According to the Blue Knob front page GM Doug Houck has resigned. I don't like the sound of that. It seemed like he was helping the resort turn the corner especially on snowmaking and grooming from what I was hearing. What do you guys think will happen next?

Quoted from the BK mainpage:

"We would like to thank Doug Houck for his efforts on making Blue Knob the best ski area in the Mid-Atlantic and we feel he accomplished it with a lot of great ideas, hard work, and long hours. We know the sacrifices he had to make and truly appreciate them.

Doug, thank you for all you've done and best to you in your new endeavors."

Several questions come to mind:
1. Was it his idea to resign or was he forced out?
2. What is status of Blue Knob replacing the chair that broke and apparently cannot be repaired?
3. Did Blue Knob, with improved snowmaking and grooming, make a profit last year, and were there more skier visits or fewer than years past?
Over the 40+/- years I have visited Blue Knob I have always marveled at the potential the place has. And I have always noticed that little or nothing changes in the way of major improvements other than the shorter chair.
The Colonel

I hope that Blue Knob continues to make improvements, but I wonder if they are profitable enough to make them. Without continued improvements, I just see Blue Knob limping along until they finally fade away and close.

The broken chair lift that may never get fixed is just one sign of a place that is unwilling, or cannot afford to make the infrastructure changes needed to bring the resort up to date.

I love Blue Knob. It has some of the best terrain in the Mid-Atlantic and it would be a shame to see it disappear. As the Colonel said, there is so much potential in that ski area and it is sad that is so unrealized.

I had the opportunity to talk to Doug a bit at the end of last season. Doug always recognised me in the lodge and would always take time from his busy day to share a few words with me.

What I remember from our last conversation:

There were plans to either repair or replace the broken chair. His assessment was replacement was the better option but a high speed was not a practical solution. I know economics played into that but also the additional capacity was really not needed.

As for skier visits I believe he said that this was one of the best seasons in the last decade as far as skier visits go. He did not talk about if that translated into higher profits.

It was very apparent that Doug was passionate about Blue Knob and a very competent manager. The improvement to snow and surface conditions and employee morale were obvious to this frequent visitor. I'm sure this created a lot of customer good will and I hope it helped or will help Blue Knob's bottom line.

The owners of Blue Knob will be lucky if they can replace Doug with an individual who can match Doug's enthusiasm, dedication to customer service and hard work. I hope for both ours and their sake that they can find a worthy replacement.

Seems like that position is a labor of love. I hope they are able to find another good caretaker for a wonderful mid-Atlantic ski mountain.

I sure hope they can repair the broken chair without it breaking the bank by the time next season comes along. I was there on 3.30.13 and having to go all the way up to the top when I just wanted to lap the expert terrain below the mid-station was pretty frustrating. I also was not thrilled with the low weight capacity of the backup that made is stop 2-5 times every trip up. It was still worth the trip.

I hope they continue to put more efforts into snowmaking and grooming.

BK is has fantastic terrain and I hope they find a good person to run it. I also hope they have a 200+ inch season this year that starts in earnest the first weekend in December.

I think those are two wishes everyone here has for BK!

[quote=Laurel

It was very apparent that Doug was passionate about Blue Knob and a very competent manager. The improvement to snow and surface conditions and employee morale were obvious to this frequent visitor. I'm sure this created a lot of customer good will and I hope it helped or will help Blue Knob's bottom line.

The owners of Blue Knob will be lucky if they can replace Doug with an individual who can match Doug's enthusiasm, dedication to customer service and hard work. I hope for both ours and their sake that they can find a worthy replacement.

[/quote]

Good for Doug. A Skier's GM. Hope he stays in the industry.

I took my family up there this January, we had never been there before, and I was also impressed with the terrain. It had a little for everyone, and the lack of large crowds was nice. I hope Blue Knob stays around

Doug was a great person overall and we will miss him.