Killington hosts 2015 Eastern Winter Conference and Tradeshow, Jan. 20-21. View the video Here
KILLINGTON — The National Ski Areas Association is the trade association for ski area owners and operators. It represents 325 alpine resorts that account for more than 90 percent of the skier/snowboarder visits nationwide. Additionally, it has 472 supplier members who provide equipment, goods and services to the mountain resort industry.
The association’s primary objective is to meet the needs of ski area owners and operators nationwide and to foster, stimulate and promote growth in the industry.
Kicking off the two-day event, was the PhatCat Challenge, which began at 8 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20. This event offers a true test of grooming operator skill and efficiency to determine the industry’s ultimate “Top Op.”
The PhatCat Challenge was created to enhance driver skills, promote professionalism and give recognition to the most talented grooming operators in the country. Operators will be judged in four disciplines – Straight Pass, Slalom Run, Blade To Grade and Pre-Op Check.
Drivers can enter in one of two categories: Pro Driver, reserved for ski area grooming and snow surface professionals; or Phatcat, reserved for top ski area executives including CEOs, Presidents, COOs, GMs CFOs, CMOs and Mountain Ops Directors.
One pro driver from each competition will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize, and other prizes will be awarded to finalists and winning ski area Phatcats.
Photos by Robin Alberti
