SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 27, 2024—Massive fall snowstorms set South America’s ski season off on what has been the best winter this century for many centers there, the majority of which opened weeks early in May.Courtesy of La Parva It was a more challenging first month or so in Australia and New Zealand, though snowmaking pulled ski a...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 27, 2024—Drawing insights from a survey of ski area marketers across North America, the inaugural "Outlook on Resort Marketing" report, created by SAM Magazine and MMGY Origin, is now available exclusively for SAM subscribers. Designed as a key resource for marketing professionals in the ski industry, the repor...

SAM Magazine—Juneau, Alaska, Aug. 22, 2024—Craig Cimmons has been selected as the new general manager of Eaglecrest Ski Area, beginning in early October. Cimmons currently serves as the director of the ski and ride school and community engagement at Jay Peak, Vt.  Cimmons was chosen from a pool of 17 applicants, according to a report from KTO...

• Resort Sale

Updated at 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2024. SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt, Aug. 22, 2024—POWDR has agreed to sell Killington Resort and Pico Mountain to a group of local investors. The sale is expected to close this fall. Following news of the sale, sources report that POWDR also plans to put several of its other ski resort properties—Eldora, Col...

Midwest ski area operators, their teams, and industry suppliers gathered earlier this week at the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) Summer Meeting and Trade Show at the beautiful Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., August 11-14. Attendance was slightly down from last year, which was no surprise given the very challenging winter most experienced. ...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 16, 2024—Rates and occupancy are leveling out in the West, according to the latest Monthly Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. The latest report highlights just how rate sensitive summer guests have become, as a slight uptick in rates last month led to a modest dip in...

Crystal Ridge general manager Riley May at the Midwest Ski Areas Association show.SAM Magazine—Franklin, Wis., Aug. 14, 2024—Rock Snowpark has rebranded as Crystal Ridge, which was the ski area’s original name when John Kaishian first opened it in 1987. The new name goes into effect immediately and the rebrand includes a new Crystal Ridge log...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 7, 2024—SAM has partnered with the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), Taos Ski Valley, N.M., and Mountain Towns 2030 to welcome key stakeholders in the mountain resort community to the 2024 Climate Solutions Summit in Jackson, Wyo., Oct. 15-16 with a free arrival-day program at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort....

SAM Magazine—Londonderry, Vt., Aug. 7, 2024—Magic Mountain has promoted mountain operations director Paul Maitland to general manager. Maitland will report directly to Geoff Hatheway, president of Magic Mountain and managing member of Ski Magic, LLC. “Paul has earned the respect of our staff in not only successfully managing the mountain ope...

SAM Magazine—White Haven, Pa., Aug. 5, 2024—The Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association (PSAA) is rebranding as the Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association (PORA). The new entity will welcome a broad scope of outdoor-focused businesses to its membership and support the state’s outdoor recreation economy by expanding employee education, promoti...

• Lift Operations News

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 5, 2024—Voting is now open for the fourth annual Rise Up Challenge, a video contest highlighting a handful of skilled young lift mechanics who will keep chairs spinning at resorts for decades to come. This year, six resorts were chosen to submit a video, each featuring an up-and-coming mechanic from the reso...

SAM Magazine—Jasper, Alberta, Aug. 1, 2024—In an update shared to social media, Marmot Basin confirmed that its infrastructure was left undamaged by the Jasper Complex Wildfire.  While the fire still rages uncontained in Jasper National Park, the ski area reassured patrons that it intends to operate this coming winter.  “This will take mu...

In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE:  Gardner BeougherGARDNER BEOUGHER, WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT, MT Gardner Beougher has been appointed as the moun...

• Summer Operations News

SAM Magazine—Rossland, B.C., July 29, 2024—Red Mountain Resort has begun construction on the first phase of the new Red Mountain Bike Park. The resort partnered with Gravity Logic to design and develop the multimillion-dollar lift-accessed bike park. Red Mountain CEO and owner Howard Katkov said the bike park marks "not just a pivotal moment i...