>

Sometimes it’s hard to see the long-term benefits of formal education. You work hard through high school and college, only to get a McJob while others who skipped the whole college thing to start working early are now pulling in triple what you make.

Last season, The Canyons (formerly Park West and most recently Wolf Mountain) gave hard-working students a little instant gratification. The resort offered free full-season passes to all Utah junior high and high school students who made the honor roll. And guess what? Grades shot up all over the state–kids realized this was more than a free Slurpee coupon.

Before the program started, The Canyons’ ticket manager estimated they would give out 3,000 to 4,000 passes, taking the number of schools and their distances from the resort into consideration. However, a free full-season pass motivated hordes of Utah youth, and by the end of the season close to 11,000 students toted Canyons passes! Principals and administrators stated that the free-pass program proved to be the best good-grade encouragement program they’ve ever been involved with.

The American Skiing Company, which purchased The Canyons in 1997, instigated the program. "We are always looking for ways to be a part of the community," says Marketing Vice President Chip Carey. "We did this at other American Skiing Company Resorts on a smaller scale, and it worked extremely well. Anything you can do to encourage kids to work hard in school is positive."

The Canyons Communications Director Mike Grass couldn’t believe the results. "We had students from all over the state driving up just to get their pass. We even had a bus full of honor-roll students from Beaver, Utah drive five hours to get their passes, make a few runs, and then turn around and go home," says Grass.

Students kept their passes as long as they maintained their school’s honor-roll status. With the financial hurdle removed, many boys and girls experienced snowboarding for the first time and were instantly hooked. It used to be learn for learning’s sake, but these days it’s learn for turning’s sake. –S.L.