The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and to support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What is this? A new, occasional podcast series capturing on-the-ground conversations with prominent ski industry leaders. All 148 Storm Skiing Podcasts have been recorded via phone or an internet recording service (mostly Zencastr). That is partly because it’s easier, and partly because I had the misfortune to launch this podcast five months before Covid shin-kicked the world into hibernation. But over the past year, I’ve led panels or one-on-one interviews with industry execs in Boston, Banff, Savannah, and Lake Placid. In many cases, these are confidential sessions for the benefit of the folks in the room. However, sometimes I’m allowed to record them. And when I do, I’ll share them here. In this case, Ski Areas of New York and Ski PA invited me to their annual joint expo to moderate a panel of five ski area general managers. That session was off the record, but I spoke with Ski NY President Scott Brandi afterward. We sat down in a room bristling with camaraderie and positive energy, ski people enjoying one last inhale before ratcheting into turbo mode and the ramp-up to winter. Who Scott Brandi, President of Ski Areas of New York Recorded on September 26, 2023 About Ski Areas of New York (and Ski PA) Ski Areas of New York is a trade group representing, well, the ski areas of New York. According to their website, SKI/NY works “on behalf of its membership to promote fair legislation, develop marketing programs, create educational opportunities, and enhance the public awareness of snow sports throughout the State and region.” Most large ski states have some version of Ski New York, but as far as organization and effectiveness, this is one of the best. Ski NY co-hosts this annual session with Ski PA, the smaller state association to its south. The two organizations share a lot of challenges: crummy weather, dated infrastructure, and legislatures that are not always aligned with the industry’s interests. But their ski areas are also national leaders in crafting a viable ski experience from marginal weather, in high-volume operations, in hacking the improbable from the impossible. Here’s the combined inventory of active ski areas from both states – not all of which are necessarily members of the state organization (mostly, the little ropetow joints and private neighborhood ski areas don’t bother or can’t afford the membership dues): What we talked about What’s the point of this whole thing?; why should skiers care what happens here?; why independent ski areas are more connected to one another than you may think; the grind of working in skiing; how events like the SANY convention benefit family-owned ski areas; how SANY helps its ski areas from a regulatory point of view; why Pennsylvania and New York combine this annual event; the detrimental impact of ski industry consolidation on the event; what killed Ski PA’s kids’ passport program; and reasons for optimism in skiing;     Podcast Notes On Kelly Pawlak, head of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Brandi mentions Kelly Pawlak, CEO of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). The NSAA is the national version of the state associations, and it works closely with all of them. Pawlak has appeared on The Storm Skiing Podcast a couple of times, most recently in 2021: On my “What Keeps You Up At Night” panel My conversation followed a panel that I hosted with five ski area general managers: * Ski Big Bear, Pennsylvania GM Lori Phillips * Mount Pleasant of Edinboro, Pennsylvania GM Andrew Halmi * Whiteface, New York GM Aaron Kellett * Woods Valley, New York owner and GM Tim Woods * Mountain Creek, New Jersey GM Evan Kovac That session was not recorded, and the context of it was meant to be kept to the room we held it in. However, my intention is to host each of these folks on