PETALUMA, Calif. – The National Ski Areas Association recognized Ski California at its national competition. A new award created to recognize the impact of the state association's successful deep snow safety video was presented this week..
It will be launched for the 2023-24 winter season as part of Ski California's award-winning digital mountain safety guide.In 2018, the video won the NSAA's inaugural Stoked on Safety Awards for Best Use of Video. This marks the second consecutive year the state ski industry association has been recognized for its safety efforts and the third time since 2018.
Ski California member resorts were also recognized by the NSAA for their effective safety campaigns, with Heavenly receiving the award for Best Crash Safety Campaign and Mammoth receiving the award for Best Resort Guest Safety Program (Large Resort). Palisades Tahoe received the award for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign (Large Resort) and Mammoth received the award for Best Video Leveraged Marketing.
Ski California's deep snow safety video was created to educate skiers and snowboarders about the risks of deep snow immersion, how to avoid it, and what to do if you or your companions get sucked in. The video includes two actual deep snow safety rescues caught on camera and features Olympian Travis Gannon.
“We are extremely honored to receive recognition from the NSAA for our deep snow safety video. This award was unexpected but of course we are very proud, coming on the heels of last year's win for the Ski California Digital Mountain Safety Guide for Best Guest Safety Program,” said Michael Reitzel, president of Ski California. “As with the Mountain Safety Guide, the impact this video has had is due in part to promotion by our many member resorts. We created this content as a tool to help educate skiers and snowboarders, and we are pleased that so many of our partners have found it a valuable addition to their efforts.”
To get its deep snow safety message to skiers and snowboarders, Ski California took a multi-pronged approach, including strategically releasing the video before the arrival of a winter storm that dumped 8-10 feet of snow over a four-day period across California and Nevada. This intentional timing allowed Ski California's member resorts to reach guests at the right time with their message. Additionally, to encourage people to watch the video and review the Ski California Mountain Safety Guide for better understanding, those who scored 80% or higher on the safety quiz at the end of the guide were entered for a chance to win a Ski California Gold Pass for 2024-25.
The Ski California Mountain Safety Guide can be found at safety.skicalifornia.org. Check out Ski California's complete series of mountain safety guide instructional videos here..
