A-Mazing

The following employees are being recognized as A-Mazing employees by the Arapahoe Basin team. This award is in recognition of their exceptional work and effort for the period of March - May.

Here's why their managers think they are A-Mazing!

Lift Ops:

Reed Flentge: He has been a team player since day one. Not only is he always willing to help out but he is usually out looking for ways to improve our operation and make things safer.

Myles Western: He has shown tremendous growth from starting day until now. It has been a pleasure to watch the confidence grow along side of his job and mountain knowledge.

Emily Kollar: From day one this amazing young woman has been overflowing with positivity. She wanted to prove that she is strong enough to be a lift operator and she sure did that!

Max Wilson: This young man overcame many challenges this season. Although you may not know it when talking to him. He has just rolled with the punches and kept on smiling.

Bryan Kuta: It is obvious, when speaking to his co-workers about him, he is a crowd favorite to work with. Although we had a few bumps in the road this season he is always trying to make the best out of his experience here.

Lilly Yerkes: From working extra days to always being flexible when things get switched up last second. She has exuded excellent teamwork and comradery all while keeping a smile on her face.

Grooming/Vehicle Mtce/Snow Making/Lift Mtce ($100 bonus): 3

Neil Powell has worked hard all year to keep the mountain skiing great, from snowmaking in the fall to grooming during winter and spring. Easygoing and dependable, Neil has been a major contributor to another successful season.

Josh Miller

Base Area/ Building Mtce/Security:

Bryan Prim

Bryan Prim came onto the Base Area crew around Christmas, just in time for paid parking in Early Riser. Initially we thought it could take up to six people to handle the process of verifying carpools and collecting money but Bryan can handle it all on his own for the most part. From arriving at 5am and having the lot ready to open by 6am Bryan gets right to work and handles it like a pro. Although he is part time and his primary duty is money collection he has been more than willing to help us out on snow days and times we need extra help. Bryan also assist HR with driving the employee shuttle and making sure employees have a reliable ride to work.

It's been great working with and getting to know Bryan and we sure hope he returns to Base Area Operations next fall.

Daniel Goodale

As the newest member of our Building Maintenance crew Daniel Goodale has become a great addition to the team. Although Daniel doesn’t work directly for the Base Area department, him and Pete both work closely with Base Area and play key roles in keeping our Admin lot running smooth on our busiest days…..

Dan Wylie

Dan came to A-basin with a ton of previous security experience. Even though we do things a little differently with our security efforts here he was able to adapt and contribute to our team from day one. He has shared his extensive knowledge with our team to make our security efforts more effective and is always willing to jump in and help the Base Area crew with crazy parking days, driving a shuttle or whatever else is needed. Dan has been a great addition to the Risk & Safety team as well as A-basin overall and deserves to be recognized with the A-Mazing award for his efforts.

Snow Sports:

Hanna Skelley – Hanna’s addition to the Snowsports team elevated our ability to give guests and staff a day worth repeating. Hanna is kind, patient, understanding, and best of all – organized. Thanks for keeping our ducks in a row, Hanna!

Pierce Bertot – The Dude abides. When he’s not bowling, The Dude slides around making sure that all is well in the land. Making assignments, helping with problems that arise, and being available to the staff, The Dude has been an invaluable addition to the leadership team this season.

Rachel Sowers – Big thanks to Rachel Sowers for being a staple in the Snowsports world! Her flexibility with scheduling and exceptional guest service are apparent in her high private request rate and the kind words that guests have about their interactions with Rachel.

Chris Montgomery – Chris’ ability to manage, entertain, and engage large groups of young children is astounding. He consistently builds excitement for sliding on snow with his groups, and creates effective changes in their skiing. Always kind and caring, Chris is able to help guests have a great experience.

Javier Pineda – Javier’s smile and demeanor create a safe, fun environment to learn snowboarding. Guests love learning from Javier, with 21 guests returning to take more lessons because of the fantastic time they had with Javier. Thanks for all that you do, Javier!

Matt Young – Matt’s help this season has been key as we strive to elevate our guest communication and understand what they are looking for. His enthusiasm and attention to detail have been incredible – thank you Matt!

Patrol:

Lucy McMath began her Ski Patrol career with ABSP in the fall of 2021. Since then, she has become an integral part of our team. She is rising our ranks rapidly and was promoted to a Stage II this past December. She was unfortunately dealt a bad hand when she met with a tree on sweeps. She underwent immediate care and surgery to repair her clavicle. It was during her time on the I.R. that she became, more than extremely versed in our dispatching job duties. She ran point at the helm of WRDF from the Summit of Arapahoe Basin for several weeks to heal and now be back to full duty. There is a silver lining here, in the event you get hurt, and that is you get to run the show with your “Finger on the pulse!” of Arapahoe Basin.

Scott Simpkins is a man with a mission and a smile. Everyday Scott graces us with his presence and with a Smile. He is the example that many of us old and crusty’s should aspire too! Scott has an unmistakable ability to take on any task or job asked of him without question and he gets the job done and of course he does it with a positive “can do” attitude. Scott not only demonstrates his willingness to work with his demeanor but he also shows us through execution. With his experience from Snow Sports Scott has made many contributions helping others with their skiing and being genuine with his guest service skills. Thanks for doing all that you do Scott!

Kali Flaherty is our Irish Hammer from New England! She hails from the beaches of Cape Cod and is leading the way amongst her rookie crew. Kali now joins the elite club of “GOATS” from New England, because let’s face it, we simply are better skiers! Kali’s strong leadership qualities at such an early stage of her Patrolling career have set her as well as her peers up for success. She constantly pushes the envelope thru daily patrol duties and looks to always find a better way. I appreciate Kali’s candid demeanor, approachability and willingness to help. She had a superlative write in from our patrol party for the most “side eye”! Kali had her first 1033 this season and did very well at asking for the proper backup with outstanding paperwork to show for it. She is only one of four rookies starting this season that will be working for us this summer and we are excited to have her as part of Mountain Patrol!

