Shannon Buhler could not have asked for a better start to her first season as vice president and general manager at Keystone Resort.

After officially joining Keystone in early September, Buhler quickly got to work in the community she grew up in and started prepping for the 2024-25 season. From taking the stage at the annual COO Ski Area Summit to growing more familiar with the workings of the resort, Buhler was extremely busy during her first few weeks.

Now entering her sixth month at Keystone, Buhler is feeling satisfied with how the season has been going so far.

“My first season at Keystone has been going really well,” Buhler said. “It is amazing to be home — being back in Summit County, amongst family, friends, coworkers from the past. To be back in this community feels incredible. … I continue to be honored to be the leader of Keystone.”

One of the first tasks Buhler attended to after assuming her new position at Keystone was getting a good sense of her new team and the scale of early-season operations. It was while Buhler was serving as vice president and general manager at Stowe Mountain Resort that she learned how to lead a ski resort with all of its teams and moving pieces. 

Although Stowe is a considerably smaller resort than Keystone, Buhler says that her daily duties at each resort are actually quite similar.

“I would say they are similar,” Buhler said. “When I say they are similar, every ski resort has lift infrastructure and all these individuals that make this happen. You have ski and ride school, food and beverage and all those things that are really critical to making the experience happen.”

After weeks of hard work, Keystone became the first Vail Resorts-owned property to begin the 2024-25 ski and ride season on Nov. 2. Following opening day, Keystone continued to be graced by cold temperatures and heavy snowfall, helping the resort to be a hotspot for early-season terrain options.

“It was a slow October, but once November hit we really started to kick off and had an amazing snowmaking season,” Buhler said. “We were able to finish up snowmaking about a week earlier than we typically do.”

Buhler credits Keystone’s entire team with putting the resort in a position to be fully open by the beginning of February.

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“We haven’t had a lot of snow in the last three, four weeks, and yet we are still 100% open with great skiing and riding for everyone,” Buhler said. “That is a testament to all the teams and employees.”

Buhler and Keystone are also proud of the way River Run Village is starting to take shape as Kindred Resort grows closer to officially opening. With new places to eat and shop, River Run Village has quickly become a bustling area.

“What is amazing about our business is that we provide experiences,” Buhler said. “… You think about the experiences that you can bring within the village, so you have Build-A-Bear, we have a golf simulator now, we have more restaurants popping up. … Having different options for experiences is really important.”

While Buhler has seen a lot of positive things occur in her first few months at the resort, she also recognizes that her new position has created some opportunities for her to learn and grow. 

“I don’t know if I would call it a challenge necessarily, but I think a piece that I had to lean into pretty quickly was all of our partnerships in community relations,” Buhler said. “A big piece of coming into Keystone is learning about those relationships. Understanding the town of Keystone, the Keystone Neighbourhood Co. and all of our partners who are really important.” 

For the first time in her career, Buhler has also been thrust into the negotiation process with the Keystone Ski Patrol Union. Over the last few weeks, Keystone and the ski patrol union have gone back and forth through the bargaining process.

While Keystone and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement at this time, Buhler said she strives to listen to the union members and their concerns.

“The first thing I think about is being respectful and listening,” Buhler said. “This is bargaining, this is negotiations, and, thus far, it has continued to be positive and productive. Right now as we continue to move forward with our process, I will continue to emphasize the value I feel for this team. Our ski patrollers here are incredible, and I truly value their skills and expertise.”

Bargaining with the ski patrol union has progressed at a great pace with both sides meeting again on Tuesday, Feb. 4, according to Buhler. Buhler said that progress was made on resolving several outstanding items listed in the contract during that meeting and that the resort looks forward to reaching an agreement with the union soon. 

Something that Buhler did not necessarily foresee facing at the beginning of the season was the shutdown of the Summit Express lift — a major lift out of the River Run base area — last month due to an electrical issue.

“We obviously never want to have a lift down for a few days,” Buhler said. “We were very fortunate that the River Run Gondola was continuing to run the entire time which accesses the same amount of terrain. Our lift maintenance team is incredible, and they worked 12 to 18 hours a day to get the lift back up and running with a lot of different rewiring.” 

Keystone’s lift maintenance team successfully reopened the Summit Express lift on Sunday, Feb. 2,  after numerous tests for safety. 

Overall, Buhler feels humbled to help shape the skiing and riding experience in Summit County after growing up in the community and around the ski industry.

“It is not just me, it is every single person here,” Buhler said. “To be able to be a piece of that is humbling. … When I was a kid this is what I loved to do. I loved to spend time on the slopes exploring new terrain and having these memories that truly last a lifetime. To be able to be a part of that, leading this resort alongside this incredible team, is amazing.”