SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., May 28, 2013—Vail Resorts (VR) has named Taylor Ogilvie as general manager of Mt. Brighton, Mich. He will begin his new position on June 10. Ogilvie is originally from the Chicago suburbs and grew up skiing in the Midwest. Ogilvie has been a ski instructor at VR and worked his way up through the ranks....

SAM Magazine—Banff, Alberta, May 28, 2013—Mt. Norquay has received approval from Parks Canada for a long-range improvement plan for summer and winter operations. The plan calls for widening of trails, renovating the Cliff House lodge and adding an observation deck, and creating a cable-assisted summer hiking trail. As part of the lon...

SAM Magazine—Wanaka, New Zealand., May 28, 2013—New Zealand’s Snow Park will not be opening for the 2013 season. The manager of the past three years, the Synnott family, did not renew its lease, and management reverted to Sam Lee, who founded the park in 2002. Lee is now seeking capital with which to reopen the area, known for its...

SAM Magazine—Orlando, Fla., May 22, 2013—CNL Lifestyle Properties is testing the market value of its ski village holdings, which it acquired from Intrawest nearly a decade ago. That foray marked CNL’s entry into the winter resort business; it liked the industry so much that CNL has since become the nation’s largest owner of ...

SAM Magazine—San Clemente, Calif., May 22, 2013—Source Interlink’s GrindMedia division acquired the TransWorld magazine titles on May 20, swapping them with Bonnier Corp. for Source Interlink’s nine motorcycle titles. The exchange gives Source Interlink multiple titles in snowboarding, and Bonnier several titles in cycling. ...

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 22, 2013—Eastern destination lodging results reflected a strong start and finish to the 2012-13 season, outpacing the gains at Western resorts, according to data released by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). In the East, the final tally for the season, November through April, revealed an aggregated 1...

SAM Magazine--May 15, 2013--The winter season crossed the finish line with a positive outcome for mountain lodging in both western and eastern mountain destinations according to the latest data released by the Mountain Travel Research Program.* In the west, a slow start to the season was reversed with improving snow conditions and economic news thr...

SAM Magazine--May 15, 2013--In its Capital Watch newletter, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced the following: The Forest Service issued the long awaited advertising and sponsorship policy this week. In addition to Monday’s Federal Register Notice on the policy, there is a Directive from the Forest Service Manual and a Q&A...

SAM Magazine--May 15, 2013--The Empire State Development Division of Tourism, which administers the I LOVE NY program, was a co-recipient along with Ski Areas of New York, Inc. (SANY) and the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) of the 2013 Tourism Excellence Award for Tourism Promotion at the 7th Annual I LOVE NEW YORK Empire State Touris...

SAM Magazine--May 14, 2013--The state Senate in California passed SB564, a bill that would require ski resorts in that state to prepare an annual safety plan and to post those reports on their websites. The bill by Senator Bill Monning (D), which was passed by a 24-8 partisan vote, is the third attempt in California to legislate safety procedures, ...

SAM Magazine--May 14, 2013--The sale of the beleaguered Snö Mountain, Pa., to a group of investors that will bring back the area's original name, Montage Mountain, was finalized last Friday. Montage first opened in 1983 and was run by Lackawanna County until 2006, when it was purchased by a group that renamed the ski area Snö Mountain...

SAM Magazine--May 14, 2013--According to the Times-Tribune, a judge ruled that a mountainside community can restrict water access to Elk Mountain, Pa. At issue is a 10-acre lake that is connected to the resort's 4-acre snowmaking pond. In 2011, the Village of Four Seasons revoked Elk's right to draw water from the lake and filed suit later ...

SAM Magazine—McLean, Va., May 10, 2013—For the season, August through March, winter sports retail sales grew 3 percent over the prior year to $3.4 billion, according to RetailTRAK data released by SnowSports Industries America and Leisure Trends Group. As has been the case for several years, accessories and apparel led the way. Acces...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., May 9, 2013—The Environment Foundation, with primary funding provided by Aspen Snowmass employees, has made the largest grant in its 16-year history, donating $50,000 to protect 220,000 acres of Federal land from oil and gas development. The land is at Thompson Divide, outside of Carbondale, Colo. The grant is...

SAM Magazine--May 9, 2013--Whistler Blackcomb Holdings, Inc., the corporation that holds a 75% interest in the entities that operate Whistler Blackcomb, announced its second quarter numbers, as well as numbers for the six months ended March 31, 2013 (all numbers are in Canadian dollars). Total revenue for the six-month period was $182.5 million, 4....