SilverStar Nordic Cross Country Area Management Nordic Operations Grooming

SilverStar Nordic Cross Country Area Management Nordic Operations Grooming

Our Nordic Destination One night loop, lit daily from early December to closing. Cross Country camps, lessons, tours and rentals. 16km of single track snowshoe and 15km of single track fat bike trail. 4 cabins on the cross country trail system including outhouses. 1 multi-use trail for fat bikes, walking, snowshoeing, dogs, snowmobiles, and cross country skiing

55km of cross country trails. Lift access for cross country skiing on 4 alpine ski lifts. Early November opening. 16/17 season, open November 10th, closing April 9th. Strong partnership with neighbours and XC ski club. Together, 105 km of daily groomed xc trails, the largest in Canada.

Ticket & Pass Sales Season Pass sales for adults, seniors, youth, children. Adults for 16/17 is $212. Daily ticket sales for adults, seniors, youth, children. Adult rate for 16/17 is $17. Dual Area Pass sales for all ages. Full access to both areas. Adults for 16/17 is $348. Dual Area Ticket sales for all ages. 16/17 rate for adults is $23. Alpine OnePass includes Alpine, Cross Country, Snowshoe, Fat Bike, Tubing, Skating,

Monthly reconciliation and profit sharing between dual areas for pass and ticket sales. Pass sales for 15/16 = 390 and for 16/17 = 591 Work together with SLNC to offer events and programs, training opportunities. 105 Weekends.

Nordic Team 2 Groomers. One full time, 5 days a week. Second operator does 3 days alpine, 2 days nordic. 2 Nordic Ops staff. Trail maintenance, pass enforcement, cabin/building maintenance, daytime grooming with implements. Snowshoe/Fatbike trail maintenance. All signage. 1 full time nordic manager. Nordic operations, business development, programs. 1 grooming manager - oversees alpine & nordic grooming. Approximately 20 cross country instructors. Approximately 20 mountain hosts for snowshoe, fat bike, and cross country.

Grooming Management Groomers have a 3am - 11:30am shift. Ops staff work 8am - 4:30pm. Groomers may adjust start time based on weather forecast. Grooming begins on upper trails and works downhill to the lower trail network. Machines are parked at SilverStar maintenance shop. Operators have tablet in the cat to update the grooming report each morning. Nordic Groomers have at least 20 years of experience. Often working on own, tight trails. Maintenance experience required.

Equipment Regular in season grooming with PB 400. Early season grooming with PB 100. 100 may also do day time grooming and touch ups. 100 does early season track packing. Ops team uses snowmobile and tracked quad. Implements include roller, ginzu, and drag unit.

Grooming Successes Only 2 operators. They ride together at the start of the year. Experienced operators and experienced skiers working together. Nordic specific staff. Experienced in the industry working on the trails. Track setting, timing and routes are all similar. Guests like consistency. Working from upper to lower trails. Loops help with efficiency and reducing turnarounds & swails. Nordic combing leaves nice combing for skate skiing. Ability to re-groom during the day. Flexibility in shifts of the operators.

Grooming Challenges December & January often produces hard (icy) snow. Sometimes it s better to not groom everyday. March & April. Rains and wet snow. No hard base underneath compared to coastal trails. Trail density. Machine vs. trail width can t always pack center. Spring freeze and freeze > thaw cycles. Multiple passes to cut/grind snow. Some trails and routes require multiple passes.

Snowmobile, horse sleigh traffic on some trails. Risk management grooming with trail system and alpine area are open. Some trails not accessible once alpine open time management. Trail profile. Cross section of trail, making sure it is not concave. Working with crowns as necessary. 1 shift, 1 operator, all alone.

Hard & Frozen Snow Drive slow. Multiple passes. Extensive blading. Chopping it up, also winging in snow from trail edge. Monitoring pan pressure. Adjust cut. Typically more cut depends on conditions. If it doesn t need to be groomed, don t do it! Buff up skate lane if necessary with implements. Groom a freeze/thaw before it freezes with the guarantee that it will thaw again.

Track Setting Standards Open up the track for an intersection. Start the track approximately 2m (a ski length) from the beginning of the trail/intersection. And/or, wait for the tiller to straighten out. Ensure that skiers can see the track end (corner or downhill). No surprises. Finish the track approximately 4 meters from a hair pin corner to allow skier to safely step out and take the corner wide. In a high traffic area, use a track as a direction marker / invitation for a skier. Uphill/Downhill track setting may be independent. Some corners are too tight to track set. Look at ski tracks. Figure out what they want based on where they are entering and exiting. Slow snow vs fast snow. In fast conditions, delay the track set on corners.

Some Financials Machine R & M: 15/16 = $14 277 and 16/17 = $32 368. New Nordic finisher for this year. Fuel: 15/16 = $17 737 and 16/17 = $16 368 Total sales 19% growth from last year.

Marketing Destination travellers and locals. Nordic as value added and as a destination (locals and destination guests). Value Proposition: mileage, lift access, all abilities, ski experience. Resort experience and holiday destination.

Projects Permanent signage Nordic Centre. Day use storage. Community. Sense of welcoming and trail hub. Teaching grid. Nordic Lesson Centre. Work space for ops team. New Trails. Classic only. Fat bike. Green connection to SLNC. Develop beginner experience. Work with SLNC to co-host events.