SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 2, 2023—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) will recognize former Alterra Mountain Company leader Rusty Gregory with a 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award at its National Convention and Tradeshow in Savannah, Ga., May 9.  

NSAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose commitment and contribution to the organization and the ski industry will benefit the industry for decades to come. Gregory is considered among many to be one of the key architects of the contemporary North American ski industry. In March, he was also inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame as a “snowsports builder.”

Gregory’s career began in lift operations at California’s Mammoth Mountain, where he would rise to become an owner of the company and serve as its chairman and CEO. While at Mammoth, Gregory was instrumental in several ownership transactions, including the sale of a stake of the company to Intrawest in 1996, the sale of the resort to Starwood Capital Group in 2005, the acquisition of Big Bear Mountain Resort in 2014 to create Mammoth Resorts, and the sale of Mammoth Resorts to the nascent Alterra Mountain Company in 2017. 

He became one of the original investors in Alterra when it was formed in 2017 and was appointed to the board that same year before being named CEO in 2018. During his tenure with the company, Gregory oversaw the creation, rollout, and growth of the Ikon Pass and led Alterra’s resorts through the Covid-19 pandemic. He retired as CEO in 2022, moving to his current strategic advisory role as vice chairman of the company.

Gregory has served as a member of the NSAA board of directors, which he chaired from 2008-2010, and the California Ski Industry Association board. He is considered a mentor to many, including Mammoth Mountain president Ron Cohen and Alterra Mountain Division COO Mark Brownlie.

Read NSAA’s full bio of Gregory here.