SAM Magazine—Longmont, Colo., Jan. 18, 2022—December occupancy at Western destinations was up 11.7 percent compared to pre-pandemic 2019, and up 37 percent from December 2020, according to the latest report from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. As of Dec. 31, the average daily rate (ADR) for the month was up 40 per...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 17, 2021—The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) voted to approve a new contract with Vail Resorts (VR) on Friday. The union agreed to a base wage of $15 an hour, with $1 an hour incentive for patrollers who work some shifts out of both Park City Mountain Resort base areas, Canyons Village a...

SAM Magazine—Lutsen, Minn., Jan. 17, 2022—Lutsen Mountains has promoted director of operations and marketing Jim Vick to serve as the resort’s new general manager. Assistant director of operations and marketing Amanda Plummer was promoted to the role of assistant general manager. The promotions followon the heels of president Charles ...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., Jan. 14, 2022—The Supreme Court issued a decision staying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) mandate that employers with 100 or more employees require their workers to be vaccinated or produce a negative Covid-19 test on a weekly basis.  "This is helpful news to ski areas, who are fac...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 14, 2022— The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) and Vail Resorts (VR) reached a tentative agreement Wednesday night after an hourslong bargaining session, according to a statement.  Union members were expected to vote on the offer Thursday night, Jan. 13. Until the vote is tallied, spec...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 14, 2022—Vail Resorts reported a drop in visitation and an uptick in revenue for the season-to-date period ended Jan. 2, 2022. The depressed visitation numbers, in particular, sit in juxtaposition to the portrait in the news of epic lift lines and crowded slopes at the company’s resorts over the Christmas ...

SAM Magazine—Terrebonne, Quebec, Jan. 13, 2022—While Quebec ski areas were able to open and stay open for the 2020-21 winter season, financial results unveiled as part of the “Economic and Financial Study of Quebec Ski Areas” show that several lines of business were down dramatically year-over-year as a result of Covid operating limitations...

SAM Magazine—Leavenworth, Wash., Jan. 12, 2022—The ongoing operational and guest experience challenges at Vail Resorts-owned Stevens Pass, Wash., appear to have necessitated a change in leadership.Tom Fortune Tom Fortune, general manager of Heavenly, Calif., also owned by Vail Resorts, shared a message as the “new interim general manager of S...

SAM Magazine—Beech Mountain, N.C., Jan. 11, 2022—A snowmaking pipe under a chairlift at Beech Mountain ruptured on Friday, Jan. 7, blasting guests passing over it with water. Several people were caught in the high-pressure spray as the lift kept spinning, while others jumped 25 feet from the chair to avoid the water. Two guests were transported...

SAM Magazine—Pinkham Notch, N.H., Jan. 10, 2022—On Saturday, Jan. 8, a chair carrying a 22-year-old snowboarder on the Snowcat triple at Wildcat Mountain, N.H., detached from the haul rope and fell nearly 10 feet to the ground. The guest was taken to a nearby hospital with serious rib injuries. According to state fire marshal Sean Toomey, the ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 10, 2022—Online voting for the 2022 HKD and SAM “I AM a Snowmaker” contest is now open through midnight (EST) on Friday, Jan. 21. 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, reco...

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Jan. 7, 2022—While many resorts grappled with the impacts of the Omicron surge over the holiday season, which left operators with already-reduced workforces even shorter staffed, visitors still flocked to the mountains in earnest to participate in their favorite winter activities. Angel Fire Fireworks 2022Extreme we...

SAM Magazine—Londonderry, Vt., Jan. 7, 2022—Magic Mountain, Vt., was not able to open today as planned after a member of its ski patrol tested positive for Covid yesterday, leaving the ski area with too few patrollers to safely operate. The news was shared last night in an online “Alpine Update” from Magic Mountain president Geoff Hatheway,...

SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., Jan. 6, 2022— Jiminy Peak, Mass., snowmaker Kimberlee Francoeur, 30, of Lanesborough, Mass., died after a snow groomer operator reportedly backed into the snowmobile she was operating during the day on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The Berkshire District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the in...

SAM Magazine—Lutsen, Minn., Jan. 6, 2022—Charles Skinner is now the sole owner and president of Lutsen Mountains, Minn., after acquiring co-president Tom Rider’s 50 percent ownership interest in the resort. The stock purchase was made under a process initiated by Rider pursuant to a longstanding buy-sell agreement between the parties. The sp...

SAM Magazine—Longmont, Colo., Jan. 5, 2022—Staffing shortages, large crowds, long liftlines, limited terrain, overflowing parking lots, Covid restrictions, and more plagued many resorts during the holiday season, but none more so than Vail Resorts. Across its network of resorts, VR seemed to fare worse than many other resorts—and has dominate...

SAM Magazine—Enumclaw, Wash., Jan. 5, 2022—In response to high demand, especially amid ongoing snowfall, Crystal Mountain, Wash., will implement a reservations system for its limited on-resort parking on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for the rest of the season, beginning Jan. 15. It is also “significantly increasing” the use of its overfl...

