Ski Area Vehicle Maintenance Institute

NEWSLETTER

Published for the Members of SAVMI September 2014

NSAA Fall Education Seminars

Sept. 16-18 - Attitash, NH (with New England Summit Tradeshow & Educ. Conf.)

Sept. 19 - Bryce Resort, VA (with Southeastern Ski Areas Association)

Sept. 22-24 - Hunter Mountain, NY (with ISKINY/PSAA Expo)

Oct. 7 - Vail, CO

Oct. 9 - Ski Santa Fe, NM

Oct. 16 - Solitude, UT

Oct. 21 - Hood River, OR

Oct. 23 - Squaw Valley, CA

2014 FES Dates & Locations

This is the 22nd year of NSAA’s Fall Education Seminars and risk management workshops – sponsored nationally by Willis MountainGuard – and the NSAA crew is travel-ling the country offering the latest installment of this popu-lar educational series. This year’s four-part program will be looking at a variety of timely and critical issues. Topics of discussion include: Some Risks are Worth Taking When it comes to risk management, the challenge for to-day’s resort is managing the exposures in creative ways so that you can offer new, innovative – and yes, safe – activi-ties that your guests demand, and keep you competi-tive. Learn more about the risks we face today and the (often surprising) management tools we have at our dis-posal. Also, NSAA will unveil new terrain park guidance and brand new signage for the industry. Self-Inflicted Wounds Having written policies, procedures, and manuals are an essential risk management tool, and arguably well worth the risk – when properly and regularly scrutinized and up-dated. This portion will highlight claims and lawsuits where resorts have failed to revisit their written policies, guide-lines, or manuals, only to come back years later to haunt them. The key is not eliminating written procedures or pro-tocols – rather, the key is to be mindful of their role and importance, and scrutinize them in light of current risk man-agement considerations. In addition, participants will re-view key aspects of event management practices and agreements which also can lead to similar self-inflicted wounds, where ski areas do not pay proper attention to written contracts and risk-shifting agreements. Strategies for Combating Reckless Skiing & Collisions Increased skier volume and improved uphill capacity are certainly risks worth taking. But growth presents new risk management challenges. The effort to combat reckless skiing and collisions is taking on added importance in the industry, especially as Millenials emphasize safety aware-ness as a defining hallmark of their generation. Partici-pants will analyze both old and new strategies resorts are employing to mitigate reckless skiing and collisions, traf-fic flow, and the role of ski patrol, and cases where ski re-sorts are getting “back doored” into traditional skier-skier lawsuits. A renewed emphasis on a resort’s safety culture and enforcement efforts – as well as other creative strate-gies – will help minimize any hits to a resort’s reputation, as well as to its deductible.

Surveillance as an Emerging Risk Management Tool Surveillance appears to be another risk worth consider-ing. As technologies have dramatically improved, and costs have plummeted, ski areas are re-thinking video sur-veillance as an important risk management tool. A small number of ski areas have pioneered the use of surveillance video in base area operations and for chairlift loading ar-eas. The goals of surveillance include employee training, guest education, anti-theft improvement, and overall claims management. We will survey how other ski areas have embraced this tool, infrastructure needs, storage and reten-tion policies, and the impact on claims – using actual video footage from other resorts to tell this increasingly important risk story. These seminars are important clearinghouses for sharing the latest practices and procedures from around the coun-try. To register visit nsaa.org.

President’s Corner By Johnny Green Change is inevitable. As much as we would hope things stay the same, it seems change comes along and our future looks a little different. Recently, Frank Case (formerly of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.) accepted a position with the Town of Hayden Park & Recreation Department. Frank was a long-time supporter of SAVMI, a former Tim Crouse Memorial Award (aka Mechanic of the Year) winner, and an active Board member for many, many years. He was responsible for creat-ing new session topics and even taught some of those classes himself. But Frank will probably be most remembered for all the hard work he put in to organizing the annual trap shooting competition. Frank’s efforts helped make this event one of the most popular at our annual gathering and his pres-ence will definitely be missed. Frank’s move to Hayden brings him closer to home (and his wife Monica and son JD) and we have no doubt he will be very successful. Another change you might have noticed is that we are now sending out our quarterly newsletter via e-mail. The Board decided to offer an e-version newsletter in order to decrease our environmental impact and save the organization some money. Please make sure we have the correct e-mail ad-dress on file for each of your employees. We will be sending out the 2014/2015 renewals soon and you can provide that information right on the form. Some of you might have noticed a change in the weather. Days are getting cooler and it won’t be long before we’re in full swing of the 2014-2015 ski season. I hope you will take a few minutes to read the articles in this issue. They are filled with interesting information that will help you & your shop perform your daily operations more effi-ciently. And if you are looking for some change in your life, check out page 11 for some companies looking for some help. Take care & have a great season!

