• Environment

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., June 8, 2023—Alterra Mountain Company unveiled its new social responsibility platform, Forward Stance, which focuses on four core pillars: prioritizing people, protecting the planet, investing in community, and operating responsibly. “Alterra Mountain Company has dedicated tremendous effort to identify and set up...

• Environment

SAM Magazine—Waterville Valley, N.H., June 8, 2023—Ski areas in New Hampshire tallied more than 2.2 million skier and snowboarder visits in the 2022-23 season, an increase of 13 percent over the previous season, according to Ski New Hampshire. The growth was almost double the national average visit growth of 6.6 percent. “After what initiall...

• Environment

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, June 5, 2023—The Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) has voted to approve a long-term regional transportation plan from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) that includes the widely-debated Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola. Image credit: Gondola Works When asked how significant a step it was for th...

• Lifts
• Environment

SAM Magazine—Quebec, Canada, June 5, 2023—Quebec’s 75 ski areas saw 6.6 million skier visits during the 2022-23 winter season, and increase of 5 percent over last season, according to the Quebec Ski Areas Association (ASSQ). The result is the best season in 16 years.  The preliminary numbers are part of the 2022-23 Economic and Financial St...

• Environment

SAM Magazine—Jeffersonville, Vt., June 2, 2023—The owners of Stowe Mountain Resort and Smugglers’ Notch Resort are in talks to install a connector gondola between the two properties. The proposed lift would link Spruce Peak at Stowe to Sterling Mountain at Smugglers’ Notch. “Smugglers’ Notch Resort, with support from Stowe Mountain Res...

• Ski Patrol
• Environment

SAM Magazine—Perisher Valley, New South Wales, June 2, 2023—Vail Resorts has appointed Nathan Butterworth as the new vice president and general manager of Australia’s Perisher Ski Resort, effective June 12. He succeeds Belinda Trembath, who was named as vice president and COO of Whistler Blackcomb, also owned by Vail Resorts, in April.  But...

• Personnel Issues
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., May 31, 2023—Lift mechanics and electricians at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) have signed union authorization cards initiating a process to unionize. Resort management and leaders at ownership group Vail Resorts now have the option to voluntary recognize the union, a move that would bypass the need for ...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Denver, June 1, 2023—Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Schweitzer, Idaho, from owner and developer MKM Trust. The transaction is expected to close later in 2023 and is subject to closing conditions such as regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Tom Chasse, who has been ...

• Miscellaneous
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, June 1, 2023—Utah’s 15 ski areas saw a record 7.1 million skier visits during the snowy 2022-23 winter season, beating the old record of 5.8 million in 2021-22 by a whopping 22 percent, according to the state’s ski area trade organization, Ski Utah. The number is unofficial as of now since Snowbird is reop...

• Personnel Issues

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., May 30, 2023—Six lift maintenance teams have been chosen to participate in the third annual Rise Up Challenge, which is supported by Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA). Arapahoe Basin, Colo., Deer Valley, Utah, Killington Resort, Vt., Mansfield Ski Club, Ont., Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore., and Powder Ridge, Minn., were select...

• Snowmaking
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., May 25, 2023—The winter 2022-23 ski season ended on a high note courtesy of extraordinary snowfall across the West. But the upcoming months are showing considerable slowing from previous summers. Data collected by DestiMetrics, part of the business intelligence division of Inntopia, through April 30 show notab...

• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Bear Valley, Calif., May 23, 2023 – Several ski areas in the West are reporting that their summer operations and activities will move forward mostly as scheduled despite receiving historic snowfalls and extending their winter operating seasons late into the spring.Courtesy of Bear Valley Resort In many cases, hiking and biking trai...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Valdez, Alaska, May 17, 2023—Alaska’s Southcentral Regional Land Office (SCRO) has given preliminary approval to East Peak Resort (EPR) for a 20-year, 800-acre state land lease that may signify a small step forward for what company officials say could one day be a four-season resort. A final decision is expected by the end of Jun...

• Lifts
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—West Yellowstone, Mont., May 12, 2023—Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) held its first in-person spring conference since 2019 on April 3-5, 2023, at West Yellowstone, Mont., where snowpack was on the order of four feet and drifted-in roofs were still on the edge of collapse. Attendance was slightly below the 2019 confere...

• Ski Patrol
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Savannah, Ga., May 12, 2023—The 2023 National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) National Convention and Tradeshow drew more than 840 mountain resort professionals, suppliers, and speakers to Savannah, Ga., for three days of networking, learning, and celebrating what the numbers show was a successful 2022-23 winter season for U.S. ski ar...