Like all businesses, it is important to have a plan and know how we are executing against it at all times. Especially since we are dependent on the weather and its impact on our guests’ visit and purchasing decisions (“will I buy a pass/book that trip?”). Our business is also much more capital intensive (i.e. cash, equipment leases, repair and maintenance expenses, line of credit, etc.) which requires a multi-year planning horizon. In 2025, we have reached a multi-year milestone event where we can renegotiate our long term debt for the first time in 5 years. We are taking steps to ensure this refi is as beneficial to the company as possible so we are in the best possible position for our financial health. This improved financial health will help us improve the resort for our community of guests, employees and neighbors, well into the future.
This strategy has been on full display this season from our early opening on November 9, to our commitment to run more lifts more days, to our incredible snowmaking and grooming teams providing a consistently good snow surface with warmer temperatures and the least amount of snowfall since 2017/18. It’s also been on display the last few weeks as we have reduced labor expenses as seasonal staff have left for the season and year-round staff have picked up hours and shifts in operating departments. We’ve also tightened our belts to reduce operating expenses by asking the question, “do I really need this right now?” and asking around other departments, “do you have what I need, before I order more?” These steps sound simple, but at Purgatory, they have not been embedded in our culture.
With these factors in mind, I thought starting a blog might give the Purgatory community better insight into what we are doing and what we believe is important at a given time. We are in over a dozen different businesses, from selling skiing (lift tickets and season passes), to retail shops and restaurants, to short term lodging rentals and public utilities (propane and internet service). A blog may give our community members the chance to ask questions, provide feedback and get answers from the source about what we are doing, how, and why.
Dave Rathbun
General Manager
The point of Purgspective is to give you an inside view, and we want you to be able to give us the same. Let us know what you think about our post.
