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Blue Mountain Resort’s A Boreal Mountain Resort ad promoting
Family & Friends Lesson Package the Take 3, Ride Free program

beginners engaged and provide them a path toward greater the Take 3 Ride Free program, up from 30 percent last
skill and greater commitment to skiing and snowboarding. winter. This result proves that getting people to return is
Additionally, Blue Mountain taught the most lessons in good for customers, good for the industry, and good for
the country on National Ski and Snowboard Day on January the business.
11, part of Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month. The resort Learning areas at many ski resorts tend to be too
also has its own 6th Grade program that is a follow-up to the small and have old, slow chairlifts. This past season, Boreal
Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association free 4th and 5th Grade installed a new quad lift, the California Cruiser, to service
Passport. The combination of all these efforts has made its beginner learning area, adding eight new acres of ter-
Blue Mountain a leader in beginner conversion. rain and giving beginners “longer runs and shorter lines,”
according to Ohran.
Boreal Mountain Resort, CA Take 3, Ride Free has generated more than 25,000 new
The signature learning program at Boreal Mountain Resort— skiers and riders since its inception 10 years ago.
Take 3, Ride Free—is now in its 10th season. Despite this
program’s longevity, Boreal makes changes and improvements Les Sommets, QC
every season, this year taking the major step of adding a new The Quebec multi-resort group called Les Sommets has dedi-
lift and additional beginner terrain. cated significant effort and resources to its beginner conversion
The Lake Tahoe-area resort emphasizes the multi-cultural programs, which has produced increased numbers of partici-
component of its customer base and recognizes that “a broad pants and returners in every season since 2014–15.
opportunity exists to attract and convert the diverse new The Intro-Plus Experience is the signature arrow in Les
American family audience into snowsports participants,” said Sommet’s quiver of beginner programs. This package, intro-
Amy Ohran, Boreal’s general manager. Indeed, this season, duced in 2012–13, now represents 65 percent of the total
74 percent of participants in Take 3, Ride Free were non- beginner lessons at the resort. Terrain Based Learning is a key
white guests—not surprising, given the guiding principles of component of the learning experience at Les Sommets.
the program: accessibility, value, proximity, and inclusivity. “The Intro-Plus Experience has also created a major
The Take 3, Ride Free program is available to all custom- philosophy change with our resort operations, focusing atten-
ers, including kids and adults. Following the lessons, graduates tion on never-ever visitors as a priority,” noted Simon Page,
are given a season pass for the rest of the season. Impressively, the resort’s ski school director.
Boreal was on pace for a 96 percent graduation rate as of the An additional program, the 3-Visit Package, is the most
award application deadline, showing that Boreal has learned popular learning program at Les Sommets. Upon completion
over the past 10 years what works to get snowboarders and of the three lessons (one-hour private lessons), the new snow
skiers to finish the three days of lessons. slider is given a free Spring Pass and a ticket for the mountain
Because this effort has been around for a decade, Boreal coaster, acknowledging the interest in non-skiing fun as well.
has been able to track people across seasons. Forty-two percent Last season, 89 percent completed all three lessons, and the
of this past winter’s full season pass holders are graduates of resort is on pace to have a similar graduation rate this winter.

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