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Thank You Sponsors & Supporters!

SAVMI wishes to thank the following companies for their support and dedication to the organization. This year’s conference would not be possible without the contribu-tions of the following companies:

Platinum Colorado Motor Parts/NAPA

Prinoth

Gold BG Products

Chevron Global Lubricants Kässbohrer All Terrain Vehicles, Inc.

Silver Aspen Skiing Company Collett Enterprises, Inc. Delta Rigging & Tool

ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants MTN Snow Equipment

Bronze Alta Fuels

Beaver Creek Fleet Services Beaver Creek Village Operations

CGRS, Inc. FallLine

Phillips 66 Lubricants

Supporters Breckenridge Ski Resort – F&B Department

Leitner-Poma of America

Congratulations to the 2014 SAVMI Award Recipients

SAVMI would like to acknowledge last year’s award recipients and their contribution to the

ski area vehicle maintenance industry.

Tim Crouse Memorial Award Michael Lovato ~ Beaver Creek Resort

Vehicle Maintenance Support Award Amy Stout ~ Prinoth

SAVMI Safety Award Winter Park Resort

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One of the really important steps in maintaining a snowcat is often overlooked. That is the application of lubricant grease during routine service. If a groomer goes the full interval between oil changes without being greased that can be 400 hours. Why is it so important to remember to grease those zerk fittings? It really comes down to eco-nomics. Grease is less expensive than the replacement costs of worn out pins and bushings. A misconception about snow grooming vehicles is that since they work in snow, routine greasing is not as impor-tant as it is on equipment such as dozers or loaders that work in dirt. In actuality, the pivot joints of the front blade and push frame assemblies as well as the rear lift frame and tiller are subject to high loading and shear stresses. Shear stress can be defined as a force tending to cause deformation of a material by slippage along a plane or planes parallel to the imposed stress. During normal grooming the stresses created from blading snow, lifting and lowering the tiller and suspension movement cause point on point contact between the pins and bushings. Grease is applied to prevent or reduce this contact and resultant wear that occurs. PistenBully recommends to grease each zerk every 100 hours of use. Wheel bearings every 400 hours of use. There are some critical lubrication points that must not be neglected. At vehicle front: push frame mounts and spherical central bearing, blade wing hinge pins and front axle bushings. At vehicle rear: vertical and horizontal pivot pins of the intermediate steering frame and the horizontal pin that couples the rear lift frame to the beaver tail as-sembly. At the Alpine Flex tiller: the grease zerk at each point of connection between the tiller frame and body (total 4.) In addition, each hydraulic cylinder has a grease zerk on shaft and barrel.

A word about the lubricant. It is essential that the grease chosen for use has good load carrying properties. Other required properties are water resistance, mechanical sta-bility, wear protection, long life and ability to withstand ex-treme pressure. High temperature capability is important but not critical. PistenBully recommends the use of a high quality extreme pressure (EP) multipurpose grease that is calcium or lithium based. Lithium has good resistance against shear and breakdown because of its ability to maintain its designed consistency and thickness (or vis-cosity) even when exposed to high mechanical forces. . Lithium greases are non-corrosive, adhere very well to metal and are resistant to water. They are also particularly great with heavy loads and have good temperature toler-ances. So, remember to grease your groomer on a regular, 100 hour schedule this coming winter. You’ll save both down-time and money in the long run.

Grease is the Word

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Another season approaches and depending on where you live, you’re either trying to move on from last year or are crossing your fingers for a repeat. The Vortex brought plenty of snow and numb-ing bitter cold to the Midwest and East. Let’s try for just one of those this year. Colorado and parts of the North would just as soon stay the course. Utah and the other parts of

the North did alright, but the greedy side of us still would like more for this year. Finally the West Coast and South West would probably rather burn any memory of last season’s precipitation from their minds. Time for some serious snow dance rituals! Speaking of the West...Hans Hall is expanding it’s ware-house out West to better accommodate our customers and provide them with quicker and less expensive ship-ping. Yes, we’ve opened a warehouse and office in Salt Lake.

Since the season is creeping up on us, we would like to remind those of you trying to get your groomer service completed, Hans Hall has even more OEM style parts in stock than in recent history right here in Utah. If you’re in need of PB or BR belts, grousers, tire-guides, sprockets look no further for high quality parts at very reasonable prices. Here at Hans Hall we want ease the burden of getting ready for the upcoming season. We can structure flexi-ble payment plans and possible first time buyer’s dis-counts. So if you’re looking for something a little bit dif-ferent in your track parts, look no further than Hans Hall USA. Give us a call and see what you’ve been missing! We’re back OUT WEST! You can email me at andy@hallusa.net or call us at (801) 820-7700 or to find out more about Hans Hall tracks and OEM style parts.

