Originally published in the Bombardier Capital Newsletter: Capital Connection, 1997

"Skiing is so expensive!" That’s the lament of avid skiers across North America. But what is really costing so much? After all, snow is free, right? Well, sort of. What people don’t often see is the equipment behind the scenes in ski areas. For example, the Green Mountains of Vermont get some 200 inches of snow per season. The Rocky Mountains or the Grand Tetons get anywhere from 350-500 inches of snow. Sounds like a lot, but ski areas are constantly in a race to groom the snow they have or make snow they didn’t get with high-powered snowgroomers and sophisticated snowmaking equipment. Big money items for sure, and an important financing niche for Bombardier Capital.

While BC’s current volume in this area is $10-15 million annually, it’s growing with every falling snowflake.

"A lot of people, even at Bombardier Capital, don’t realize that we finance this equipment," says Lee Burnett, Ski Industry National Sales Representative for the Commercial & Industrial division. "It’s a small part of our portfolio right now, but for the ski industry, snowgroomers and related equipment represent big business." Burnett adds that many ski areas lease as many as 10-20 snowgroomers at a time, rotating them as they reach their optimal use - and that spells opportunity for BC. A medium size ski area like Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont, leases three new units, or $480,000 worth of equipment annually. Okemo keeps a total fleet of approximately ten groomers. A larger area like Aspen, Colorado employs as many as 40 units at any given time, working over several mountains, and getting some 1,700 hours of usage throughout the season.

But it takes more than Bombardier’s "Plus" snowgroomers to keep the trails ready for skiers. BC is also looking into related areas such as ski lifts and snow-making equipment. Bombardier Capital’s name is recognized instantly in the industry as a leading financer of snowgrooming equipment, but Burnett says more work is required to make ski area owners aware that BC can finance just about any equipment they may need. Part of Burnett’s overall strategy is to educate the industry on the broad portfolio of services BC can provide. Not a simple task given that the ski industry is limited in both size and scope. Unlike many other BC markets, the ski industry has some clear financial limitations. Ski areas are also dispersed geographically across North America, making the ability to visit customers face-to-face a significant challenge.

Burnett’s focus continues to be relationship lending, personal contacts, and even some personal training on a snowgroomer to better understand the product. It’s unlikely that Burnett will be moving to a career in snowgrooming anytime soon however. She’s having too much fun growing her slice of the C&I business.