2. Who are your sponsors? Have you always skied on Miller 180's?
Olin and Dale Boots. Actually, I've got a pair of 210 Miller Softs. In the late 70's I was a pretty good Powder 8 skier with Peter Lev. I still have those skis.

3. It is said within the thriving Winter metropolis of Alta. Utah, that your management style is "new school" compared to past operations of Alta. Do you accept this "new school" label?
I don't know what you mean by "new school".

4. What is your management style?
I think back when I started working here, I learned the philosophies and was exposed to the management styles of Alf Engen, Chic Morton, and Joe Quinney. Keeping these great ideals in check, I also try to stay informed and involved with the "new age" progression of ski resort businesses as a whole. I guess I am part of the crew that has been here since the seventies, and is now replacing the first Alta wave of the forties, from the beginning.

5. How is Snowbird's expansion into Mineral Basin going to affect Alta? Will there eventually be one ticket for both resorts, a unilift, a future Terrain Park?
Well for one it will eliminate access to snowmobiles in Mineral Basin, and that's just great. The Interconnect has been running in the Wasatch for years, using the lifts at the areas to run their traverse route. It is a natural progression for resorts to start working together in the future, like lift access to common areas.

6. How about snowboards in Alta's future?
(Big smile) I love snowboards. I love snowboarding. I think the sport is great, I love people who snowboard. Alta's decision (to not allow snowboarding) is a business one. It's just like, we are not allowing those big plastic balls with people in them on the trails. No snow biking, no big people balls, we don't plan to build a tubing hill. It is a business decision. It makes Alta unique and we like that. Alta remains a ski mountain.

7. Is Snowbird buying Alta?
Snowbird is not buying Alta. Alta is not buying Snowbird.

8. How did your career start in Alta, when?
I was encouraged to move out in the late 60's when I was studying avalanche dynamics and snow safety at MSU working in Bridger Bowl, Montana. Lonnie Ball encouraged me to go to Alta; Court Richards hired me on Ski Patrol in 1972.

9. Have you ever been a male model? Do you own any other pants than Wrangler brand?
No. Actually my wife bought me a pair of Levis last year.

10. What do you think of phat skis?
That is kind of a general term. It seems like the new shaped skis are working great at the resorts and generating a lot of positive interest. The wide fat skis should be kept for helicopter skiing, and just the occasional "deep Alta day".

11. How about those GravityFed kids who so gloriously represent Alta in the new ski tradition like Dan Withey, Dave McReynolds, Linda Peterson and The Grom!! There are so many more, how do you feel about their successes?
It is great! Today's skiers have brought a new excitement to the sport and this is great. I don't like seeing them trying to do their thing on the more public access runs, like trying to go 80mph down Mambo, that's really the only problem that I see.

12. What about watching Dave Richards grow up here?
Just a few years ago I was skiing with my kids in the backpack that (Dave's Father) Court Richards lent me. The same backpack he skied in with Dave.

13. Alta has always been treasured as the one area that doesn't boast improvement, keeps things low key, slow lifts, etc. Is that kind of changing? Seems like Alta is into Triple chairs these days. What are the new features and changes at the Lift Co. this year?
Alta has never been about not improving and we work every summer to improve various aspects of the terrain, from trails to lifts, etc. We will just have to wait and see what the people say about our efforts, you never know. Our new chair is a detachable double on Albion, not a triple. If it were my decision, I would build a single chair. This chair would be the easiest for loading and unloading the skier group that uses the Albion side. We want all of our skiers to have a positive ski lift experience. The decision behind the new detachable double is to give the skiers who use Albion a positive lift experience, the detachable chair will cut the time on the lift to under 10 minutes and it will also make an easier load and unload for the people who use the lift.The new chair however will allow 3 better skiers to go uphill, ideally we only want two beginner skiers at a time on Sunnyside.

GravityFed Thanks you for this interview. Any Random thoughts, projections, astrological forecasts, or personal feelings you'd like to share with the world?
Do not be afraid of Global Warming. Alta, Utah maintains a high elevation. It will always keep snowing the way it has been in Alta.