BILLINGS — Two nearby ski resorts — Red Lodge Mountain and Sleeping Giant Ski Area — are looking for new leadership as both try to remain competitive with larger resorts.
Red Lodge Mountain is searching for a new general manager after Jeff Schmidt announced he was retiring after 16 years in charge. The owners of Sleeping Giant, which is about 50 miles west of Cody in Wyoming, are looking to sell or find a business partner.
Schmidt, 65, said the decision comes at a time that makes sense for him and his family. Through the years, there's been plenty of changes to the ski resort industry, but Schmidt said his main goal is to keep Red Lodge Mountain the same.
"We take it as it comes," Schmidt said of the changes. "The mountain is still the mountain. We've changed how we access it and try to be more efficient."
One of those improvements was investing in a snow-making system. Schmidt said it's been vital to operations.
“I would say our biggest asset to us is our snow-making system," Schmidt said. "If we didn't have that, we wouldn't be able to open the day after Thanksgiving every year. We would not be in business if we didn’t have it."
Other improvements over the years include better parking and the addition of more high-speed chairlifts. Last year, the resort opened the Stache Express in place of the old Miami Beach chair.
All of those improvements are examples of Red Lodge Mountain trying to stay competitive with larger resorts. It's become a challenge for smaller mountains, causing problems for Sleeping Giant owner Nick Piazza.
"Last year was super frustrating for us," Piazza said. "We felt like we had a good team in place and had reworked some trails and then we just didn't get enough snow."
An unusually warm winter devastated Sleeping Giant last year, keeping the mountain closed for the season. Piazza said it will remain closed this year.
"Not having those cold temperatures at night is just killer because you can't make snow because it's too warm," Piazza said. "We were in a bad spot."
Those losses are a big reason why Piazza is looking for some help. He is either looking for a full-time business partner for $500,000, or for someone to buy it outright.
"We have other businesses, and I don't think my whole life can be Sleeping Giant," Piazza said.
There was a shining positive for Sleeping Giant last year, which was also felt by Red Lodge. Both mountains, for the first time ever, kept their operations going in the summer with hiking, mountain biking, and zip lining. Both said the operations were a huge success.
"It exceeded expectations greatly," said Schmidt. "It was something we'd talked about for awhile but it went better than we could've imagined."
Schmidt said they were hoping to break even with their first summer, but estimated that they made five times more than what they were hoping for. He said it's a big help that he hopes to see carry over into the winter.
"It's a different perspective of the mountain and brings in a whole different crowd," Schmidt said. "Hopefully, they'll get the desire to come back and ride it in the winter time."
Those crowds are the things Schmidt said he'll miss the most. After years of trying to keep the mountain the same, ironically, his absence will be the biggest difference at the end of the season.
"We've had a good run in the ski biz," Schmidt said. "Ever since I was 26. It's been awesome to be able to raise my family on the mountain. I'm very thankful for all of the support over the years."
Schmidt will continue to work for the mountain as an advisor on some large projects, as the search for his replacement is underway.
