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Steamboat Springs — After eight years as an ambassador at Steamboat Ski Area, Margot Johns can spot people who need assistance almost instantly, regardless of poor visibility and the difficulty in reading facial expressions through goggles and neck gaiters.

On Upper High Noon on Thursday, the veteran ski area ambassador skied over to two bundled-up women standing near the top of the run to ask whether they needed help. To the untrained eye, the two were just scouting out the run, but sure enough, in socked-in conditions on Sunshine Peak, the two were confused about how to get to Rendezvous Saddle for lunch.

"Here, I'll take you two down," Johns said, beginning an easy path down the run, keeping near the trees on the right side to make it easier for the women to see the runs.

Steamboat Ski Area's more than 100 ambassadors perform a wide range of guest service functions on any given day, including manning the gondola maze in the morning, leading ski and snowshoe tours, staffing the Gondola Square information center, pouring hot chocolate and cider for skiers and riders at the end of the day, and helping Steamboat Ski Patrol sweep the mountain for stragglers at closing time.

"The ambassadors are a pretty busy group. They truly do earn their keep," guest services manager Mike Circle said.

Ambassadors work 17 full-day shifts during ski season, amounting to one day a week, in return for a season ski pass. Of the ski area's 116 ambassadors for the current season, 15 are full-time seasonal employees, and the remaining 101 are volunteers, Circle said.

"We've got Ph.D.s, doctors, lawyers, pilots. Most of the folks are retired - retired young," Circle said.

Johns became an ambassador her second year in town, after moving to Steamboat Springs with her new husband. She attended elementary school in Wheat Ridge and wanted to return to the mountains. She and her husband decided they'd take a weeklong ski vacation for two years each at resort towns until they found where they wanted to move, and they ended up outside Steamboat the first weekend of their proposed exploration.

Describing herself as a "people person," Johns said it was the interaction that drew her to becoming an ambassador.

"I love to ski, but I really enjoy being with people," Johns said. "It seemed like a fun thing to do, and it was a fun thing to do, so I stuck with it."

"There's a lot of camaraderie among the ambassadors," Johns said. "People are just so grateful when you put their skis back on after they fall or something. It's a day of good feelings."

After this week's hiring clinics, the applicant pool will be ranked according to skiing or riding ability, personality, and knowledge of the mountain and the community. After the number of returning ambassadors is determined in the fall, new ambassadors will be invited in order of ranking.

About 25 of the 100 applicants for this season made the cut, Circle said.

A day in the life

A day for the ambassadors starts early, with a 7:45 a.m. morning meeting to discuss the day's on-mountain activities and events, snow conditions, hold a safety clinic and get their assignments, Circle said.

They start out at the base for "meet and greet" at the Gondola Transit Center and in Gondola Square, passing out trail maps and daily grooming reports.

"You're ready to help moms trying to climb down the stairs with six pairs of skis," Johns said.

The ambassadors head up the mountain at about 10 a.m. after the morning crowds subside, and they assemble to lead free daily ski, snowboard, snowshoe and the guided gourmet snowshoe tours.

Anywhere from a handful to 130 people take a free tour daily, Circle said, and they try to limit tours to 10 people a guide.

After tours conclude at lunchtime, the rest of the afternoon is filled with what is called "guest assisting." Each ambassador skis or rides an assigned area of the mountain, eyes peeled for people who may need assistance.

"We never go past anyone who has a trail map open, we never go past anyone who's down, even though snowboarders are always sitting down," Johns said. "You never know when someone is hurt or has a broken binding."

"We're quite often the first people to respond to an accident or incident. All ambassadors have radios so they can contact Ski Patrol," Circle said. "We assist with several injuries a day."

Three ambassadors assist Ski Patrol in "sweeping the mountain" one run at a time beginning at about 3:15 p.m., ensuring no one is left behind on the closing mountain, finishing that task at about 5 p.m. Another group of ambassadors is assigned to "egress" at closing time, essentially starting at the top of the mountain and directing people down.

"A lot of times, people don't understand that the lifts are closing," Circle said.

The layout of the mountain can be confusing, too - people don't always understand that they can't easily ski down from the top of the mountain to Thunderhead Peak without going back up the Burgess Creek or Elkhead lifts first, Johns said.

Other end-of-the-day jobs include serving hot chocolate and cider in Gondola Square, and helping people find their shuttles in the transit center.

Ambassadors also take care of market research for the ski area, surveying about 5,000 guests a season, Circle said.

"We find out what people like, what they don't like, what they'd like to see change, what they'd like to see added," Circle said.

Ambassadors also staff the Gondola Square information center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, handle the mountain's snowshoe rentals and maintain Steamboat's lost-and-found. Accessories that are never claimed, like goggles and gloves, eventually find a new home at the information center as loaner gear, Circle said.

- To reach Melinda Dudley, call 871-4203 or e-mail mdudley@steamboatpilot.com