Co ontact Kenton Hopkins MRE E, CRS, GRI oor David McHugh M e-PRO O for Addition nal Information n (970) 8445-8053 - (9700) 376-7171 - khopkins@slife k er.net & dmch hugh@slifer.neet
Ma arch 1, 2008
Co oncer rns Ab bout th he Clim mate That T G Bey Go yond Snow S By y PATRICIIA R. OLSE EN
ME ENTION globa al warming an nd there is a good g chance the t conversatiion will turn to t the future of o ski resorts. But Rob Katzz, chieef executive of o Vail Resortss, is not worriied. Vail had more m snow in n a recent 30-d day period th han it has had in the last 10 0 yearrs. And shoulld snowfall deecrease signifiicantly in the future, Mr. Katz K said, therre will be grea ater concerns than how mucch snow theree is. In an a industry th hat averages $2 $ billion in annual a revenu ue in the Uniteed States, acccording to a reeport in January by First Ressearch, Vail Resorts R is a hea avyweight. Th he company’ss five ski resorrts are Vail, Breckenridge, B Beaver Creek k and Keyston ne in Colorado, C and d Heavenly, which w straddlees California and a Nevada. The T first threee consistentlyy get high marrks in Ski Mag gazine. Thee company ha as several enerrgy-conservattion and earth h-friendly pro ograms, including partnersships with win nd farms acro oss the countrry to offset itss energy use. Vail V Resorts pays p its utilityy bills and theen invests, thrrough renewa able energy cred dits, in develo oping new win nd farms. In addition, a Vail intends to pu urchase “green” constructio on materials for f future buiilding projectts and work with w the Forestt Servvice to preserrve trees. In new n developm ments, the com mpany plans to o use a geotheermal processs that relies on o ground source heat pum mps to collect heat h from thee earth and meelt the snow on o streets and d sidewalks. Mr. M Katz recen ntly discussed d glob bal warming; Vail’s focus, environmenta e al and otherw wise; and his company’s c customers. Following are exccerpts from thatt interview: Q. You Y don’t sou und overly con ncerned aboutt the effect off global warming on your operations. o W not? Why A. Climate C is onlyy one part of the environm ment, and it’s a planetary isssue. When peeople ask me if I’m worried d about globaal warrming, I tell th hem I’m worrried as a paren nt. If Colorad do is going to be b as warm ass Mexico in 50 0 years, then we all have morre to worry ab bout than skiiing at Vail. We W have higherr priorities dirrectly related d to our local ecosystem, e su uch as
Co ontact Kenton Hopkins MRE E, CRS, GRI oor David McHugh M e-PRO O for Addition nal Information n (970) 8445-8053 - (9700) 376-7171 - khopkins@slife k er.net & dmch hugh@slifer.neet
imprroving the wildlife habitat and a keeping the t water clea an. In th he businesses we’re in — wh hether you loo ok at our skiin ng, lodging, retail r or real estate e develop pment businesss — what wee sell iss the outdoorrs. Because th hat’s our produ uct, we have a responsibiliity and an opp portunity. Thee responsibiliity is to do thee rightt thing for som mething we’ree using to mak ke money, and the opportu unity is to deeepen our relattionship with our guests byy keeping our spectacular setting gs beautiful. That T has been n the push for us. Q. What W steps havve you taken to t stay viable as an industrry? A. We’re W doing wh hat we’re doin ng because it’ss the right thiing to do. So for f example, using u wind po ower helps glo obal climate chan nge, but we’re also diversifyying our fuel source. s Theree is other pollu ution that com mes from coall, for instancee, so there’s a wholle range of im mpact that fosssil fuels have. The steps wee’re taking aree less about ou ur viability ass a business th han doing thee rightt thing for thee product we sell. s Q. When W did you begin b the reneewable energy credits prog gram to offsett your use of fossil f fuels? What W is the sco ope of your efforrt? A. We W started the program in August A of 200 06. We purcha ase 152,000 megawatt-hou m urs and are rig ght behind Whole W Foods. Q. Has the skier demographic d changed c in th he last 5 or 10 years? A. I think t our aud dience has wid dened in the la ast few years.. We’re seeing g an expansion at our top end. e More freq quent groom ming of the sllopes and sha aped skis, whiich are wider,, have allowed d people to co ontinue enjoyiing the sport longer. Peop ple who aren’tt as athletic ass many skierss are also ablee to enjoy the sport. The ad dvent of twin-tip skis, freesstyle skiing and terrain t parks for snowboarrders, with jum mps and railss and all thosee crazy thingss, has also inccreased the nu umber of skier days for 10- to 20--year-olds. Th hat’s not neceessarily our ta arget market, but the paren nts of those kiids are lookin ng for vacattions that keeep the kids ha appy and occu upied, and skiing resonatess with them. Also,, people are sp pending moree time at work k and have more m stress. Th hey’re looking g for vacationss that allow th hem an outleet. Q. Why W didn’t you u buy any of th he American Ski Companyy properties when w that com mpany was selling off ski reesorts in 2006 6? Why haven n’t you ever ex xpanded into the Northeasst? A. We’re W focused on o buying a reesort that we think fits with h what we ha ave today — a very high-quality experien nce but also one that’s t large en nough to be a very successfful business. You Y have a lott of fixed costts in opening a resort. Adding skiers doesn n’t cost that much. m I would dn’t say we’d never n buy a property p in thee Northeast, but b our biggerr focus has beeen in the Westt. Q. Having snowbo oarders and skiers share th he slopes has been b controvversial. What’ss the solution n? A. We’re W not seein ng the same isssues we saw 10 or 15 yearss ago. The 50--year-old who o likes snowboarding may not cause as much h commotion on a snowbo oard as a 17-yeear-old. The 17-year-olds 1 teend to gravita ate toward thee terrain park ks, where theree are all kindss of jumps and d tricks. I’m a pretty enthu usiastic skier, and I never go g into the terrrain parks. I’m scared. The key k is to go to o an area that provides a pllace snowboarrders and freeestyle skiers gravitate g to. Q. How often do you y get to ski?? A. If my 7- and 9-yyear-olds hav ve anything to o say about it, I’ll get in abo out 40 days th his year.