PEAK RESORTS TO ACQUIRE WILDCAT

At presstime, Peak Resorts entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all Wildcat Mountain Ski Area assets and attractions in Pinkham Notch, N.H., from longtime owner Pat Franchi, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service. Adding to its portfolio of resorts located in six U.S. states, including Attitash and Crotched Mountain, N.H., and Mount Snow, Vt., Wildcat will become the 12th ski resort currently owned and operated by Peak Resorts.


OBITUARY

Georges Salomon, the master behind the Salomon brand, died October 5 at age 84 at his home on Lake Annecy, France. Salomon originally developed a step-in ski binding in the early 1950s that revolutionized modern skiing and turned Salomon into a global ski brand.


AWARDS

World Champion ski racer Daron Rahlves, iconic skiing legend Glen Plake, and the late big-mountain freeskier Shane McConkey are among six skiers and builders named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. They will be joined by Paralympic medalist and World Champion Muffy Davis, Olympian Bobby Cochran, and resort builder Earl Holding, owner of Sun Valley and Snowbasin. The class will be inducted Apr. 2, 2011 at Sun Valley as part of a weeklong celebration of skiing history, including Sun Valley’s 75th season.

The Canadian Ski Council has chosen the Huter family as recipients of the 2010 Judith Kilbourne Founders Award. The Huters purchased Mount St. Louis in 1963 and developed the area into Mount St. Louis Moonstone, the largest single family-run ski area in Canada.


PEOPLE

Candace Horgan is the new communications director at the National Ski Patrol.

Protect our Winters welcomes Auden Schendler to it board of directors.

Robert Megnin is the new sales and marketing director at Killington Resort and Pico Mountain, Vt. . .Stowe Mountain Lodge named Richard McLennan as managing director.

In New Hampshire, Shawn Jackson was hired as culinary director at Mount Sunapee. At Waterville Valley, Chris Sununu is the new CEO, and Bob Fries the new president.

Mountain Creek, N.J., announced the promotion of Joe Hession to VP/GM.

Snowshoe, W.V., hired Ken Gaitor as the area’s new snowmaking and grooming manager. 

Vail Resorts, Colo., promoted Alex Iskenderian to COO and senior VP of the Vail Resorts Development Company. Also at Vail, Bobby Murphy was named director of Vail Mountain’s Snowsports School. . .At Arapahoe Basin, Roxanne Hoover became the human resources manager; Patrick O’Sullivan became the risk manager; and Tony Cammarata is the new ski patrol director.

At Sun Valley Nordic and Snowshoe Center, Ida., Ivana Radlova is the new director.

Grand Targhee, Wyo., named Geordie Gillett the new president; Karen Cameron is the interim GM; Pete Kelly is the interim director of mountain operations; Jim Costello joined the Targhee team as director of sales and marketing; and Joe Calder is the new ski patrol director.

The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, owned by Powdr Corp., promoted Kevin Stickelman to president and GM.

Mt. Bachelor, Ore., welcomes Andy Goggins as the new director of marketing and communications.

In California, Andy Wirth is the new head of Squaw Valley; Scott Clarkson is VP of marketing and sales; and J.P. Martin is the new terrain park manager. . .At Kirkwood, Michael Dalzell was appointed director of marketing and sales. . .Kevin Mitchell is the new regional director of snow sports and resort services at Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain Resorts. . .Josh Chauvet was named action sports brand manager at Mammoth Mountain. . .Mt. Rose hired Sean Bakso as sales and marketing manager. . .Mountain High promoted Robert Chacon to assistant mountain manager; Cindy Shippy to resort experience manager; and Justin Montoya to terrain and snow surfaces manager.

Alyeska Resort, Alaska, named Tysen Gregersen director of facilities and grounds.


SUPPLIER NEWS

Emerson Bearing recently renovated its shipping department to ensure good customer service and satisfaction. From intake and processing of orders with new technology to a revamp of the stockrooms, Emerson has streamlined operations. Visit www.emersonbearing.com for more information.

Leitner-Poma announced that Jean Gauthier has been appointed chairman of the supervisory board.

Sun Valley Ski Tools acquired Kwik and Tomic brands from Z Sports.

Irwin Curtin is the new ski columnist for The Record of Bergen County, N.J.

At MountainGuard, Stephen Lawlor is a new claims specialist.

Rossignol appointed Tim Petrick as the new president for North American operations.

All-Season Extreme, the reps for Snowflex, have relocated to lake Geneva, Wisc. They can be reached at (262) 949-9068.