The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
During our conversation on August 1, new CBMR V.P. and general manager Ethan Mueller emphasized he wanted to regain positive communications between the ski resort and the community at large. Here is Part-2 of the conversation we had with Ethan.
—Mark Reaman
NEWS: You want more of a community-resort partnership?
ETHAN: I hope so. But I don’t claim that will be the easiest thing in the world to do either. It’s complicated. We all have our day jobs. I have financial responsibilities, service responsibilities and making sure our staff is safe and lifts are turning and all those things, as does everyone else with their jobs. We have to continue to concentrate on our product and guest services. So how do we figure out how to fit this other piece in our lives in an effective and efficient way? I’m a big fan of one-on-ones and I hope people reach out to me. But you can only do so many one-on-ones in any one day. I really do hope people more than ever reach out to the resort and to me. If they got a question, ask. Don’t just sit back in the shadows and make assumptions because that won’t get anyone anywhere. I’ve always been an open person and I grew up watching my parents get critiqued in the newspapers and so forth, so I’m open to that. I’m comfortable with being told that someone doesn’t think I’m doing something quite right. As long as people are respectful. There’s a way to say it and a way not to.
NEWS: What about the philosophical debate of bringing in fewer guests that hopefully spend more money vs. getting volume in here?
ETHAN: That’s a work in progress. When we came in seven and a half years ago, the vision was to do Snodgrass, and get the resort up to 550,000 to 600,000 skier visits annually on average, and then the operating company would sustain itself. And that was off data we used here and data we used from the industry. That reality has obviously changed. That doesn’t mean I don’t hope we can get there some day, and we will continue to try and drive volume. Volume and yield are important factors and reaching a good balance is what every resort strives to do.
NEWS: Looking to this winter. Any changes?
ETHAN: We’ll continue to tweak the pipe and park over at Goldlink and Painter Boy. I’m psyched to see it over there. With some added infrastructure, it will fit even better. Al decided not to renew the contract to operate the Painter Boy Camp 4 facility. We’re hoping to keep a bit of his presence up there if we can work it out. We want the same feel and we want to expand it a bit. We’ll do more food offering and do a full blown bar out there as well so you can sit in the chairs in the sun with not just a coffee but a Jack on the Rocks or a Pinot Noir if you want.
We are also doing some improvements to Paradise. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from locals and guests. They want a different offering, something healthier there, so we’re adding a salad bar. I think that will be great. I can’t go in there and eat a bunch of heavy food and go back on the hill.
We’re doing some pipe improvements at the base area. It will allow us to have more snowmaking on the front and make it better for beginners. There’s the Zip Line. We have a lot of good feedback from people excited to try it in the winter. That will be a major added experience.
NEWS: Snodgrass?
ETHAN: We’re constantly exploring our options with the Forest Service. That’s both on the main mountain and Snodgrass. The door was shut down to a crack but there’s still a crack there and we’re trying to understand what our options are over there still. Supporters still ask me what we’re doing to expand there. I tell them it doesn’t move that quickly and we’re trying to get a better understanding from the Forest Service on that. It’s a process to figure out.
I think we’ll continue to partner with the Nordic Center on the skate track we had over there last season. I thought that was really cool. If we can figure out some funding for it, maybe expand it a little bit because there’s some great terrain to add to that.
NEWS: Anything else?
ETHAN: I want to again emphasize the importance of communication between the community and the resort. People can look at it as they have an open invitation to call or email or stop by. The best thing we can all be doing is respectfully talking to one another vs. not talking at all. That will lead to more understanding.
We’re all in this together and I want to help move Crested Butte forward. We’ll never be an Aspen or Vail. Crested Butte needs to move ahead and stay competitive but the reality is we’ll never do a million skier visits or have four ski mountains. There are unique qualities in this valley that we can hold onto while still moving forward.
The Crested Butte of the mid-80s when you got here is different from what it is today but a lot of the intangible qualities that made you fall in love with the place are still there. They can always be there and we can still move forward.
