SAM Magazine—Frisco, Texas, May 23, 2024—Kelly Pawlak is stepping down as president and CEO of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). Newly appointed NSAA board chair and Windham Mountain Club, N.Y., president Chip Seamans shared the news at the NSAA National Convention and Trade Show in Frisco, Texas, today during the morning general sessi...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 22, 2024—The U.S. ski industry overcame significant weather challenges in 2023-24 to post the fifth best season on record, according to preliminary data from the National Ski Area Association (NSAA). Skier visits totaled 60.4 million. The performance follows the two strongest seasons since NSAA began keeping t...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., May 21, 2024—Winter lodging occupancy across 17 western mountain resorts in seven states declined in the 2023-24 November-to-April winter season, according to the monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. Aggregated daily rates increased slightly, helping to mitig...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., May 21, 2024—Six lift maintenance teams have been chosen as finalists in the fourth annual Rise Up Challenge, sponsored by Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA). The crews from Berkshire East, Mass., Crystal Mountain, Wash., Mt. Sunapee, N.H., Palisades Tahoe, Calif., Purgatory, Colo., and Snowbird, Utah will compete this...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., May 20, 2024—Louis Miller, the equipment manager at Colorado’s Eldora Mountain Resort, was killed while performing off-season trail maintenance at the ski resort when he was struck by a falling tree. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office reported that it responded to the scene of the accident on the morning of Ma...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., May 16, 2024—The 2023-24 ski season isn’t quite over even as June approaches: a small but feisty group of ski areas are still open for skiing and riding, mostly in the western U.S., where some ski areas have benefitted from late-season snowfall that’s helping to keep the lifts spinning. Arapahoe Basin, which his...

SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., May 15, 2024—Indy Pass will preview a digital version of its popular multi-resort ski pass next season. The mobile pass will be enabled by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and rolled out in partnership with three resorts that use Entabeni Systems’ suite of ski area management applications.  Indy Pass was ac...

SAM Magazine—Tres Valles, Chile, May 10, 2024—Durango, Colo.-based Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), which already owns Valle Nevado ski resort in Chile’s Tres Valles, has entered an agreement to acquire the adjacent La Parva Ski Resort.  Upon closing of the acquisition, MCP would own two of the three resorts in Tres Valles. The third, El Co...

SAM Magazine—Pinedale, Wyo., May 7, 2024—Alan and Robyn Blackburn closed on the sale of White Pine Ski Resort to billionaire Joe Ricketts. White Pine has been on the market for about four years, according to Pinedale Roundup, with at least one acquisition falling through during that time. Ricketts has committed to investing in and improving the...

SAM Magazine—Lac-Beauport, Quebec, May 7, 2024—The Beaulieu family has sold Le Relais ski area to four Quebec businessmen, including former Le Massif executive vice president and managing director Nicolas Racine and Henrick Simard, a ski coach and corporate attorney who reportedly led the acquisition, as well as Francis Moreau and Nicolas Bouch...

SAM Magazine—Jackson Hole, Wyo., May 3, 2024—Peter Wuerslin, a 71-year-old ski instructor, was killed after being struck from behind by another skier who was also travelling downhill on an intermediate trail at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, April 14. The Teton County coroner has ruled the death a homicide. A separate police investigation is un...

SAM Magazine—Jasper, Alberta, May 1, 2024—More than 425 ski area operators and suppliers gathered in Jasper, Alberta, for networking, education, and late season turns at the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA) Spring Conference, April 21-24. Katie with Marmot Basin's mountain manager Rob Ellen SAM senior editor Katie Brinton attended t...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 1, 2024—Russ Coloton and Kenny Hess will receive the 2024 National Ski Area Association (NSAA) Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary lifetime commitment to NSAA and the ski industry, and whose contributions will benefit the industry for decades to come....

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, April 25, 2024—Utah’s 15 ski resorts generated nearly $2 billion in nonresident visitor spending during the 2022-23 ski season, and local skiers contributed almost $700 million more—reflecting a surge in skier visits driven in part by record snowfall—according to an April 2024 report from the Kem C. Gard...

SAM Magazine—Denver, April 24, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company has published its second annual impact report that outlines the company’s social responsibility efforts as part of its “Forward Stance” platform. The 164-page report—organized around the key pillars of people, planet, community, and responsibility—details Alterra’s various...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 24, 2024—Skier visits are down but revenues are up for Vail Resorts’ North American ski areas during the 2023-24 winter season, according to a report from the company comparing certain ski season metrics year-over-year through mid-April. Season-to-date skier visits were down 7.8 percent in 2023-24 compar...

