Running cats is my passion and so is leaving the absolute best product as possible. I've worked for 3 resorts now and can safely say that the sad reality is that most resorts invest too little in their grooming programs so wages are really low leaving a revolving door of operators. It really takes 3-5 seasons before you get a competent operator in most cases. Farmers usually make terrible operators, modern equipment is much more complex than any farm equipment and lots of heavy equipment operators used to dirt never figure out grooming as traction on dirt is much different compared to snow.
Another problem is when a resort invests in a limited number of cats and doesn't pay very good wages for the mechanics. Cats require a ton of maintenance that can be very specialized. I am reluctant to name resorts, but one I worked at had one, two, or three cats broken down almost every night due to lack of experienced mechanics. That puts big pressure on the operators to get the usual amount of runs groomed with less equipment and usually results in poor grooming.
Most all resorts do use winches. Most seem to have at least 2. Even if a run does not seem very steep, if it gets a lot of traffic, the moguls get big or you need to move a lot of snow to patch problem areas and a free cat will struggle and dig holes with the tracks. Adding the winch is mind blowing with how much it changes what you can climb and plow uphill. Riders move an immense amount of snow downhill, so these machines need to be moving it back uphill every single night.
The last few years Prinoth machines have had tillers that are prone to leaving ridges between passes. Even a good operator can sometimes have a hard time eliminating these ridges in soft snow. Going over the ridge will only leave two bigger ridges as the snow gets softer. I hear Prinoth has found a possible fix and I hope that is true. Last year I would rather be running a Pisten Bully as the passes are seamless in the hands of a decent operator. Not many resorts run a mixed fleet, so those ridges can be a big problem for a Prinoth only resort.
I will name one resort and this is the resort I wish others would model their program off of. Deer Valley invests a ton of money in their operation and it really pays off. They pay their operators the best wages in the US that I know of and it stops the revolving door of operators and mechanics. That crew is staffed by a staggering amount of experience. I don't understand why other resorts do not follow their lead. Any chairlift I jump on with a stranger, the first thing I am going to hear about on a non powder day is how good or bad the grooming is. It is very important to your average rider.
And one other thing I will add is that even modern equipment does not really have a good answer for spring time slush. It is hard to climb, easy to start sliding down, and just looks like crap no matter what you do sometimes.
One thing I would ask you guys, would you rather have more runs groomed if it meant the quality was generally mediocre or less run, but great grooming quality? It seems most resorts value number of runs groomed and I often wonder if this is because they get more bad feedback when they have fewer runs groomed even though they look great. I feel like a poorly groomed run damages the reputation far more than lack of groomed runs.
Another problem is when a resort invests in a limited number of cats and doesn't pay very good wages for the mechanics. Cats require a ton of maintenance that can be very specialized. I am reluctant to name resorts, but one I worked at had one, two, or three cats broken down almost every night due to lack of experienced mechanics. That puts big pressure on the operators to get the usual amount of runs groomed with less equipment and usually results in poor grooming.
Most all resorts do use winches. Most seem to have at least 2. Even if a run does not seem very steep, if it gets a lot of traffic, the moguls get big or you need to move a lot of snow to patch problem areas and a free cat will struggle and dig holes with the tracks. Adding the winch is mind blowing with how much it changes what you can climb and plow uphill. Riders move an immense amount of snow downhill, so these machines need to be moving it back uphill every single night.
The last few years Prinoth machines have had tillers that are prone to leaving ridges between passes. Even a good operator can sometimes have a hard time eliminating these ridges in soft snow. Going over the ridge will only leave two bigger ridges as the snow gets softer. I hear Prinoth has found a possible fix and I hope that is true. Last year I would rather be running a Pisten Bully as the passes are seamless in the hands of a decent operator. Not many resorts run a mixed fleet, so those ridges can be a big problem for a Prinoth only resort.
I will name one resort and this is the resort I wish others would model their program off of. Deer Valley invests a ton of money in their operation and it really pays off. They pay their operators the best wages in the US that I know of and it stops the revolving door of operators and mechanics. That crew is staffed by a staggering amount of experience. I don't understand why other resorts do not follow their lead. Any chairlift I jump on with a stranger, the first thing I am going to hear about on a non powder day is how good or bad the grooming is. It is very important to your average rider.
And one other thing I will add is that even modern equipment does not really have a good answer for spring time slush. It is hard to climb, easy to start sliding down, and just looks like crap no matter what you do sometimes.
One thing I would ask you guys, would you rather have more runs groomed if it meant the quality was generally mediocre or less run, but great grooming quality? It seems most resorts value number of runs groomed and I often wonder if this is because they get more bad feedback when they have fewer runs groomed even though they look great. I feel like a poorly groomed run damages the reputation far more than lack of groomed runs.
