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SAM Throwback

  • Move Over, Adrenaline

    March 2018

    Move Over, Adrenaline

    Cross Country Mountain biking looks to be one of the first potential summer operations to be able to open amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out this article from March 2018.

  • Year-Round Passes

    March 2020

    Year-Round Passes

    Season pass sales are being heavily impacted by COVID-19, one product resorts are looking at are year-round passes.

March 2001

  • Push to The Latest: No
  • Reports
    Court Decides for Jiminy peak--broken femur incident 1998; Mammoth Power Fines End, For Now--infamous rolling blackouts; NSAA Introduces New Symbol--orange blob for freestyle terrain; Snowboard Life Folds; Okemo Gets Act 250 Approval;Loon and Lookout Hope to Expand; Boyd Purchases Mad River Mountain; Cuchara Sale Still Pending; Wisp Resort to be Sold; MIssion Ridge for Sale; Skier Sentenced--Nathan Hall, criminally negligent homicide in Vail incident; Sigge Berman, Craig Buchler, David Marsh and Jo Merillac obituaries; People and Supplier news.
  • Getting Into Bed Together
    Cross-promotions between manufacturers of consumer goods and resorts can bring added profits and exposure to both sides of the industry.
  • Skates, Boards, Plywood and Asphalt
    Mount Sunapee, N.H., built a skatepark in their parking lot, generating summer traffic, earning money and turning parents into real fans.
  • Maximum Golf School
    This article explains the logic behind the Stratton Golf School, a popular summer attraction that has been earning money. An accompanying article describes practice facilities to help golfers improve.
  • More Than a Drive
    An article describing design elements behind building practice facilities to help golfers improve their short games.
  • Golf Meets Frisbee
    Disc golf, using Frisbees, gives summer visitors another reason to get out on the mountain without the expense of building a dedicated golf course.
  • From Resort Waste to Regional Resource
    The recycling, composting program at Keystone, Colo., combines kitchen scraps with horse manure to produce a resource used by landscapers throughout Summit County.
  • Feeding the Beast
    The summer 2000 snowmaking project at Killington, Vt., helped boost its snowmaking capacity by 30 percent.
  • Tarzan for a Day
    Aerial trekking, wherein guests put on harnesses and then tackle a system of challenging high ropes courses of different degrees of difficulty makes for summer fun on both sides of the Atlantic.
  • Instruction: Practice Makes Perfect
    Instructors should learn a new sport or instruct a favorite summer activity in the off season to hone teaching technique.
  • Economical and Civilized Lift Seating
    Contour Loading on high-speed detachables helps efficiency, makes guests comfortable, saves space and might be the future.
  • Piling on the Extras
    This piece is about a Leran To Ski/Ride program at Pats Peak, N.H., where extra income is generated by lesson programs run for local schools. It brings together meals, rentals, lessons, retail purchases intoan a la carte menu for parents who save money and generate income for the ski area.
  • Trends: A New Toy is Coming
    The introduction of the snowdeck, a cross between snowboard and skateboard without wheels or binding, creates some questions for resorts and looks like the Next Big Thing.
  • When Strong Metals Fail
    This is a piece on the principles of mechanical failure in metal parts aimed at the maintenance mechanic.
  • Zeth Says: Party with the Guests
    Slats Grabski tells Seth real retention starts after lessons, at the bar. Have fun with guests during and after the day, like the all days, and retention rates will really start to improve. Undercutting neighboring areas with price wars is counterproductive to the NSAA Model for Growth
  • What's New?
    ZEM, SnowQUEST, Amaze'n Mazes, Thomas Instruments, The Skier's Edge, Sitour's RRN, Swede-Attach spreader, Slingshot virtual sliding, Bachtold Bros., K2 Snowcycle, Kwik boot dryer, Pilz Safety BUS, Vivonet system, Motorola, Husky siding, Floor Matting, Delta Cycle, Reliable Racing, Gai-Tronics, Culinary Software and Met-Tile roofing.
  • Idea Files
    Mowing low under lifts so parts don't get lost at Song Mountain, N.Y.; Portable soda dispensing system at Wild Mountain, Minn.; Wood lift loading and unloading ramps for summer use at Montage Mountain, Penn.
  • Blue Pages
    Musical Chairs, Washington Style/first appointments in Bush administration; Our Exported Politesse Takes Root/American-type smiles and service in French resorts; Midwest Areas Form Rental Buying Group; Terrain Parks: Opportunity or Threat/NSAA terrain Park Resource Guide; The French Weep a Tear at Squaw Valley/Jo Marrillac Dies; Short Turns on Ajax name change, Vail fire book, SIA Retail Audit, Ski Press makes debut.
  • The End Page
    The Great Keystone Survivor Caper where five people spent up to a month in a gondola cabin suspended from a crane. The contestants (the contest was sponsored by Denver radio station KRFX) voted out one person a week. 22-year-old winner from Keystone.
  • Keeping Safety Up Front
    From NSAA's Safety Week to individual programs, ski areas around the country are making safety awareness a top priority.
  • A Consumer Challenges: Why the despicable instruction monopoly?
    A beginning skier writes about what looks like a monopoly to her: The fact that ski schools look askance at independent/freelance private instructors. She considers the price of lessons out of sight and despairs that she can't easily hire a private contractor to give her a lesson. The letter caps three consecutive issues of opinion pieces discussing the current controversy wrapped around ways to make the skier-instructor interface easier, more fun and effective.
  • It's You; Not the Equipment
    While equipment advances are great, let's not forget to sell the fun that is skiing. David suggests instructors ski on the gear that's available in the rental shop and show beginners it's not the skis or snowboards that makes fun, it's learning how to ski. "I've learned to ski well, now you are about to as well."
  • A Growing Disconnect
    Despite surveys that show price is not a factor in deciding whether to ski,, logic dictates it does make a difference and high prices could lead to declining numbers of participants more quickly than we realize.
  • FRanklin Bowers-Industry Model
    This is an appreciation of Franklin Bowers, who worked for Hall Lifts and Von Roll Tramways, becoming service department manager.
  • Cover
    Cover shot of an inline skater getting air corresponds to our issue featuring summer activivites at resorts. A piece on building skate parks starts on page 47. Shot by Sierra Photo at Mount Sunapee, N.H.