After one year at the helm of Mount Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, Kirk Duncan is confident that the year-old ski hill operation he heads is on track.


Hired in September 1997 by Mount Spokane 2000, the nonprofit organization that won the concession rights to operate the ski area beginning last season, Duncan brought to the job years of experience in managing food and retail services at ski areas and plenty of ideas about bringing the Mount Spokane ski area up to industry standards.


Changes in snow grooming, food service, and the rental shop were made before the ski season last year, and several new projects will be tackled this year, Duncan says.


The main thing now is to let the community know Mount Spokane has changed direction, he says.


Ted Stiles, president of Mount Spokane 2000, says that thus far, the ski area is meeting the nonprofit organizations goals. We are very, very pleased with the quality of service that Kirk Duncan and his staff were able to deliver to the public during the last ski season, Stiles says.


In its first year of operating the ski hill, Mount Spokane 2000 sought to improve snow grooming and ensure that the ski areas staff members were helpful, cooperative, and easy for skiers to identify, Stiles says.


Those things were achieved, but the organization may have been a little bit unrealistic in hoping to nearly double the $900,000 in revenue that the previous operator took in the season before Mount Spokane 2000 took over, Stiles says. Nonetheless, he says, the ski areas revenue increased by 30 percent.


Financially, were in fine shape, even though the ski area operated at a cash loss last season, he says.


From the start, the nonprofit organization has planned to plow all excess revenues back into its ski business, Stiles says. Donations from individuals and businesses that endorse that approach, along with a long-term loan from Washington Trust Bank at favorable terms, have given Mount Spokane 2000 some $600,000 in capital to work with, Stiles says. Washington Trust also has made an operating line of credit available.


I expect in the future well have some major fund raisings, he says. Wed love to get rid of our debt, which would make it easier for the ski area to get through a snow-less winter or to expand. He says that by the end of its third year of operating the ski area, Mount Spokane 2000 expects to have completed a long-range plan for making capital improvements. It hopes to operate as successfully as the nonprofit Bogus Basin Ski Area near Boise, which Stiles says is very responsive, has more runs, has been in the black for years, has low prices, and is well-run. Their gross is incredible. Bogus Basin, he says, accommodates more skiers than Schweitzer Mountain Resort.


Duncan says the Mount Spokane areas revenues last year were $1.3 million, close to the mountains $1.5 million break-even point. He expects this year to be better, partly because of predictions for more snow than during last years El Nino winter. As of mid-October, season tickets sales were up nearly 200 percent over the number sold in 1997 year-to-date, Duncan says.


Duncans plans for future improvements include consolidating lifts and opening new territory for skiing on the back of the mountain.


The ski hills involvement this year in fund-raising projects for schools and civic groups gives evidence of its new direction and provides the operation with a chance to showcase its other changes, Duncan says. During the coming season, on non-holiday Mondays and Tuesdays when the hill isnt open, groups can rent the ski area for $2,500 a day, sell tickets to skiers and snow-boarders for that day, and keep any profits they earn, he says. Mount Spokane also sells night skiing tickets to schools, which then resell them to students and keep part of the revenue.


Those programs fit well with Mount Spokane 2000s nonprofit status and should help the mountain to be seen as a community asset, a perception for which its striving, Duncan says. The programs also get kids involved in skiing, and Duncan says that skiers who start young are more likely than latecomers to stay with the sport.


Creating skiers is our job, Duncan says.


To help reach that goal, Mount Spokane has teamed up with the city of Spokanes Parks and Recreation Department and the Spokane Youth Sports Association to offer ski or snowboard lesson packages this winter for youths who are 8 to 15, Duncan says. Three-day sessions that include a lesson, lift tickets, and equipment rentals will be offered 12 times during the ski season at $99 for skiers and $109 for snowboarders.


Ski areas form association


In another promotional move, Mount Spokane has become part of the new Inland Northwest Ski Association, a consortium of five ski hills that also includes Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 49 Degrees North, Silver Mountain, and Lookout Pass Ski Area. The association formed to promote skiing and snowboarding in the region and will raise funds through the sale of corporate ski coupon books of tickets good at any of the five mountains.


All of those hills will offer a free ticket for fifth-grade students when an accompanying adult buys a regular lift ticket, Duncan says. The program for fifth-graders is similar to successful programs operated in Maine and Colorado. Duncan says it allows parents to introduce children to a family activity, that they can continue to enjoy more independently as teens.


At Mount Spokane, prices remain the same as last year, but the pricing structure for season passes has been modified to include discounts for families, Duncan says.


Although the focus for Duncan this season is programs to showcase Mount Spokanes improvements, a few projects to upgrade the facilities continue. Twenty-year-old electrical conduit has been replaced, outdoor lighting has been upgraded, and new lights have been added in critical areas, Duncan says.


Also new this season is a terrain park, an area with bumps, walls, and other features that allow skiers and snowboarders to push the envelope and have fun in a controlled environment. A waiver printed on the backs of lift tickets warning of the possible dangers on ski hills has been upheld in court, helping to clear the way for features that accommodate more radical skiing and snowboarding, Duncan says.


Crews will continue cutting brush and cleaning up areas where skiing isnt safe now until a heavy accumulation of snow has fallen. The cleanup work will allow the ski area to open runs in those areas when they have less snow. The physical changes on the hill wont be as dramatic as last years, though, he says.


Snow grooming improved


Last year, Mount Spokane 2000 bought two $165,000 snowcats for grooming, Duncan says. By using a winch to pull the new machines across steep slopes, the ski area groomed areas that previously hadnt been groomed. Duncan says the additional grooming opened areas to intermediate skiers that previously had been expert-level black diamond runs. He says that enabling more people to move around more of the mountain alleviates crowding and provides better skiing experiences.


Changes also were made to upgrade the equipment rental shop and the food-service area to help move people through faster, Duncan says.


The rental shop was remodeled and expanded to give it a more open floor plan, and its stockpile of rental equipment was upgraded. Duncan says the shops inventory of new gear now offers recent technological innovations, including step-in bindings on snowboards, skis with a slight hourglass shape to make turning easier, and new ski boots and bindings. More skis and snowboards have been added this year, too.


In the food-service area, a cafeteria-style line was replaced by what Duncan calls a scramble system that operates more like a food court. Pizza, salads, beverages, and grill items can be picked up at separate stations, so customers dont have to wait in one long line that wends its way past every option. Duncan says the change was well-received last year.


Other changes he engineered at the ski area included new uniforms and customer service training for all of the areas nearly 175 employees. He says the training focused on treating customers like guests, and expecting them to act like guests. Management also spent more time out of its offices and on the slopes. Problems with patrons unruly behavior, which had plagued the hill in the past, were virtually eliminated last year, Duncan claims. Also, a day-care center and a secure location for skiers to leave equipment when they come in off the slopes were added.