November 2024

FEATURED STORY

SAM Terrain Park Contest 2024

Our annual contest shows how park builders flexed their creativity and ambition during the 2023-24 winter season. Every year, as we sift through the dozens of entries we receive for this contest, we keep our eyes peeled for trends and notable highlights to point out here, and also monitor to see if those trends hold during the coming season. We didn’t need to look too hard this year to identify what worked during the 2023-24 season: Events. We had about twice as many entries for the “Events” category as we did for any of the other three. Whatever the reason for the influx, it’s a good thing. Events build community, are fertile ground for content production, help promote ski ar...

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Thanks for your interest in reading SAM Magazine. We hope you enjoy the select articles from this issue available in their entirety here. If you'd like to read the rest, we can make that happen. Subscribe to SAM before November 30th to receive your issue, and future issues of SAM. Email karolyn@saminfo.com with questions.

The Editors Mountain Spy

Mountain Spy :: November 2024

The Spy asks: “We want to come ski for Thanksgiving. If conditions aren’t good, is there anything else to do?”

The Editors NEW PRODUCTS

New Products :: November 2024

A wide variety of products and services—from hardware to software, and staffing help to safety—for ski area operators to consider.

The Editors and Jess Goucher November 2024

SAM Terrain Park Contest 2024

Our annual contest shows how park builders flexed their creativity and ambition during the 2023-24 winter season.

Tom Foley, Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence, Inntopia November 2024

Finding Balance

A new study of five Colorado mountain communities offers insights about residents’ views on their quality of life and the tourism economy.

Peter Oliver November 2024

Snowmaking

Making Snow The Cross-Country Way

Low-snow winters have convinced some operators to embrace small snowmaking systems.

Peter Landsman, Editor, Liftblog.com November 2024

Lifts

Construction Site :: November 2024

New lifts and snowmaking upgrades at ski areas big and small, for-profit and nonprofit, across North America.

John Ashworth, Principal, Bull Stockwell Allen November 2024

Rev Your Engines!

A focus on project revenue can make the difference between breaking even and a meaningful return on investment.

Helen Olsson November 2024

Staying Uniform

Consolidation has led to a few major manufacturers dominating the uniform market, but wholesale suppliers and smaller outwear brands still hold their own.