Russell Karp Takes Over Selkirk College's Passenger Ropeway Courses

Selkirk College welcomes Russell Karp to the Selkirk College faculty team, working under the umbrella of the Ski Resort Operations & Management program. They say:

"It is with great excitement that we welcome Russell Karp to the Selkirk College faculty team. Working under the umbrella of the Ski Resort Operations & Management program, Russell will be taking over the delivery of our industry focused online Passenger Ropeway training courses: LIFT 151, 152 and 153.

"As a Red Seal Motor Mechanic / Millwright with 33 years of ski industry experience, Russell has worked at BC resorts managing lift and maintenance departments, has been a safety officer for the BC Safety Authority, previous owner of Mueller Lifts Services for over a decade and is still a lift manufacturer sales and service representative for Sunkid/Starliifts USA.

"After a full shakedown and revamp of our LIFT courses, coupled with an amazing recent update to our Passenger Ropeways & Passenger Conveyors textbooks (Ski Lift Functions And Maintenance V2 - Selkirk (bookware3000.ca), the infamous Bob Bell is retiring…again, this time from delivering our LIFT courses to industry lift personnel. We have all been so fortunate to have Bob work with us over the years and he has left big shoes to fill but we couldn’t be more excited about having Russell make the transition for us.

"Our spring courses are just wrapping up now with Bob, and everyone will take well deserved time off this summer. Bob will help with the handoff this fall with Russell when the next set of courses start up in September."

The Ski Resort Operations and Management Program is reviewed annually by an advisory committee of senior ski industry representatives to ensure that content is current and that graduates are equipped with the latest useful knowledge and skills.

The aim of this program is to accelerate the movement of graduates into supervisory and management level positions. The program relies heavily on the ski industry to provide direct exposure to virtually all aspects of indoor and outdoor operations. Close contact with industry operations is provided through field trip visits that introduce students to industry supervisory and management personnel.

Field trips provide students with first-hand exposure to all aspects of resort indoor and outdoor operations. Direct meetings with ski industry managers and supervisors at resorts visited give students a chance to explore job opportunities for their work semester and after graduation. Program graduates share their stories of building successful ski industry careers.

During the first three semesters which span 14 months, students take 22 courses focused on tourism, business, and operational subjects that prepare them for a role in the ski and snowboard industry. Included in these first three semesters are 2 five-day and 1 three-day field trips to different ski regions in British Columbia and Alberta.

During the fourth semester, students undertake a 21-week paid work semester at a ski resort, which may lead to full-time employment. The work term is a co-operative education endeavour that involves both employer and college supervision of the students' work experience. Students choose their work placement and negotiate with employers to determine possibilities for job rotation and other learning opportunities. Students receive one on-site visit from an instructor during the work semester and must complete a major written report and verbal presentation to receive credit for this work term.

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