A groomer's perspective on Big Mt policy

I've been reading numerous letters and editorials about the hiking ban at Whitefish Mountain Resort. I've held my tongue long enough. Finally, people need to hear this from the groomers perspective.

I keep hearing about how most people are respectful of our operations. The simple fact is very few really are. That was very evident on last Sunday night, the night of the protest hike.

First, I'd like to know what most of you all do for a living. I'll start with some analogies. How about concrete worker? What if you just spent hours finishing your sidewalk or pad and I came through with my dog and tracked it all up and let my dog crap all over your work. Would you be pleased?

Any of you hikers dentists? How about I hit your patient in the mouth after you just spent hours fixing their teeth. Any artists out there? What if I made smudge marks on your oil painting before it dried or smashed your pottery after completion. That probably would not garner a positive reaction.

Is there a pattern forming here? What I'm getting at is this is our job. Contrary to some individual's statements I've read, we do take pride in our work. Which is what it is, work. It's our job. Operators spend 8 to 9 hours per shift laying out the best corduroy we can per conditions. Which is not the easiest thing to do at our elevation and wet snow conditions.

Off fall-line grooming is a challenge. We have a lot of that on the mountain. This leads me to the next point. Snow, like concrete, needs time to set up. When the groomers come through and we immediately see hikers make a beeline for the corduroy, they can leave up to half a foot ruts in the snow making their carving turns. This is a skiing/riding hazard the next morning after those 6 inch gouges have set up.

It pains us operators to see our work butchered as we are trying to make the mountain skiable for the whole public the next day. Then there's the snowshoer marks, criss-crossing up Toni Matt instead of hugging the edge. Then watching these people sliding down on their bellies. Well, there just went 2 hours of work.

Before this became the rage, the few hikers we had were respectful. They would usually climb Big Ravine, staying to the edges. Actually getting out of the way when seeing heavy equipment coming toward them. We normally start the night climbing Big Ravine. Four cat passes up, then four down. These select few hikers would ski two passes down, instead of doing giant slalom turns edge-to-edge butchering the whole run.

That folks, is being respectful of the work we do. We resigned ourselves to the fact that Big Ravine was the hikers run. We were almost glad to give it up and see some of our own friends getting it done. Now it's turned into a free for all. This has led to the increasing close calls we've had in the last 3 to 4 years.

I've had close calls hauling the summit Dumpster on the cat blade. Our visibility is diminished greatly when it's on. I've had people at the top of Chair 5, where most hikers are booting up, literally throwing their skis and poles and themselves out of the way. Then getting dirty looks like I tried to run them over. We can't always see you when carrying the Dumpster and supply bins.

My friend and co-worker, who is our primary winch-cat operator, leaves blade-high snow berms, bamboo, warning signs and flashing strobes, only to have hikers ignore the warnings and go through the area of operations. If you only knew or could see what that cable does when it jumps in the air on full tension. Folks, it would slice you in half or take off your head in an instant.

Which is what has happened at some other resorts. This may not be common, but one time is too many. These irresponsible actions are what led to the wake-up call. Something had to be done. In the end, it wasn't about the corduroy getting butchered, it was about public safety.

I applaud Dan Graves and the management for taking a stand about a problem that has been getting worse every year. I would also like to give out kudos to the protest hikers on Saturday night who stayed off the rest of the mountain, left their dogs behind and skied down Big Ravine. They left the east-side runs, Toni Matt and Ptarmigan Bowl untouched. That was awesome. Thanks we appreciated that. If only the rest would take note.

For us operators, it's also about the aesthetic look of a well-groomed mountain that the public will look upon when riding the chair on a nice crisp sunny morning. So the question is, are we grooming the mountain for a small number of people that think they're entitled? Or are we grooming the mountain for the skiing public and paying ticket-holders? That, folks, is the big question. I'm not against hiking. I'm against the irresponsible and disrespectful way it's done. Just from our perspective.

Mike Paulson has been a groomer operator at Whitefish Mountain Resort since 2002.