Carrig leaving Heavenly in Vail restructure
By Kathryn Reed
Vail Resorts is undergoing an upper management shuffle that is sending Heavenly’s Blaise Carrig to Colorado.
Carrig was brought in to be chief operating officer of the South Shore resort when Vail bought the ski area in 2002.
Blaise Carrig
He and John Garnsey are co-presidents of the Mountain Division. Neither will have every day responsibilities at any resort. Carrig will work in Broomfield with oversight still of Heavenly, Keystone and Breckenridge. Garnsey will oversee Beaver Creek and Vail from his office in Avon.
Carrig is on vacation and was not available for comment Friday.
CEO Robert Katz made the announcement Thursday.
“As we continue to look toward our future, I am announcing some changes to our organizational structure that will better position our company for future growth, both within our existing resorts and as we pursue new opportunities,” Katz said in an email to employees. “These changes will allow some of our key leaders to have greater capacity to participate in our strategic efforts, and will give opportunities for other individuals to take on new and larger roles within the company.”
A general manager will be hired to run Heavenly and one to run Beaver Creek. To begin with those jobs are only open to current Vail Resorts staff. Heavenly has eight people on its senior management team.
Russ Pecoraro, spokesman for Heavenly, said a time line has not been established to hire the general manager. He said the plan is to replace whoever is promoted from within.
No jobs are being lost or layoffs incurred from the change in structure, Pecoraro said.
Other changes will occur in the human resources and finance departments, but none directly impacting staff at the Lake Tahoe resort.
Heavenly Mountain Resort wraps up its season Sunday, days after the corporate office reported skier visits are up 2.3 percent and lift-ticket revenue up 4.6 percent for the 2009-10 compared to last season.
Blaise has done a great deal of good for our community. Fortunately, his knowledge of Tahoe will continue to benefit our area in his new role with Vail. Best of luck, Blaise.
Good luck Blaise. You made Heavenly a better place.
It’s good to hear and a great sign that people are getting promoted, instead of layed off.
Blaise will be missed. Our community will miss his passion and efforts to drive tourism to our town. Hope they find someone at Heavenly to be as strong an advocate for south shore as he is.
Good riddance ,Hope wherever you end up, you don’t pull the drunk stunt you pulled at the crap table with Dirty remarks to the customers ans staff ,threating to have the people who had you 86 for your dirty mouth
fired.
We won’t miss you one little bit.
I figured there was more to such a departure than what was in the Vail press release.
Does the media still receive complimentary skiing at Heavenly?
Steve it wasn’t that,this few years back,I happened to be playing at a high limit crap table when this occurred.They had to stop the game and intervene before it got out hand.Losing and liquor seem to bring the Hyde out in people.
Lake Tahoe News has not received any press release regarding the restructuring. LTN does not know if one has been issued. LTN skied one day at Heavenly in 2009-10, for free. This was Christmas Day. Feel free to read the story to see if you think the free ticket influenced the coverage.
As for Mr. Carrig and his behavior, let’s leave it alone. Although Mr. Carrig passes the test of being a public figure when it comes to libel law, you only lower yourself to the behavior you describe without using your real name or without providing proof of the behavior you describe.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
So what exactly did Blaise accomplish? He promised a lot, talked a mean game, demanded businesses work with Heavenly 100% his way or not at all, and when you then didn’t he or his staff would throw a fit! And when Blaise was asked why does Vail do business this way, he’d emphatically state, “This is how I!! do business!” Maybe it really was Blaise and not Vail after all?? I bet then this “restructing” is an attempt to see if a different GM will actually accomplish something?!
Blaise has done a great job of focusing both the energy and finances of Heavenly and Vail for the past 8 years. He shown a professional and marketing acumen never before seen at Heavenly. Yes, he is demanding, and that has set some people off, but not those who believe in providing a great experience on the hill, and in the community. It will be good for Heavenly to have him at corporate.
So in other words what did he do? Didn’t improve business in our town (and that was true even before the economy tanked), long-time Heavenly staff say their pocketbooks were the same pre- & post-Blaise. Talked a mean game but bottom line for the town and Heavenly, same old, same old!!!
This is a good thing in the long run for the city though. The city can now force the issue to HV to finally pay their fair share of taxes through the Gondola ticket sales as they do not pay a city tax right now. The city can also push the issue of annexing the Cal base lodge to allow us to collect sales tax on all sales there as once again, they do not pay a city sales tax yet they use all of our services. The city has been reluctant to do this as they are friends of Blaise as he has actually done quite a lot for this town but the time has come for HV to step up to the plate and pay their fair share of taxes. Maybey this will stop the city from raising the business tax again.
What “marketing acumen” besides following the other resorts which dramatically lowered their season pass prices first. I wouldn’t call lowering prices an act of brilliant marketing, it’s more like if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Please list examples.
And Ski Bum you are absolutely correct that those skiers should be taxed. Skiing is the only business around here besides bankruptcy lawyers that is actually growing, due in no small part to relatively inelastic demand.
I wager C Blann gets the GM job. Blann is the one responsible for the Flyer; for clearance issues on all the newer lifts; for odd new trails forgotten soon after they’re cut, etc.
Skibum, so who gets to sign the petition to annex the CA base? The bears? The city can’t force the issue to pay taxes at the Gondola. The city already negotiated a deal so HV would not have to pay taxes. That deal was cut back in the day between the Japanese owners or ASC and whomever was on city council then…maybe Upton, Davis and whomever. As to Blaise, give the guy credit. He moved the place forward and the season passes lower.
