Letter from the CEO: I’m Pulling the Plug on SnowBrains Trips — Here’s Why

Miles Clark in Bariloche, Argentina, in 2019. | Photo: SnowBrains

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been really excited about SnowBrains Trips. We were going to host trips to really unique destinations around the world, and after doing the survey with you, good people, it turns out the most popular spots were Revelstoke, the Dolomites, and Zermatt in Switzerland.

The plan was to gather fun groups of humans, about 14. We’d book a hotel together, and we’d all go ski a bunch together. Someone from SnowBrains would be there as a host, hanging out with you, skiing with you, and just acting as a fixer and stoke person in general.

I even had a really terrific partner helping me with this who has 30 years of experience doing exactly these kinds of trips, as well as heli-ski trips in British Columbia. It looked like a really great idea, and everyone was keen to make it happen.

Revelstoke bluebird dayRevelstoke bluebird day
We had grand plans to go to Revelstoke with our readers. | Photo: SnowBrains/Bob Witowski

Then I started getting into the red tape —the insurance, the two different registrations I’d have to have to sell travel (just in California alone) —and the bureaucracy started to pile up… and smell…

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I also had to talk to multiple lawyers just to get through all the red tape and make it all square legally.

I have to be honest: I wasn’t prepared for this much bureaucracy, especially since we had an experienced partner. But the reality hit me and started to take up a healthy chunk of my time and brain space, and it stopped being a fun idea. And, I have to admit, it simply became too complex and too many hoops to jump through for one or two trips a year.

While I pulled the plug on SnowBrains Trips for this year, I want to thank all of our amazing partners who supplied us with terrific gear for the giveaway. Thank you all for taking the time and energy to complete the survey we sent out. We learned some eye-opening things from you folks, and we’ll keep trying to do something fun moving forward. SnowBrains Trips aren’t totally over. We will keep working on ideas for a format that helps our readers explore more ski areas across the globe.

So bear with me as I dial this in and find the best route to make it fun for me, fun for my team, and exceptional for all of you.

Thank you,

Miles Clark — CEO/Founder, SnowBrains

ZermattZermatt
Not this year, Matterhorn, not this year. | Photo: Zermatt Matterhorn Facebook


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