SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 25, 2019—Vail Resorts (VR) has entered into an agreement to acquire Falls Creek and Hotham ski resorts in Australia from Living and Leisure Australia Group (LLA), a subsidiary of Merlin Entertainments, for AU$174 million (approx. US$124 million). The purchase price is based on a multiple of roughly 10-times ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Feb. 21, 2019—The nomination period for the 2019 SAMMY Leadership Awards is now open. SAM invites members of the winter sports industry to nominate leaders who they believe deserve this recognition, and do it soon—nominations close March 13, 2019.The SAMMY Leadership Awards honor individuals who, at mid-c...

In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. MICHAEL VAN EYCK, The Fairbank GroupMichael Van Eyck has been promoted to the newly created role of chief revenue officer for the Fairbank Group, which owns Bromley, Vt., Jiminy Peak, Mass., and Cranmore, N.H. In his n...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 21, 2019—Abundant snowfall in most mountain regions of the West led to strong bookings through January and increased aggregated occupancy and revenues for the month and the season, according to Inntopia's DestiMetrics January briefing. Weather and the economy are combining to create favorable comparisons to last year; ...

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Feb. 19, 2019—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe earned USFS approval for a 112-acre terrain expansion into the Atoma area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The approved amendment to Mt. Rose’s existing special use permit includes 11 trails, two chairlifts, a five-million-gallon water tank for snowmaking, and a skier brid...

SAM Magazine—Keystone, Colo., Feb. 18, 2019—Arapahoe Basin has decided it will not renew its pass partnership with Vail Resorts for the 2019-20 season, citing parking and facility crowding.In a letter to fans and followers, A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth stressed the importance of retaining A-Basin’s culture and vibe. “Looking forward, we striv...

SAM Magazine—Gatlinburg, Tenn., Feb. 15, 2019—The 10th annual SAM Summer Ops Camp is headed to Gatlinburg, Tenn., Sept. 3-5, 2019. Gatlinburg is a major summer destination and serves as the gateway community to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States. Gatlinburg and surrounding towns we...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 13, 2019—Continued growth in the number of businesses getting into the aerial adventure industry was on full display at the 2019 Association for Challenge Course Technology annual conference and expo, held Feb. 7-10 in Denver. More than 1,000 people attended the event, which gathers traditional and commercial aerial ad...

SAM Magazine—Bend, Ore., Feb. 13, 2019—After several feet of snow fell at its member ski areas over the last few days—and with more on the way—the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association (PNSAA) proactively distributed a press release defining and outlining the dangers of snow immersion suffocation (SIS). It also included a PDF of a brochur...

SAM Magazine—Donnelly, Idaho, Feb. 13, 2019—Tamarack Resort is on the verge of realizing the vision of its founders. Starting this spring, Tamarack will complete the base village projects that were started a decade ago, and re-access 200 acres of skiable terrain by installing a new lift. Tamarack has changed hands several times since its f...

SAM Magazine—Snowbird, Utah, and Killington, Vt., Feb. 13, 2019—Snow in many regions of the country has ski areas off to a successful start to the season, and the large attendance at both the Eastern and Western National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Winter Conferences reflected that. Snow was both a blessing and a curse for the 700-plus at...

SAM Magazine—Sun Valley, Idaho, Feb. 6, 2019—It’s only the beginning of February and the season pass wars for 2019-20 have already begun. Sun Valley, Idaho, and Snowbasin, Utah, are joining Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass in a “multi-year alliance” starting next winter. Sun Valley is the first Idaho resort to become an Epic Pass partner, and th...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Feb. 1, 2019—The most successful female ski racer in the world, Lindsey Vonn has decided to retire after what will be her eighth World Championships bid in Åre, Sweden, this month. Vonn's achievements are record-setting. She has captured an all-time record 82 women's World Cup races. She is the only American woma...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 30, 2019—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), and Snowsports Industries America (SIA) have formed the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership, an alliance aimed at providing leadership on climate change advocacy and action across the outdoor business sector. The partnership was un...