SAM Magazine—Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Feb. 16, 2024—Today, Sugarloaf is opening West Mountain, a new 120-acre terrain expansion served by a high-speed detachable quad with an uphill capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour, which terminates at the Bullwinkle’s restaurant near the midpoint of the 4,237-foot mountain. Nine of the planned 12 trails ...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 15, 2024—Hotel bookings at mountain destinations in the western U.S. have dropped to a 30-month low, while room rates remain stubbornly high despite a drop in guest interest in overnight stays, according to the latest monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia....

SAM Magazine–Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 15, 2023—Skiers hit the slopes at New Mexico’s Sandia Peak Ski Area last weekend as the mountain opened for the first time in two years.Courtesy of Sandia Peak Ski Area The opening marked the debut of operations at Sandia Peak under the aegis of Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), which announced a joint ven...

SAM Magazine—Lafayette, Colo., Feb. 13, 2024—Snowsports school management software provider flaik is now a Certified B Corporation after satisfying the required criteria to earn the recognition, scoring 86.2 out of 100 in the evaluation of five primary areas relating to the company’s business practices: governance, workers, community, environ...

SAM Magazine—Choteau, Mont., Feb. 12, 2024—Teton Pass Ski Area is the latest in a string of resorts to pull the plug on a 2023-24 ski season bedeviled by shifting weather patterns and unseasonably warm temperatures. A historic lack of snow—or almost any precipitation at all—has forced the early closure of the Montana ski area. In a six-pag...

SAM Magazine—West Dover, Vt., Feb. 9, 2024—It’s that time of year again, when folks gather for a bit of networking, education, and snow sliding at the National Ski Areas Association winter conferences. More than 500 operators and suppliers descended on Keystone, Colo., Jan. 17-19, for the NSAA Western Conference. After a rough start to the s...

SAM Magazine—Taylor Falls, Minn., Feb. 7, 2024—Wild Mountain snowsports manager Nathan Hakseth has been promoted to general manager of the Taylor Falls, Minn., ski resort. He will oversee all operations of the mountain and also retain his duties within the Snowsports School and Competitions department. Hakseth has worked in the ski industry fo...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Feb. 7, 2024—In an effort to gather data and insights on ski area marketing, SAM and MMGY Origin have partnered to launch an annual survey targeting resort marketers. The responses will inform the Annual Outlook on Resort Marketing report, which will serve as a yearly resource and benchmarking tool for marketing team...

SAM Magazine—Massanutten, Va., Feb. 7, 2024—Industry veteran Michael Hammes has been selected as the new general manager and vice president of Massanutten Resort, a four-season resort in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Hammes most recently served as director of base operations at Washington's Summit at Snoqualmie resort, part of the Boyne Res...

SAM Magazine—Mount Snow, Vt., Feb. 6, 2024—Nearly 12,000 votes were cast during the 12-day voting period for the 2024 I AM a Snowmaker contest. This year’s contest showcased eight snowmaking teams from across North America: Brettons Woods, N.H.; Cataloochee Ski Area, N.C.; Copper Mountain, Colo.;  Gore Mountain, N.Y.; Greek Peak, N.Y.; Mammo...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., Feb. 5, 2024—The sale of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JMHR) to a local group of investors, initially announced last August, is complete. The Kemmerer family, which has owned the independent ski resort for the last 32 years, officially closed the deal in early February. Financial details were not disclosed. “...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 5, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Arapahoe Basin from Dream Unlimited Corp. A-Basin will be Alterra’s 18th North American mountain destination. Toronto-based Dream Unlimited—a multi-billion-dollar real estate development, asset management, and private equity firm—acquired...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 2, 2024—KSL Capital Partners (KSL) closed a "single-asset continuation vehicle" for Alterra Mountain Company in late January, with total commitments of more than $3 billion, KSL said in a press release. What it didn't say, and what many in the industry are speculating about, is what this all means. Let's start with w...

