A strong first impression at Olympia

Posted: Feb. 2, 2012

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Todd Ponath

Together, Brent Milkey (left) and Casey Bingham make up the new management team at the Highlands of Olympia ski and snowboard area.

Todd Ponath

Together, Brent Milkey (left) and Casey Bingham make up the new management team at the Highlands of Olympia ski and snowboard area.

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Casey Bingham and Brent Milkey have formed a strong relationship over the years.

Both grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, attending the same middle school and high school where they would go ice fishing and snowmobiling together during the winter months. They then roomed together at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Mich., where they completed the school's Ski Area Management Program.

While they then went their separate ways for a few years, venturing across the country working at different ski resorts and shops, they have reunited to form the new management team at the Highlands of Olympia ski and snowboard area in Oconomowoc.

"We're here together for like 14 hours a day; it's like a marriage," said Bingham with a chuckle, who added they now live just a few blocks away.

The two started last September with Bingham, 24, serving as the general manager and Milkey, 25, serving as the operations manager.

Bingham said he doesn't look at himself as having a higher title than Milkey.

"We're both equals, except he's outside more," Bingham said. "Labels don't matter."

What does matter to both of them is that customers are happy with the product they put out.

So that's why they look to make it better each day.

"We've put in a lot of money and effort into the terrain parks," Bingham said. "We want to impress people with what we have. They're not going to be like the (Winter) X Games or world class, but just the best that it can be for the area."

Keeping it affordable

It's an area the two, while still a little unfamiliar with, said has a lot of potential.

"I like this area," Bingham said. "I like Lake Country, because it's a good community and has the potential to get people to come here, so that's why I'm excited.

"We want to be here to stay. It's exciting because it's finally coming together."

And as recent college students who understand how money can be at a premium for families, keeping the price low is important to them.

"I know there's some money around here, but that way it makes it so much easier for them to come out if they want to try it," Bingham said. "We want to make everything safer, cleaner, more presentable and always have an affordable price. Where we're at is where we're going to be at for a long time because it's a good number."

This cost is $15 for juniors and $20 for adults on lift tickets.

They have also implemented many promotions such as Monday College Nights, where college students receive junior pricing on lift tickets and rentals with a valid college I.D., and "3 for 2" Wednesdays, where individuals can get three lift tickets for the price of two.

It's all part of Bingham's plan to keep people coming and to attract more visitors.

"I just want them to come out and see the changes we have made and there's plenty more to come," Bingham said. "We're not stopping, because it's something we're constantly going to reinvest in."

Always his dream

Running his own ski park has been Bingham's goal since his early teenage years.

After all, he has always loved winter and what the season has to offer.

"We had a little hill where we'd go and I'd have someone make terrain park features and we'd go down there every night after school," Bingham said. "I always had to have them perfectly manicured and it's just something I always wanted to do for a long time since I was like 14."

When Bingham first heard about this opportunity while working at Tyrol Basin Ski and Snowboard Area in Mt. Horeb last summer, he had some initial reservations but then realized he couldn't turn it down.

He then later recruited Milkey to be his right-hand man.

"I like it because it's our own," Milkey said.

Never a dull moment

The two have since been consumed with their work to ensure this first season was a success.

Bingham said the they are making snow constantly, grooming and tilling up the area to make the hills "nice and fresh every day."

They've also stayed busy during the slow days, doing plenty of maintenance work.

"There's always something to do," said Milkey, who does most of the outdoor work including making snow and making sure the lift is working to perfection. "It's pretty much around the clock. Between the two of us, somebody's here almost 24 hours a day."

Bingham added: "It never ends. My first job, I always said I can't wait for this list to be done, but once that list is done it just starts again."

The two have also had an extra obstacle this year: a lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures.

"(The challenge) has been the weather this year," Bingham said. "Normally, we wouldn't be making snow at this time and we still have to make a lot. But the weather is just something you deal with."

Tubing on horizon

Once this season is done, which is in about a month, the two will take some time off before working on improving the area for their second season.

And next year, Bingham and Milkey, both certified lift mechanics, will introduce tubing as a way to bring in more profit.

"We're really exciting … not to get to the end of the year, but to see how much we have (in revenue)," Bingham said. "We know we really have to do this snow tubing because it's going to be that big of a revenue source.

"A lot of places are putting (tubing) in, because anybody can do it. It's winter fun."

But as he says, the area is "still a work in progress" and will be for a few years while they try to make it their own.

For Bingham, though, the key is giving people what they want. From the initial feedback he has received, the outlook for these two young managers looks bright.

"It's nothing but compliments," Bingham said. "There (have been) a few complaints, but (they are) issues where we can't control until the summer when we can address them, or it's something where it's out of our hands.

"But (it's) mostly compliments and that feels really good at the end of the day."