SAM Magazine—Government Camp, Ore., Jan. 29, 2019—Registration is open for the 17th annual Cutter’s Camp. This year’s event will be held May 13-17, 2019 at Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore. The five-day spring program for terrain park professionals features on-hill and classroom workshops, including the return of one-on-one on-hill operator coachi...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Jan. 25, 2019—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) presented the Ski Industry Impact Award to Peter “Mongo” Schory during the Western Winter Conference and Tradeshow at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, Utah this week. Schory is being honored for his significant contributions to snow safety over a long and...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Jan. 25, 2019—January is National Safety Month (NSM), and resorts across the country have been offering safety related events and programs to support the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) initiative.  In the East, Stratton, Vt., is running a Mountain Safety Passport program and offering guests a limited e...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Jan. 23, 2019—Roughly 6,200 beginner ski and snowboard lessons were taught on Jan. 11, 2019, the first national Learn to Ski and Snowboard Day (LSSD), with many resorts offering discounts and deals to encourage participation. The day was a new initiative as part of Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month (LSSM).The participat...

SAM Magazine—Waitsfield, Vt., Jan. 25, 2019—Several resorts are now offering free skiing and snowboarding to furloughed federal workers during the government shutdown.Angel Fire, N.M., started offering free midweek skiing and snowboarding to affected federal workers on Jan. 12. It appears to be one of the first resorts to make such an offer, an...

In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. This report was written by Katie Brinton. JOE HESSION, N.J. Snow Operating CEO Joe Hession was named the keynote speaker for the 2019 Interski Congress at Pamporovo, Bulgaria, this March. Hession was nominated by the ...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Jan. 21, 2019—Head has named Jon Rucker as president of the Head/Tyrolia USA Winter Sports Division. He has been with the company for nearly a decade, and served as vice president for the past seven years.“Jon’s leadership of our Winter Sports Division has helped drive us to record heights," said Head North Amer...

SAM Magazine—Oberhofen, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2019—The eighth annual World Snow Day held Jan. 20 encouraged would-be winter sports participants to try skiing and snowboarding. Word of the Day's 464 events, from South America to China, reached a reported 3.5 million people in 45 countries. World Snow Day was created by the Internationa...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 18, 2019—Strategic rate management coupled with widespread snowfall across the western U.S. helped turn December from a challenging month to a revenue winner for mountain lodging properties. According to Inntopia's monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing, bookings made in December 2018 for arrivals in that month were up a...

SAM Magazine—Jay Peak, Vt., Jan. 17, 2019—The court-appointed receiver who’s been overseeing Jay Peak since the resort was seized by the SEC nearly three years ago has put Jay up for sale, with the help of financial services firm, Houlihan Lokey. No sale price has been set, but recent news reports speculate it could be anywhere from $60 ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 17, 2019—The 2018-19 HKD I AM a Snowmaker contest, showcasing six snowmaking teams from resorts across North America, concluded on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Nearly 4,000 votes were cast over the 12-day voting period, with the Mount Sunapee, N.H., snowmaking crew earning the most votes to emerge as the winner. The crew w...

SAM Magazine—Oberhofen, Switzerland, Jan. 14, 2019—The eighth edition of World Snow Day, a FIS (International Ski Federation) initiative aimed at increasing participation in and awareness of winter sports, will take place on Sunday, Jan. 20. The events also promote environmental stewardship, the health benefits of snowsports, and safety. T...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 14, 2019‚—Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR), said visits through the holiday period, Jan. 6, were up nearly 17 percent compared to a year ago, and major revenue departments also showed gains. But VR had expected even better results, compared to a relatively poor early season a year ago, and said it now expects resor...

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan. 9, 2019—After more than 40,000 lift rides and 44 years in the business, working at six ski resorts, in five states, and with one Austrian lift manufacturer, F. Scott Pierpont retired from the industry on Dec. 21.“There are many wonderful people who share my passion for skiing in this country, and it has...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Jan. 8, 2019—Americans seemed keen to spend their holiday break this winter on the snow, as resorts across most regions saw an upward trend in visitation and revenue. Whitefish Mountain Resort on December 30, 2018 This was particularly true out west where resorts benefited from ample natural snowfall.The Rockies ...

SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., Jan. 8, 2019—Dave Rathbun, a snowsports vet with more than 30 years of experience in the resort and hospitality industry, has been named the new general manager of Purgatory Resort in Colorado.Rathbun, a 2010 SAMMY Award winner, got his start at Stratton Mountain, Vt., as a lift attendant. He served in management po...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., Jan. 3, 2019—Nearly 2,500 votes were cast in the 14thannual SAM Terrain Park Contest, in which a total of 52 entries from ski areas around the world looked to earn the top spot in one of the three contest categories: Bread and Butter, Terrain Park Event, and Terrain Park Feature. The votes have been tallied, and th...

