It is one of those early
mornings that you read about in travel magazines where the writer has managed
to find good weather mid-week at a resort - only here it is a Sunday morning
and wondrously all the elements are cooperating! The skies are clear blue, dry
and windless with lots of good snow screaming to be cut into with temperatures
just below freezing. For once the city dweller living by the time-is-money
motto has lucked out and is in for a great day on the slopes. In the village
this means a “take-no-prisoners” mentality as guests work their way towards
the slopes. For staff, such conditions mean some hard hours ahead but
definitely preferable to what happens when the weather is poor…
Read on for the third installment in this series within the
setting journals - links to previous articles in the series can be found at the
bottom of the page.
Opening Note:
Ever since beginning my work at the resort
I’ve always maintained that a great deal can happen in a month.
Today (November 9, 2004) I’m walking outside
in shorts with no snow in sight. In the past, I used to panic at such a thought
but then again I’ve been at the resort when 1.5 Meters of snow has fallen in
the week before opening. Given my experience the lack of snow in Mid November
is not a worry.
A new development since I wrote the last volume
of this column has been the earthquakes experienced primarily by central
Niigata Prefecture (Chuetsu Region). I am very sorry for this turn in events,
and my thoughts and wishes are with the people of Chuetsu at this time.
The Joetsu region of Niigata Prefecture in
which the resort is located was largely unaffected by the earthquakes to the
north, and life for the people here is proceeding as usual. Given such, the
resort is continuing preparations for the coming white season and looking
forward to welcoming old and new guests alike.
FLASH BACK to February 22,2004
The front desk at the Inn at Arai is bracing
itself for a very busy morning as front staff of The Hotel Division are
about to deal simultaneously with early check-ins (overnight drivers arriving
from Tokyo), check-outs, baggage storage, courier service, lift passes, room
cleaners, in-house enquiries as well as shuttle-bus and coach
arrivals/departures. Although it is difficult to quote the
busiest time for the front staff, three peak times are check-in (3 PM),
checkout (11 AM), and lift pass/baggage control from 8:15 AM.
A welcome respite comes in the form of a fax
from the mountain base outlining conditions for the coming day. Mr.
Seasonal Worker manning the front desk takes the fax and proceeds to the
course map in the lobby and updates conditions, runs open/closed, operating
hours etc. - all the while day dreaming about 24 hours from now when he can
head out onto the same but vacant mountain to get his latest fix of pow…
All the eateries of the Restaurant Division
offering breakfast are fully staffed this morning to deal with the onslaught of
Guests from the 7 AM opening. The resort has it right by making sure guests can
get some breakfast before the lifts open but has yet to entirely grasp how
uncompromising some can be towards getting what they want, when they want it,
at this time of the day. It may have something to do with either a case of
nerves given that the guest may never have tried skiing/boarding before, or for
those with experience simply realizing how many calories their body will need
to get through a day on the slopes.
From my experience, while the same guest can be
quite flexible when it comes to either lunch or dinner, if you get the
breakfast right it sets a positive note that can remain the entire day. Reasons
as to why some guests do not get that “positive note” at breakfast range
from simply not liking what is offered to wanting more variety day-in and
day-out. Cultural concerns also play a role in my mind, as for example the
French are known to go with Croissants and Coffee in the morning while lumber
jacks back in Canada may indulge in steak for breakfast. How does a Japanese
snow resort in Japan satisfy everyone at the breakfast table? It is definitely
an ongoing concern.
This time of day is key for the Mountain Division as in my mind it
represents a transfer of responsibility from Grooming and Avalanche Control
(who have taken care of overnight, very early morning duties) to the base and
lifts.
Groomers at the resort can either adopt a
vampire schedule (becoming active only at night) or for the young ones they
groom at night and board during the day.
Avalanche Control staff, depending on the snow
needs of the day-at-hand, will either meet up with other patrol members to help
set the mountain or inspect conditional zones for potential openings later in
the day. Once the mountain opens, they patrol the mountain (either on-snow or
via a special base located in the same building that houses the peak of the
Gondola). I’ve seen these staff come off the mountain late in the
afternoon/early evening and then begin their deskwork - leads to a tiring six
months every winter.
Although the resort is full of various areas where staff work, it all seems
to center around the mountain base. As mentioned previously, the base is
located in an elevated part of the main office and is occupied by the mountain
men (and the occasional lioness) - a proud bunch that don’t take /give much
in the way of office politics.
