SAM Magazine—Jackson Hole, Wyo., May 3, 2024—Peter Wuerslin, a 71-year-old ski instructor, was killed after being struck from behind by another skier who was also travelling downhill on an intermediate trail at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, April 14. The Teton County coroner has ruled the death a homicide. A separate police investigation is un...

SAM Magazine—Jasper, Alberta, May 1, 2024—More than 425 ski area operators and suppliers gathered in Jasper, Alberta, for networking, education, and late season turns at the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA) Spring Conference, April 21-24. Katie with Marmot Basin's mountain manager Rob Ellen SAM senior editor Katie Brinton attended t...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 1, 2024—Russ Coloton and Kenny Hess will receive the 2024 National Ski Area Association (NSAA) Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary lifetime commitment to NSAA and the ski industry, and whose contributions will benefit the industry for decades to come....

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, April 25, 2024—Utah’s 15 ski resorts generated nearly $2 billion in nonresident visitor spending during the 2022-23 ski season, and local skiers contributed almost $700 million more—reflecting a surge in skier visits driven in part by record snowfall—according to an April 2024 report from the Kem C. Gard...

SAM Magazine—Denver, April 24, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company has published its second annual impact report that outlines the company’s social responsibility efforts as part of its “Forward Stance” platform. The 164-page report—organized around the key pillars of people, planet, community, and responsibility—details Alterra’s various...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 24, 2024—Skier visits are down but revenues are up for Vail Resorts’ North American ski areas during the 2023-24 winter season, according to a report from the company comparing certain ski season metrics year-over-year through mid-April. Season-to-date skier visits were down 7.8 percent in 2023-24 compar...

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 7, 2024—The 2024-25 Ikon Pass suite goes on sale March 14, with 58 destinations and a handful of new benefits. The company has bumped up prices, with the unrestricted Ikon Pass retailing for $1,249 (compared to $1,159 last year) and the Ikon Base Pass on sale for $869 (up from $829 last year).  The two- to four-day ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., March 6, 2024—Both Bombardier Recreational Products, which owns Ski-Doo snowmobiles, and Polaris have issued recalls for certain snowmobile models due to potential safety issues. Bombardier is recalling roughly 8,100 model year 2024 Ski-Doo MXZ and Renegade snowmobiles equipped with Pilot X skis sold in the United S...

SAM Magazine—Concord, N.H., Feb. 22, 2024— Six months after the departure of John “JD” DeVivo, New Hampshire’s Cannon Mountain will soon have a new general manager, Jace Wirth.  New Hampshire lawmakers recently approved the salary for Wirth, allowing the Steamboat Springs, Colo., native to take the helm at the state-owned ski area in ...

• Obituary
• Summer
• Conferences / Trade Shows

SAM Magazine—Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Feb. 16, 2024—Today, Sugarloaf is opening West Mountain, a new 120-acre terrain expansion served by a high-speed detachable quad with an uphill capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour, which terminates at the Bullwinkle’s restaurant near the midpoint of the 4,237-foot mountain. Nine of the planned 12 trails ...

• Diversity
• Marketing
• Business
• Lift Maintenance
• Regulation

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 15, 2024—Hotel bookings at mountain destinations in the western U.S. have dropped to a 30-month low, while room rates remain stubbornly high despite a drop in guest interest in overnight stays, according to the latest monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia....

• Rental
• Skis / Boots / Poles
• Snowboards / Boots
• New Products
• Conferences / Trade Shows
• Cross Country / Snowshoeing

SAM Magazine–Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 15, 2023—Skiers hit the slopes at New Mexico’s Sandia Peak Ski Area last weekend as the mountain opened for the first time in two years.Courtesy of Sandia Peak Ski Area The opening marked the debut of operations at Sandia Peak under the aegis of Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), which announced a joint ven...

• Pub Memo
• Area Management
• Conferences / Trade Shows

SAM Magazine—Lafayette, Colo., Feb. 13, 2024—Snowsports school management software provider flaik is now a Certified B Corporation after satisfying the required criteria to earn the recognition, scoring 86.2 out of 100 in the evaluation of five primary areas relating to the company’s business practices: governance, workers, community, environ...

• News
• Obituary
• People
• Safety
• International
• Racing
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Choteau, Mont., Feb. 12, 2024—Teton Pass Ski Area is the latest in a string of resorts to pull the plug on a 2023-24 ski season bedeviled by shifting weather patterns and unseasonably warm temperatures. A historic lack of snow—or almost any precipitation at all—has forced the early closure of the Montana ski area. In a six-pag...

• Ticketing
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—West Dover, Vt., Feb. 9, 2024—It’s that time of year again, when folks gather for a bit of networking, education, and snow sliding at the National Ski Areas Association winter conferences. More than 500 operators and suppliers descended on Keystone, Colo., Jan. 17-19, for the NSAA Western Conference. After a rough start to the s...