SAM Magazine—Kimberley, B.C., Jan. 4, 2022—After a suspicious Dec. 18 fire destroyed the control system for the main chairlift at Kimberley Alpine Resort, the ski area managed to find an innovative workaround just in time for the holidays. The disabled chair is the only lift out of the base area village, but with help from neighboring resorts R...

SAM Magazine—Killington Vt., Jan. 3, 2022—A special testing site opened at Killington Resort on Sunday after 5 percent of its staff contracted Covid over the holiday period.  The Vermont Department of Health confirmed that, as of Thursday, 86 Killington employees had tested positive, making this the largest known outbreak currently affecting ...

SAM Magazine—Superior, Colo., Jan. 3, 2022—In response to the wildfire disaster that struck Boulder County just before the new year, local Powdr-owned resorts Copper Mountain and Eldora Mountain are launching an initiative to provide financial relief for those impacted. A view of a Boulder County neighborhood that was destroyed by a wildfire i...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Jan. 3, 2022—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has cancelled its in-person Western and Eastern Winter Conferences and Tradeshows, scheduled for mid-January at Snowmass, Colo., and early-February at Killington, Vt., respectively. The cancellations come as Covid cases surge across the country. Member feedba...

SAM Magazine—Wintergreen, Va., Dec. 31, 2021—Due to unseasonably warm temperatures, Wintergreen Resort in Virginia temporarily suspended skiing and snowboarding operations Dec. 29. “While we wish our mountain was completely covered in snow with all outlets and operations in full swing, we are weathering the weather (or lack thereof), with ou...

SAM Magazine—Norden, Calif., Dec. 29, 2021—“WE ARE BURIED—it feels like March,” said Sugar Bowl general manager Greg Dallas on Tuesday as the resort was preparing to reopen after a historic, multi-day winter storm dropped more than 10 feet of snow since Christmas Eve, closing highways and forcing Sugar Bowl and several other California re...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Dec. 29, 2021— In the middle of a busy holiday period, ski area operators in some pockets of the country are being forced to respond to growing regional Covid case numbers and outbreaks among staff with policy updates and operational changes .  At this time last year, Covid infection rates were trending flat or down....

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 20, 2021— The Professional Ski Instructors of America and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) published a new manual, Teaching Children Snowsports, to support instructors in helping kids learn to ski and ride.  With NSAA estimating more than half of ski and snowboard lessons are t...

SAM Magazine—Sandpoint, Idaho, Dec. 14, 2021—Schweitzer has converted a former assisted living facility in nearby Sandpoint into employee housing for winter and summer seasonal staff. Schweitzer HR director Scot Auld, Schweitzer CEO and president Tom Chasse, and Schweitzer chief development officer Lance Badger in a room at Schweitzer's Hemlock...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., December 14, 2021—The Indy Pass has added Montana ski area Blacktail Mountain to its growing list of resorts in the Northern Rockies, bringing its total number of partners to 77 in North America, 81 worldwide.  “We are very excited to join the Indy Pass coalition and look forward to welcoming Indy Pass holders f...

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Dec. 14, 2021—A newly released study from the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA), and Snow Sports Insights (SSI) shows a continuing shift in buying, working, and travel trends towards midweek outdoor participation, increased travel, and online shopping.  Midweek partici...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 14, 2021—Despite a slow start to the 2021-22 winter, as of Nov. 30, aggregated reservations, rates, and revenue for the coming winter at Western destinations were comparing favorably to the last two seasons, according to the latest Monthly Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of In...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 10, 2021—Vail Resorts (VR) reported a 47 percent increase in season pass units for the 2021-22 season, as of Dec. 5, 2021, and a 21 percent increase in sales dollars. Year over year, this equates to an increase of 700,000 pass units, according to Liftblog.com. The pass sales numbers were part of Vail's first...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 8, 2021—Vail Resorts has entered into an agreement to purchase Seven Springs, Pa., from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. As part of the $125 million deal, the company will also acquire Hidden Valley Resort, Pa., and the operations of Laurel Mountain Ski Area, Pa. The transaction is expected to close this ...

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Dec. 3, 2021—Most open ski areas are reporting strong attendance and positive visitor feedback over the Thanksgiving holiday, with loosened outdoor Covid protocols restoring a cautious sense of normalcy to the mountains. Heading into this weekend, cold temps and new snow are allowing more resorts to start turning li...

SAM Magazine—Teton Village, Wyo., Dec. 2, 2021—Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) increased its minimum wage for all non-tipped positions from $15 per hour to $18 per hour, effective immediately. The wage increase aims to help with employee recruitment and retention by supporting staff to live and work in the Jackson Hole community. “We con...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Nov. 24, 2021—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has shared new guidance for ski area operators regarding the Nov. 4 OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring businesses with 100 employees or more to implement and enforce a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy. Although OSHA has been court ordered ...