For the record everyone!!!! ASC was the first to lower Heavenly’s Season Pass Price!! They did in their last of ownership!! Vail continued it, yes! But since it was done shortly before Vail acquired Heavenly, there’s always been confusion and those that have credited Vail with first doing it.
voice, some council members are trying to get HV to play ball right now. As soon as the parking garage is solvent, probably never, the city can start taxing sales at the Gondola. I agree that Blaise has been good for not only HV but the community as a whole as I have previously aknowledged in other articles. The City can annex HV into them but it’s a long process that would actually require voter approval. BTW to the best of my knowledge, Mammoth was the actual first major resort to offer discounted passes for $325 of which they sold over 25K the first year. The other resorts had to follow with Squaw being the last holdout in our area. I have been approached by several community leaders to “Back Off” in my quest to get HV to pay taxes as they don’t want me rocking the boat. I just want to see us all pay our fair share and I like skiing at HV as I have for the last 30 plus years.
Parker, ASC lowered the pass prices because that was part of the purchase deal with Vail Resorts. Something you’ll never see in writing.
Skibum, you are right…….the parking garage will never be solvent. Do you really think HV would negotiate with anyone on the current council or Jinkens? Hell, even you would not be that dumb. Three lame ducks, idiot child Grego and Hal “fix my hole” Cole and an exiting city manager.
Skibum, you live in the County-thats where Heavenly pays its taxes, enjoy. Also, how does Heavenly use all City services? What services does the City have to offer? What about all the people that come through South Shore and spend money, and get taxed, heavily. WHY WOULD HEAVENLY WANT TO PAY CITY TAXES ANYWAY? They would not get what they pay for. The City is a loser. Continual infighting among council members. Always trying to raise taxes on the back of public safety, then spending it on the Chamber and consultants. Trying to keep business out-Do It Center. Poor employee moral. Need I say more. Solution: Focus all of your efforts to DISSOLVE THE CITY. You live in the County anyway.
P.S. This is not the best City council we have ever had, possibly the worst.
If that’s the case about why should HV pay taxes why should I pay taxes in the city for a business I own when I live in the county. I was just pointing out another revenue source at the Gondola which uses all the city services. The city has to take care of the sidewalk and bathrooms at the center. The city and state taxes us to death and I felt that HV should pay their share. The city is raising the biz tax yet I don’t live in the city but I own a business and have a city biz license which I am required to have to do biz in the city. Everyone within the city limits should pay their tax. Also, if you bothered to watch the council meeting you would have known that I said “up until this point” I thought we had a good council and I still do but only until this fiasco started. Just my opinion as your’s is your opinion. Kudos for HV (actually ASC) in setting up this sweetheart deal with the city in the first place to not pay taxes at the Gondola, I wish I could do the same. This was set up at the original Park Avenue Project with ASC as reported in one of my articles. You won’t get any real info on this in the Trib or the Vail newspaper as they are both owned by the same company and everyones knows you don’t bite the advertising hand that feeds you. Kinda like here and STPUD as they advertise here so I doubt you will see any real info on the upcoming rate hike.
THESE COMMENT’S HAVE GOT REAL INTERESTING.
ANYONE DOING BUSINESS IN THE CITY LIMITS SHOULD PAY TAXES.
Totally agree, if you do business in City you pay their excessive taxes. City was stupid and desperate enough to make deals w/Heavenly and gondola. Business is moving to valley b/c cost of business is so much up here, more so in City. They(city council) just don’t realise that.
“…Also, how does Heavenly use all City services? What services does the City have to offer? WHY WOULD HEAVENLY WANT TO PAY CITY TAXES ANYWAY? They would not get what they pay for…”
To answer Local’s question, Heavenly benefits immensely from City services every time a skier gets injured on the CA side and needs an ambulance to transport to the hospital. It is the City’s ambulance plus a City fire truck if needed that is sent from the nearby City fire station at Pioneer Trail & Ski Run Blvd, for pickup at CA First Aid, Tram, or Gondola…even though the actual injury occurred outside City limits. On busy days, this happens several times a day.
It is further the City Police who have to man the chain control checkpoint on Ski Run for skiers headed to Heavenly when it snows, and are the ones who have to respond to all the collisions and traffic nightmares when the road is icy. A slippery, icy Keller can tie up City police for hours to untangle the mess.
A skier tax to help support such extra efforts by the City is entirely reasonable. Ski Bum is right on with this.
Steve, big corporation don’t like paying taxes.They want you to do it for them.
Mr. Curtzwiler,
Apparently you don’t know why in 2004 I was fired as the Tahoe Daily Tribune’s managing editor. I refused to blur the lines between advertising and editorial. I told the publisher my news hole was not for sale. He said it wasn’t my news hole.
Shortly after that I was unemployed.
Lake Tahoe News’ news hole will never be for sale as long as I’m the publisher. I resent your statement that this news site would not report on South Tahoe Public Utility District’s rate hike because it is an advertiser. I resent you questioning my integrity. Barton is an advertiser. South Lake Tahoe advertises. Lake Tahoe Community College advertises. LTN can write hard news stories that are factual, accurate and don’t blur the lines to favor the advertiser.
I don’t need pseudo or want-a-be journalists, or whatever you might consider yourself, questioning my integrity. I will leave that to more qualified people. Nor do I need you to tell me that you think any council meeting is a reporter’s “a wet dream” — a) because as a woman it’s offensive, and b) because you are no reporter, Mr. Curtzwiler.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher