Meet Dave Hunter
12/16/2024 12:39PM ● By Sophie Dingle
Image courtesy of Dave Hunter.
Dave Hunter walks unassumingly around Steamboat Resort wearing a name tag that announces his name and where he’s from. At first glance, it would be difficult to tell that he is the president and chief operating officer of one of the largest ski resorts in North America.
It was a long journey to Steamboat Springs though. Dave began his ski industry career as a kid in Massachusetts. His uncle, Dave Moore, was the general manager and vice president of a small ski area called Mount Tom Ski Area in Holyoke, Massachusetts. “I grew up under my uncle’s wing at that resort,” Dave explains, “picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms, bussing tables.”
He worked winters and summers at the mountain, and as he approached his high school years, Dave expanded his work into different departments. By the time he was in college, he knew he wanted to be in the ski industry forever. “My uncle took that very seriously and he certainly wasn’t going to make it easy on me,” Dave says. “There was no special treatment.”
But that paid off in the long run as Dave worked his way through every department at Mount Tom until he reached the management level. Then, he knew it was time to make a move to Colorado. “It was an interesting time for me,” he remembers,” because I was young but I had a lot of experience. I was used to being a big fish in a small pond. But not out in Ski Country, USA; it was pretty humbling for me.”
This was the late 90s, and it was through the Yellow Pages that Dave found Eldora Mountain Resort. At the interview, they hired Dave on the spot as a rental shop manager. From there, things took off. It was a seasonal position, but two weeks after Dave landed at Eldora, the snowmaking manager resigned. When the general manager realized that Dave could do the job, he was hired for that, too. Eventually, in addition to overseeing the rental shop and snowmaking, Dave oversaw all group sales. He was named director of operations and spent 16 years there. When he left, he was the number two person-in-charge, reporting directly to Eldora’s owner.
"I wasn’t necessarily looking for a job at the time, but a job found me,” he says. He became director of sales and operations for Prinoth Snowcats, which he describes as a pivotal moment in his career. “My wife, Linda, and I sat down with a list of pros and cons,” Dave remembers. “I was going to still be in the ski industry but not at a ski area for the first time in my career.”
He decided to make the move in January 2013 and found himself responsible for five regional offices in North America as well as all of the snow grooming sales in North America. Ultimately, the reason that he took the job was that he believed it would get him one step closer to his ultimate goal: to be on the executive team at a major North American ski resort.
Dave had been working for Prinoth for 3 1/2 years when he got a call from Rob Perlman, who, at the time, was the president of Steamboat Resort. He told Dave that the resort’s longtime vice president of mountain operations, Doug Allen, was retiring. Dave filled Doug’s shoes beginning in May of 2017. "I think the biggest impact was that I had been to Steamboat before, with my family,” Dave says. “You’d always hear about how genuine and real it is, and how different that is. Not that I didn’t believe it, but I hadn’t really experienced it firsthand. I can say that in the first two weeks that I was a resident, it really resonated.This community is so genuine, friendly and welcoming. I truly noticed that when I got my feet on the ground here.”
It’s a mentality that Dave carried to work with him as he began his new job in Steamboat. On the operations side, he managed lift maintenance, lift operations, ski patrol, grooming, vehicle maintenance and snowmaking. Over time, he took on security, parking and transportation. Eventually, base area services reported to him as well as the Snowsports School and then Full Steam Ahead, the resort’s $200 million expansion, began. When Rob Perlman was promoted to Alterra as executive vice president of operations in mid-November of 2023, Dave filled in as the resort lead during a robust seven month hiring process for a new president and chief operating officer. It was a position though, that would eventually go to him.
"The brand of Steamboat is as strong as they come,” Dave says. “I think what’s most important is that we don’t just have a cool logo that everyone recognizes – we also walk the walk and talk the talk. The culture behind the Steamboat brand, our community and our people is real.”
Fostering that culture and brand is a top priority for Dave as he settles into his new role as president and chief operating officer. “It goes back to that Western, genuine, friendly, welcoming atmosphere,” he says. “Those things are real here. They’re real with our staff and it’s something that people really gravitate to and I think that all of our employees and customers get a chance to experience that, which I think makes us different from other destinations.”
It starts, Dave says, with hiring the right people. For example: the snow sports school has over 450 pros and a retention rate of over 80%. “That speaks volumes to people who are really enjoying their experience here,” Dave says.
Steamboat’s vision is to be the friendliest, most welcoming mountain destination on the planet. And, to keep the momentum going from the now complete Full Steam Ahead project. “We have this amazing opportunity now, since the investment of Full Steam Ahead,” Dave says. “Now it’s really about focusing on making sure all of those investments continue to perform as we expected them to, while continuing to focus on our people.”
This winter, you might find Dave “skiing with purpose,” as he calls it. He skis from one spot to another to see how his staff is handling the busiest times of day and what the pinch points might be. “Our entire Steamboat team is focused on helping each other out, whether that means shoveling out new snow to open our lifts, assisting with managing lift lines or bussing tables. We are all in this together as one team.”
Likely, that’s the attitude that paved the way for Dave Hunter from Mount Tom’s 90 acres to Steamboat Resort’s 3,000+ acres. "I feel like I was always meant to be here,” Dave says. “I know that sounds super corny, but that’s truly how I feel.”
Dave Hunter walks unassumingly around Steamboat Resort wearing a name tag that announces his name and where he’s from. At first glance, it would be difficult to tell that he is the president and chief operating officer of one of the largest ski resorts in North America.
It was a long journey to Steamboat Springs though. Dave began his ski industry career as a kid in Massachusetts. His uncle, Dave Moore, was the general manager and vice president of a small ski area called Mount Tom Ski Area in Holyoke, Massachusetts. “I grew up under my uncle’s wing at that resort,” Dave explains, “picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms, bussing tables.”
He worked winters and summers at the mountain, and as he approached his high school years, Dave expanded his work into different departments. By the time he was in college, he knew he wanted to be in the ski industry forever. “My uncle took that very seriously and he certainly wasn’t going to make it easy on me,” Dave says. “There was no special treatment.”
But that paid off in the long run as Dave worked his way through every department at Mount Tom until he reached the management level. Then, he knew it was time to make a move to Colorado. “It was an interesting time for me,” he remembers,” because I was young but I had a lot of experience. I was used to being a big fish in a small pond. But not out in Ski Country, USA; it was pretty humbling for me.”
This was the late 90s, and it was through the Yellow Pages that Dave found Eldora Mountain Resort. At the interview, they hired Dave on the spot as a rental shop manager. From there, things took off. It was a seasonal position, but two weeks after Dave landed at Eldora, the snowmaking manager resigned. When the general manager realized that Dave could do the job, he was hired for that, too. Eventually, in addition to overseeing the rental shop and snowmaking, Dave oversaw all group sales. He was named director of operations and spent 16 years there. When he left, he was the number two person-in-charge, reporting directly to Eldora’s owner.
"I wasn’t necessarily looking for a job at the time, but a job found me,” he says. He became director of sales and operations for Prinoth Snowcats, which he describes as a pivotal moment in his career. “My wife, Linda, and I sat down with a list of pros and cons,” Dave remembers. “I was going to still be in the ski industry but not at a ski area for the first time in my career.”
He decided to make the move in January 2013 and found himself responsible for five regional offices in North America as well as all of the snow grooming sales in North America. Ultimately, the reason that he took the job was that he believed it would get him one step closer to his ultimate goal: to be on the executive team at a major North American ski resort.
Dave had been working for Prinoth for 3 1/2 years when he got a call from Rob Perlman, who, at the time, was the president of Steamboat Resort. He told Dave that the resort’s longtime vice president of mountain operations, Doug Allen, was retiring. Dave filled Doug’s shoes beginning in May of 2017. "I think the biggest impact was that I had been to Steamboat before, with my family,” Dave says. “You’d always hear about how genuine and real it is, and how different that is. Not that I didn’t believe it, but I hadn’t really experienced it firsthand. I can say that in the first two weeks that I was a resident, it really resonated.This community is so genuine, friendly and welcoming. I truly noticed that when I got my feet on the ground here.”
It’s a mentality that Dave carried to work with him as he began his new job in Steamboat. On the operations side, he managed lift maintenance, lift operations, ski patrol, grooming, vehicle maintenance and snowmaking. Over time, he took on security, parking and transportation. Eventually, base area services reported to him as well as the Snowsports School and then Full Steam Ahead, the resort’s $200 million expansion, began. When Rob Perlman was promoted to Alterra as executive vice president of operations in mid-November of 2023, Dave filled in as the resort lead during a robust seven month hiring process for a new president and chief operating officer. It was a position though, that would eventually go to him.
"The brand of Steamboat is as strong as they come,” Dave says. “I think what’s most important is that we don’t just have a cool logo that everyone recognizes – we also walk the walk and talk the talk. The culture behind the Steamboat brand, our community and our people is real.”
Fostering that culture and brand is a top priority for Dave as he settles into his new role as president and chief operating officer. “It goes back to that Western, genuine, friendly, welcoming atmosphere,” he says. “Those things are real here. They’re real with our staff and it’s something that people really gravitate to and I think that all of our employees and customers get a chance to experience that, which I think makes us different from other destinations.”
It starts, Dave says, with hiring the right people. For example: the snow sports school has over 450 pros and a retention rate of over 80%. “That speaks volumes to people who are really enjoying their experience here,” Dave says.
Steamboat’s vision is to be the friendliest, most welcoming mountain destination on the planet. And, to keep the momentum going from the now complete Full Steam Ahead project. “We have this amazing opportunity now, since the investment of Full Steam Ahead,” Dave says. “Now it’s really about focusing on making sure all of those investments continue to perform as we expected them to, while continuing to focus on our people.”
This winter, you might find Dave “skiing with purpose,” as he calls it. He skis from one spot to another to see how his staff is handling the busiest times of day and what the pinch points might be. “Our entire Steamboat team is focused on helping each other out, whether that means shoveling out new snow to open our lifts, assisting with managing lift lines or bussing tables. We are all in this together as one team.”
Likely, that’s the attitude that paved the way for Dave Hunter from Mount Tom’s 90 acres to Steamboat Resort’s 3,000+ acres. "I feel like I was always meant to be here,” Dave says. “I know that sounds super corny, but that’s truly how I feel.”