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AWARDS

NSAA 2018/19 SAFETY AWARD WINNERS

BY EARL SALINE, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAMMING

afety programs are ingrained into everyday ski area oper- guests care about and what the mountain safety team desires.
Sations around the country. Whether this is on the hill, This provided insights into what is communicated to guests
in the base area, or focused on employee wellness both in and and how it is communicated. These shifts have resulted in
outside of work, these programs are making a difference in the more effective and positive interactions, such as giving out
lives of your guests and employees. With the ever-increasing free hot chocolate and Vail Mountain Safety buffs and sun-
sophistication and effectiveness of these area-driven programs, glasses, to recognize positive behavior with over 8,000 guests
it has become more difficult to pick a single winner in each and other area users.
category of the Safety Awards. Desire is the third factor in the Safety Team’s approach.
The awards, sponsored by Safehold Special Risk, recog- Meaning, the ski area wanted to create productive and
nize NSAA member resorts for their exceptional initiatives to encouraging interactions and help create genuine desire from
educate the public and employees throughout the season. guests to be a positive participant in slope safety. Desire was
also targeted by the safety shadow program, giving skiers
and riders with suspended passes the opportunity to spend
Safety Awards the day with Mountain Safety and learn first-hand how their

SPONSORED BY SAFEHOLD actions have an impact on themselves and other skiers and
riders from a unique perspective.
Approaching safety with positive reinforcement and out-
Best Overall Safety Program reach to employees and guests, combined with operational
(500,000 or more visits) changes like increased signage and managing skier flow, has
Vail Mountain, CO allowed Vail Mountain to both educate guests about safety
Vail Mountain implemented and improve guest satisfaction.
safety programming target-
ing both its guests and its Best Overall Safety Program
employees with the goal of (Up to 500,000 visits)
creating a strong safety Stratton Mountain, VT
culture across the resort. Following a 2017/18 season
Vail’s approach to safety debrief, the Stratton Safety
integrates three fundamental Team re-focused its efforts on No resort is quite like yours
areas: Skill, Knowledge, and several key tactics to engage
Desire. By looking at guest both its employees and guests Team up with us today.
skiing and riding behavior in its culture of safety.
Geoff Buchheister, Vice President and in terms of these three essen- The ski area produced
General Manager of Keystone Resort, Rob Andrews, Seattle, WA No insurance program delivers solutions quite like ours. We
CO, accepts the safety award on tial elements, the Mountain a video to support its Safety 360-787-9887
behalf of Vail Mountain, CO Safety team sought to address Passport program that explains robert.andrews@safehold.com recognize that your business faces a unique set of risks every day.
the underlying reasons guests take unnecessary risks, and help best practices for staying safe Our sports and recreation teams can help you assess and minimize
people avoid them. Rusty Gregory, CEO of Alterra on the slopes. This became Bill Curtis, Lakewood, CO those risks so you can focus on running your business.
Mountain Company, accepts the
Starting with Skills, the team was proactive in identifying safety award on behalf of Stratton, VT required viewing for all 720-543-8066
struggling guests without the necessary skills for the terrain Stratton employees as well as over 1,100 kids in the ski area’s william.curtis@safehold.com We proactively consult with you to build the right insurance
they were seeking to ski and ride. Over 300 guests have appre- multi-week programs. This enabled the most frequent users of solutions — so you can feel confident that you have the
ciated the free lessons offered and the new abilities they gained. the mountain to become ambassadors for ski safety. Ryan Patrick, Portsmouth, NH right coverage in place to protect your business now and for
Now, instead of guests seeking terrain beyond their skill level, Stratton used the video to enroll more than 4,000 new 603-570-5218
they have created safer skiers and advocates for safety. guests in their safety program and register their “In case of ryan.patrick@safehold.com the long term.
The second element, Knowledge, brought forward train- emergency” (ICE) contact information with a local clinic. The
ing on the “20 Principles of Persuasion,” which helped the ski area distributed limited availability bear paw stickers to those
mountain safety team identify the overlaps between what the who registered their emergency contact info as an incentive.
Products and services are offered through Safehold Special Risk, Inc., dba Safehold Special Risk & Insurance Services, Inc. in California. Coverage is provided by unaffiliated
insurance companies.
© 2018 Safehold Special Risk, Inc. All rights reserved.
30 | NSAA JOURNAL | SUMMER 2019