Bluewood Ready to Go...Except for Snow

DAYTON - The employees are hired and maintenance on the equipment is complete. Season ticket sales are well under way. The only thing holding up skiing at Ski Bluewood, 20 miles south of here, is snow.

"This isn't unusual," Bluewood General Manager Kim Clark told The Times this week. "Historically, Bluewood has generally opened around mid December."

Clark said that several inches of snow are on the ground at the top of the hill but there is very little at the base. "With the inversion the past few days, it's been pretty warm up there," he said.

"We will be up and running within 72 after the snow arrives," Clark said. "It takes a little time to get food delivered and get the course groomed," but they're ready to go otherwise, he said.

Clark said that Bluewood has hired about 145 employees for the season. They will also have 35 to 40 volunteers working, mostly as ski patrol and instructors. During the offseason, they usually have six employees working, he said.

"About 70% of our employees are returning from last year," Clark said. "That's a very high number in our industry, and we're very pleased with that."

Bluewood held a job fair in November and has since conducted all of their orientation and training of employees. "We're ready to go as soon as it snows," Clark said.

Clark was hired as Bluewood's new manager in July. He replaced Jody and Brandy Ream, who managed the ski area for two seasons. An Idaho native, Clark has worked in the ski industry for 41 years. He was most recently manager at Mt. Ashland in southern Oregon.

"They celebrated their 50th anniversary last year by not opening," Clark said. "The drought in that area hit them hard."

Mt. Ashland is a community-owned ski area, run as a non-profit. Clark said that the board of directors that oversees the ski area let the entire management team go and decided to try to run it themselves.

Clark has worked at a wide range of ski areas, including in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Tahoe, Calif., Silver Mountain in Kellogg, Ida. and Timberline, on Mt. Hood in Oregon. He specialized as a children's ski coach before getting into ski area management.

Clark said his main goal at Bluewood will be to create a strong culture of customer service among employees. "We're using the term 'One Guest at a Time,'" he said. "We want to focus on making sure skiers are always having a great time."

The Bluewood Ski Area, as it was originally called, was developed in the late 1970s and opened for the first time in the January 1980. After the original ownership group filed bankruptcy in 1981, Bluewood was purchased in 1983 by Stan and Nancy Goodell, who adjusted the name, calling it "Ski Bluewood." The Goodells operated the ski area for 27 years. Ski Bluewood now is entering its fifth season under the ownership of Mike Stephenson and his partners, who purchased it from the Goodells in the fall of 2010.

The ski area now includes two triple chairs and a platter pull. It has 24 ski runs and three terrain parks for snowboarders.

Clark urged skiers to check the Bluewood website (bluewood.com) or call the Bluewood snow line (509) 522- 4110, to get the latest Bluewood status updates.