Like I've said before, I love big company orientations. The one for the Remarkables was markedly more intense than any one I have done in the past the main reason being that most of it took place outside, exposed, on the side of a mountain.
We met in town at 7:30 a.m. and took three big coach buses to the ski lodge at the top of the Remarkables, or the "Remarks" as locals call them here. Then we had welcome speeches by the CEO and the SAM (ski area manager). He said please not to call him "Sam" as that was a point of confusion last year, but rather by his first name of "Ross". That being said, every time I see the guy I still think "SAM".
Then we were divided into groups for a full morning of team building and bonding. We had a team leader who had a list of all the areas we had to visit. The object of the orientation was to visit every department and complete a team challenge there. Some of the goals for these activities were cooperation, getting to know each other, communication, problem-solving and getting out of your comfort zone. Here's some of what we had to do:
Food and Beverage - clean up a mock mess in the cafeteria and see how much can be recycled and in what containers
Patrol - load a patient correctly on a stretcher and into the sled behind the snow mobile
Lifts - put together a chair lift and put it on the cable
Groomers - operate a snow groomer so that the tennis ball makes it through the maze
Ski school - set up the learner's barricade in the most effective way
Transportation - fit snow chains on tires
We also had to complete challenges in Guest Services, Rentals, Administration, Maintenance, Avalanche Crew and retail. It was a busy morning.