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Changing of the Guard
LONGTIME SKI AREA OPS
INSTRUCTOR TAKES A BOW

BY CARRIE CLICK, ASSISTANT PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER,
COLORADO MOUNTAIN COLLEGE

PAUL “BEAR” RAUSCHKE has a succinct way of describing
ski area operations: “We sell people tickets to go uphill.
Everything else spins off from that.” Doug Stewart
For Rauschke, associate professor of ski area operations
(SAO) at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, “every- Paul Raushke with ski area operations students at Ski Cooper.
thing else” includes ski area design, slope and trail mainte-
nance, mountain operations, lift management, and more. ops program from 1977 to 1983. He literally wrote the book
Those and other aspects of the ski industry are what on lift operations—his textbook, The Ski Lift Operations
Rauschke has been teaching hundreds of students for more Handbook, is still cataloged at the CMC Leadville library
than 30 years since he joined the college’s faculty in 1987. today. Later, ski ops professor Curt Bender headed up the
He’ll retire this May. SAO faculty, teaching more than 700 students during his
“What we do is still the same,” he said. “It’s just that the decades at the college.
$25,000 groomer we used to use now costs $300,000. And Recruiting young skiers to study how ski areas operate
what used to be a fixed grip double is now a detachable six- required a novel approach. “Nobody knew what that looked
or eight-pack, but the core business product is the same.” like,” said Rauschke. CMC ski ops instructors would drive
around in a purple bus to local areas, enticing potential stu-
CMC’s SAO Program dents to check out the college’s program.
th
Last year, CMC celebrated its 50 anniversary. In 1967, the Today, certificates are still offered for ski area operations
college’s two original campuses at Glenwood Springs and management, and for specific areas: electrical or mechanical
Leadville first opened their doors. Founders at the Leadville ropeway technician, and slope and trail maintenance. A two-
campus thought a junior college there was in a prime spot for year associate degree in ski area operations is also offered.
training mine workers at the Climax Molybdenum mine just And students can turn that degree into a bachelor’s by add-
up the road. In 1970 the college introduced a new program to ing on two years of studies in leadership and management.
support a growing Colorado industry. The Leadville campus
became home to one of the country’s first collegiate ski area First Student, Then Professor
operations programs. Rauschke was having what he calls an early midlife crisis
The time was ripe and the location was ideal. Based at when he arrived in Colorado from Illinois in 1984. He was 28
the campus situated at over 10,000 feet and within an hour years old, having graduated in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree
of established ski areas such as Ski Cooper, Arapahoe Basin, in sociology and a minor in philosophy from Illinois State
Breckenridge, Vail, Loveland, and Monarch, the college’s University. Since then, he’d spent a few years managing an
new program was directly relevant to prospective students. outdoor equipment store in Normal, Ill.
Dozens of other top areas in the state, including Aspen and Rauschke landed in Leadville, and began taking classes
Steamboat, were within easy driving distance, and new areas in the ski ops program from professor Curt Bender. While
were opening close by, too. going to school, he worked at Ski Cooper just minutes
During those first years, Colorado Mountain College from campus, moving through the ranks from lift opera-
offered a year-long certificate that combined hands-on tions to lift maintenance to lift operations supervisor. With
and technical training. Ski instructor Alf Tieze, son-in- the associate of applied science degree in ski area operations
law of legendary Colorado ski pioneers Max and Edna he earned in 1986, he was offered jobs in lift operations at
Dercum, was one of the first faculty members at the small Breckenridge, Copper, and Vail. He picked Vail and worked
campus in Leadville. there winter 1986 and summer 1987.
Other ski industry pros followed suit. Master snowcat Colorado Mountain College wasn’t through with
operator Dave Montanari worked in lift maintenance in the Rauschke, though. Two weeks before the start of fall semes-
early days of Telluride Ski Resort, then managed CMC’s ski ter in 1987, a teaching position suddenly became available

50 | NSAA JOURNAL | CONVENTION 2018