May 7th 2012

Can The MRA Play in the East?

Asking Jamie Schectman of the Mountain Rider's Alliance about snowmaking..

Interview by Alex Kaufman l STE Online Editor

Editor's Note: If you've waited in a 45 minute lift line, battled for a distant parking space, wondered just who in the heck owns that huge mountainside mansion, or balk at the cost of living in ski towns, then you might have some things in common with Jamie Schectman. Jamie is the CEO and Co-founder of the Mountain Rider's Alliance. - AK


You may have seen something like this on the interwebs. Here's what it's about.

Hello Jamie.Think you could introduce yourself in exactly 16 words?

I’m a passionate ski bum that believes the ski industry needs more cool places to ski.

Schectman "going pro". MRA's Alaska Project recently featured on local Alaska TV. 


I'll give you double that amount of words to explain the MRA.

MRA was founded by a group of snow enthusiasts. Our Mountain Playgrounds will be based on three core values, the Community, Environment and Riders. We want to challenge the industry status quo.

Here in the east, we've haven't seen or heard much about the MRA, as compared to out west. Thoughts on that?

Well now that Ski The East is covering our grass roots organization, that’s about to change. Furthermore, we are working with an existing area in your neck of the woods and have big plans for the future. In the years to follow, we envision having many MRA Mountain Playgrounds on the East Coast.

How does snowmaking fit into the MRA's mission? Or does it..?

If there is on-site clean energy creation potential, we would consider converting an existing ski area that requires snowmaking. The new Low-E guns are as much more efficient that the first generation snowmaking system. 

In creating new Mountain Playgrounds, we would select areas that are in reliable snow belts. Our project in Alaska, Manitoba Mountain has natural snow cover from November thru May, even in dry years. 

Who was your skiing idol growing up? Currently. Why?

Scot Schmidt. Not only was he smooth and raised the bar for what was possible on skis, but he has always been a class act.

Daron Rahlves is my new hero. The guy has won the Hanekam, been in the Olympics, is throwing done huge lines in Alaska and just won the Pain McShlonkey coveted Gold Saucer award. 

How do you respond to the fact that tens of millions of people ski at and seemingly enjoy large corporately owned ski areas every year?

We don’t dispute that millions of folks enjoy the large corporate ski experience. But the ski industry is 3 billion dollars annual business and we believe that there is a segment of the ski population who will gravitate towards our business model of focusing on the ski experience.

Tell us a secret.

When I was 18 years old, I was a lift operator at Squaw Valley. On my lunch break on day, I got caught above a cliff. Ski patrol had to come to my rescue with a rope and pull me to safety. I was late back to lunch and they pulled my pass. 

What's next for the MRA and specifically how could an eastern skier get involved if they wanted?

We are currently in the process of raising some seed capital to complete our due diligence, which will lead to our first raise this summer. We are putting together the blue print to convert existing ski areas where the community can take ownership and operate under the MRA Flag as a Mountain Playground.

Additionally, I’m heading up to Alaska, and along with our Project Manager Dave Scanlan, will be meeting with State and Federal officials to forward the Manitoba Mountain project. We also hosted a community event on April 20 in Moose Pass. 

What's the most challenging part of the effort to grow the MRA from an idea to reality?

Access to capital. Like any start up, we have reached a time to go from boot strapping to raising some capital to move forward our organization.

Favorite eastern ski area and why?

Mt Abram, Maine. Not only are they about to install one acre of solar panels to be North America’s first net negative ski area, but they have a really cool vibe and the ski industry’s best beer, Abram Ale.

Tell us another secret.

We have had a surprising amount of industry professionals contact us. Some are curious, some want to get involved, and some have given us encouragement and reassured us that we are on to something. 

The MRA recently launched a custom ski sale to support that cause.