What goes into getting a ski area ready for opening day? We discuss snow making, maintaining & operating chairlifts, and ski area culture and sustainability with Taos Ski Valley’s chief operations officer, John Kelly.

TOPICS & TIMES:

John’s role at TSV (4:57)

Starting out as a Lifty (5:12)

The lead-up to opening a ski area (6:56)

Early season snowmaking variables (10:40)

How snowmaking has evolved (14:18)

Why do lifts end up closed? (18:27)

Catering the ski experience to folks from various economic backgrounds (27:51)

Wearing beacons & avy gear inbounds? (38:24)

Climate change: what’s TSV doing? (42:01)

Electric snowcats (45:25)

What can ski areas collectively be doing to improve things? (46:46)

What else is new at TSV? (51:33)

What’s your personal favorite ski run? (54:41)

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