Hans Hall Out West Andy Baillargeon, Hans Hall USA

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Hello everybody, I hope that your summer is going good and you are all ready for fall. We are very excited to announce that we are now carrying a new winch rope that will be a fantastic option for you. It is the exact same construction, size, grade and break strength as all previous winch ropes. The rope is 7/16” 6X26 Swaged XIP grade, it comes from the same manu-facturer and the true beauty is that it is now Galvanized and Dry – no grease. This is literally the exact same rope as in the past with the exception of the grease and the gal-vanization for rust prevention. The galvanized/dry ropes that have been tested in the past are of a different construction and grade. Some of those resulted in less than desired life expectancy. These ropes were a totally different product than what we are offering, like comparing apples to oranges. As you all know the lack of grease gives you many great features:

• No more greasy windshields • No more ruined wiper blades • No more washing to remove the grease prior to servicing • No more grease streaks on the snow • Less labor involved all the way around dealing with the grease

Just imagine a dry rope that will give you similar results as the greasy rope that has been used for all of these years. No more brake cleaner to clean those windshields. No more grease on the vehicle to stick to your clothes. No more grease smearing across the windshield from the heated wipers. Many people have asked about the life of this product and here is the answer: Assuming no damage resulting from abnor-mal use and/or abnormal op-eration you should expect similar results to existing/previous winch ropes.

We have a full container on the way and we are now taking pre-orders to hold the ropes until they arrive. The new rope will be available approximately end of November and we will start delivering as soon as it gets here. If you need any information or are inter-ested please feel free to contact us. We also manufacture custom tree slings for winch cats if you are in the need for them. Currently from Grand Junction we have free weekly deliveries to the I-70 corridor, Aspen Area, Steamboat Area, Winter Park Area, the Denver Area and the newly added Salt Lake City Area. We also service Southern Colorado bi-weekly, Northern New Mexico and Northern Arizona monthly and the majority of Wyoming on a weekly basis. You can look us up at deltarigging.com or call us at 970-242-1144. Feel free to call with any questions you may have or to get more information. We are lo-cated at 722 Scarlet Street in Grand Junction Colo-rado. If you are in the area, please stop by to have a tour of our facility.

New Winch Rope for Prinoth Vehicles Justin Tate, Delta Rigging & Tools

Driven by the harsh lubrication demands of today’s new machinery, Mobil Industrial Lubricants has formulated the revolutionary Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series. Building off the reputation and improving the ever popular Mobil DTE 20 series, Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series lubricants are state-of-the-art, shear stable, high viscosity index hydraulic fluids with a zinc free anti-wear system. They are formulated to meet the needs of modern, high pressure industrial and mobile equipment hydraulic systems… lifting hydraulic efficiency to greater heights. With their ultra keep-clean performance for increased equipment life, resulting in minimum equipment down-time, they have been tested to last up to 3x longer than the competition and show a 6% increase in efficiency in hydraulic pumps. Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series can help provide quantifiable increase in hydraulic efficiency, translating to reduced power consumption or increase machine output, thus resulting in monetary savings. When operating temperatures rise, Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series’ outstanding shear stability provides maximum lubrication and increased hydraulic efficiency to keep you operations at peak output. Excellent low-temperature pumpability offers reliable staring and pump protection down to -40⁰C (under no load conditions and is ISO vis-cosity grade dependent). Excellent shear and thermal stability help provide maximum equipment protection and performance at high and low temperature extremes… Which is exactly what the ski and vehicle maintenance operations face on a daily basis!

It is an environmentally conscious hydraulic fluid that allows passing results of acute toxicity testing while the zinc free anti-wear system provides high degree of wear protection in gear, vane, and piston pumps.

Benefits: Ultra keep clean performance Reduced equipment downtime Increase in hydraulic pump efficiency Reduced labor costs associated Zinc free formulation is environmentally conscious If your current hydraulic fluid can provide the same bene-fits, give us a call at (303) 857-2288 to get more informa-tion on the Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series hydraulic fluids and start saving money today!

