We want to give an update on the 2021-22 ski season. As you can imagine, it has been a long,
incredibly challenging 18 months as we all navigated the global pandemic. We had to adapt
very quickly last year, and are extremely grateful to our families, and team members for such a
successful 2021 season! We heard from many of our families that despite long lift lines,
changing health restrictions and changing operational challenges, they enjoyed one of the
BEST ski school seasons.
We noticed some chatter online about whether or not we will be operating for the 2022 ski
season. Let’s start off by saying, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY going to be running, and we are more
excited than ever to get on the snow with all of our families. In addition, we are excited to
announce that we will be able to DOUBLE our enrollment numbers from the 2021 season, as
long as we have the staffing to support it!
Some families have become frustrated with the lack of communication. We understand and
apologize. We never want to leave our customers in a lurch! As with most small businesses, we
were severely impacted by the pandemic. Powderpigs is 100% seasonal. During the off-season
there are very few of us on staff. In addition to restricted staffing levels, we’ve had to change the
way we work, again due to the changes we’ve all faced in our home and work life due to
COVID.
Most of the communications received were refund requests for the 2021 season from families
unable to participate due to COVID challenges. Last year, we were forced to run at 40% of our
normal operating capacity. This created a much higher per student cost. We offered a roll over
program that allowed many families to register for 2022 at the same rates we offered in 2021.
Families who requested a refund were notified that refunds would be issued in the order the
request was received, and as funds become available. While we applied for the COVID related
financial support options offered to small businesses by the government, we only qualified for
one, which combined with the higher cost per student ratio, has been very challenging for our
school.
We have provided refunds to many families and are processing more on a regular basis, as
funds become available.
We are committed to ensuring that all our Powderpig families can enjoy the love of the great
outdoors that we all share. We are exploring new options to facilitate better regular and
consistent communication. While we dig through the backlog, please check our social media
accounts. We will update them on a regular basis.
The number of students we will be able to add to the 2022 season will depend on restrictions
from the Ski Area, the Delta-variant, and instructor registration. We had a successful and safe
season last year and we pledge to continue a high level of safety to protect the health and
wellness of our students, families and staff.
Our instructor registration is LIVE (check out the website), please pass the link on to anyone
who might want to work with kids! We are so grateful for all the support and love that we receive
from our families, and we can’t wait to see everyone on the hill soon!
Think Snow!