By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
Chip Perfect, owner of Perfect North Slopes in Indiana and Timberline Mountain in Davis has been on the mountain working alongside numerous other individuals in an attempt to open the slopes to skiers within the next couple of weeks. “The hill’s in pretty good shape,” he stated.
“The biggest update is we really went quite a bit deeper and further than we anticipated meaning a lot more new infrastructure than we expected,” said Perfect. “To dismantle a ski area and put it back together in a year is really a remarkable accomplishment and the crew here has done amazing work,” he stated. The lifts are ready for operation and a practice run for snowmaking is set for the days to come.
The Lodge is being frequented by several contractors working diligently to get the facility up and running, though it will not be open when the first slopes are. “The challenge about being in the ski business is you never know when opening is going to be,” said Perfect, though he feels it is close. The primary focus was the slopes, lifts, and snowmaking in order to allow for skiing on Timberline Mountain to take place this season.
With over 25 runs at Timberline, the opening of the terrain will be staggered but the end goal is to have them all open. The new snowmaking equipment was placed amongst four to five of the major runs with the other portable units being utilized in other areas of the slopes.
When the initial purchase of Timberline was made, it was known a lot of work, time, and money would have to be put into the facility to bring it up to standard. “This has been like a very challenging HGTV show,” Perfect laughed. “We’ve gone a lot deeper, a lot farther than we thought we were going to, but on the flip side it’s going to turn out so much better than we ever expected.” Even though Perfect was unsure of a monetary figure, he laughed again, “In general, a lot more.” He was quick to acknowledge that the talent and effort of the staff and contractors are what is taking a potentially good ski area and making it a great one.
A sale on season passes was opened earlier this year, which Perfect was overwhelmed by the results. Two to three times the amount expected to be sold were purchased, giving the new owner high hopes for his first season at Timberline. “We really appreciate those people taking a chance on us because we were nowhere near having an operating ski area when they bought those passes, so they put their faith in us and we’re going to deliver.”
Another challenge when operating a ski area is staffing because of the unknown of opening day or even the last days. “We’ve probably brought on 15 to 20 more people just in the last week in anticipation of opening in a week or two,” Perfect stated. Around 20 people came from Perfect North Slopes and relocated to the area to serve as full-time staff at Timberline with 20-30 local residents already brought into the staff with more openings to fill. For anyone interested in applying for a position, applications can be picked up in person when the slopes open or online at www.TimberlineMountain.com “Once we get open there’s still probably going to be opportunities here,” he confirmed.
State of the art technology will inhabit the facility including RFID tickets and online ticket ordering. After skiers receive their first RFID card, they can go directly to the ski lift rather than going into the office. This technology not only makes it more convenient for guests but also accommodates the current social distancing suggestions as a result of COVID-19. “It gives us a lot more flexibility and a lot more options for our customers,” stated Perfect. “The good news is particularly on the slopes, this is an activity where we’ve always encouraged people to stay apart from each other,” he laughed. The new ski lifts not only reduce the time taken to get to the top of the mountain, but also allows for patrons to spread out more.
“We have been almost overwhelmed by the support from the community, it’s really been gratifying,” Perfect said. “We’re going to be ready to have guests here shortly from the community.” “We’ve heard a lot of excitement, we need to turn that excitement into skier visits because that’s what’s going to make this thing work,” Perfect confirmed. “It’s going to be a great team; I think people are really going to enjoy working here and visiting here.”