Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 13, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Snowmaker turned GM, Switzgable scales icy terrain By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com B ob Switzgable was hooked on Ski Sundown the day he applied to be a snowmaker there in 1983 after being laid off from a construction job. "I can remember that day, I'll never for- get it," said Switzgable, thrilled he'd be paid to make snow. Today, Switzgable owns the New Hartford ski area. The journey from snowmaker to general manager and president seems as joyous a ride for Switzgable as carving fresh tracks on powder-covered slopes. He smiles and laughs frequently sharing his love of the ski industry. He's done virtually every job at the resort while, early on, running a stone masonry business in summers to help pay the bills. He became year-round in 1986 and, while overseeing the maintenance shop in 1999, he approached then-owner Rich - ard "Rick" Carter, whom he knew was looking for a general manager. Switzga- ble also suspected Carter was seeking an exit strategy. "I went up to him and I said, 'Rick, I think you're looking for a general manager. I just want to let you know I can do that,' " Swit- zgable said, remembering Carter as liter- ally speechless. Carter "never considered me, I'm sure — it was crystal clear at that moment," Switzgable recalled. Switzgable followed with a letter explain- ing how he could do the job, which he got. The pair then worked toward Switzgable buying Ski Sundown, which he did in 2002. "I knew the business inside out, I was confident I could run it, ... and fortunate enough that the owner took back some paper" and that the bank cooperated, Swit- zgable said. But he stretched financially, remortgaging his paid-for house and tap- ping all his children's college funds. The investment paid off. He and his wife, Ann, have three boys, two of whom have graduated college and work outside the metro area. The third enters college in the fall. He hopes one or more replace him some day. Switzgable, 54, thoroughly enjoys what he does. "It's been an education and it continues to be," he said, proud of how Ski Sundown does things on its own, including buying equipment rather than leasing and doing its own maintenance and construction. Ski Sundown is coming off a rough year for snowfall and temperatures. "We always knew a year like this was coming," Switzgable said. "Thank God, it didn't come in 2002." But following a strong season the year before, Ski Sun- down enjoyed healthy preseason sales. "I can't tell you how appreciative I am of our customers," Switzgable said of their understanding the conditions that crimped the season. Ski Sundown persevered, thanks to a strong snowmaking system covering 100 percent of the mountain. Switzgable is working to expand snowmaking capacity by acquiring more water access to make more snow in rough years and to accommodate a desired future expansion of ter- rain. Ski Sundown has acquired 77 additional acres and Swit- zgable envisions another chairlift some day to help serve the acreage. A key challenge Switzgable overcame immediately after buying Ski Sundown was installing its terrain park. It was a fledgling concept in the industry and insurers initially balked, he said. But the resort argued it could better control what youth would do regardless. "Boy, it paid off," Switzgable said, call- ing terrain parks and snowboarding great shots in the arm for the industry. The resort hires up to 500 seasonal employees each fall and 60 to 70 percent are returnees, Switzgable said, proud of Ski Sun- down's niche serving all skiing and boarding interests and as a teaching mountain. "I think one of the best things we do here is we know exactly who we are," he said. "We're not Vail. We're not Killington. We're your neighborhood ski area, but we want to be the best neighborhood ski area you've ever been to." n H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S Ski Sundown GM and President Bob Switzgable said he wants to add a new chair lift to serve the 77 new acres he just acquired. Bob Switzgable General manager and president, Ski Sundown Inc. Highest education: St. Michael's College, Colchester, Vt., until junior year. Executive insights: Mistakes will happen, you have to move on and they're learning experiences. Also, making jobs easier for people makes a huge difference, "so the more that you can help people do their jobs, the better the job gets done and the happier everybody else is." EXECUTIVE PROFILE Check out a video clip of Bob Switzgable's interview at hartfordbusiness.com. PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. 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