SAM Magazine—Jan. 22, 2025, Ludlow, Vt.—As usual, snow, both manmade and natural, played a major role in shaping business over the three-day MLK holiday weekend. So did operational disruptions. Busy new mid-mountain lodge at Tamarack, Idaho. While a cold snap blanketed nearly the entire country at some point throughout the holiday, the effec...

SAM Magazine—Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 21, 2025—A predawn fire at a hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Turkey killed at least 66, with another 51 injured, Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday. The resort is located in Northwestern Turkey's Koroglu mountains, about 185 miles east of Istanbul. The fire ignited at 3:30 a.m. News...

SAM Magazine—Barcelona, Spain, Jan. 20, 2025—A chairlift failure injured more than a dozen people Saturday morning at Astún resort in the Spanish Pyrenees. The bullwheel on a 1985 fixed-grip quad detached, causing the lift to derope on numerous towers, according to liftblog.com’s Peter Landsman.Credit to Meteosojuela La Rioja “Without a b...

SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., Jan. 20, 2025—Attendance was up at NSAA’s Western Winter Conference, with more than 670 ski industry folks gathering at Palisades Tahoe, Jan. 14-16, for the education and networking event. Total attendance surpassed numbers for 2024 and 2023. NSAA’s new CEO Mike Reitzell welcomed everyone at a hosted br...

SAM Magazine—Arapahoe Basin, Colo., Jan. 20, 2025—Members of the Arapahoe Basin ski patrol voted 30-22 in favor of unionizing. If the results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol Union (ABSP) will join the Communication Workers of America (CWA) 7781 United Mountain Workers, which will represent ABSP...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 17, 2025—Vail Resorts reported that season-to-date total skier visits for North America were down 0.3 percent while lift ticket revenue rose 4.5 percent from the beginning of the ski season through Jan. 5, 2025, compared to the prior year period through Jan. 7, 2024. Revenues from ancillary businesses we...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Jan. 16, 2025—December daily rates nudged up a bit, occupancy edged down a bit, and lodging results among the participating properties in 17 regions across seven Western states looked a lot like last year at this time, according to the most recent monthly report from DestiMetrics, part of Inntopia’s business ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 15, 2025—Online voting for the videos produced by five chosen resorts competing in the 2025 “I AM a Snowmaker” contest, sponsored by HKD Snowmakers, is now open. Voting ends Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 11:59 p.m. EST.  Since it debuted in winter 2013-14, the annual I AM contest has served as an important recogn...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 9, 2025—Members of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) have voted to ratify the contract negotiated by the United Mountain Workers union with Vail Resorts on Tuesday. The agreement, reached after 10-months of negotiations for increased wages, ended a nearly two-week strike.  “The roa...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Jan. 9, 2024—The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) has named Jeff Lifgren as its new CEO, following an extensive national search. Lifgren, the former Vail Resorts ski and snowboard school executive sponsor, will start Jan. 13. “We are thrilled t...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 8, 2025—Vail Resorts and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) have reached a tentative contract agreement following a mediated negotiating session on Jan. 7, ending the ski patrollers’ 12-day strike. The union unit will vote to ratify the agreement today. Park City Mountain owner Vail ...

SAM Magazine—Whistler, British Columbia, Jan. 7, 2025—Industry luminary and Canadian Ski Hall of Fame inductee Roger McCarthy died unexpectedly over the weekend. He was 75.Courtesy of Canadian Ski Hall of Fame & Museum "Roger was an authentic leader who connected with his team at every level. That connection resulted in an organizational e...

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Jan. 3, 2024—Good snowmaking conditions, timely—and in some cases abundant—snowfall, and high demand from skiers and riders were among the contributing factors that ski areas across North America cited as the catalysts for strong business over the extended holiday period of Christmas to New Years.   WEST Pho...

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 KARA FINLEY, TAMARACK RESORT, ID Tamarack Resort chief financial officer Kara Finley is now also the resort’s ...

SAM Magazine—L’Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec, and Enfield, N.H., Dec. 31, 2024—Two community-owned ski areas have forged a unique partnership. Starting this winter, season pass holders from Mont Edouard in Quebec and Whaleback Mountain in New Hampshire have unlimited reciprocal access at no additional cost. “As community-owned ski areas, we shar...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Dec. 31, 2024—Park City ski patrollers went on strike Friday, Dec. 27, after a breakdown in mediated contract negotiations with Park City Mountain-owner Vail Resorts. In a statement shared online, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) cited “Vail’s bad faith tactics” in a Thursday, Dec. ...

