2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide - 63

I
SNOWSPORTS BUILDER
AWARD 2023
Linda Westlund, FWSA President
presented Brad Wilson with the
Snowsports Builder Award. He is the
General Manager of the Bogus Basin
Mountain Recreation Area, with a
lifetime of contributions to snowsports
starting in his college years.
photo by Steve Strickland / Strictly Photography
The FWSA Snowsports
Builder Award is given to
individuals who have made
" Building Upon a
Community's
Passion for
Snowsports and
Year - Round
Recreation Area "
Brad Wilson
by Barbara Bryant
Bogus Basin Ski Club
Brad Wilson, the current General Manager
of the Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation
Area, Idaho, has more than 30 years of experience
in management, marketing, sales, and
master planning within the ski and hospitality
industry. He took the reins at Bogus Basin in
November of 2015.
Brad is truly a snowsports builder - creating,
expanding, and improving programs
since his college years. He first worked in a
ski shop until he graduated from Fresno State
University in California. Next, he worked as
a professional ski patrolman, then a ski shop
owner.
His former positions include GM of Diamond
Peak Ski Resort at Lake Tahoe and has
also worked as the president and COO of Catalina
Island Resort Services, Director of Marketing
at Alpine Meadows, Director of Sales
at Heavenly Valley and Assistant GM at
Mountain High Resort. He has also served in
lead marketing roles at Sugarbush, Bear
Mountain, and Brian Head resorts.
In addition to skiing, Brad is an avid
mountain biker, which is part of what enticed
him to Boise. Bogus Basin is the largest nonprofit
ski area in the U.S., and the Bogus Basin
Recreation Association (BBRA), located on
private and leased land in the Boise National
Forest, operates Bogus. Being a 501(c)(3) enables
Bogus Basin to reinvest all profits into
the recreational resort.
Since he was hired as General Manager
of Bogus Basin, Brad subsequently steered
BBRA into a booming year-around recreation
area. He helped build upon the community's
passion for skiing, mountain biking and outdoor
recreating. He serves as the president of
the Idaho Ski Areas Association and is on the
board of the BBRA. He is also on the board
of the National Ski Areas Association (NSSA).
From the beginning of his tenure as General
Manager, Brad has envisioned a family
friendly, affordable and accessible outdoor recreational
opportunity for all. In 2017 he jumpstarted
a 10-year Master plan that has been
completed in five years. Brad's Master plan
consisted of three parts:
1) Summer Business Plan
2) Snowmaking, and
3) Chairlifts.
The " Bogus Basin Project, " as it came to be
called, needed seed money in order to begin to
execute the plan, so Brad appealed to the community
to contribute. Brad's appeal raised $6
million to move forward, due to donations by
large corporations and thousands of small donations.
He
has expanded night skiing terrain
an indelible positive impact
on snowsports. The builder
may be honored for
achievements in athletics,
the press, publishers,
historians,industry,
humanitarian work, area
development or technology.
through affordable lift tickets and passes. In
addition, during Brad's time at the helm, the
cross-country ski area bought new trail making
machines. Slashing daily lift tickets and
season pass prices have provided accessibility
for new skiers and more people, especially
younger generations, with winter participants
numbering 350,000 this season.
One of his goals is to provide the possibility
for every youngster in the Treasure Valley
to participate in snowsports. This season,
BBRA fully subsidized students from a Title
1 school with transportation, ski lessons, and
equipment. The addition of terrain parks continues
to attract a younger demographic of
snowsports enthusiasts. He launched the
" Chair Rider " program that employs 50-60
high school aged youngsters to ride the chair
lifts with youngsters enrolled in ski school.
In his future plans, Brad is looking for
ways to adapt to the major increase in the
population of Treasure Valley.
His next
Master Plan will include: developing 600
acres of terrain expansion into the Clear Creek
drainage accessed by one new chair lift (now
waiting for approval from the Forest Service),
replacement of two aging double chairlifts
with quad chairs, replacement and updating
of the three mountain lodges, addition of elevators
for more accessibility for visitors in
the lodges, and a focus on providing living
wages for employees.
Brad Wilson continues to be a boon to
the Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area
with his enthusiasm, his commitment to the
improvement of BBRA, and his vision for the
future, making an indelible impact on snowsports.
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Far West Skier's Guide 2O23 - 2O24
63
2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide

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