The Blade Dive - Episode 37, we are joined by the “Silver Nail” Andreas Silbernagl.

Growing up in the southwest end of the Italian Dolomite Alps, Andreas Silbernagl spent much of his time skiing and figured out quickly that after 8 years of school, that he wasn’t interested in the classroom. Eventually, Silbernagl would earn several technician certifications and excavator/truck licenses, however, working outside and learning outside is still a priority to him. After enduring a period of life in the army as a member of the special forces airborne unit, Silbernagl spent time becoming familiar with ski resort operations and would land at Prinoth as the manager of all snow grooming equipment demo operations.  Silbernagl has built world class ski racing venues, terrain parks and demoed equipment all over the world!

Even though the most difficult thing for Andreas Silbernagl is being in the office, the customer contacts as well as the feedback is how Silbernagl justifies tackling any desk work. It’s fair to say that the machine is the office space Silbernagl prefers, seeing as he is traveling  200 days a year. That being said, Silbernagl's choice of resort to visit or operate a machine is Whistler, Canada.  Most recently Silbernagl has been building the World Cup race course at Cortina ISTA Ski Area, Italy.

Episode 37 was such a fun conversation! We discuss the industry interpretation of the terms “operator” & “driver”, hand throttle usage compared to foot throttle usage while grooming. That nothing can replace seat time. The Leica Geosystems and just how helpful new technology can be, but that familiarizing yourself with any type of equipment is the first step. Again, I felt as if I was just catching up with a friend. Andreas Silbernagl believes in building trust amongst the crews of people he works with and values the transparency within conversation, as Silbernagl says, “there’s no safe space, especially if you claim to be good, you’ll be held accountable”.

Enjoy! And if you’re in the machine, Turn up the volume!

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