Skiing is a given, but hosting winter retreats in the mountains opens a whole slope of possible activities. DMCs and resorts find creative ways to entertain attendees with more than just a ski lift pass.
Rocky Mountain Connections runs a variety of winter programs from six offices, five in Colorado and the other in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where guests can partake of unique winter options. One possibility is a safari-like wildlife discovery expedition on snow coach tours through Yellowstone National Park.
“We have a trained biologist, and guests learn about the wild lands,” says Tracy Sgroi, vice president of sales and marketing for Rocky Mountain Connections.
Another wildlife option is a visit to the 23,000-acre National Elk Refuge just north of Jackson. Guests can take a sleigh ride to the refuge, where elk come for food during winter.
In Colorado, Rocky Mountain Connections offers snowmobiling and dogsledding among other activities in its various locations, including Aspen, Vail and Telluride.
“For Aspen we arrange snowmobile tours to Maroon Bells, the most photographed mountain in the country,” Sgroi says. “In Vail we snowmobile to Camp Hale, which is where WWII soldiers were trained.”
All three locations also offer NASTAR race courses for team-building activities, as well as opportunities for GPS-based orienteering exercises. For a unique touch, Rocky Mountain Connections can top off its races with an Iron Chef chili cook-off.
The company also organizes a day out with celebrity guest Olympic athletes who ski with the group. “It adds an element of exclusivity and a wow factor,” Sgroi says.
Also in Colorado, Colorado Bike and Ski Tours sets up winter avalanche backcountry rescue programs for up to 500 participants. Teams are joined by a uniformed Colorado Search and Rescue professional who gives an introduction to the Alpine Winter Survival Adventure, which entails a variety of activities, such as orienteering, map reading, avalanche forecasting methods, and various search and rescue techniques.
Snowmobile orienteering calls for GPS systems to be mounted to the front of snowmobiles. Other team-building activities include snow sculpture contests, survivor courses on snowshoes, ice broom ball using brooms and balls rather than hockey sticks and pucks, and the Snowshoe Shuffle, which involves snowshoeing around obstacles.
Colorado Bike and Ski operates at all the main Colorado resorts as well as resorts in Utah and other locales.
Winter Olympics
Summit Events utilizes Utah Olympic Park in Park City for various activities, including the opportunity for a bobsled ride down the actual Olympic bobsled track.
“If a corporate group is coming and wants something distinctly Utah, we hosted one of the most successful Olympics. The venues are still very vibrant,” says Heidi Hughes, president of Summit Events.
At Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, attendees can learn to curl or speed skate on the Olympic ice. Olympic activities can host groups from 30 to 130 while the Olympic venues can be used for dinner, shows and demonstrations. The Oval can accommodate up to 400 for dinner, while the Olympic Park holds up to 200.
Summit Events can help groups experience the Sundance Film Festival held every January in Park City, including entry to premier parties, screenings and panel discussions.
“It’s a great time if they prepare well in advance,” Hughes says. “There is so much to offer for an incentive program. Guests can ski one day, see movies another, and the next morning be having breakfast and see Nick Nolte being interviewed.”
In Sun Valley, where Summit also operates, the company can organize snowmobiling tours and mountain scavenger hunts, or something more unique, such as a horse-drawn sleigh ride to Trail Creek Cabin, Ernest Hemingway’s fishing lodge, where groups of up to 50 can have dinner.
Lake Tahoe also offers Winter Olympics events through the Sierra Event Company, which organizes races on anything from snow bikes to snow skateboards.
“We’ve done team-building in winter on the beach with dramatic views of mountains and lakes,” says David R. Johnson, an account executive with Sierra Event Company.
Creative options include three-legged snowshoe races and building, and racing a bobsled. Groups of 10 are divided up and given flags from various countries. Plastic gold medals are awarded at the end.
Other options include ski races, dogsledding, snowmobiling, or tours of Truckee and historic Virginia City.
Great Combinations
On the quiet side, groups can arrange wine tastings and cooking demonstrations as well as poker tournaments.
Mountain Destinations, which operates out of Jackson Hole and Big Sky in Montana, among other locations, arranges scenic helicopter rides over Yellowstone. Sleigh rides into Yellowstone are also popular, with groups of up to 50 accommodated on multiple sleds.
“One of the nice things is to try to combine programs,” says Veronica Haynes, managing partner at Mountain Destinations.
If a group is out skiing during the day, they can be picked up in the evening by a snowcat to a dinner location on the mountain. At Big Sky, for example, groups can dine at Spanish Peaks Lodge, an elegant chalet that offers groups private dining.
For groups in New Mexico, Santa Fe Mountain Adventures arranges snowshoe outings in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as well as cross-country ski trips in the Valles Caldera north of Santa Fe.
“There are many miles of cross-country trails with beautiful wildlife,” says Owen Perillo, chief adventure officer for Santa Fe Mountain Adventures.
Mountain scavenger hunts using GPS systems can be combined with cook-offs at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Groups head to the mountains to find recipes and ingredients with the GPS devices and return to the school to make a meal together.
Resort Options
Not all activities require the help of a DMC. Resorts often accommodate groups, such as Utah’s Snowbird, which offers night skiing, ice climbing, snowmobiling, and avalanche rescue, among other activities.
The Resort at Paws Up in Montana specializes in snowmobile outings in the Garnet Mountain Range, including a tour of the Garnet ghost town, which in winter is only accessible by snowmobile. Most summer activities can be winterized, such as clay shooting, ATV driving, and even winter horseback riding.
For More Info
Colorado Bike and Ski www.coloradobikeandski.com
Mountain Destinations www.mountaindestinations.com
Resort at Paws Up www.pawsup.com
Rocky Mountain Connections www.rockymtncon.com
Santa Fe Mountain Adventures www.santafemountainadventures.com
Sierra Event Company www.sierraeventco.com/one.html
Summit Events www.summiteventsdmc.com
