Snowbasin Resort is honored to receive awards from the National Ski Area Association (NSAA) for its safety initiatives this winter. They are winners of the Best #RideAnotherDay Program and Best Overall Safety Program.

Davy Ratchford, the general manager states, “The safety of our guests and staff is in every decision we make at Snowbasin. Being recognized on the national level amongst the best ski resorts in the country by the NSAA is humbling and reaffirming to the work. Our Health and Safety Director, Ryan Woolsey is committed every day to this cause. I thank him and his team for their tireless effort in the building of Snowbasin’s safety culture. We haven’t had a lot to celebrate these days but this, I’m over the moon about.”

The Safety Awards are given to ski resorts with exceptional initiatives to educate guests and employees about skiing and snowboarding responsibility. The #RideAnotherDay Program award was bestowed to Snowbasin for its expanded Family Zone. The Family Zone is an area on the mountain where many beginner skiers and families learning to ski merge with more advanced skiers and riders as they come to the base area. Snowbasin’s team added baffling, signage, and staff to help educate skiers about space and speed and to shift the culture to promote a safe atmosphere for all abilities. In the 19-20 season, the Family Zone was implemented at the start of the season and was expanded to 777 feet of trails in the high traffic area. Year over year data has shown that there is a decrease in incidents despite an increase in skier visitation. Snowbasin is grateful for the staff support from the Safety Ambassador Team, Ski Patrol, and Guest Service Team who take the time to be in the Family Zone on those busier days.

Snowbasin received the Best Overall Safety Program for their SAFERmtn brand where guests and employees received messaging related to the pillars – Smart, Alert, Focused, Educated, and Respectful. The program featured season-long engagement with the new branded SAFERmtn branded gondolas in the base area and on the line of Needles Gondola on popular days. The new Safety Ambassadors were in the specialty gondola and interacted with guests as they rode up Needles Express. The twelve-minute ride was filled with different safety messages, guest interaction, swag giveaways, and more. Another branded gondola sat in the base area to create curiosity and in the mornings the Safety Team were placed there as well. During Safety Month, Snowbasin hosted their first SAFERmtn Basecamp MLK weekend mid-mountain in a very visible space for most skiers and riders to see. Snowbasin had a beacon park, avalanche dog demonstrations, Know the Code activities, a sign garden, chairlift safety, cool prizes, free “Safety Dogs” while supplies last, and more. The atmosphere was extremely inviting, and guests enjoyed the array of activities with Ski Patrol and Safety Ambassadors. Snowbasin had over 600 visitors their opening weekend at #SAFERmtn Base Camp. The overarching campaign was extremely successful with over 600 branded buffs and 500 lip balms handed out, and more than 21,000 views across email, earned media, video and social media outreach. Snowbasin is pleased to continue to grow their safety culture in years to come.