SAM Magazine—Brighton, Mich., Dec. 30, 2024—Vail Resorts has promoted Megan Greenlee from senior manager of food and beverage at Afton Alps, Minn., to general manager of Mt. Brighton in Michigan, effective January 13.Credit to Mt. Brighton  She succeeds Mike Giorgio, who took over as general manager of Stowe Mountain Resort, Vt., in November....

SAM Magazine—Dresser, Wis., Dec. 20, 2024—Photo credit: Krista HoldenSeventeen female terrain park builders gathered Dec. 8-14 at Trollhaugen Ski Area for the 4th annual Take the Rake—a weeklong event where female diggers and snowcat operators attend shop clinics and on-hill workshops to learn about topics ranging from rail setting and park m...

SAM Magazine—Cheyenne, Wyo., Dec. 20, 2024—Grand America Hotels & Resorts has promoted Pete Sonntag to chief operating officer of Sun Valley Resort, Idaho, and Davy Ratchford to chief operating officer of Snowbasin Resort, Utah. Both will also continue in their current capacity as general managers of their respective resorts. Davy Ratchfo...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Dec. 18, 2024—Vail Resorts and union representatives for the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) have agreed to mediation following a Dec. 16 bargaining session. Courtesy of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association Members of PCPSPA unanimously voted Dec. 14 to authorize the union to d...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo. Dec. 16, 2024—Bookings for the winter months surged during November at Western resorts, according to the monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. For participating properties in 17 mountain destinations across seven western U.S. states the combination of occupancy...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Dec. 16, 2024—More than 1,700 votes were cast in the 18th annual SAM Terrain Park Contest in which a total of 60 resort-submitted entries from ski areas around the globe competed for the top spot in one of four categories: features, events, edits, and park crews.  A selection of entries was shared in the November 2...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 11, 2024—Vail Resorts (VR) has reported results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 ended Oct. 31 and provided season pass sales results for the 2024-25 season. For the quarter, financial results were similar to the prior-year period. Total net revenue increased $1.7 million, or 0.7 percent, to $260.3 ...

SAM Magazine—West Dover, Vt., Dec. 4, 2024—Lea Gabrielle Potts is the new vice president and general manager of Mount Snow, Vt., effective Dec. 19. A newcomer to the ski industry, Potts fills a seat that’s been vacant since late July when former Mount Snow VP and GM Brian Suhadolc departed for Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.  Accord...

SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Dec. 4, 2024—The annual Stifel Killington Cup, a women’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup race, drew more than 39,000 visitors to Killington Resort over Thanksgiving weekend, with a record 21,500 in attendance for Saturday’s giant slalom race featuring Mikaela Shiffrin, who was racing for a historic 100th win. This is t...

SAM Magazine—Twin Bridges, Calif., Dec. 4, 2024—Dan Healy is returning to Sierra-at-Tahoe, this time as the resort’s vice president and general manager, effective early January 2025. Healy previously served as director of snowsports at Sierra for more than three years until 2021, when he moved to his current role as vice president, recreation...

SAM Magazine—Gorham, N.H., Dec. 3, 2024—Vail Resorts has appointed Brandon Swartz general manager of Wildcat Resort, effective immediately. Swartz, who currently serves as general manager of Attitash Mountain, will now oversee operations at both resorts, fostering greater collaboration between the neighboring properties.Credit Wildcat Mountain ...

SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 25, 2024—Snowbound Boston returned to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Nov. 15-17. Attendance was flat year-over-year, with the event drawing more than 21,000 visitors across three days of sunny and mild weather in the city. Event organizer Racoon Media Group reported having more than 200 brands an...

SAM Magazine—Princeton, Mass., Nov. 21, 2024—Wachusett Mountain co-owner and ski industry leader David Crowley died Wednesday, Nov. 20. He was 69.  Crowley succumbed to a rare degenerative neurological disease called progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP. He was diagnosed several years ago. There is no known cure.  Wachusett shared the new...

SAM Magazine—Greenwood, Maine, Nov. 21, 2024—Mt. Abram Ski Area & Bike Park hired Josh Thompson as its new general manager. Thompson previously served as a mountain operations manager at Sunday River, Maine. “With over 15 years in the ski industry, specializing in mountain operations and risk management, Josh brings a wealth of expertise...

SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., Nov. 20, 2024—Vail Resorts named JD Crichton as the new vice president and general manager of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, effective Dec. 9. Crichton has served as director and general manager of Wildcat Mountain Resort in New Hampshire since 2021.Credit Myles Harrigan, Wildcat Mountain Resort As general man...

