Recently, Salida High School has partnered with Colorado Mountain College to bring college level courses to local high school students. Starting in January of 2024, CMC will be offering the Ski Area Operations course, a specialized class covering the basics of what running a ski area involves. The professor will be Catherine Wadsworth, the Event Manager at Monarch Mountain ski area. CMC in Leadville offers a masters degree in ski area operations, and this class is the introduction into the field for anyone interested in pursuing this degree.
“We decided that we wanted to adapt it to a concurrent enrollment format this year, hoping that there might be some young adults in Salida that would be interested in a career in ski area operations, and that this would be a really nice introduction towards that,” Rob Simpson, the Associate Dean of Academics and Student Affairs at CMC, explained.
The format of this class is different from your typical high school or even concurrent enrollment class. Students either drive or take a shuttle to Monarch Mountain ski area on Fridays and learn there from 8:30-12:30. The style of learning is very different from the average classroom lecture.
“This class, although there were certainly be some lecture components and some classroom components, I think it’s kind of geared to folks that are interested in being hands on learners, because I think a good portion of the class is going to be outside interacting with employees and kind of seeing what they do and trying to get a more nuanced understanding of that,” Simpson said.
Running a ski area is an incredibly complicated job. Running ski lifts, avalanche mitigation, grooming runs, forest management, snow making, maintenance and landscaping are important technical aspects that students will learn about, but it goes deeper than the basics. A ski area, even a small one, can be as complicated as a town. Students interested in taking this course, and possibly moving on to pursuing the major at CMC are getting an intro into a very diverse and interesting field with many applied trades opportunities and leadership experiences.
As of now, several students are registered for this course, and classes will start on January 19th, and students must be registered at least a week in advance. In all, this class is an excellent opportunity for a high school student interested in any part of the operation of running a ski area, or even just a chance to learn in a hands-on environment and get college credit. Any student can benefit from this program, regardless of their path in life due to its many fascinating aspects, and learn fascinating skills that are useful in any career.
Recently, Salida High School has partnered with Colorado Mountain College to bring college level courses to local high school students. The number of available courses has steadily increased, especially with the Kesner building being converted into a Colorado Mountain College campus. Starting in January of 2024, CMC will be offering the Ski Area Operations course, a specialized class covering the basics of what running a ski area involves. The professor will be Catherine Wadsworth, the Event Manager at Monarch Mountain ski area. She has had years of experience working at Monarch in various positions over several years. CMC in Leadville offers a masters degree in ski area operations, and this class is the introduction into the field for anyone interested in pursuing this degree.
“We decided that we wanted to adapt it to a concurrent enrollment format this year, hoping that there might be some young adults in Salida that would be interested in a career in ski area operations, and that this would be a really nice introduction towards that,” Rob Simpson, the Associate Dean of Academics and Student Affairs at CMC, explained.
The format of this class is different from your typical high school or even concurrent enrollment class. Students either drive or take a shuttle to Monarch Mountain ski area on Fridays and learn there from 8:30-12:30. The style of learning is very different from the average classroom lecture.
“This class, although there were certainly be some lecture components and some classroom components, I think it’s kind of geared to folks that are interested in being hands on learners, because I think a good portion of the class is going to be outside interacting with employees and kind of seeing what they do and trying to get a more nuanced understanding of that,” Simpson said.
Running a ski area is an incredibly complicated job. Running ski lifts, avalanche mitigation, grooming runs, forest management, snow making, maintenance and landscaping are important technical aspects that students will learn about, but it goes deeper than the basics. A ski area, even a small one, can be as complicated as a town. Most ski areas have more than just ski lifts. Transportation, parking, food service, retail stores, rentals, lessons, tubing, tours, Ski Patrol, medical and paramedic, disabled accommodations, forestry and conservation, wildlife considerations and, of course, leadership and management of all of these complex systems. Students interested in taking this course, and possibly moving on to pursuing the major at CMC are getting an intro into a very diverse and interesting field with many applied trades opportunities, and leadership experiences.
As of now, several students are registered for this course, and many more have expressed interest in taking part. Classes will start on January 19th, and students must be registered at least a week in advance. The class will continue through March 15th. In all, this class is an excellent opportunity for a high school student interested in any part of the operation of running a ski area, or even just a chance to learn in a hands-on environment and get college credit. Any student can benefit from this program, regardless of their path in life due to its many fascinating aspects, and learn fascinating skills, useful in any career.
