Steve Wright of Jay Peak Resort

Steve Wright Jay Peak Resort.I first ran into Steve Wright in cyberspace on the First Tracks Online eastern forum a few years ago. As Jay Peak’s Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, he occasionally popped into discussions to add a comment or two. But instead of coming off as a ski-resort salesman — there only to perform damage control or to publicize something — Steve took us behind the curtain to explain how and why things happen at ski-area marketing departments, both at Jay Peak and industry-wide.

As Jay transforms itself from a no-frills mountain with the deepest lift-served snow east of the Rockies into one with a fair amount of destination resort accoutrements, we thought that it’d be interesting to hear his thoughts on a variety of marketing-related topics.

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Searching for the King of Spring

Skiing in May means traveling a little further when you’re based in downstate NY. For most of us, the ultimate late-season pilgrimage is to Mount Washington. Or if you have the money, I’m sure Mammoth, Mount Hood, or Alaska would provide a nice trip. With more limited finances and an oddball sense of fun, I decided to say goodbye to two more eastern resorts I really appreciate, Stowe and Sugarbush, both located in northern Vermont.

Both mountains provide some of the best experiences that the East Coast can offer. Deep light snow, endless trees, generous vertical and great views. I’d have to settle for the latter three, because although a few inches of fresh had fallen (you can see how clean it is in the troughs of the moguls at the Bush compared to the older snow), skiing last weekend basically meant riding the fake snow at the higher elevations.

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Closing Day at Hunter 2011

Closing day is a complicated event for most die-hard skiers. Every spring, when people start talking about sunny 70-degree weather, truly passionate skiers have trouble getting excited about it, in April or May, or even June.

Regardless of the weather, closing day always does offer some closure, like an outdoor group therapy session. It’s wishing away the upcoming warm weather, sharing beers with strangers, Chinese downhills to get a last chair before closing, and my personal favorite, cheap tickets.

Hunter was talking about closing April 10th, or possibly hanging on for another week if the rain didn’t hit. The party day was apparently on Saturday, with the annual pond skimming and true blue bird conditions, but most were hoping for another week.

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