Craig Cimmons resigns as Eaglecrest GM; Hannah Shively steps down as board chair, citing health
- Mark Sabbatini
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Departures announced during Thursday's board meeting comes as ski area struggles with operations and financial difficulties; Erin Lupro to again serve as acting GM
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
A tumultuous 50-year anniversary season for Eaglecrest Ski Area got more so on Thursday when General Manager Craig Cimmons resigned and Hannah Shively said she is stepping down as chair of the board of directors for health reasons.
Both departures were announced during a board meeting Thursday night in the Assembly Chambers. Shively announced she was stepping down due to health issues near the end of the regular meeting, with the board electing Brandon Cullum as the new chair.
Cullum, near the beginning of the meeting before the changeover, noted Cimmons was unexpectedly absent from the meeting, which was attended by numerous residents who during a public comment period expressed frustrations about the resort’s operations.
"We're not sure why the manager is not here tonight, totally honestly," Cullum said. "We're still trying to figure that out. I'm sure it's not out of disrespect to anyone, but we're going to do the best we can to present the information that he's provided."
The end of Thursday’s published meeting agenda included an executive session for a performance evaluation of the general manager.
The resignation of Cimmons, hired from among 17 candidates as Eagecrest’s general manager in August of 2024 following the forced resignation of Dave Scanlan in May of that year, was announced after an extended executive session following the change in board leadership.
Prior to that Cimmons was a ski school and community engagement manager at Jay Peak Resort in Vermont for 12 years.
"General Manager Craig Cimmons tendered his resignation to the board of directors, but at the same time Mr. Cimmons graciously offered to help coordinate a transition," Cullum said when the board returned from executive session. "In that conversation, Miss Erin Lupro, a longtime ski area employee and previous acting general manager, has accepted our plea to work as acting general manager for a limited period of time, and Mr. Simmons is going to support Miss Lupro in that process for up to 30 days."
No explanation was offered for the reason Cimmons resigned. He did not immediately return a phone call from the Independent after the meeting seeking comment.
Shively served only four months as board chair, having been elected early last September when Mike Satre stepped down and declared he could no longer devote sufficient time to the "significant challenges" the resort faces
Eaglecrest’s operating struggles this year include a broken water main and repairs to the Ptarmigan chairlift that accesses the top of the mountain, although officials have stated they hope both will be functioning soon. The ski area's financial struggles include a 40% drop in season sales passes this year and steep annual deficits projected over a three-year period leading up to the hoped-for opening of a gondola in 2028.
Shively began Thursday’s board meeting by acknowledging Eaglecrest is going through a difficult time, declaring "this month has been terrible…pretty much anything that could have gone wrong went wrong." But she also offered strong support for Cimmons’s work as the general manager.
"For the past couple of years, there's been kind of this catching up in terms of aging infrastructure, a difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, and — to be totally honest — a decision-making culture that prioritized the immediate skier experience over any other outcomes, including responsible maintenance, the safety of our guests and employees, and ultimately the long-term sustainability of the ski area," she said.
"And for the past two winters since he's been on board the direction of this board to Craig has been to arrest that decision-making process. But, of course, the ultimate point of a ski area is to get people up on the mountain and enjoying their public lands — but that if we need to make a choice, and we have to make hard choices all the time, we need to prioritize safety, responsible use of public funds and equipment, and creating an environment where people want to play and work."
Shively’s remarks were followed by the customary public comment period that precedes the meeting’s main agenda items. About 20 people spoke, including some who have previously been employees or on the board at Eaglecrest, most criticized aspects of the organization’s public communications, decision-making and maintenance of the resort.
A briefing about mountain operations prepared by Cimmons was presented by Shiveley in his absence. She said repairs to the Ptarmigan lift are completed and is awaiting a state inspection scheduled Friday.
"As soon as we have a solid update — an update that we can provide to make plans off of it — will be provided, and I really hope to be skiing with you all on Saturday," she said.
The water supply at Eaglecrest has been plagued by a series of problems beyond the water main, which broke due to aging infrastructure, according to the memo prepared by Cimmons.
"Repair work began immediately; however, during the repair process, a separate water line supplying the building’s heating system was inadvertently damaged," he wrote.
The result has been that while the water main is repaired, there are now other system faults in the system undergoing repairs, Shiveley said. Restoring water flow to the base lodges at least for plumbing — samples need to be tested and certified to be officially drinkable — is a foremost priority. The resort is continuing to operate with portable toilets outdoors.
"Either the porta-potties are frozen and they can't be emptied, or we physically can't get the trucks up to the mountain to replace those, she said. "That's a really high priority for us to either bring new ones in or get those cleaned and replaced as soon as we can."
Eaglecrest is scheduled to celebrate the official 50-year anniversary of its original opening date next Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16 and 17, with $7 lift tickets and activities during the day.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