I often wonder if management designed the
elevated base for a better view or to let the mountain people know that they
should concentrate on the mountain. Over the past few years, the base has been
manned daily in winter by a paraplegic - who uses a customized lift to elevate
himself to/from his work area. His duties are to relay messages to/from various
divisions of the resort via the intranet system while at the same time
coordinating emergency response work if required. There is also a radio system
that he mans whereby all staff on the mountain can communicate with each other.
Such a system comes in handy when there are approaching thunderstorms and the
like and all mountain staff need to be notified of such in real time.
Schlepping my way through the staff underground
tunnels, I’m passed by several guides of the Guest Relations Division
who are on their way to the daily morning meeting. For 7 AM these staff will
need to be in full snow costume so that they can be briefed on the schedule for
the coming day. The meeting is held to make sure that everybody scheduled to
work is there, and to assign each guide to particular duties. Safety concerns
of the day are also outlined as well as confirmation of future schedules and
the like. Within the meeting stretching exercises may also be performed to
loosen up muscles that still may be tight from the previous days work.
Following the meeting, Early Bird Guides will
fan out to all three hotels to rendezvous with those guests fortunate enough to
be enrolled in the program. Each Early Bird Guide will meet with
his/her guest and escort them to the village station and up to the first
departing lift of the day at 7:30 AM. Even those guides not participating in
the Early Bird that day will catch the same Gondola up to get some runs in
before the mountain opens up to the general public.
My experience with the early bird is derived
from two former duties. Firstly I used to help the patrol set the mountain each
morning (hence the title of this column) and secondly guiding VIPS
along with a mountain guide. To be clear, I don’t exactly know
what makes a VIP, except that there is usually some relation with the founder
of the mountain. Indeed, before the Early Bird Program began at the resort, the
founder was always taking his personal guests up the mountain before it opened
to the rest of the public.
This latter experience made me a big fan of the Early Bird for the simple
reason that the snow is of premium quality at that time in the morning and
should really be experienced once in a lifetime - especially if Heli-Skiing/Boarding
is out of the picture.
My work officially starts as I switch on the lighting in the village
station, grab the keys for the plaza escalators and a broom/dust pan. Such is
the life for a member of the Inventory of Skills Division, who is needed
for village operations so can’t sneak out onto the mountain! This morning
duty is actually assigned to two persons daily (in case one of them sleeps in)
and is primarily concerned with clearing snow away from parts of the plaza that
cannot be heated.
The heated plaza is not cheap to run, and is
only used when it is snowing heavily. Even then, it is used sparingly as I
understand that it can cost in the ballpark of US $5000 per day. In my mind it
also depends on the finances of the resort - if things are tight staff can be
asked to grab a shovel! The cost is high but when on, the whole plaza steams
like a rugby scrum on a very cold and wet day. Given that the resort can
receive up to a meter of powder within a 24-hour-period, on some days it is
necessary to ensure that operations proceed smoothly.
Today with my partner we check the toilets within the village station to
make sure everything is in order and then unlock the doors to the facility.
Fortunately for me there is not much snow to deal with this morning so instead
I check the toilets on the plaza and unlock the two separate escalators. Time
walking between the two escalators is spent sweeping up any litter present on
the plaza. Although only 30 minutes a day, I don’t mind this work so much as
it reminds of similar duties I had working at the Butchart Gardens back in
Canada.
The dormitory belonging to the Human Resources Division is a bundle
of activity at this time with the daily mass migration to the mountain in full
flight. In addition to the seasonal workers departing either on shuttle buses
or by their own transport, full-time Staff residing at the dormitory that are
not already at the mountain are making a beeline for it. For the few remaining
residents they will have the dorm to themselves for the better part of the day
and will either slumber it away or will have to clean if it is their turn to do
so.
The Gondola Platform located on the second floor of the village station is
bustling with activity as staff members of both the Mountain and Guest
Relations Divisions prepare for departure. In addition, there are also both
guests of the Early Bird Program to attend to as well as VIPs. It makes for
some colorful moments, as there have been occasions when fans of a VIP have
tried to catch a better glimpse by approaching the second floor of the village
station. It never works however as there is simply little room to maneuver on
the platform and people that don’t belong there at that time quickly get the
message.
