Tim Baker looks back at his time at CBMR

Tara Schoedinger named new VP and GM

[ By Kendra Walker ]

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) will experience a change in leadership in the coming months, as vice president and general manager Tim Baker was recently promoted to vice president and chief operating officer of the Eastern Region, which will move him and his family to the Front Range. His replacement, Tara Schoedinger, will step into the role beginning June 7. She helped lead the integration of Whistler Blackomb into the Vail Resorts portfolio and has served as the chief of staff for the Mountain Division.

More info on Shoedinger will be shared in the coming months, and the Crested Butte News wanted to give Baker the opportunity to reminisce on the last few years in Crested Butte before he heads to Broomfield for his new position later this summer.

“I’m never going to leave Crested Butte for good,” Baker emphasizes. “One of the best things that came from my time at CBMR is now my love for Crested Butte and the spirit of Crested Butte. This will become our destination of choice when we can get back up to the mountains, as frequently as we can.”

Looking at accomplishments, Baker credits his team. “First and foremost, I’m really proud of the CBMR team. Seeing the level of guest service the team here provides every single day and the passion and commitment this team has here rivals any team I’ve observed throughout my time in my career. So many people have consciously chosen to be here and because of that there’s a great deal of pride, so the opportunity to work with teams not only within CBMR but across stakeholders in Gunnison County have really inspired me.”

Baker is also proud of the relationship he developed with the CBMR Ski Patrol. “We bargained a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) early on and just finalized the contract for this next year. It represents the relationships that have been developed over time and mutual trust in doing the best we can in working together in this great community. It represents those relationships are not just about signing a document. There’s incredible leadership throughout the CBMR team. These are individuals that inspire me every day to come to the office and the mountain.”

Baker says his three years at CBMR really shaped his leadership. “With everything we went though with the change and integration of Vail into the Crested Butte community, there was apparent trepidation but I look back and feel really good about the relationships that have been forged, and the patience from the community to give it time and to get to know one another,” he says. “With change comes different perspectives and the ability to recognize the different effects that change has on people. Establishing those relationships is something I’m going to carry forward, and that will help me as I work with a bunch of other communities that are small and unique just like Crested Butte.”

Baker is also proud of how CBMR and the community got through COVID. “Coming off a year of just incredible challenge with COVID and the way in which this community came together to get to the other side of it is something that will stand out in my career,” he says. “All across Gunnison County everyone just put differences aside and sat around tables or screens to do what we need to do as a community to move forward. I think Gunnison County has a lot of be proud of and that sets us up moving forward with really strong bonds to identify opportunities to collaborate and seek alignment. It’s really going to help inform the approach I’ll take to leadership moving forward.”

As for his favorite ski runs on the mountain, Baker has trouble narrowing it down to just one. “My goodness, there’s so many lines on the mountain that I could list out. But I love Old Pro. I can always rely on a line at Old Pro, I’ve spent a lot of times skiing that trail. I tend to ski it slow and find some really good pockets. But there are a lot of runs I haven’t done either, which is just another reason to come back.”

Before Baker and his family move, he plans to do a lot of mountain biking on his favorite trails in the valley, including the CBMR bike park when it opens in June. “I’ll also be getting me some ramen bowls from Montanya’s, smoky old fashioned’s from django’s and Claim Jumper pasties from Tin Cup.”

Baker sees his replacement, Shoedinger, as a great fit for Crested Butte. “I know Tara very well, and I’m very confident she’s going to be a natural fit in moving forward with CBMR. She wants to be in Crested Butte and she is stoked to be here. She understands what it means to be part of a community and she’s going to integrate herself into the community. I’ll encourage her to build relationships with the key stakeholders out in the community and ultimately, she’s going to find all the same reasons of incredible pride that I have in the CBMR team and everything we’ve accomplished together. I have every confidence that she’s going to fit right in and lead this resort into the future. I’m excited to see CBMR thrive in the future.”

Baker appreciates all the Crested Butte community has done for him and his family these past three years. “Thank you to the community for the way in which you embraced my family and myself. For my boys to have the confidence to thrive in a small community like this, for all of the friends that embraced my wife. Because of the respect from this community and the embrace we felt, this became our home. We’ll truly miss it and will treasure it for the rest of our lives.”