SAM Magazine—Fabius, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2024—In a new court filing, New York Attorney General Letitia James has said the owners of Toggenburg Mountain in upstate New York violated the state’s antitrust law by purchasing and shutting down the competing ski area and should be ordered to sell the property. Intermountain Management, which owns Labra...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 31, 2024—Registration is now open for the 20th anniversary spring session of Cutter's Camp, May 13-17, 2024, at Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore. The five-day program for terrain park professionals features on-hill and classroom workshops, one-on-one customized operator coaching, and demos of the latest machines a...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Jan. 30, 2024—A new sustainability report from Aspen One, the parent company of Aspen Skiing Company, ASPENX, and Aspen Hospitality, highlights the company’s environmental and social responsibility efforts in areas such as political action, research, and philanthropy. The report presents as part educational tool, pa...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 29, 2024—Vail Resorts marked its second year of 100 percent renewable energy use at its 37 North American resorts and made strides in landfill waste reduction and energy efficiency company-wide, according to its 2022-23 Environmental & Social Responsibility Report. The report assesses the company’s pr...

UPDATE: SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Jan 31, 2024— Following an internal investigation, Heavenly COO Tom Fortune has taken responsibility for the circumstances that led to a female snowboarder being stranded overnight on the ski area’s gondola. “I am responsible for all aspects of mountain operations, including the safety of our...

SAM Magazine—Gilford, N.H., Jan. 26, 2024—Tom Day, who began his career in the ski industry as a lift attendant at New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley in 1978, plans to retire from his post as general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort at the end of the current ski season. SAM recently chatted with Day for an informal “exit interview” abou...

There's a new sheriff in Showville, and he wants to reshape the place. Raccoon Media Group has brought its entertainment-oriented consumer show format to Boston and is doubling down on the concept, pioneered in its National Snow Show in the U.K. The company has been pleased with the reception it has had in Boston with Snowbound, its new show, in th...

SAM Magazine—Cody, Wyo., Jan. 24, 2024—Sleeping Giant Ski Area won’t awaken from its slumber for the 2023-24 season.Sleeping Giant Live Cam Hit by the combination of a crippled snowmaking system and an unprecedented lack of natural snow, Sleeping Giant will not open this year, resort owner Nick Piazza announced on Jan. 12 after a hoped-for J...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 22, 2024—Online voting for the 2024 “I AM a Snowmaker” contest is now open through midnight (EST) on Friday, Feb. 2. Since it debuted the winter of 2013-14, the annual I AM contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—has highlighted the hard work, determination, and camaraderie of snowmakers, recognizing how cri...

In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to supplier news, awards and obits, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE TOM DAY, GUNSTOCK, NH Gunstock general manager Tom Day will retire following the 2023-24...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Jan. 18, 2024—The challenges presented by meager snowfall, school holidays that started nearly a week later than usual, and ongoing resistance to high daily rates at Western mountain destinations dampened occupancy during December, according to the monthly Market Briefing released by DestiMetrics, the business i...

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Jan. 16, 2024—An early morning fire ripped through the lodge at Nordic Valley Resort yesterday, causing extensive damage to the building and leading ski area officials to cease operations until further notice. A ski area worker noticed flames and smoke emanating from the unoccupied lodge around 1:50 a.m., according to ...

SAM Magazine—Neihart, Mont., Jan. 12, 2024—A few days after Showdown Montana opened for the season on Dec. 23, the ski area extended an offer for season pass holders at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area to ski for free until their home area can open. This started a trend of other open Montana ski areas extending a similar offer in response to the slo...

SAM Magazine—Greenville Junction, Maine, Jan. 12, 2024—The nonprofit group that operates Maine’s Big Moose Mountain is forging ahead with its ski operations despite a recent storm that crippled its snowmaking system.Friends of the Mountain A few degrees colder and the Dec. 18 storm could have been a boon for the Piscataquis County ski area, ...

SAM Magazine—Oetz, Austria, Jan. 11, 2024—A gondola cabin with four passengers in it detached from the haul rope and fell 23-33 feet after “several trees” fell on the line of the Acherkogelbahn gondola at Hochoetz ski area, according to multiple reports.  Three of the adults sustained serious injuries, with one taken to the hospital with ...

SAM Magazine—Placer County, Calif., Jan. 10, 2024—At least one person was killed and another sustained non-life-threatening injuries in an inbounds avalanche at Palisades Tahoe this morning. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) confirmed the fatality and injury in a statement shared to Facebook ahead of a 2.30 p.m. PST press conference....