The day has already started and that means cash
and the like is changing hands. While most of us no doubt like cash, managing
it at the resort level requires organization that is left up to the Accounts
Division. Today is a rare day when what the resort takes in will be greater
than what it pays out, so that in turn means having sufficient change and the
like prepared for each of the cash registers around the resort. Being in a
mountain location offers additional concerns both as banks are not located in
the immediate area and it is quite the job schlepping cash and the like around
the resort throughout the day. While some areas of the resort (Hotels, Spa,
ARAI GUIDE CENTER, Restaurants) accept credit cards, other smaller venues
don’t which can be a problem for day visitors without a room account. The
nearest ATM is five kilometers away, and staff here are looking forward to the
day that resort gets one on-site!
It is with great relief that unlike some other Japanese companies, the
resort does not include mandatory exercise at the daily morning and evening
meetings. There is too much going on at this time in my mind to stop
everything, crank up some wacky tune to do jumping jacks with your co-workers!
Seriously, every winter in the main office daily morning meetings are held at
8:00 AM with representatives of all divisions present to report to the
president. The meeting begins with the person who manned the base overnight (in
this case it is the tired guy from the Accounts division) bringing
everyone up to date, and then each division representative will say his/her
piece. At the end, the president will offer his two bits before everyone
scurries back to their respective jobs at hand. Love them or hate them, such
meetings in my mind offer one of the best glimpses into the culture of Japanese
workplaces - twice every day!
This company is hierarchical in nature and a
“speak when spoken to” attitude works well in such meetings - especially
for those lower on the totem pole! I learned this the hard way, but managed to
redeem myself a few years back by including one-point English lessons in the
meetings that I was required to attend. Although such light moments were often
sandwiched between more serious issues, it was quite interesting how culturally
different the same greetings are in English and Japanese.
With the opening of the mountain in 15 minutes,
the action in the village can be found within the village station at the rental
corner. This service is part of the Sales division at the resort and in
my mind is one of the strong points of the entire operation. Like breakfast,
guests tend to be quite particular, and will persist until their equipment is
just right. The staff at the rental corner have
been able to deal with this year in and year out with smiles on their faces,
and only seem to call me when two massive foreigners are arguing about who
should get the last pair of 32.5 cm ski boots! In the end, one settled for a
smaller boot in return for a discount - how his day proceeded is an unsolved
mystery at the resort!
The rental corner at ARAI has been steadily
bringing in larger equipment in the past few years and speaking on behalf of
adult males, those with a foot size of up to 28.0 cm can always expect to rent
without a problem. For those with larger feet, planning ahead is crucial and
the rental corner will lay away a certain pair of boots if advance notice is
given. The largest ski boot of the last season was a whopping 32.5 cm, with one
pair available for friendly giants on a first-come, first-served basis.
The mountain is finally open to everyone! By this time a line is snaking
down the stairs from the second-story boarding platform of the village station
and out into the plaza. It is now a moving line with the lift attendants of the
Mountain Division both checking tickets/passes and making sure that each
Gondola is “loaded” both safely and properly.
Lift tickets at the resort are checked manually
at “bottle necks”, so as long as the staff member in charge is on the ball
there is rarely a problem. Some guests depart the resort early and a few have
been known to try to sell their passes to others arriving later in the day - to
discourage this the resort recently only issues tickets which wrap around a
“plastic hanger”.
On a lighter note, many of the international
guests visiting the resort often talk about how friendly the lift attendants
are, and even the president of the resort has been known to help guests board
the Gondola on busier days.
I have finally made it to my desk at the Inventory
of Skills Division in the main office having collected up to the minute
weather data from the mountain base. It is a routine that I repeat more or less
daily for the six months of each white season in order to post online a
daily weather report in English. Although these have become a bit more
elaborate recently with the inclusion of images and the like, the reports still
boil down to relaying weather information correctly and efficiently so that
guests can make proper decisions in a timely manner. No sooner have I pressed
the send button when one of the three phones (Mobile, Fixed line
(English), and House Phone) I’m responsible for rings…
Summary
Like everybody else, a resort has good early mornings and some bad ones too!
One of the ones that started out very poorly was when I arrived at work to find
out that half of my colleagues had remained on the mountain overnight searching
for two guests who had ventured out of bounds. Although it had been snowing
heavily all night, the clouds broke just long enough to get a chopper in the
air to locate the two and bring them to safety. I still remember the cheer
going round the office when it was transmitted that the two were safely on
board the chopper and turning in my seat within the main office to see the same
chopper heading to rendezvous with an ambulance at the helicopter pad.
Next time in The Setting Journals
I'll let you in on the ins and outs of
operations from 9 AM through to Noon, with an emphasis on what is happening out
on the mountain.
Until then, remember to drop a line
or two in the thread linked to this article!
Click here to go straight to the next article - "9AM to 12PM"
