Conference Archives

CCSAA posts archives from its regional meetings and the Annual Convention to benefit those who attend as well as all our members. Attending the CCSAA Annual Convention is a valuable professional development opportunity and information presented or shared can have measurable benefits to your business. Click on the meeting below whose archives you wish to view.

Annual Conference 2018 – Snow Mountain Ranch – Granby, CO

The Cross Country Ski Areas Association wrapped up a fantastic Annual Conference at Snow Mountain Ranch in CO.  The event was attended by over 60 people and included presentations on participation, research, hydrology, grooming education, and many hands on workshops.

“What really helped me from the Conference was listening to how others were handling issues similar to one I was having”, said Paul McNeil from Bogus Basin, ID.  “I am energized and looking forward to bringing back some real solutions to my center”

There were several small workshops during the course of the two days that included the ROI of flipping your rental fleet, Building incremental sales through retails and lessons, a complete operations discussion and demo of a snow cat blade, safety incident discussion, a venue walk through with insurance liability experts from Philadelphia Insurance, and an on-trail discussion on snow farming.

“I have probably solved 10 issues I have at my center through the one-on-one conversations I have had here”, commented Mike Hussey of Rikert Nordic Center, VT.  “That is why it is important to attend any of these industry gatherings.”

CCSAA also honored Howard and Susan Peterson with the CCSAA Founders Award.  Howard was CCSAA’s first President and he and his wife Susan were instrumental in helping get the Cross Country Ski Areas Association established in 1977.

Special thanks to our sponsors and expo attendees:

Sponsors included:  Prinoth, HKD, The SIG Insurance Agency, Pisten Bully

Expo Attendees included:  Soucy Track, Ski Trax, Sig Insurance Agency, Intermountain, TOKO, Fischer Skis, Cross Country Ski Magazine, SWIX, Prinoth, Pisten Bully, Yellowstone Track Systems, XCSkiResorts.com, Intrix, SMI (Snow Machines, Inc), PSIA

CCSAA 2018 – Paul McNeil – Final from SIA Nordic on Vimeo.

Available Files

CCSAA 2018 – JoJo from SIA Nordic on Vimeo.

CCSAA 2018 – Hussey – Final from SIA Nordic on Vimeo.

NE  Meeting 2017 – Pineland Farms, ME

The CCSAA NE Meeting saw strong attendance of over 50 members and 10 supplier members.  The event, at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, ME, showcased several meeting formats including presentations, member initiatives and roundtables.

The programing began the night before with a NOAA weather station tour and viewing of a weather balloon launch, a treat for everyone who attended.

The following day began with a presentation from the local NOAA office on current and future weather condition and what the cross country community can expect.  The presentation was followed by a robust Q&A that had to be cut off prematurely due to time constraints.

Max Cobb of US Biathlon was the second presentation discussing the team’s preparations for this coming Olympic year and the successes of the past year.  Copies of these presentations are listed in this document.

CCSAA Executive Director discussed updates to the CCSAA website and some of the projects CCSAA is working on.

The final session before lunch was the member initiative discussion on the topics of Fat Bikes Signage, Snow Farming Techniques and Human Resources.

The afternoon sessions began with 4 concurrent roundtable session where small groups of attendees rotated through the groups at 30 minute intervals.

The afternoon concluded with short reports from the Member Initiative session and what they had achieved.

Available Files

Special thanks to HKD for sponsoring a great lunch and to Pineland Farm for hosting a fantastic event!!

Thanks also to our vendors who attended:

  • SIG Insurance
  • Morton Trails
  • Fischer Skis
  • Raossignol
  • HKD
  • Mountain grooming
  • Prinoth/The shop Industrial
  • Green Ice Wax
  • PSIA
  • Mountain Grooming

Summer Summit 2017, Woodstock, VT

The Summer Summit, now in its second year, is a great opportunity to share ideas,issues and learn from industry professionals in a causal summer setting without the constraints of rushing back to the ski areas.  Sessions included round tales, presentations and hands on outdoor interactive sessions.

