Gemuetlichkeit!

Dear Bear Valley Snow Enthusiasts,

I hope you all had a good start of the New Year. As you know, it brought some great (and much needed) snow to the Sierras, allowing us to open the lower mountain with excellent coverage. I had the opportunity to get down there myself and I can tell you it was an epic experience.

In a previous blog I indicated that I want to talk about the word "gemuetlich" or "gemuetlichkeit." I am sure you have seen this word either on our website, on t-shirts or printed material. Let me tell you why in my mind this word most embodies our vision and spirit of Bear Valley.

"Gemutlich" (adjective) or "gemuetlichkeit" (noun) is German and means literally cozy or coziness. However, in my native tongue the word has a much broader meaning including "comfortable," "friendly," "cozy ambiance," "atmosphere of comfort," "sense of belonging and acceptance" and "sociable".

Whenever I tried to explain to friends and colleagues what Bear Valley is all about, I was using all the above mentioned English words but the German word "gemuetlich" was in my mind. So, when I joined Bear Valley in my current capacity, I decided to use this word as our "operative term" (Ron Agositini from the Modesto Bee pointedly called it so in his 12/3/07 article). So I hope you will join our friendly team for a "gemuetliche" time in Bear Valley.

Now to some current items. On peak days we are still very tight with seating capacity, especially in snowy weather conditions when all of our guests use the indoor facilities for lunch and breaks. I believe the Black Bear Bungalow with its storage capability for coolers and other personal belongings has helped ease the congestion and I’m glad that we are able to accommodate our guests that occasionally bring their own food and beverage in that facility. However, to improve the experience for all our guests on these buys days, we can only be successful with your support. Your cooperation with our ambassadors, who are assisting other guests find seating is most helpful and appreciated. For this I thank you, our guests, and our tireless ambassadors.

Over the last few weeks I have received a lot of direct (verbal) feedback when sitting on a chairlift with guests, or walking through the lodge. The feedback ranges from comments on scanner issues and grooming observations to rental and ticket line suggestions. This input is vital for us to continuously improve your guest experience. One item I’d like to share is that I heard many voices commenting on the friendliness of our staff. I am delighted to hear this and want to extend a big "thank you" to the Bear Valley team.

As always I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Martin