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 5, 2024—Given the unseasonable weather seen across much of North America, most mountain resort operators have not been singing the praises of Mother Nature this winter. Instead, they credited staff, snowmaking, and a little creativity for whatever success they experienced over the Christmas holiday period. Pano...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 5, 2024—More than 3,500 votes, the most ever, were cast in the 17th annual SAM Terrain Park Contest in which a total of 69 resort-submitted entries from ski areas around the globe competed for the top spot in one of four categories: features, events, edits, and park crew.  The votes have been tallied, and the ...

SAM Magazine–Keystone, Colo., Jan. 5, 2024–A collision between a skier and a ski-bike rider at a Colorado ski area has put a spotlight on safety issues around the use of snow toys and highlights a state law making it a crime to leave the scene of a serious ski crash. The Jan. 2 incident, involving a 72-year-old male skier, his daughter, and an...

SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., Jan. 3, 2024—The gearbox for Hesperus Ski Area’s only lift suffered a major mechanical failure during preparations for the 2023-24 season, “making it impossible to open” for this winter, the ski area said, since a replacement gearbox for the old Riblet double cannot be sourced and the only option is to re-manu...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Jan. 3, 2024—Longtime operations leader Donald (DJ) Koch was promoted to general manager of Hidden Valley Ski Resort, following former GM Tony Santora's appointment to general manager of Jack Frost Big Boulder, Pa., both owned and operated by Vail Resorts. Koch stepped into the new role Jan. 1, 2024.   "We are th...

SAM Magazine—White Haven, Pa., Dec. 21, 2023—Vail Resorts appointed Tony Santora as the new general manager of Jack Frost Big Boulder, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Santora previously served as GM of VR-owned Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Missouri.  A Utah native, Santora graduated from the University of Utah, where he earned his MBA from the David E...

SAM Magazine—Banner Elk, N.C., Dec. 22, 2023—A study commissioned by the North Carolina Ski Areas Association (NCSAA) found that the state’s six operating alpine ski areas had an overall economic value of $244.3 million for the 2022-23 winter season, including visitor expenditures and ski area revenues as well as indirect and induced economic...

SAM Magazine—Bethel, Maine, Dec. 22, 2023—Despite significant damage from a Monday weather event that dropped 5 inches of rain on Sunday River in a short period of time, the resort is on track to reopen with limited terrain tomorrow, Dec. 23. Waterville Valley base area operations manager Marrisa Preston jumps in mid-storm to clear the main ba...

SAM Magazine—Terrebonne, Quebec, Dec. 21, 2023—Ski areas in Quebec enjoyed a strong season in 2022-23, but while most ski areas in the province benefited from a surge in late-season skier visits, a relative handful of resorts continued to dominate the region. Overall, ski areas generated more than C$429 million (US$318 million) last season, ...

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Dec. 19, 2023—Several inches of rain fell across most of New England Sunday into Monday, causing many ski areas to temporarily suspend operations due to the heavy precipitation and high winds or significant local flooding, or both. According to early reports, damage to resort infrastructure appears to be limited. Damage...

SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Dec. 19, 2023—Lone Peak tram, the largest on-mountain infrastructure project in Big Sky Resort’s history, opens today. Courtesy of Big Sky ResortThe resort broke ground on the installation in summer 2022 and began load testing the new Doppelmayr/Garaventa ropeway system in November of this year.  The grand openi...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 14, 2023—The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI), in partnership with Vail Resorts and the town of Vail, Colo., will host Interski 2027.Interski 2023, courtesy of PSIA-AASI The event, held every four years at different locations, will bring toge...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 13, 2023—Modest snowfall across much of the West and rate-sensitive customers weary of high prices combined to bring down on-the-books occupancy (and some daily rates) for the full winter season, according to DestiMetrics, the Business Intelligence division of Inntopia, in its most recent Monthly Market Bri...

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Dec. 13, 2023—In order to keep Powder Mountain financially viable, CEO Reed Hastings plans to sell more real estate at the property and provide homeowners with an area of lift-served terrain that only they can access beginning in 2024-25. The rest of the 8,464-acre resort will remain open to the public.  “While many...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 8, 2023—On a Dec. 7 earnings call, Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch reported continued pass sales growth in both units and revenue for the company headed into the 2023-24 season. Pass product sales for the North American ski season increased approximately 4 percent in units and approximately 11 percent in sale...