The Summer Summit included presentations from:

  • Reese Brown, CCSAA ED
  • HR Roundtable For the Smaller NE Ski Area
  • Summer Maintenance for the Large and Small Machine
  • Enhance the On & Off Trail Experience
  • Fat Bike Maintenance and Demo Fleet Management
  • National Ski Patrol Safety Plan Workshop

Attendance at the meeting included member and non-member ski areas from the surrounding states and industry suppliers.

Summer Summit 2017 Final from SIA Nordic on Vimeo.

Available Files

Annual Meeting 2017 – Silver Star Resort

The Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) 2017 concluded a successful and fun 2017 Annual Conference hosted by Silver Star Resort (BC) with emphasis on grooming techniques, management and Fat Bikes.   The Silver Star Conference included presentations from:

  • Reese Brown, CCSAA Executive Director
  • Shane Landerville – Silver Star Nordic Director
  • Richard Hodges – 10 Week winter
  • Paul Scanlon – Pisten Bully
  • Martin Laricheliere – Prinoth
  • Gary Sjoquist – QBP
  • John Morton & Noah Brautigam – Morton Trails
  • Guy Paulson – Silver Star Life style

The conference also included many round-table discussions and newly created member-initiatives allowing the conference attendees to discuss the pertinent issues and create functional solutions to topics important to the membership.

Silver Star 2017 – JoJo from SIA Nordic on Vimeo.

Available Files

 

NE Meeting 2016, Eastman, NH

The NE Meeting included presentations from:

  • Steve Reeder, Fischer Skis, Rental Fleet Management
  • Shannon King, founder of TrailHUB, an integrated trail reporting and app platform
  • Sustainability of the Cross Country Ski Area
    • Effectively using snowshoe rentals to increase revenues
    • How best to integrate Fat Biking into your cross country center without upsetting your existing skiers
    • Interactive panel on snowtubing
  • Lindsay Bourgoine, POW, how each ski area can activate in the fight against climate change.
  • Ski Patrol/Safety Roundtable – a moderated discussion on what members are doing for ski patrol and how CCSAA can help with best practice and documentation.

Attendance at each meeting included member and non-member ski areas from the surrounding states and industry suppliers.

Available Files

ccsaa-ne-meeting-2016-6552

CO/UT Summer Summits 2016

CCSAA wrapped up two regional meetings in Colorado and Utah.  These western regional meetings are a new initiative for CCSAA in an attempt to bring real educational content to the membership.  These events following a VT event in June.

All meetings included a quick tutorial on the CCSAA Website highlighting special programs for members including Winter Trails, Welcome Pass and the USST Crystal Pass.  The tutorial also showcased the new NEWS section of the website as a repository for important information and article from the Newsletter.  These included information on TrailHUB, Liftopia, digitizing records, SWIX Fat bike promotion and more.

The UT meeting included presentations from:

  • Shannon King, founder of TrailHUB, an integrated trail reporting and app platform
  • Courtney Harkins, USSA Digital Content Manager – Social marketing best practices for the cross country ski area
  • Richard Hodges, 10 Week Winter – a roundtable discussion on snow preservation techniques

The CO Meeting included presentations from:

  • Shannon King, founder of TrailHUB, an integrated trail reporting and app platform
  • Emily Lovett and Greg Rhodes, PSIA Demo Team Members – benefits of ski area membership and certification of ski instructors
  • Chris Steinkamp, ED of Protect our Winters – Discussion on POW mission and relationship with CCSAA

Available Files

CCSAA Summer Summit 2016, Woodstock, VT

The first CCSAA Summer Summit occurred recently in Woodstock, VT with 21 ski areas representative listening to 6 presentations and 1 trail walking round table.  The energy was high and the conversation lively as attendees engaged with presenters eager to ask questions and learn more about the theme of ski area sustainability in the face of changing winter weather.

Available Files

Video Interview with Kaitlyn Bernard from the AMC

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CCSAA Annual Conference 2016
Snow Mountain Ranch, CO

Sharing Best Practices for Grooming & Hospitality. The agenda offered concurrent tracks with sessions generally focused on either grooming or hospitality. Attendees could book value-added private and semi-private sessions with seminar presenters and vendors (PistenBully, Prinoth, HKD Snowmakers, Grey Suit Retail, and Aurora Insurance) using an online google doc. Grey Suit Retail offered an analysis of your business website to those who booked early. Both Rossignol & Fischer brought demo gear and Altai Skis had product on display. US Ski Team member Liz Stephen skied with us offering tips on the trail and presented on the Importance of Your Home Ski Area. PSIA Nordic Team Coach, Scotty McGee gave group clinics on the trails. The night before the Conference officially opened, a bus was rented and dinner tickets sold for a group to enjoy neighboring Devil’s Thumb Ranch. 49 individuals registered representing (24) ski areas, (11) vendors & media, and (2) ski organizations.

