April 2021

This has been quite a season for cross-country skiing and all outdoor activities.  Many of us have had record setting years for sales and participation.  We’ve survived shutdowns, new rules, new practices and new customers.

CCSAA has been an outdoor industry leader over the past year working to make certain that our members in our industry, our suppliers, our operators, our employees and our customers have stayed safe and allowed us to stay open.

We convened a nearly year-long series of on-line gatherings to keep each other informed, share ideas, relate plans, share practices and share experiences in the cross country business this season.  CCSAA was active immediately after last year’s shutdowns working on ways to make certain that our industry could safely take best advantage of the coming season.  We decided that communication early and often was going to be the key to surviving the unknowns ahead.  We got together every month to discuss concerns about passes, lessons, employee safety, food and beverage service, retail operations, destination tourism and numerous other topics.

CCSAA also played an integral role in getting far greater cross country ski coverage then over the previous 20 years.  We strive to promote our members in all media outreach and drive journalists to member ski areas and suppliers for inclusion in their pieces.

The CCSAA website viewers grew by over 300% with most of those inquiries going to the on-line directory.

Our mission is to send people outside to play in the snow and it is a great time to be doing it.  Please take the time to renew or begin your CCSAA membership.  We are always working to be a strong representative of our member’s interests and our common passions.  Supporting CCSAA helps keep our industry and our voices strong.

There is much work to do and we hope to remain a driving force within the industry for many years to come!  We always appreciate any feedback you can offer to help keep our organization strong and interest high.

 

Richard Hodges

Board President, Cross Country Ski Areas Association

Nordic Director, White Pine Touring Nordic Center, Park City, Utah

President, 10weekwinter Consulting LLC

Categories: Members