“It also helps keep me aware of what’s beyond Sugar Mountain,” she says. “The people on the board are all terrific and are there for all the right reasons.” She co-chaired the Y’s capital campaign committee (2006-2007), which raised $2 million; she calls it “a wonderful challenge,” to be a part of a meaningful local project from dream to reality. Kim is a well-rounded, multi-talented wife and mother who also enjoys spending time in the kitchen, baking. In 2007, and again in 2010, she won blue ribbons at the Avery County Fair for her delicious drop chocolate chip cookies. She learned a lot from her mother, who was “always baking,” she says. “We also grew a large garden when I was young, and we harvested lots and lots of vegetables for the winter.” She specifically remembers apple picking, from which her mother taught her to make pies and sauces. “Every fall, Dad loaded us up in our yellow VW bus and we headed about an hour west to Philips Orchard in New York State,” she says. “We picked (and ate) loads
Kim Jochl, world-class skier, lives her dream at Sugar Mountain Resort, where she not only hits the slopes every day during ski season, but also serves as vice-president and director of marketing and merchandising. Photo submitted
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and loads of apples. To this day I remember the crisp, cold, juicy delicious taste of a fresh New England McIntosh or Cortland apple. So tasty.” Kim also enjoys finding time to read, especially historical biographies and novels, naming as her favorites, “Gone with the Wind,” “War and Peace,” and most recently Mark Twain’s “Joan of Arc.” She really likes winter fashion and the latest skiing apparel and outerwear. And, she loves hot chocolate, “made with whole milk and topped with fresh, real whipped cream on a frigid, snowy winter day,” she says. Kim works out to stay fit, year-round, but during the winter, it’s a good bet that she will take at least one run a day down the slopes.
Back at the resort Helping to operate one of the Southeast’s major ski resorts is no small feat, Kim admits. And, it’s not just a winter job. “We are very busy and work really hard, especially from Oct. – Mar.,” Kim
says. “Even when the season begins to slow down, there is still a lot to be done.” The Jochls and their management team quickly transition to follow-up mode about this time every year, analyzing and reviewing each season, and deciding what they can do to make it better for the next year. They never really slow down, “until about July,” Kim says, but even then, summers are utilized to implement changes for the upcoming season “and to ensure we maintain viable and fun summer activities, too.” Kim applauds the “great team,” that makes Sugar Mountain Resort the success that it is, saying the longevity of their crew speaks for itself. “Some of our staff have been here for 20 years or longer,” she says, “including our director of operations, Warren Hodges, who has been at Sugar since it first opened in 1969. Some of our seasonal employees come back, year after year. We consider them a part of our family.” Sugar Mountain employees approximately 500 each year.