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SATURDAY January 24, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 7, 2004 Mount Ashland management should work on what it already has By Derek Volkart Ashland Good snow years are hit or miss on Mount Ashland. Often, a drought results in a Mount Ashland Ski Area famine and a good snow year results in a snow enthusiast's feast. So why were holiday skiers and snowboarders going hungry during the recent winter pounding? Certainly, the intensity of the first post-Christmas storm on Mount Ashland was partially responsible. Mount Ashland Ski Area was closed on Dec. 29 in order to dig out from the heavy snow. But these storms are not unheard of. In the winters of 1999-2000 and 2000-01, big storms were common and delivered similar amounts of snow. Anyone with some history in the Rogue Valley will certainly recall numerous winters with large winter storms. These past winters presented Mount Ashland Ski Area management with the same problem it experienced in the last couple of weeks: the inability to remove snow within a reasonable amount of time. This failure should remind ski area management of the bigger problem they are facing, their own failure to properly manage the existing ski area. On Dec. 30, following the tapering off of the storm the night before and a full-day closure, the ski area staff was still plowing the parking lot and digging out the closed Ariel chairlift. At 11 a.m., traffic from the parking lot was backed up for roughly a mile and not moving because the snow had not been cleared in the back parking lot, resulting in a large no parking zone. No ski area parking crew could be found because they had moved down the road to try to stop the access road traffic jam. This problem may have been intensified this season but generally, it is reminiscent of past winters. The inability to manage the snow and more generally, the ski area, was visible again on Jan. 2, following the New Year's Eve storm. After being closed on New Year's Day, Mount Ashland remained closed the morning of Jan. 2. The Mount Ashland Web site placed the blame on the state of Oregon, which holds the contract for clearing snow on the access road and the parking lot. Indeed, the state was dealing with its first priority, Interstate 5. But perhaps ski area management should take responsibility for the failure. The state has always put the ski area on the back burner to deal with I-5, as it should. It is logical for ski area management to add staff and equipment to deal with winter conditions. Rather than attempting to build bigger parking lots, as they have proposed for their new expansion, the Mount Ashland Association should direct management to properly maintain the current ski area. Why increase infrastructure when you are incapable of dealing with the existing conditions? The same could be said of the poor shuttle system, the lodge on Mount Ashland, or the underpaid and thus, equally unmotivated, staff working at the ski area. One ski area employee recently expressed how great her day had been when the staff was able to keep their spirits up after learning that half the employees did not show up for their shift. The problems with the current management of the ski area run deep but clearing snow for the arrival of customers is essential to the successful management of the ski area. Before thinking about constructing a larger parking lot, clearcutting the proposed expansion area and building a new lodge at the base of the bowl, the Mount Ashland Association and ski area management should properly manage what they already have. Derek Volkart is an environmentalist and backcountry skier more interested in Wilderness designation for the McDonald Peak Roadless Area than ski area expansion. Derek serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams