The snow decides the day.
A big storm means more lifts, lessons and rentals by morning. A thin winter means a late opening and seasonal staff waiting for hours.
For ski areas
Plan every lift, lesson and rental counter, even on a powder day.
Say how your mountain runs, in plain words. Lift operators, instructors, patrol and the rental shop get one plan, checked against every rule.
How your business runs
Hire a small town. Let the snow set the pace.
The average ski area is open about 110 days a season, and it has to hire a small town to do it. Lift operators, instructors, patrollers, rental techs, cooks and cashiers arrive in late fall, many from abroad on work-travel visas. Seasonal staff learn on the job, often during the holiday rush.
Lifts, lessons, rentals and the lodge all run at once, and each needs the right people. Snow and wind decide which lifts run. Holidays and weekends bring the crowds all at once, then midweek goes quiet.
Operators, instructors and patrol Lifts, lesson areas and the lodge Snowcats and demo skis
Where scheduling breaks
Five ways a good season gets hard.
Most mountains run on a sheet per department and a supervisor who knows who's trained for what. That works until a storm rolls in.
Not everyone can do every job.
Lift operators, patrollers and instructors each need the right age, training or certification level. Someone has to check every name on every shift.
The holidays hit all at once.
The two weeks around New Year's are the hardest stretch, and new staff learn on the job. Then midweek goes quiet and hours come down.
Short-handed is normal.
Ski areas left about 3,400 jobs unfilled in 2024-25. A call-out often lands on a team that's already stretched.
Every department keeps its own schedule.
Lifts, ski school, rentals and the lodge each have their own sheet. Moving one cross-trained person takes three phone calls and a guess.
Say how it works
Your rules, in plain words.
Tell OnlineScheduling how your mountain runs, the way you'd tell a new operations manager. It reads each rule back, and nothing changes until you confirm.
Operator ages, instructor levels, patrol training and who's cross-trained for what are all just rules. Every schedule is checked against them.
Say “always” or “try to,” and it knows which rules can bend.
A rule in plain words
“Every lift that's running always has an operator who's 18 or older.”
Weekend on the mountain Jan 16 and 17
Sat a.m.Sat p.m.Sun a.m.Sun p.m.
Lift 2
Beginner area
Upper mtn
Rental shop
Patrol
Every lift has an operator 18+
Your five building blocks
Five building blocks, in mountain words.
Every schedule is made of the same five pieces. Here's what they look like for a ski area.
What you schedule
Lift operatorsInstructorsPatrollersRental techsCooksLiftsBeginner areaRental shopLodgeSnowcatsPatrol sledsDemo skis
When it's needed
First chair to sweepLesson blocksPrivatesRental rushLodge lunchNight grooming
Who's on it
Maya, a Level 3 instructor, teaches the 10 a.m. private on the upper mountain on Saturday.
When it's not free
Clinics and examsDays offLift repairsSnowcat service
Staff busy time comes from their own calendars.
How it works here
Your rules, in your own words. “Only patrollers with OEC go on patrol shifts.”
When plans change
18 inches overnight. Say so at 8 p.m.
The storm is bigger than expected. You say “18 inches overnight, powder day tomorrow. Open Lift 4 at 8:30, add two lesson groups and one more rental tech at 7:30.” Free, trained operators go on Lift 4, and Lena, who is cross-trained in rentals, moves from the lodge to the rental shop.
Sam stays off, because his own calendar shows him busy. You see only that he's busy, not why. Moving Maya to an upper-mountain group would leave the beginner area with one instructor at 9:30. You hear which rule that breaks, and you can override it with a reason on the record.
A wind hold works the same way.
Wind closes Lift 3 until noon. You say “Lift 3 on wind hold till noon. Move its crew to Lift 2 and the rental shop.” They go only where they're trained. When the wind drops, you say so and they move back.
Ask your assistant
Ask from the patrol shack. Staff see it in their calendar.
Connect OnlineScheduling to the AI assistant you already use, like ChatGPT, Claude and Muse, and schedule by asking. Seasonal staff connect their own calendar from a phone or computer browser, so their shifts show up where they already look. No app to download.
Your AI assistant Connected to OnlineScheduling
Powder day tomorrow. Who's free and trained to run Lift 4 at 8:30? Omar and Ava are trained on Lift 4, free, and both 18 or older. Book them? Yes. Who can teach a black-terrain private Sunday at 10? Maya and Dee are Level 3 and free Sunday at 10. Maya is booked. Lift 3 is down for repairs Tuesday. Where can its operators go? Theo is trained on Lift 2, and Ben is cross-trained in rentals. Move them for Tuesday?
OnlineScheduling · nowOmar's calendar updated: Saturday, Lift 4, 8:00 a.m.
OnlineScheduling · nowOmar's calendar updated: Saturday, Lift 4, 8:00 a.m.Google Calendar Apple Calendar Outlook
Questions
Ski area questions, answered.
Something else on your mind? Ask when you request access. We read every request ourselves.
Can lessons go only to instructors with the right level?
Yes. Write it as a rule, like “Level 1 teaches green terrain only.” Each rule is read back before it's used.
Does it read the snow forecast?
No. You say “18 inches overnight, powder day tomorrow,” and everything adjusts within your rules.
Can it keep staff inside hour limits and visa work terms?
Yes, if you write them as rules, like “J-1 staff don't work night grooming” or “H-2B staff get at least 35 hours a week.” It checks the schedule against what you tell it.
Can staff swap or pick up shifts?
Yes. They can add, drop or swap shifts, and managers can change the schedule by hand. Changes show up in their own calendar.
Can we run several mountains, or a mountain and a shop in town, in one account?
Yes. One location or many, each with its own rules, plus global rules for all of them.
Do seasonal staff need an app?
No, but each person needs an account. They connect their own calendar from a phone or computer browser.
Request access
Bring us your hardest mountain rule.
We're opening access in stages. Tell us how your mountain runs, and we'll reply within one business day.
1Tell us how you schedule.
2We read every request ourselves.
3We reply within one business day.
Your hardest rule, for example “Every running lift has an operator who's 18 or older.”
Tell us who you are, what you schedule and the rule your current tool can't handle. It's one short form.
Request access