The Bulletin, Bend / Central Oregon News
FEBRUARY 09, 2010 05:07 PM
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Matt Janney, who became president and general manager of Mt. Bachelor ski area in July, looks out from the deck of the West Village Lodge on Thursday.
Dean Guernsey / The Bulletin
A history in Bend, a future at Bachelor
Ski area's new president is crafting a master plan
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: August 28. 2007 4:00AM PSTThe view from Matt Janney’s office at the base of Mt. Bachelor ski area near the expansive parking lot might be quite different in five, 10 or 15 years.
That’s because the resort’s new president and general manager — who spent the past four years as president and general manager for three Lake Tahoe-area resorts owned by Park City, Utah-based Powdr Corp., also Mt. Bachelor’s parent company — will embark soon on a long-term planning process that could change the look and future direction of the mountain.
The changes could include a new lodge to replace the 1960s-era West Village Lodge, increased focus on summer operations, new lifts and other capital improvement projects that have yet to be determined.
Janney, who took over the resort’s top job in July, could not give specifics on the resort’s new master plan, which would be a three- to 15-year vision of how the resort would be developed in the future.
“There are a number of things I’d like to do,” he said.
“But what I’d like to do and what we will be able to do are two different things.”
The master-planning process, funding for which Powdr Corp. has approved, will take about a year and involve heavy input from businesses and the community, Janney said. Ultimately, creating a new master plan for the 3,683-acre resort will require approval from the U.S. Forest Service, which owns the land, he said.
Mt. Bachelor is the most heavily visited ski resort in Oregon, drawing on average more than a half-million skiers and snowboarders per year, according to the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association. It’s also Central Oregon’s main winter attraction, boosting sales in the region’s $498 million-a-year tourism economy.
But other resorts, particularly in the Mount Hood area, are tightening the competition for visitors and the need for improved services, Janney said.
His wish list for an improved mountain will be dictated by a lengthy approval process and cost, he said.
Customers will notice other changes almost immediately, most notably higher prices for daily tickets and season passes, which will be announced later this week.
“We’ve got a great product and we’ll price it to what we think our product is worth,” he said. “I’m not sure how much yet, but it’s the cost of doing business.”
Janney cited rising operating expenses for things like wages, fuel and equipment for the planned price hikes.
Janney declined to elaborate on operational issues before his arrival, but he acknowledged that he’s addressing lift breakdowns, problems with lift gates, slope grooming and customer service.
“I’d like to say those problems are behind (us),” he said. “They are things we’re going to work on, but I’ve only been here two months. We’re going to focus on what’s attainable.”
Janney vowed to spend more time on the mountain interacting with staff and customers.
“How we treat our customers and their experiences on the mountain will make a huge difference as changes take place,” he said.
Destined for Bend
Janney, 52, has had a vision for the mountain from an early age.
He grew up in Portland, but he spent summers east of the Cascades collecting rocks with his parents in the Steens Mountain Wilderness area. When he graduated high school, he wanted to live in Bend, he said.
“I told my parents, as soon as I graduated high school that I was moving to Bend,” he said. “I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
After three years as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service and three years in other fire-related operations, Janney took a job as a lift operator at Mt. Bachelor in 1976.
He became lift operations supervisor the following year and spent time on the ski patrol. He worked his way up through the ranks, gaining further knowledge along the way from the likes of Bill Healy, Mt. Bachelor’s founder, and others.
He pursued life as a cowboy in the Eastern Oregon desert for two summers and took classes at Central Oregon Community College until he began working full time at Mt. Bachelor, he said.
“I never thought that I’d be in this position, but by the early 1980s I knew it was a career worth pursuing,” he said.
By 2001, Janney had become a rising star in the ski world, gaining recognition for his consistency and reliability, said Scott Kaden, president of Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association, based in Hood River.
Janney received the association’s Tower of Excellence Award, given to a ski area manager from within the association’s five-state area, Kaden said.
By 2003, Janney had become director of operations at Mt. Bachelor.
He took over at three Lake Tahoe resorts — Alpine Meadows, Boreal Mountain Resort and Soda Springs Mountain Resort — also owned by Powdr Corp., in 2003.
During his time there, he implemented a process of measuring the resorts’ carbon footprint, or their ecological impact, he said.
Some steps taken included changing to biodiesel-driven buses and to more eco-friendly products, and dramatically expanding recycling programs, he said.
Similar steps will occur at Mt. Bachelor, Janney said.
Janney’s local ties will help, Kaden said.
“It’s an especially strategic move for (Powdr Corp.) because Matt considers Central Oregon home,” he said. “He’s had a long career there and really knows the mountain. If you pull a person in from Colorado or Utah, they don’t know the mountain. It’s a distinct advantage.”
Hearing Janney’s plans at Mt. Bachelor, Kaden said change is a necessary part of survival in the competitive ski industry.
“In general, the general manager has to keep in touch with his marketplace, stay abreast of trends, and continue to reinvent his ski area,” Kaden said. “He has to be innovative, understand what the marketplace wants and stay ahead of the competitor. Matt has a keen awareness of that. He demonstrated that at Alpine Meadows and I’m sure he’ll do the same at Mt. Bachelor.”
Jeff McDonald can be reached at 383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.
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