        EDITORS' PICKS: As we charge into 2019, we at SAM took a look back at some of our favorite articles from 2018 and selected a top-10 (OK, top 11) list. The list encompasses some of the most important stories that occupied the industry in the past year: • welcoming a new president of NSAA• pursuing market grow...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 4, 2019—Voting for HKD’s I Am a Snowmaker contest opens today and continues through Monday, Jan. 14. Started in the winter of 2013-14, the contest highlights the hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes how critical they are to the success of our industry.Six teams were chosen in ...

SAM Magazine—Snowmass, Colo., Jan. 3, 2019—After more than 23 years working in leadership roles for Aspen Skiing Company, Susan Cross now holds the top spot at Snowmass as the resort’s new general manager. Cross succeeds Steve Sewell, who retired Dec. 31 after a 42-year career with SkiCo. He had served as Snowmass GM since 2006. Cross be...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Dec. 21, 2018—Despite growing competition in the Northeast in the multi-resort pass market, Peak Resorts reported record season pass sales through Dec. 17, 2018. Company-wide pass sales were up 36 percent in units and 38 percent in revenue year over year. The company’s flagship Peak Pass product was up 18 perc...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 21, 2018—A strong wave of mid-November snowfall from the Sierras to the Rockies gave winter bookings a boost at western mountain resorts. According to the DestiMetrics monthly Market Briefing, bookings made during the month of November for arrivals from November through April rose 12.8 percent compared to t...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., December 21, 2018—Peak Resorts has created several new key roles and appointed new personnel at the corporate and managerial levels to better facilitate operations at its growing portfolio of resorts in the eastern United States.Eric Flynn Jason Boyd has been appointed senior vice president of operations, mid-Atlant...

In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. This report was written by Katie Brinton. MICHAEL HUSSEY, MIDDLEBURY SNOW BOWL, VTMike Hussey has been named director of the Middlebury Snow Bowl and Rikert Nordic Center. He has served as the director of the Nord...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 13, 2018—Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, have awarded 30 grants totaling more than $2 million to support emotional wellness programs in nearly every mountain resort community in which Vail Resorts operates. The grants were issued by the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust, which the coup...

SAM Magazine—Highmount, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2018—This fall, Bruce Transue was named general manager of state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in New York. The move followed a 36-year run at Hunter Mountain, where Transue served most recently as operations director. While at Hunter, Transue facilitated several significant capital projects, includ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 7, 2018—Vail Resorts reported a jump of 21 percent in Epic Pass sales through Dec. 2, with revenues rising 13 percent, compared the year-earlier period, according to its latest quarterly report issued today. Total sales are expected to exceed 925,000 units, a significant number considering the competition cr...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 7, 2018—In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Vail Resorts unveiled plans to invest approximately $175 million to $180 million in capital improvements across its portfolio of 18 mountain resorts ahead of the 2019-20 winter season, and 2019 season in Australia. Projects include ambitious snowmaking up...

SAM Magazine—Stratton, Vt., Dec. 7, 2018—The inaugural Northeast Winter Weather Summit, held Dec. 2 and 3, drew a mixed group of 70 attendees, including meteorologists, media, resort communicators, ski area association representatives, and industry suppliers for two days of networking, education, and discussions revolving around winter weather ...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., Nov. 30, 2018—Voting closes for the 14thannual SAMTerrain Park Contest on Dec. 6, 2018, which means time is short for participating resorts to encourage their fans and followers to cast their votes online. Entries that earn the most votes in each category—Features, Events, and Bread and Butter—will win pri...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Nov. 30, 2018, —November 2018, or Snowvember as many are calling it, has been one for the books. Consistent snowfall and cold temps in many regions of ski country this month have combined to help areas open early, open more terrain, and do some pretty good business as a result. Across the country, ski areas saw strong ...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Nov. 30, 2018—While November brought early openings and record snow coverage to large parts of North America, it also ushered in several notable events in Europe: Winter arrived in the Alps, and key resorts have started spinning lifts; the highest gondola in Europe was installed with eco-friendly bona fides; and Cairng...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Nov. 28, 2018—Patti Duncan has been promoted to lead Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va., as its new president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. She has served as interim president since September after Frank DeBerry left to take over as president and COO of Crystal Mountain, Wash. Both resorts are owned by Al...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 26, 2018—The full summer season from May through October set its sixth consecutive records for occupancy and average daily rate (ADR), while revenue set a seventh consecutive record despite some ups and downs in individual months at Western mountain destinations tracked in the DestiMetrics Market Briefing. Looking ahea...

