The Economics of Pebble Creek
The Economics of Pebble Creek
By: sabotjedi
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Posted by sabotjedi Mon Feb 25, 2008 20:02:25 MST
Viewed 207 times
0 responses 8 comments Location: 656 N. 9th Ave, Pocatello, ID 83201
Every now and then I feel the need to chastise the local inhabitants about their failure to patronize Pebble Creek Ski Area.
I have a personal reason for bringing this issue to the fore. I work for the mountain as a ski instructor. To tell the truth though, it doesn't matter to me professionally whether you ski Pebble or not. We have work coming out of our ears in the winter sports school. We have community education programs, school programs, childrens' programs and we even have trouble squeezing in private lessons for people who want to learn more because we can be so busy at times.
What I am writing about has to do with the fact that the people of our region (Pocatello and surrounding towns) seem so often to choose to take their dollars to other places instead of our own mountain. Our local economy is driven by consumer choice and so many people seem to make the choice to ski or ride elsewhere. That is great for other mountains like Grand Targhee, Jackson, Kelly Canyon or Sun Valley not to mention the resorts in Utah, but what does it do for our own recreation right here within just a few minutes of town? Your choice to transfer your dollars to the bigger resorts owned by people from somewhere else means that the improvements we so desire in our home mountain can never become real. We spend the gas money, the higher lift tickets, and the time just travelling, going off to destinations that don't really need our dollars.
There is a saying that the customer is always right. That means that when you make yourself a customer of something you give them your vote. You make them the winner by giving them your dollars.
So, if you desire to see all of the improvement in winter recreation happen in places other than your own hometown, by all means continue to waste your money and time travelling to those big name resorts. When all is said and done and you have had your fun somewhere else and you wake to wonder what happened to the great "little" mountain that used to be so close to home, you will be able to point to nobody but yourself and all of your fellow "Pocatellans" who chose not to spend on your own grand resource.
We have a wonderful gem in Pebble Creek right here with all of the challenge and grit that any good skier or boarder can deal with right here. Your failure to make it successful is your own fault. Many of us are giving our all to make it work. You can blame nobody else if it doesn't continue and another of our traditions fades away and disappears.
One of the great cliches of Pocatello can continue to shine: "when the last person moves away, please remember to shut the lights off!"
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Wed Feb 27, 2008 08:00:34 MST
Jim,The reasons we go to places like Alta when we can are, no snow boarders and most importantly, no rocks that tear up our skis. I believe your idea of economics is a little off also. You and the other workers at Pebble Creek are referred to as overhead. The paying customers represent profit. If you don't give the paying customers what they expect, you can watch your potential customers and your profit go some where else. At the very least, get rid of the rocks that are tearing up your customers skis or you can turn out the lights yourself.
Wed Feb 27, 2008 09:10:09 MST
I actually have never been there. #1 reason is I don't ski. Don't even have a clue how to get there actually. I have a lot of friends that ski tho if that counts.
Wed Feb 27, 2008 16:57:44 MST
To those who want to believe that winter sports instructors at Pebble Creek are overhead are clearly misinformed. We represent a service that the mountain would not be able to provide without us and we pay for our own paychecks many times over each time we teach a lesson. We don't make huge wages and we pay for our own equipment and training. The hourly rate for a private lesson at Pebble Creek is just $45.. That is less than half of what a mountain like alta charges for the very same lesson. Group lessons at Park City Mountain Resort are $80 per person for a single session. We sometimes teach lessons at Pebble Creek for less than $8 per person in a group lesson. If you want to joke about quality, I don't. Lessons at Pebble Creek are generally of better quality and given by personnel just as qualified or more so as at the big resorts.
Oh yes! The daily lift pass at Pebble Creek is $35 as opposed to $70 and up at those big resorts.
