It’s part of the new fiscal reality for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, the organization that almost smothered in an avalanche of debt less than two years ago.

One ski hill has been abandoned and another placed on a tentative hit list. Higher prices for some lift tickets go into effect next fall.

Even the company’s most popular ski and snowboard instructors have been pressed into double-duty.

As official greeters, they help their home resort stretch a dollar by meeting guests upon arrival. They direct them to daycare and equipment rental areas. And they subtly inquire whether a lesson might be in order.

Larry MacDougal photo, Business Edge
Matt Mosteller says the company is seeing benefits from the leadership of Murray Edwards.

“In the past, we’d have a parking attendant or we’d pay another staff member to be out there,” explained Matt Mosteller, senior director of business development for the chain of ski and golf resorts.

“But why not incorporate our ski and snowboard school staff? Bring ’em out front.”

Call it cost-shaving, belt-tightening or creative utilization of resources.

It’s all part of the Dr. Edwards Fat-Free Dietary Plan for restoring fiscal vigour to the largest private ski resort company in North America.

Author of the plan is financial kingpin Murray Edwards, the resident fixer-upper in the Calgary oilpatch who also qualifies for the BMA award: Busiest Man (Magician?) in Alberta.

Now the company chair, Edwards swooped down on RCR like a search-and-rescue chopper in the summer of 2001. He helped company founder Charlie Locke stave off bankruptcy under a $120-million restructuring plan.

Locke is the lifelong mountaineer who “got lucky” with oil and gas investments in his 20s and who once confessed he hates the paper-chasing detail work of the resort business.

“I need to hire a fine-print man,” he said at the time. He found him – and much more – in Edwards, the maker of miracles.

On the advice of the chairman, RCR management has placed each of its resorts under microscopic scrutiny.

Much reconnaissance work has been done by Edwards himself. Mr. Fix-It has been learning the ski resort trade from the ground up. He has ridden the ski bus to Louise and stood in line in resort cafeterias. He’s gone out to the ski schools, hung with the instructors and solicited the advice and input of staff.

Recent results:

* Fairly stiff increases in the price of season passes which are good at Lake Louise, Nakiska, Fernie and Kimberley, as well as the price of exclusive passes for Lake Louise.

* A decision to close Wintergreen ski hill because of aging superstructure and snow-making problems.

* An acknowledged possibility that Fortress Mountain may no longer fit the plan.

Eyebrows were initially raised when Fortress was excluded from RCR’s promotional literature for next season.

Official explanation: Closure of Fortress is by no means a done deal. Not yet. But an internal feasibility study will soon firm up the future of Fortress. Expect an answer by early summer.

No doubt Locke sometimes wishes he’d stayed up in the mountains and never bothered with a such a touchy business.

Certainly, challenges abound. Like flatland farmers, RCR decision-makers are at the weather’s mercy. In recent winters, you’d trip over a sea lion in Vegreville before you’d spot a snowflake in the foothills before Christmas.

Higher prices for insurance and liability (related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks) as well as fuel and utilities have contributed to a 20- to 40-per-cent increase in overall costs.

High capital and maintenance costs. A fiercely competitive North American market sector. Declining global air travel related to 9/11, the Iraq war and SARS. Economic slumps in the U.S., Germany and Japan.

All have conspired against the success of the Dr. Edwards weight-loss plan.

Nevertheless, the operators insist they’ve generally resisted the temptation to off-load their costs onto consumers. They point to millions spent on new grooming machines, upgraded lifts, improved food and beverage services, staff development and training.

Edwards has also made key personnel moves within senior management ranks. Meanwhile, RCR is teaming up with Travel Alberta in promotional efforts aimed at Eastern Canada and the northern U.S.

One marketing pitch will promote the Rockies as a peaceful escape from a world in turmoil. Inclusion of RCR golf courses in a package sold as the Rocky Mountain Golf Trail is another smart idea.

So the outlook is not all gloom and doom. When Alberta’s busiest magician starts waving his wand, it never is.