Selling Snow
Selling Snow
Andrew Zwicker
Ep.11 - Brendan Hickey and Grace Hornbeak of Mt. Shasta - How to win with honesty and keeping it real.
59 minutes Posted Apr 6, 2026 at 10:50 pm.
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What if the most powerful thing you could do as a ski area… is just tell the truth?
This week on Selling Snow, we head to Northern California to a truly magical place in the shadow of a massive volcano, to return to the roots of what makes skiing fun.
In the Northern California region, lovingly referred to as “Almost Oregon,” we connected with 
Brendan Hickey and Grace Hornbea from Mt. Shasta Ski Park—an independent mountain that’s carving out its own unique lane in a world of mega passes and crowded resorts.
We get into how they’ve built a brand around being approachable, affordable, and human—and why leaning into honesty, instead of hype, is actually driving stronger connections with their guests.
Because at the end of the day, what people really care about, is having fun with friends, being outside in a spectacular location, and feeling something real.
From turning fixed-grip chairlifts into connection time… to building tight-knit communities through twilight skiing… to showing up authentically in their content—this episode is packed with ideas and learning  for ski areas that want to stand out by being themselves.
Grab your crystals, watch out for bigfoot, UFO’s or Lemurians, and let’s head to Mt Shasta Ski Park in Northern California.
We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode you can use to up your own marketing game. Find them all at www.sellingsnow.com