SAM Magazine—Danbury, N.H., Nov. 26, 2018—Industry veteran Jay Gamble will take over as general manager of Ragged Mountain, N.H., following the departure of Ryan Schramm, who was recently named GM of Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Colorado. Both resorts are operated by Pacific Group Resorts.  Most recently, Gamble spent 20 years as general...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Nov. 26, 2018—Peak Resorts has completed its $76 million acquisition of Snow Time, Inc., which includes three Pennsylvania ski areas—Liberty Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort, and Roundtop Mountain Resort. The deal expands Peak Resorts’ portfolio to 17 ski areas across the Northeast and Midwest. Prior to closing...

SAM Magazine—Donnelly, Idaho, Nov. 21, 2018—Tamarack Resort Holdings (TRH), a partnership formed by a group of investors and managers, has acquired Tamarack Resort. The deal is two years in the making, and the transaction is expected to close Nov. 30. Approval for the state lands lease transfer from the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners c...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Nov. 16, 2018—Former Chicago Bears tight end Dustin Lyman is now president and general manager of Powdr-owned Copper Mountain. Lyman, a Boulder, Colo., native, will oversee all resort operations effective immediately. The position opened in July 2018 after longtime GM Gary Rogers stepped down.Lyman brings a wealth ...

SAM Magazine—Mesa County, Colo., Nov. 16, 2018—Powderhorn Mountain Resort has named Ryan Schramm as its new general manager, filling a role that has been vacant since July. The move follows on the heels of Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) taking over operations of the resort, and a new equity partnership aimed at infusing significant capital ...

SAM Magazine—McCall, Idaho, Nov. 16, 2018—Brundage Mountain Resort has named Ken Rider as its new general manager. Rider first came on board at the resort a year ago as director of marketing and assistant general manager.Rider’s ski industry career began in the late ’90s in a partnerships and promotions role with Intrawest. He then became d...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Nov. 14, 2018—Cooling temps and pockets of fresh snow have resorts across the country opening early. Parts of the West have received more than five feet of powder in the past few weeks, and in the East snowmakers are working hard to build a base ahead of Thanksgiving. Colorado will have at least twelve ski areas open ...

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 14, 2018—The subject of climate change is now more prevalent than ever, flooding our news feeds and airwaves daily. Rarely is the news inspiring or positive, but a recent article on Outside magazine’s website bucks that trend of doom and gloom promulgated by so many outlets—including itself—by recognizing 10 ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield and Denver, Colo., Nov. 15, 2018—Yesterday was a busy day in the ongoing tit for tat between Alterra Mountain Company’s Ikon Pass and Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass. Earlier in the day, Alterra added NZSki and its three New Zealand resorts—Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, and Mt. Hutt—and Valle Nevado in Chile as par...

SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 12, 2018—Two of New England’s top ski resort promoters, Bonnie MacPherson, Okemo, Vt., and Tom Meyers, Wachusett Mountain, Mass., shared the 33rd Annual BEWI Award. The duo was feted by 165BEWI Award winners Bonnie MacPherson (left) and Tom Meyers (right) with host Bernie Weichsel. admirers at a luncheon Frida...

SAM Magazine—Vernon, N.J., Nov. 7, 2018—SNOW Operating has reached an agreement with Mountain Creek Resort, Inc., and the Koffman family to acquire controlling ownership in the operations of Mountain Creek Resort. The Koffmans will remain partners in the ownership, but SNOW Operating will have a controlling position in all operational decisions...

SAM Magazine—Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Nov. 6, 2018—American company Wisconsin Resorts Inc. purchased Searchmont Resort in Ontario, Canada, from the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporationon Nov. 1. The $2 million deal includes all land, buildings, and equipment. Wisconsin Resorts owns and operates four other ski areas: Alpine Vall...