Kevin Nikolaides is another rookie Ski Patroller and the “second tallest redhead”, coming to work with us this summer on Mountain Patrol! Kevin offers up a background steeped in Ski Patrol culture. As a Chemistry major from UVM, he knows how to brew beer at a commercial level and “Steep N Deep” brings on a new connotation with us. His prior work history is invaluable and keeps us well hydrated during the months of hard work and effort. Kevin’s attitude and work ethic does not go unnoticed and he brings to the table valuable skills with ropes and tech rescue having been a member of Chaffee County SAR. We look forward to his continuing contributions with suds and snow and hope he has found his new home here with us.

Jayden Skelly was the first rookie I ever hired onto our Patrol. Jayden comes to us with experience working as a dispatcher with Crested Butte Ski Patrol and came highly recommended from that place down the road from us! Jayden hit the ground running from Blue Coat into Red and has never looked back. He wants and always does top notch trail work and is very aware of the interdepartmental overlap in our operation. He is an astute observer and learns from very quickly at his craft. We hope to leverage his ArcGIS skills with SmartMountain in the future because he is wicked Smaht! He is one of the few that will make a long standing mark on this patrol and our mountain. We wish him the best this summer as he heads to the Arctic Circle to study ducks!

Guest Services:

Emma Van Tol

Emma has been a great addition to our staff this season! She offers exceptional customer service and continuously has a positive attitude. Emma will happily take on whatever assignments given and rarely complains. Her work habits and sense of humor are what makes Emma a great co-worker and an A-Mazing employee. Thank you for all of your hard work Emma!!

Patsy Patnode

Patsy is new to our GS team this season but has been an A Basin regular since the early 90s. From day one she jumped right in, was eager to learn and has done a great job helping our guests this season. She is great to work with becasue she always has a positive attitude and is extremely helpful. Patsy has a great sense of humor and makes our work environment a fun place to be! Thank you Patsy, you are A-Mazing!!

Rentals:

Finn Demeule

Blake Olson

Retail:

KATE SITZ: Kate continues to be a strong part of the Arapahoe Sports Team. Consistently on time and consistent with all she does. With over 2 years’ experience at Arapahoe Sports she continues to be a valuable resource for myself and all who work here at Arapahoe Sports. Great merchandiser who always has new ideas on how to improve the store and everything we offer. Lucky to have her!

CHARITY SZPUR: Charity’s strongest attribute is sales, sales, sales. Willing to always take the extra time to ensure the guest gets exactly what they need. When not busy she stays busy with stocking the store and maintaining high inventory levels as she is not one to sit around. An avid gear head, she has a passion for the outdoors and everything associated with it. She will only be around for one winter and then continue to pursue her outdoor passions around Colorado.

Terrain Park:

Nic Balch

Josh Frontino

HR/Mktg, Accounting/IT:

Lauren Aldrich

Lauren is taking on more responsibility on the HR admin side and coming up with some really innovative ideas to improve our systems…Lauren greets our ‘employee’ guests with always an empathetic and kind/calm approach no matter what the situation and her positive attitude is contagious!

Legends FOH and BOH ($100 bonus)/ 6th Alley FOH and BOH:

Ellie Bottomley – Ellie may only work with us one day a week, but she is a rock star! She does it all! She hosts, she expos, she runs food and busses! We cherish the days we have with her and are truly lucky to have her on the team.

Emma Majerus - Emma is an All-Star! She has been with us since the beginning of the season and has made a lasting impact on the 6th Alley. She works hard, builds relationships with guests, helps the team and has a great sense of humor. Thank you, Emma!

August Mussat

Thursdey Hill-West

BML FOH and BOH ($100 bonus): 2

Julie Walker

Louise Ivers

Steilhang and Il Rifugio:

Levi Watson

Levi has become the fastest wiener slinger this side of the Mississippi over the season. He has done an A-Mazing job serving up an even better product. His flexibility in helping all over the mountain this season has been a huge help in every outlet. We look forward to Levi being with us this summer and season to come!

Safety:

Jack Western

Accident Investigation is a very important part of our business that many people probably don’t even know exists. AI creates a clear process for what information we need to collect and once completed protects our business and employees from legal and financial risk. Jack has been incredible in his efforts this season to ensure we never miss a beat with our AI efforts. With a new Risk & Safety Manager in the mix it was very possible things would slip through the cracks but Jack made sure our standards of AI were kept throughout this past season. Not only does he ensure each piece of the process is completed as soon as possible but he has also put in time and energy to upgrade how we are conducting these investigations to make them more efficient.

Jack has also recently taken on the huge responsibility of becoming an Avalanche dog handler. This is something that not only takes time but also discipline and tons of training for himself and his new puppy Olive. The two of them together will be a huge addition to our Avy dog program and ultimately yet another effort to keep our guests and employees as safe as possible. Jack is very deserving of the Safety nomination and we thank him for all of his continued hard work and attention to these very important topics.

Sustainability:

Andy Moran

Andy hit the ground running as the inaugural F&B Snowcat operator this year. That included jumping in with both feet and both (hopefully, gloved) hands into our waste diversion efforts. He seamlessly slid into the operation of bringing full recycle and compost bins down the hill, and always finding the empty bins, even when it meant sorting or emptying one himself, to head back up to our on-hill restaurants. His diligence led to the highest composting rates we’ve seen since the Vail days, as well as another steady increase to our recycling numbers. We’re very thankful to have him