This episode of Epic By Nature share the story of leadership within our company, and is Rob Katz’s final appearance as our narrator.
 
The leaders featured in this episode are the epitome of our talent philosophy at work. Their paths have been anything but linear, they have faced disappointment and setbacks, been given tough feedback and told no. But throughout the years they have embraced each chapter, been guided by their leaders and mentors, and leveraged the development programming and stretch opportunities offered at our company – and thrived.

Navigating Leadership Terrain

What is Epic By Nature?

On this first episode of Epic by Nature, Rob sits down with Keystone Resort COO Geoff Buchheister to discuss his Leadership journey - from being acquired at Park City, to helping launch the Urban Resorts, and finally to running Keystone.

A Crossroads at Park City

Our Company has been on a journey since October 1998 when Vail Mountain was subject to a fire-bombing attack by eco-terrorists. In the 20 years since, we have undergone a metamorphosis to one of the leading environmental companies in the world. This journey has not always been a clear and direct path and has been full of twists and turns. 

In this episode we are exploring the impact of the arson attack, our first forays into wind credits and why we eventually switched to forest fire restoration, the criticism we received for the political donations by our Political Action Committee, the acquisition of Whistler Blackcomb and the formulation of our Commitment to Zero, to what the future holds.

From Eco-terrorism to Environmentalism

The restaurant business can be challenging on any given day, but it becomes far more complex when that business is located in remote locations at 10,000ft. 

Join Rob Katz and some of our Executive Chefs and F&B leaders, as we explore just what goes into creating the mountain dining experience. How do we transport food to remote locations and then up the mountain each day? What adjustments do we have to make for cooking at altitude? What goes into the decision to build a new restaurant? How do we re-imagine the dining experience when the guests’ demands are evolving and how will things change as we look to the future?

Redefining Dining at 10,000ft

Having successfully navigated their way to the top of traditionally male dominated areas of our business, our pioneering women leaders in ski-industry operations roles have changed the face of an industry and paved the way for those coming behind them. In honor of International Women's Day, this episode of Epic By Nature celebrates their unique, sometimes challenging, but ultimately transformative and powerful journeys.

Trailblazers

In this episode we are exploring what it takes to join patrol, to learn the skills and to come back season after season in sometimes arduous weather conditions. We are also exploring how patrol has evolved over the years, the pioneering history, the technical advancements and the stories of the people who have led the way.

Legends of Patrol

One of our four strategic pillars of our Company is Acquisitions & Integrations. Acquisitions build our geographic diversity to protect us from weather variability; increases the diversity of our guest experience adding value to our guests from our season pass programs; and broaden the breadth and diversity of our talent, allowing us to solve industry problems at scale that none of us could do alone.  Acquisitions also grow our business and allow us to scale, create investment efficiencies and truly leverage data. But, to make all this possible, we must be more than just a collection of nice things, we need to come together as a true team - and that takes integrations - the process of unifying and aligning our resorts around a common purpose. In this episode of Epic By Nature, we are exploring integrations from every angle; how it feels to be an employee at an acquired resort, how it feels to be COO of a resort leading through the transition and how corporate gets it done.

Integrating a Winning Team

The Epic Season Pass is the engine of our business, but once upon a time it was just an idea. Over a decade ago we drastically reduced the price of skiing when we introduced the Epic Season Pass. We were risking revenue, for stability for our company and flexibility for our guests.

Today we are sharing the pass story. Why did we launch the pass? What was our strategy? What was the reaction of the industry, our guests and employees? How did we grow and diversify the product? What is our reaction to competition and what’s next?

The Big Idea

Right now across our Company we are preparing for the North American winter season. Keystone has already opened, in Colorado we had record snow fall in October, we are welcoming our seasonal employees, anticipation is building, and our snow guns are fired up.

So it is only appropriate that in this episode of Epic By Nature, we explore the story of our snowmakers and snowmaking. After all, snow is why we come to work every day. Where does the passion for snowmaking come from? How did it come to be? How does snowmaking differ across our resorts? What is the science and technology behind it? And what is the impact to our environment?

The Magic of Snowmaking

Right now across our Company, our ski and snowboard instructors – our pros – are opening up our sport and mountains to guests across North America. From child to adult, from beginner to highly-skilled, our pros spend more time with guests than most of us and are therefore uniquely positioned to deliver an Experience of a Lifetime.

Ski instructors have had a profound impact on growing my confidence and expanding my ability in the sport and I am excited to share their stories today. How did they find their way to teaching? What tactics and techniques do they use? What credentials do they need? How do they manage the logistics and the business of ski school?

Ski & Ride for Life

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The first part "The Decision," documents our decision to close our resorts on March 14

Part 1: The Decision - No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The second part "The Impact," explores the impact of the decision on employees and our company.

Part 2: The Impact - No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The third part "The Future," explains how we crafted the plan to honor our pass holders, and Rob Katz shares his thoughts and perspective on the future.

Part 3: The Future - No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19

This episode of Epic By Nature explores the journey of several members of our company who are Black, Indigenous or other People of Color. Their stories are all unique, their journeys very much their own... What was their path to our company? What were some of the challenges and barriers they faced? How have they overcome them and what do they think needs to change as we continue on our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey?

We Are Part Of The Problem

For the first time, we have invited someone who is not an employee of our company to join us in a conversation. Henri Rivers, is the President of the National Brotherhood of skiers and a frequent guest at our resorts. This mini-episode features Henri and President of the Mountain Division, Pat Campbell, discussing the history and mission of the National Brotherhood of Skiers and the partnership required between our two organizations.

A Conversation on Inclusion: Henri Rivers, the National Brotherhood of Skiers

Around the world, across all of our resorts, we have employees who are experiencing their own epic journeys. Employees who are the heroes of their own stories, who constantly challenge themselves to give more, to do more, to be more.  We developed this podcast so that we can share their journeys – and the journeys of our guests, our mountains, and our communities – all of which are truly epic by nature.

Vail Resorts

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