Red Lodge, Montana — An experienced leader is joining the Red Lodge Mountain team. The timing of the hire is vital for the ski resort, as the Red Lodge team aims to right the ship after a rough 2024-25 season.
The Billings Gazette reports that Jean Mikulas has been hired as the new President & General Manager of Red Lodge Mountain. Jean is a Montana native, and she got her degree from the University of Montana. After graduating, she moved to Colorado with her husband, Ram Mikulas. Over the years in Colorado, Jean worked in leadership positions at Vail Resorts, POWDR, and Intrawest (now a part of Alterra). This includes work in the sales, retail, and rental departments. In her free time, she enjoys various winter sports, including downhill skiing, snowboarding, and nordic skiing.
“Her deep industry knowledge, Montana roots, and passion for the outdoors make her an ideal fit for our mountain and the Red Lodge community,” said Spencer Weimar of JMA Ventures, which owns the ski resort. “We’re excited about the future with her as part of the team.”
She’ll have to deal with pressing issues regarding the guest experience at Red Lodge. The first issue stems from a fatal fall off the Triple Chairlift. Last March, a snowboarder fell off the lift. The incident was caused by the haul rope derailing from the chairlift’s pulleys due to high winds. There were also the needed repairs to the Willow Creek chairlift, with both lifts being down during the same timeframe.
Many have wanted Red Lodge to replace these lifts. While they did note these may be on the horizon, cheaper improvements, like snowmaking on the Palisades side of the mountain, appear to be bigger priorities.
The reason why it’s not an immediate option is that new lifts are pricey. The last chairlift installed at Red Lodge was the Stache Express, a high-speed triple chairlift that’s originally from Alta Ski Area. This $3 million project was possible thanks to used lifts being less pricey.
Another area for growth is expanding summer operations. Last summer, Red Lodge debuted summer operations off the Stache Express. Some of the activities at the ski resort include scenic chairlift rides, cross-country mountain biking trails (no lift-serviced mountain biking yet), disc golf, and hosting events like weddings. Currently, summer operations account for 15% of business at the ski resort.
“With the addition of summer operations on the mountain we have the ability to lower the negative financial impact of a low snow year,” said Weimar. “We are looking at summer activities from two angles — how do we become a sought-after wedding and event venue, and how do we offer something that draws the 450,000 visitors coming to Red Lodge to drive the Beartooth Pass to include a visit to the mountain as part of their trip.”
Red Lodge has a lot of potential. However, its inconsistent snowfall at times, along with an odd lift layout, has kept it from reaching its full potential. For example, the base area features two fixed-grip chairlifts, and a high-speed chairlift serves the beginner area. If they can grow summer visitation and fix their lift situation, it could become one of the best ski areas in Montana.
Image Credits: Red Lodge Mountain
