Every year, Vail Resorts names one — and only one — employee at each of its properties as an EpicService award winner. The award signifies the highest level of guest service by a Vail Resorts employee. Paul Gruber, senior manager of competitions and events, holds the honor now at Park City Mountain.
Originally from Bethlehem, New Hampshire, Gruber spent a little over seven and a half years based in Fort Collins, Colorado, as the operations manager for New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat before moving to Park City. The event raises money for nonprofits by hosting a bicycle parade complete with costumes, followed by a party and live music.
He brought his event experience to Park City Mountain in April 2019 as manager of competition services.
Last October, Vail Resorts promoted him to senior manager of competitions. Shortly before that, Vail Resorts named him as one of only 25 team members throughout North America to win the EpicService award. He spent this last winter season not only receiving recognition for “putting service-based leadership into action,” according to Vail Resorts, but also celebrating Park City Mountain’s 60th anniversary. In fact, he was most excited about working on the 60th anniversary festivities.
“It was really great to bring a large-format concert back to Mountain Village during our 60th anniversary celebration weekend,” he said. “This was the first time in a few years we were able to bring that venue to life for a big concert.”
During the 2021-22 season he quickly organized a large-scale event that April 15, called Huck for Chuck, which paid tribute to Park City local Charlie Scott. Scott passed away April 1, 2022, in a skiing accident at the resort. He was the assistant park and pipe regional team coach for Park City & Snowboard and a 2017 slopestyle skiing junior national champion.
“The whole Park City Mountain team was humbled to offer the opportunity to the Scott family to provide an event for them to gather with family and friends to honor and say goodbye to Chuck in one of his most beloved places,” Gruber said.
Last year, he helped organize JBL’s Peaks on Peaks event, which took place during the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend. The snowboard exhibition featured professional athletes in the Pick ‘N Shovel terrain park.
“The biggest challenge leading up to the event was organizing and executing this event on a tight timeline. Typically events of this size and complexity take six to 12 months to plan, but our team was able to organize the event in just under two months,” he said. “Peaks on Peaks ended up being an amazing event with a fun livestream of the athletes helping each other progress in Pick ‘N Shovel, coupled with an engaging expo for the public at Canyons Village.”
Working with coworkers and collaborating with different divisions to create special events is one of the aspects he loves most about his position.
“He does an amazing job with competitions and events across the resort,” said Emily McDonald, Park City communications manager.
He also enjoys the unusual experiences his role affords.
“There are a lot of early mornings and late nights involved with my job, and that gives me a lot of unique opportunities at the mountain. I love the early morning sunrises from the top of CB’s Run and the late summer sunsets from the Mountain Amphitheater at Canyons Village,” he said.
Of course, any job comes with challenges. The main one for him involves managing conflicting priorities of various groups.
“I work hard to ensure our race programs have the training opportunities they need in the early season, while minimizing impacts to the guest experience,” he said, adding that daily exercise and yoga keep him on track. “Ensuring I stay on top of my self-care routine is crucial to staying fresh and motivated throughout the seasons.”
His favorite run is CB’s, and his favorite outdoor activities involve early-morning road bike rides during warmer months and taking in the sunrise over the Wasatch Mountains throughout the year.
While he felt humbled, amazed and even overwhelmed to win the EpicService award, he missed the reward trip to Vail, Colorado, last fall because he was bringing his 89-year-old mother home for hospice care.
“That was the hardest and most rewarding epic service I will ever experience,” he said.
As he continues to set his sights on the future, he looks forward to being involved in attracting one of the biggest international competitions.
“I’m excited to build a world-class special event production and operations team to help lead Park City Mountain toward the 2034 Olympic Games,” he said.