The 2016 Conference was sponsored by: Rossignol, Pisten Bully, HKD Snowmakers, Grey Suit Retail, and Aurora Insurance

Available Files

CCSAA Conference 2014 Lone Mountain Ranch, MT

The Business of Cross Country Skiing is our focus. Making or saving money. Each session is geared to help us maximize our bottom line. Special sessions on fat tire snow bikes and a mobile app for cross country ski resorts. Keynote speaker: Herb Davis. Conference hosted by Lone Mountain Ranch where attendees are enjoying shared lodging with their colleagues. A tour to Yellowstone National Park for either skiing or snowshoeing is a highlight along with the Ranch’s signature sleigh-ride dinner out on the trail in a dining cabin with cowboy entertainment.

Available Files

Eastern Meeting 2013 Woodstock Inn & Cross Country, Vermont

Available Files

CCSAA Annual Convention 2011 Northstar-at-Tahoe

Skiing top of Northstar to Tahoe XC with Kikkan Randall, Andy Newell and Kris Freeman today! What’s better than that? Hmm, maybe 3-days in the company of 50+ operators of nordic centers from across the US and Canada and the suppliers of ski & grooming equipment.

Available Files

Eastern Meeting 2010 Eastman Cross Country, NH

50+ personnel from Eastern U.S. and Canadian nordic centers as well as suppliers enjoyed a day of presentations and idea exchanges. The day kicked off with a trade expo showcasing products and services from Alpina, Aurora Insurance, Fischer Skis, HJ Roberts, Morton Trails, Nordic Group International, Pisten Bully, Prinoth, Rossignol, Salomon, SkiTrax, Swix, and XCSkiResorts.com.

Available Files

CCSAA Annual Convention 2010 Mt. Bachelor, OR

3 days in Bend, Oregon with fellow ski area operators. Here you’ll find a spreadsheet with contact information for the attendees. Presentations archived here include those from: Kelly Davis, director of research for SnowSports Industries America….”Market Segment” JD Downing, executive director of American XC Skiers…”2010 Trends” and “Health Club on Snow” Mark Klemowitz, day groomer Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center…”Grooming Challenges, Maintenance, and Pet Peeves”

Available Files

Eastern Meeting 09 Great Glen Trails, NH

November 5, 2009 Great Glen Trails, NH Thank you for coming to the CCSAA Eastern Meeting. Your attendance contributed to the success of the meeting. Wasn’t the early snow lovely to see while we sat inside and ate icecream? The silent auction raised $390. Thank you to all who donated and bid. That money will assist CCSAA in creating a blog for skiers. A big thank you to Howie Wemyss and his Great Glen Trails staff who organized the meeting and planned the agenda.

Available Files

CCSAA Annual Convention 2009 Whistler Olympic Park, BC

CCSAA met at Whistler Olympic Park the year prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Mike Edwards (and his boss, John Aalberg) hosted CCSAA at WOP while lodging and meals were at Fairmont Chateau Whistler in the village of Whistler. James Chung of Reach Advisors was the keynote speaker and gave two dynamic presentations outlining demographic research and target market segment opportunities for nordic centers. His power points files are here. After the convention as a follow-up to James’ presentations, Paul Kuznia gave CCSAA a file on engaging Gen X & the Millenial Student. It is archived here for you. Much of the convention agenda focused on the Olympic development including site tours and presentations on the sustainable legacy plans. John Aalberg’s presentation on the creation of the nordic venue is here along with Mount Washington Resort’s presentation on leveraging the Olympics. A panel session on environmental topics delved into idling among other issues. Two power point presentations are available on the topic. Doug Edgerton spoke on efficient grooming accompanied by handouts. Mickey Stone presented on being a better manager. His power point is available. Jess Sloss presented on using social media for marketing your business.

Available Files