SAM Magazine—Bennington, N.H., Nov. 21, 2024—Vail Resorts has promoted Deirdre Riley to general manager of Crotched Mountain, effective Nov. 25. Riley most recently served as senior mountain operations manager at Attitash Mountain, N.H.Credit Vail Resorts    “With nearly 25 years in the ski industry, Deirdre brings a wealth of experie...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 19, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company closed the purchase of Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, expanding Alterra’s portfolio to 18 mountain destinations. A-Basin president and COO Alan Henceroth, who has been with the resort for 36 years, will continue to lead the resort and oversee daily operations with his longtime team....

SAM Magazine—Petaluma, Calif., Nov. 19, 2024—The Ski California board of directors has appointed 47-year industry veteran John Rice as the association’s new president. Rice, who has served as vice president and general manager of Sierra-at-Tahoe since 1993, succeeds Mike Reitzell, who was named president and CEO of the National Ski Areas Asso...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Nov. 15, 2024—The pace and pattern of early bookings at Western mountain destinations is largely consistent with last winter, according to the Monthly Market Briefing from the Business Intelligence division of Inntopia, which aggregates data from 28,000 lodging units in 17 mountain destination communities across...

SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Nov. 13, 2024—Vermont’s Killington Resort and Maine’s Sunday River are both opening Nov. 14 at 9 a.m., making them the first Northeast ski areas to open for daily operations.Courtesy of Sunday River The first day at each resort will be exclusively for passholders; the general public can get on snow starting Nov...

SAM Magazine—Los Alamos, N.M., Nov. 13, 2024—A “monster” early-season storm allowed Pajarito Mountain to open five weeks ahead of schedule last weekend on Nov. 9.  “This is historic for Pajarito Mountain,” said general manager Jasen Bellomy. “It’s been about 40 years since Pajarito has been able to open before Thanksgiving.”  ...

SAM Magazine—Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 13, 2024—The Australian Ski Areas Association (ASAA), which represents the interests of Australia’s ski areas and their stakeholders, has named Josh Elliott as its new chief executive officer. His appointment comes as the ASAA looks to strengthen its position as a leading advocate for the snow industry...

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:  CHRIS INGHAM, BRECKENRIDGE RESORT, CO Chris Ingham was appointed vice president of operations for Breckenri...

SAM Magazine—Tooele, Utah, Nov. 8, 2024—Italy-based snowmaking equipment manufacturer Demaclenko named Diego Facchinetti as the new general manager for Demaclenko North America, which serves the Canadian and U.S. markets.Andreas Lambacher and Diego Facchinetti He is responsible for leading the company’s local teams, developing new market str...

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Nov. 8, 2024—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe dropped ropes today on 1,000 vertical feet of skiing and riding. It’s one of several western ski areas to open for the early season in recent days.Courtesy of Breckenridge Natural snow and cold temps that allowed Mt. Rose to fire up its snow guns enabled the resort to be the first to ...

SAM Magazine—Palmerton, Pa., Nov. 7, 2024—A brush fire has burned several hundred acres near Blue Mountain Resort, Pa., this week. The resort has supported fire crews in efforts to suppress the Gap Fire, also called the Blue Mountain fire.Courtesy of Blue Mountain The fire, which is reportedly no longer advancing, is burning roughly 4 miles to...

SAM Magazine—Stowe, Vt., Nov. 7, 2024—Vail Resorts appointed Mike Giorgio as general manager of Stowe Mountain Resort, effective Nov. 18. Giorgio mostly recently led six of Vail Resorts’ Midwest ski areas as regional general manager. He was based out of Mt. Brighton Resort, Mich. Credit to Vail Resorts “Mike’s appointment as the new GM...

SAM Magazine—Glenwood, N.Y., Nov. 1, 2024—Kissing Bridge Ski Resort was sold to California tech investor Rhett McNulty for $1.06 million. McNulty formed Kissing Bridge All Seasons Resort Inc. in Wyoming to purchase the ski area, which is about 40 minutes south of Buffalo.  While the deal closed this week, McNulty told Buffalo Business First t...

SAM Magazine—Saint Paul, Minn., Nov. 1, 2024—The Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) has named Bo Bigelow as its next executive director, effective today. His predecessor Amy Reents stepped down in October after leading MSAA for more than eight years.  Bigelow will continue to serve as executive director of the Minnesota Ski Areas Associatio...

