One of the biggest challenges for many North American ski hill opera-tions
is finding experienced people who can operate snow grooming
machines to move the mounds of white stuff needed to shape their
winter wonderland.
Unlike many businesses that can access a steady stream of trained graduates from
colleges or trade schools, most ski operations must provide their own on-the-job
training or hire people who were trained at another resort. While a “Snow Groom-ing
U” might seem like an ideal solution, it’s remained something of a dream … until
earlier this year.
In May, Kässbohrer All Terrain Vehicles officially launched its PRO ACADEMY
at the National Ski Areas Association conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. The aim of
the program is to provide professional snow grooming training to ensure efficient
and sustainable slope management. It’s based on a similar program the company,
which manufactures the PistenBully line of snow grooming equipment, already of-fers
in the European market.
Chris Perkins, who is heading up PRO ACADEMY for North America, says while
there have been previous attempts to offer this type of program, nothing has ever
been offered on this type of scale or had the backing of industry giants like Käss-bohrer.
“It’s training something that is overlooked but is of great importance,” said
Perkins. “Grooming vehicles require a significant capital investment. It only makes
sense to have qualified operators manning the driver’s seat.”
The PRO ACADEMY will be open to all snow groomers in the U.S. and Canada
regardless of their experience level, from novice operators all the way up to supervi-sors
and senior managers. The first pre-season classroom sessions are expected to
be offered to students beginning in October. In addition to the classroom instruc-tion,
there will be follow-up sessions during the season in which an instructor will
accompany students in the field to provide hands-on learning.
The program has been divided into five different levels designed to meet the indi-vidual
needs of the ski area or snowmobile club:
EDUCATION
Snow
Grooming
University
A new program for training
operators of snow grooming
equipment
By Jim Timlick
snowopsmag.com | SnowOps 23