actual hands on mechanical work/repairs.

That said, yes some lift mechanics start with no industry experience, but they typically require experience in operating and repairing heavy machinery, which is directly portable with some oversight and training. They also aren't sent out to troubleshoot an issue by themselves for quite some time.

 

[2Planker]

Many lift mechanics start with no experience. It is extremely common.

I can think of 3-4 GM's who all started w/ ZERO experience as a Lifty, and worked their way up.
Locally that is exactly John DeVivo's (Cannon) and Brian Heon (SR) story

Of course w/ the NEW Vail now If you have Food & Bev skills you are considered vastly experienced, enough to be the GM at least at Attitash or WildCat

 

[bigbob]

Many lift mechanics start with no experience. It is extremely common.

And I would assume the ad for the position would state looking for a Lift Mechanic Apprentice. Tradesmen have to start somewhere, And I am sure Wytech doesn't have a program for lift mechanics. Maybe Mike Rowe could chim in if a school is around for this field.

 

[machski]

And I would assume the ad for the position would state looking for a Lift Mechanic Apprentice. Tradesmen have to start somewhere, And I am sure Wytech doesn't have a program for lift mechanics. Maybe Mike Rowe could chim in if a school is around for this field.

I want to say one of the Tech Schools out in CO up in the mountains has a lift ops/MX program. As I recall, they even have multiple towers with different manufacturers cross arms and sheave sets out in the school yard.

 

[Smellytele]

I want to say one of the Tech Schools out in CO up in the mountains has a lift ops/MX program. As I recall, they even have multiple towers with different manufacturers cross arms and sheave sets out in the school yard.

CMC in Leadville I believe is the school you may be talking about.

 

[2Planker]

We've hired kids w/ degrees from this place.
There's on in VT too, but it's no where near as through
https://coloradomtn.edu/programs/ski-area-operations/

 

[bigbob]

I can think of 3-4 GM's who all started w/ ZERO experience as a Lifty, and worked their way up.
Locally that is exactly John DeVivo's (Cannon) and Brian Heon (SR) story

Of course w/ the NEW Vail now If you have Food & Bev skills you are considered vastly experienced, enough to be the GM at least at Attitash or WildCat

John DeVivo used to work at Sunday River and I think he still commutes from the Waterford Maine area every day to work at Cannon. I saw the Cannon car at the Sand Lot ball field on RT 118 in Waterford a few years back.

 

[Smellytele]

We've hired kids w/ degrees from this place.
There's on in VT too, but it's no where near as through
https://coloradomtn.edu/programs/ski-area-operations/

yup CMC

 

[2Planker]

John DeVivo used to work at Sunday River and I think he still commutes from the Waterford Maine area every day to work at Cannon. I saw the Cannon car at the Sand Lot ball field on RT 118 in Waterford a few years back.

You are correct.
I trained/worked w/ him all those "glory years" at SR in the 90's. Good guy for sure.

 

[thetrailboss]

Vail's latest fail. https://liftblog.com/2022/07/27/error-pauses-bergman-bowl-construction-at-keystone/

 

[cdskier]

Vail's latest fail. https://liftblog.com/2022/07/27/error-pauses-bergman-bowl-construction-at-keystone/

That's a rather big "oops"

 

[drjeff]

As the article states, it's not clear as to if the crew who made the error is a Vail Mtn Ops crew, a Leitner-Poma crew or a subcontractor that either Vail Resorts or L-P hired to help with the work?

Also, not sure from the article if this was say a 25 yard "oops" where they say went up the East side of a streambed when they were supposed to go up the West side of it, or say a 1/2 mile long plus "oops" where they cleared a work road ina completely different location than they were supposed to. Either way it's an issue

Lot's of unkowns in the size of this issue the USFS crew found based on how the article was worded

 

[thetrailboss]

As the article states, it's not clear as to if the crew who made the error is a Vail Mtn Ops crew, a Leitner-Poma crew or a subcontractor that either Vail Resorts or L-P hired to help with the work?

Right on cue with the, "maybe it was not Vail's fault."

Rob Katz, is that you?

As to the point, true that a contractor or sub may have made the mistake, but at the end of the day Vail is the one accountable to the USFS.

 

[thebigo]

the 'epic lift upgrade' is not going well in the rockies:

For those hoping to take a ride on that Bergman Bowl lift soon, however, they may be waiting another season. While no new timetable on the halted project has been issued, Fitzwilliams said guests will “probably not” be riding the lift anytime soon.

“We are confident that a lot of the impacts we saw up there can be restored,” Fitzwilliams said. “But it’s gonna take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money.”

Forest Service halts Vail Resorts’ new lift at Keystone due to unauthorized road construction

A new access road has been bulldozed through sensitive areas of Keystone Resort where minimal impacts were authorized by White River National Forest land managers.

www.vaildaily.com

 

[cdskier]

As the article states, it's not clear as to if the crew who made the error is a Vail Mtn Ops crew, a Leitner-Poma crew or a subcontractor that either Vail Resorts or L-P hired to help with the work?

Also, not sure from the article if this was say a 25 yard "oops" where they say went up the East side of a streambed when they were supposed to go up the West side of it, or say a 1/2 mile long plus "oops" where they cleared a work road ina completely different location than they were supposed to. Either way it's an issue

Lot's of unkowns in the size of this issue the USFS crew found based on how the article was worded

Doesn't matter which crew made the error. Vail is ultimately responsible and should have either had someone directly overseeing the project or made sure LP or whoever else was working fully understood the approved plans and restrictions imposed by the USFS. The map in the approved plan is pretty clear if you look at it together with the wording of what happened. This is what was reported to have happened: "An area that was supposed to have a minimal construction route was instead approached as a temporary construction route."

On the map in the approval decision there's a line drawn showing the construction route. The line changes to a different style of dashed line near the top of the route to denote that particular part of the route was the "minimal construction route" which meant no grading, no tree removal and limits on the type of machinery that could be driven on that part of the route. This wasn't a matter of someone going in a different location than they were supposed to. It was someone not paying attention to the fact that once you passed a certain point on the designated route, you could no longer do certain things and had to restrict the type of heavy machinery that could be on that last part of the route. When doing the initial prep work on site, this is something that should have been clearly marked at the transition point from "temporary construction route" to "minimal construction route" and communicated to everyone.

Also doesn't exactly sound like a small issue per the comments from the Forest Service supervisor for that region:

“We are confident that a lot of the impacts we saw up there can be restored,” Fitzwilliams said. “But it’s gonna take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money.”