SheJumps is excited to partner with the Mountain Rider’s Alliance and their newest initiative, the Mountain Playground Card. Read below for more information on how you can get involved!
JACKSON, WY – January 14, 2016
Mountain Rider’s Alliance (MRA) has launched its latest initiative, the Mountain Playground Group, designed to assist community and independent ski areas to be more viable. The consortium of geographically diversified, like-minded ski areas will band together to reduce expenses while increasing efficiencies and profits by sharing best practices and ultimately to achieve economies of scale. Since the 1980s, roughly 33% of US ski areas have gone out of business and up to 150 more are considered threatened by industry experts.
“Our organization has been studying the challenges facing smaller ski areas since 2010,” said Jamie Schectman, MRA CEO and co-founder. “The Mountain Playground Group is an solutions based approach for standalone ski areas to work together and ensure a better chance of survival, as well as provide a layer of sophistication not commonly found at the smaller ski area level.”
Participating ski areas will participate in regular conference calls to share best practices, receive a tuning study, be evaluated for summer events, as well as examine expenses to identify opportunities for cost savings.
Additionally, the consortium will create a joint marketing campaign designed to bring awareness to participating ski areas as well as the authenticity and uniqueness of soulful ski areas. To complement the program, the Mountain Playground Card will be sold at the introductory price of $29 for one year of savings. Cardholders will receive exclusive discounts to all participating ski areas as well as benefits on items such as retail goods, ski equipment, vacation rentals, and more.
“Much like the craft beer industry has done a great job of bringing awareness to a niche market, the Mountain Playground Card will showcase community and independent ski areas, which also appeal to a distinct crowd,” said Schectman.
15% of all sales of the Mountain Playground Cards will be donated to SheJumps, a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to increase the participation of women and girls in outdoor activities. Claire Smallwood, executive director of SheJumps, praises the forward-thinking attitude and ambition of Mountain Rider’s Alliance, “Partnering with MRA is a great opportunity for us to reach a wider audience while supporting the communities that SheJumps values–mountain communities. We look forward to successful events and community-building at all of the Get the Girls Out! events.”
The Mountain Playground Group is currently composed of 5 ski areas in Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Washington, and Wyoming.
Mountain Playground Card Brand Partners include Wagner Custom Skis, Bosky Optics, CASA Tours, Powder Factory Skis, Coalition Snow, and other innovative and socially conscious companies.
For more information on the consortium and cardholder benefits, and to purchase a Mountain Playground Card, visit http://mountainplaygroundgroup.com/.
About Mountain Rider’s Alliance:
Mountain Rider’s Alliance, LLC was founded in 2010 by passionate snow enthusiasts to bring the triple-bottom-line to the ski industry and has a proven record of assisting underperforming ski areas to be more successful. MRA is a leading voice and advocate for the importance of community ski areas.
For inquiries, please contact Jamie Schectman of Mountain Rider’s Alliance at shecky@mountainridersalliance.com
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