Skier-Snowboard Feud

I just noticed it now, but the Wall Street Journal had its own article on Taos Ski Valley lifting its ban on snowboarders. The article makes it clear that the decision was a business one. No surprise there.

But with ski revenue sliding and offspring of even the most hard-core skiers gravitating to boards, skiers-only destinations find it hard to keep refusing. Skier and snowboarder visits dropped in the 2006-2007 season to a combined 55 million, from close to 59 million in 2005-2006, the national ski areas group says. Industry revenue of $4.9 billion in 2005-2006 was down slightly from the previous season, according to the group’s latest data. ….

Alejandro Blake, events coordinator and a grandson of Ernie Blake, the resort’s founder, says Taos Ski Valley has been weighing the change for seven years. Skiing clans who came to Taos for generations began writing letters to say they couldn’t return because a child or a grandchild wanted to snowboard. Four years ago, the Blakes asked resort guests to rate the importance of the no-snowboards rule in their decision to visit, on a scale of one to five. For the past two years, more than half the respondents gave it a one, two or three — indicating dwindling support. “It is a business at the end of the day,” says Mr. Blake. “We weren’t forced into this, but we needed to do it in order to grow.”

Mr. Blake says the decision to eventually accommodate snowboarders was made two years ago, when the resort finalized plans for a major expansion of the base area. The resort decided to enlarge rental shops to handle snowboards, install snowboard-size racks outside and build more hotel rooms to house an expected 10% to 15% increase in visitors.

A successful business listens to its customers.

What I found most puzzling about the article was the state that “Relations between skiers and riders (as snowboarders are known) have never been chillier.” The article offers no evidence, not even a quote from a disgruntled skier. If you read stories of the early days, you’ll most likely conclude that today’s relations are by comparison as warm as a spring day. In its current issue, “Pro Rider,” the magazine of the American Association of Snowboard Instructors, features an interview with several veteran instructors. The stories they tell make it clear that times have changed.