Chasse admires region’s bounty
Life is good and it’s getting better for snow riders around here.
Tom Chasse, Schweitzer Mountain Resort’s new president/CEO, freshly transplanted from Attitash Mountain in North Conway, N.H., said we don’t know how spoiled we are.
Every mountain resort surrounding Spokane is growing or seriously considering expansion. Schweitzer is the latest bearer of good news. The mountain announced Thursday a $10 million agenda to enhance the Schweitzer experience on and off the snow.
Chasse ventured west last August to lead mountain operations at Schweitzer. He’s from Boston, skied at Attitash his whole life and worked at the resort for 14 years. He talked about contrasts between his old and new homes.
East vs. West
“Where I came from, we did about the same amount of business as Schweitzer,” he said. “We skied about 225,000 people a year – on 300 acres. Here the same number of people a year play on about 3,000 acres.”
Plenty of good snow is something we take for granted. The Attitash Web site touts “the most powerful snow-making system in New Hampshire.” The photo of the day on the site earlier this week showed a slopeside sprinkler system spraying full bore. Chasse said snowmaking is the lifeblood of Eastern resorts.
“The East relies a lot on man-made snow,” he said. “At Attitash, most of our expense was snowmaking. At Schweitzer, most of our expense has been snow removal. One of the things that shocked me here was the great snow in the early season. I had some of the best powder days of my life in the first three weeks.”
Agenda items
Every Inland Northwest resort sets its heart on a Thanksgiving opening. This season Schweitzer pulled it off. But Chasse understands this best-case scenario is the exception around here.
“This year we got lucky and opened the day after Thanksgiving,” he said. “But from what they tell me, that’s not the norm. So I’m looking at snow-making options so we can guarantee an early start to the season every year.”
Snowmaking and lift capacity are items on Chasse’s agenda for Schweitzer. Another issue he mentioned is a “terrain gap” he perceives on the mountain. “Right now, it’s a huge step to go from the learning area to the top of the mountain,” he said. “I’m in the process of identifying terrain that can close that gap.”
Turning point
Chasse described his arrival here as a turning point in his life and career.
He’s owned a house in North Conway for 26 years. He had deep roots in the community: president of the Chamber of Commerce, member of the economic council and leader in a lot of volunteer organizations. He worked for the American Skiing Company (ASC) headquartered in Park City, Utah. ASC owns Attitash, plus Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine; Killington, Pico and Mt. Snow in Vermont; Steamboat in Colorado; and The Canyons Resort in Park City.
“Life was good,” he said. “The company treated me well and my kids grew up there. But we had some upheavals in our personal life and it was time for a change”
A few years ago Chasse’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, but the experience was tough on his family. About a year ago his father died unexpectedly. Two weeks later his stepmother died. Later a close friend was killed in a car accident.
After running this emotional gantlet, Chasse and his wife traveled to Park City in January 2006 for an ASC business meeting.
“She talked about how beautiful it was there,” he said. “I asked her if she could see herself living out West. After all that had happened, we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s do something totally different.’ “
Chasse is setting out to make a difference at Schweitzer.