SAM Magazine—Leadville, Colo., Nov. 1, 2024—Starting this winter, Ski Cooper lift ticket rates will be the same online as they are at the ticket window, bucking the trend of ski areas charging top dollar on-site to incentivize guests to purchase tickets in advance online at a discounted rate. The nonprofit ski area has also reduced its Monday-T...

SAM Magazine—Truckee, Calif., Nov. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts has named Tara Schoedinger vice president and general manager of Northstar California Resort, effective Nov. 11. She moves from Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colo., where she served in the same role. At Northstar, Schoedinger takes over for Amy Ohran, who became president and COO of Palis...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 31, 2024—Snowbasin, Utah, earned the top spot in the West and Mad River Glen, Vt., repeated as the best in the East in the 2025 SKI Reader Survey Awards. There were a few big movers in the rankings, both up and down, as well as a continued affinity for independent resorts. Rankings are based on responses from S...

SAM Magazine—Revelstoke, British Columbia, Oct. 30, 2024—Dave Morrison is the new CEO of Mica Heliskiing, a boutique heliski operation and lodge in the Canadian Rockies. Morrison has more than 25 years of ski industry experience.  “Dave Morrison is a proven leader with a remarkable track record in managing and growing luxury ski resorts and...

SAM Magazine—New York City, Oct. 30, 2024—The Mountain Collective Pass has expanded its network of resorts with the additions of Sunday River, Maine, and Megève, France, for the 2024-25 season, bringing the total number of resort partners to 27 worldwide.  “These two world-class resorts complement our existing network perfectly,” said Mo...

SAM Magazine—Bear Valley, Calif., Oct. 29, 2024—The California Mountain Resort Company (CMRC) has appointed new general managers to two of its ski areas: Brad Cumberland was promoted to general manager of Bear Valley, and Troy Cohee was promoted to general manager of China Peak.Brad Cumberland and Troy Cohee “At Bear Valley, we've restructu...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 23, 2024—SAM invites ski area operators to participate in a new survey aimed at gathering insights into summer business and operations. The survey, launching today, seeks to capture the latest trends and challenges faced by ski areas as they continue to evolve their operations. Responses are requested by Monday,...

SAM Magazine—New York City, Oct. 24, 2024—Indy Pass has added access to 30 more alpine, cross-country, and indoor ski areas for the 2024-25 season, including Loveland Ski Area, Colo., and 12 resorts in Innsbruck, Austria. The additions were revealed at a media event in New York City Wednesday night. With the additions, Indy Pass will release a...

SAM Magazine—Jackson Hole, Wyo., Oct. 24, 2024—Mountain Towns 2030 gathered 540 attendees from the ski industry, government entities, and other stakeholder groups in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Oct. 14-16, for the annual Climate Solutions Summit. The event focused on innovative solutions to combat the effects of climate change and issued a resoundin...

SAM Magazine—Shrewsbury, Mass., Oct. 21, 2024—Thanks to its all-weather snowmaking system, Massachusetts’ Ski Ward has staked its claim as the first ski area in North America to open for lift-served skiing and snowboarding for the second year in a row.Courtesy of Ski Ward Several Colorado ski areas also appear ready to drop ropes in the comin...

SAM Magazine—Homewood, Calif., Oct. 14, 2024—Homewood Mountain Resort will not operate for 2024-25 after its financial partner withdrew its support for this upcoming winter season, the Lake Tahoe ski area said in an announcement published on its website. Homewood cited financial viability and delays in approvals to proposed updates of the resor...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, N.H., Oct. 5, 2024—At a standing room only crowd at Black Mountain, Indy Pass and Entabeni Systems announced they have purchased Black Mountain from the Fichera family, who have owned and operated the ski area for the past 30 years. Indy Pass managing director and Entabeni Systems founder Erik Mogensen, who spoke at the co...

Photo courtesy of Kim Jochl.SAM Magazine—Banner Elk, N.C., Oct. 2, 2024—Ski areas in the mountains of western North Carolina appear to have suffered relatively minimal damage from Hurricane Helene, which caused historic flooding after dropping 1-2 feet of rain, or more, through a wide swath of mountain communities in a short time, Sept. 26-27. ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 2, 2024—Eleven up-and-coming industry leaders have been selected to participate as mentees in the SAM Summit Series leadership development program. Hailing from resorts of all sizes across North America, the mentees represent many different departments and roles.   The 2024-25 Summit Series mentees are: Jos...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts has unveiled a "resource efficiency transformation plan" that will save $100 million over the next two years, and then $100 million a year after that. The plan is designed to improve organizational effectiveness through a combination of scaled operations, global shared services, and exp...