The Next Generation in Hydraulic Oils Bill Michel Jr, Gray Oil Company

Contact Your

Mobil Delvac Distributor

or

Manny Campo Industrial Lubricants Sales Engineer

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Mobil DTE 10 Excel (500 hrs)

Mobil DTE 10 Excel (2000 hrs)

Market General AW Hydraulic Oil (500 hrs)

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Service Technician Job Description: • Must have practical working knowledge of mechanical systems, electrical systems, hydraulics. • Posses adequate set of hand tools. • Provide customer service support • Must be willing to get a CDL class A or have one. • Must be willing to travel when needed. • Troubleshoot all assigned vehicle/equipment systems. Company: Kassbohrer (Grand Junction office) Contact: Terry Fix Phone: 970-245-9331 or 970-260-8532 Email: tfix@pistenbullyusa.com Service Technician Job Description: A leading supplier of snow grooming and utility tracked vehicle equipment is seeking an experienced, self-motivated energetic service technician for its New Hampshire office. Must have working knowledge of hydro-static, hydraulic and electrical systems. Must be willing to travel in NE with 50% travel April-Nov, and 100% travel Dec-Mar. Competitive hourly pay rate based on experi-ence with excellent health benefits and company matching 401k. Company: Prinoth (Gilmanton office) Contact: Amber Mark E-mail: amber.mark@prinoth.com Service Technician Job Description: A leading supplier of snow grooming equipment is looking for a self-motivated energetic me-chanic with working knowledge of hydrostatic, hydraulic and electrical systems. Able to weld and fabricate, and must be willing to travel with 25% travel April-Nov, and 75% travel Dec-Mar. Experience a must. Competitive salary based on experience with excellent health benefits and company matching 401k. Company: Prinoth (Grand Junction office) Contact: Cindy Herrman email: cindy.herrman@prinoth.com Fleet Manager Job Description: Manage vehicle maintenance shop over-seeing three employees; year-round position with benefits including health, dental, life, 401(k), and paid time off. Company: Eldora Mountain Resort, Nederland, CO Contact: Laurie Enke or Frank Brown Phone: (303) 440-8700 E-mail: laurie.enke@eldora.com

Vehicle Mechanic II Job Description: Provides maintenance and repair services to company fleet vehicles, including snow cats, snowmo-biles, and pickup trucks. FTYR Position, Vacation, 401K Medical. Company: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO Contact: Jim Beck Phone: (970) 349-2313 E-mail: jbeck@cbmr.com Service Technician Job Description: Reporting to the Regional Service Man-ager, you will be responsible of repairing & troubleshooting vehicles in a shop environment and in the field for our al-pine and industrial products. Specifically, you will: • Provide customer service support. • Troubleshoot all assigned vehicle/equipment systems. • Use diagnostic tools i.e.: volt ohm meters, scan tools, lllschematics etc. • Provide necessary on-equipment fabrication • Perform welding/fabrication jobs. Qualifications & Skills Required: • Journeyman Heavy Equipment Technician (Red Seal is an asset). • Minimum of 3 years of experience on heavy equipment. • Knowledge of Windows environment & MS Office • Must provide his/her own tools. Additional Requirements: • Spring and summer work schedules are 40 hours a week, lllfall and winter work schedules will include, overtime, lllweekends, on-call, holidays, and night shifts. • Must be able to travel through snow to reach a building or lllpiece of equipment with tools and materials necessary to lllcomplete the job. • Must be able to lift, maneuver, position, remove and in- lllstall heavy items. • Must be physically capable of performing these tasks with lllassistance and alone. Company: Prinoth (Salt Lake City office) Contact: Kevin Moudy Phone: (801) 364-8266 ext. 3227 Email: kevin.moudy@prinoth.com Snowcat/Vehicle Mechanic Job Description: General fleet mechanic, 10 month posi-tion with benefits including health, dental, life, 401(k), and paid time off. Company: Eldora Mountain Resort, Nederland, CO Contact: Laurie Enke or Frank Brown Phone: (303) 440-8700 E-mail: laurie.enke@eldora.com

HELP WANTED

To post a Help Wanted Ad Contact: Jennifer Larson

jlarson@nsaa.org Page 11

SAVMI is a non-profit organization with repre-sentation throughout North America. SAVMI is dedicated to the education and exchange of information between ski areas and suppliers. We invite you to send information, articles, ads, pictures, and comics you feel will be in-formative or entertaining to your fellow mem-bers. The next newsletter will be published in December. Material deadline is November 14, 2014 Thanks to all who have contributed content for this issue. Jennifer F. Larson NSAA Director of Associated Meetings 720.963.4204

SAVMI Board of Directors Editor’s Note

133 South Van Gordon Street Suite 300 Lakewood, CO 80228

President: Johnny Green, Breckenridge Ski Resort Vice President: Don Mushet, Aspen Skiing Co. Treasurer: Joe Suman, Mountain Services Group Secretary: Tina Figueroa, Breckenridge Ski Resort Supplier Board Members: Joe Clark, Prinoth Terry Fix, Kässbohrer All Terrain Vehicles Board Members: Brent Clyncke, Beaver Creek Resort Dick Kinkade, Taos Ski Valley