Snowbird changes dispatch method

Since Snowbird opened in December 1971, it has used the same method for overseeing day-to-day operations at one of Utah’s busiest ski resorts.

That changed Thursday, when the resort opened for its 42nd winter of recreation in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Since its start, Snowbird has used a rotation of people who work in the ski patrol department as dispatchers.

“We have more than 70 patrollers and we would make a schedule for each person to dispatch several days per winter,” said Pat Krause, the resort’s dispatch manager. “There was no dependability in the dispatcher because they changed so much.”

Before opening for the 2012 winter, Krause and Bob Bonar, Snowbird’s general manager, established a designated group of five to 10 individuals who will run the dispatch operations for the entire winter.

“The person dispatching has the most crutial part of the operation,” Bonar said. “The dispatcher oversees everything taking place throughout the day. They have to know the mountain as well as anyone and know what to do in the event of any particular situation. What to do, who to call and what to say.”

With a different dispatch protocol, Snowbird’s veteran ski patrol members will have to adjust to the new system.

“It’s going to be a change and something to get used to,” said Peter Schory, the resort’s winter operations director and member of the Snowbird Ski Patrol since 1973. “It will be nice to have consistency in that area of the operation.”

Located atop the more than 11,000-foot-high Hidden Peak, the dispatch center accounts and documents all radio traffic at Snowbird.

On busy days during the winter Snowbird can handle as many as 7,000 skiers and snowboarders on the mountain.

“I’ve been here for more than 30 years,” Krause said. “Having to handle the radio traffic on those busy days is a challenge. There is so much to hear, it gets to be a lot for one person to keep straight.”

In addition to the new dispatch system being more consistent, it also addresses many liability issues.

“If we have a problem at Snowbird it is going to look better in the legal system to have someone handling the radio who is trained and qualified, rather than a ski patroller,” said John Collins, Snowbird’s mountain operation risk manager.

With the many locations, safety regulations, correct radio language and knowledge of the resort itself, training new dispatchers will take time.

“I am still learning new things about this place,” Krause said. “We hope to get people in here training this season and then have them be able to take over full-time starting next winter with no supervision.”

Snowbird representatives hope the new dispatch system will add camaraderie within the operation.

“It’s going to allow the mountain to flow better,” said Eric Murakami, the resort’s snow safety supervisor. “There has been a sort of ambiguity in several instances during the past winter seasons. Having a distinct set of dispatchers will allow us to have familiarity with whom we are talking to in our systems and check-ins.”