It is ironic that you rant about rocks tearing up your skis during a season when rocks in a run are a rare occurrance at our mountain. You are absolutely right though, ignore the economics of our local resource at your own risk. The point of my blog is that the folks who decide to take their money elsewhere ensure that there can be no real effort to remove the rocks you so hate. When our resort is gone and you have to pay $5 or $6.00 per gallon for gas to get to "Alta" you can wallow in your smug approach to economics and curse us for the rocks that made it impossible for you to get up and ski.
Wed Feb 27, 2008 17:04:06 MST
A note for Kerrberr: Pebble creek is just 17 miles southeast of Pocatello via I-15. You just take the Inkom exit and follow the signs for 5 miles up the canyon to the base of the hill. The instructors in the winter sports school would be ecstatic to change you from a non-skier to a skier. It only takes a couple of hours and a few dollars. When you and we are finished, your life will never be the same again. You will be a skier and it will stay that way until your life comes to an end. It's just that simple.
Thu Feb 28, 2008 17:47:02 MST
I know exactly what the resort pays you. My son was an instructor at Pebble Creek. You may not make as much as Colin, Eric or Scott, but you will if you ever reach the level of instructor that they have achieved. In the mean time you do get paid something and your ID card lets you ski the mountain whenever you have some free time. That my friend is worth over $200.00 a year in addition to what you make teaching and makes you what is referred to in buisiness circles, as overhead. Not bad at all while you are moving up the instructor certification ladder. You have nothing to do with profit. Profit comes from the customers who pay for season passes, daily passes, ski lessons, rental equpment and buy food and drink from the resort.If you think the rocks are non-existant this year, you need to get off the Aspen run and ski the upper mountain. There are a lot of rocks just below the surface of the snow and on top of it on Cherry Bomb, the upper chute of Max Out, Edgy, Out Back, Sun Bowl, Al's Drop, Lift line,and the upper ridge, just to name a few places you might try. I Usually ski Pebble three or four mornings a week and will ski there this Saturday because my grand kids are finishing up their four weeks of lessons. I generally start skiing about 10:00am and am gone by 3:00pm, which happens to include the four hour block that you and the other instructors are teaching. Other wise I would behappy to give you a tour of the rocks that people are hitting. I'm sure that some of the other instructors could show you also. I see quite a few of them on the upper mountain during the lunch hour before the I:00-3:00pm lessons resume on Saturday.
Fri Feb 29, 2008 20:39:52 MST
Oh, well. I guess you just know everything and I've obviously been caught in a lie. I am a level II PSIA instructor with 19 years experience and I have been skiing at Pebble Creek for about 40 Years. Back when I learned it was called Skyline and...well you already know all about it. Since you ski Pebble almost daily, I guess you are not the person to whom I was dircting my comments anyway. Ce la Vie. Vote with your dollars as you choose. If you believe that Pebble Creek has enough money being wasted on "overhead" and they haven't removed enough of your rocks...Well, I am just sorry about that. I'll try to get up on the trails this summer with some C-4 and a rock hammer. Maybe that will fix it all. All else as it is, I do go frequently up off of the aspen and have a really good time, often teaching students on the upper mountain. I am sorry that you are so frustrated. I hope that you do get some time to come and cheer on the super stars and little stars in the cookie races this weekend. Our cookies are overhead too but they sure put smiles on little faces.
Sat Mar 1, 2008 17:16:52 MST
Smokey, I have just one more thought for you. Why don't you transport the grandkids down to Alta for four consecutive Saturdays of lessons? Make the cost comparison and tell me what makes better economic sense to you.
Sat Mar 1, 2008 17:48:18 MST
Hi, Jim. Actually, their parents and paternal grandmother went halves on the cost of the lessons. My wife, their maternal grandmother, decided that I should do my part and take the troop up to Pebble each weekend for four weeks, which ended today. Normally I don't ski on the weekends, but during the week when the crowd isn't quite as big and I don't have to keep watching for incoming. I started skiing Pebble back in 1959, when it was called Skyline, the bunny hill lft was a rope tow and Cubco bindings were all the rage.Wow, look at us now.I'm sorry that I seem to have offended you. I won't do that anymore.
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