SAM Magazine—Truckee, Calif., Nov. 24, 2021—Two small ski areas on opposite sides of the country are set to reopen after years of closure: Kingvale Terrain Project, Calif., and Tapawingo (aka Woodbury Ski Area), Conn. Eric Anderson and Day Franzen Kingvale After shuttering in 2011, the all-terrain-park Kingvale Terrain Project, located just ...

SAM Magazine—Porte-de-Savoie, France, Nov. 22, 2021—The French government issued a new national protocol requiring masks in lifts lines and on chairlifts at the country’s 250 ski areas this winter. The protocol does not require guests to provide immunization records for access, but the French Ski Areas Association (Domaines Skiables De Franc...

SAM Magazine—Lakeside, Mont., Nov. 19, 2021—The owners of Mission Ridge, Wash., have purchased Blacktail Mountain Ski Area in Lakeside, Mont. Blacktail has been on the market since 2017.  The purchase price was not published. At one point, the 1,000-acre ski area was listed for sale on Craigslist for $3.5 million. Transition of ownership will...

SAM Magazine—Wardsboro, Vt., Nov. 17, 2021—A recent spate of mild weather has forced several ski areas from the Northeast to the Rockies to delay their planned opening day until the weather cooperates long enough for snowmaking crews to work their magic. Steamboat released an informative video on Facebook about why they were delaying their open...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Nov. 17, 2021—Powdr co-president and CFO Justin Sibley has been named chief executive officer of the company. He steps into the role following the departure of co-president Wade Martin. Sibley will be responsible for leading Powdr’s future development, which includes exploring adventure lifestyle spaces beyond sk...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Nov. 16, 2021—Vail Resorts (VR) is implementing new operational plans and guest service procedures for winter 2021-22, including limited peak ticket sales, changes to lift loading and unloading, and forecasted lift line wait times. The changes aim to prioritize passholders and improve the guest experience. “Ba...

SAM Magazine—Steamboat Springs, Colo., Nov. 12, 2021—Steamboat Ski Resort & Corporation (SSRC) president and chief operating officer Rob Perlman has been promoted to Alterra Mountain Company as regional chief operating officer of its central region, which includes Deer Valley and Solitude, Utah, and Steamboat and Winter Park, Colo.Shea, S...

SAM Magazine—Aspen Snowmass, Colo., Nov. 12, 2021— Beginning with the next pay period, Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) will increase starting hourly pay to $17 per hour for all non-tipped or commissioned positions in Aspen Snowmass and at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum, Idaho—up from the previous minimum of $15.60 per hour. Many second-, third- an...

SAM Magazine—Bradenton, Fla., Nov. 12, 2021—Western mountain destinations nailed down their best aggregated summer ever for occupancy, daily rates, and revenue, according to the Monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. Bookings for the winter are also on a very strong pace, ahead of 2019 for bot...

SAM Magazine—McCall, Idaho, Nov. 11, 2021—Brundage Mountain’s new ownership group, which acquired the ski area in November 2020, has a 10-year plan to transform the mountain into a multi-season destination resort. Upgrades include new ski-in/ski-out accommodations, a revitalized base village, expanded lifts and terrain, and an array of new re...

SAM Magazine—Vienna, Austria, Nov. 9, 2021—As of Nov. 8, skiers and riders looking to hit the slopes in Austria will need to demonstrate proof of vaccination or recovery from past infection to travel into the country, access ski lifts, stay in any type of accommodation (including chalets, holiday apartments, mountain huts, etc.) or visit bars a...

SAM Magazine—Jeffersonville, Vt., Nov. 3, 2021—With weather across North America still quite variable, some resorts have been able to start the season ahead of schedule while others still eagerly await the colder temperatures that will allow them to meet their opening day goals. Opening day at KeystoneResorts like Palisades Tahoe, Boreal, and M...

SAM Magazine—Calgary, Alberta, Nov. 2, 2021—Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) will require guests to show proof of vaccination to access lifts and indoor services this winter at all of its ski areas, including Fernie Alpine Resort, Kicking Horse, and Kimberley Alpine Resort in British Columbia, Nakiska in Alberta, and Mont Sainte-Anne and...

SAM Magazine—Terrebonne, Que., Nov. 2, 2021—The Quebec government will require proof of vaccination (a vaccine passport) for people age 13 and older to use ski lifts and access certain services offered in day lodges at the province’s ski areas this winter, according to the Quebec Ski Areas Association (ASSQ). Mont-Sainte-Anne in QuebecThe man...

SAM Magazine—Thompsonville, Mich., Nov. 1, 2021—Crystal Mountain COO John Melcher will succeed Jim MacInnes as chief executive officer, effective Dec. 1. Melcher has been COO since 2017. MacInnes is stepping back after 36 years in resort operations to focus more on long-term strategy including leadership development, capital allocation, real es...

SAM Magazine—Mt. Hood, Ore., Oct. 28, 2021—Mt. Hood Meadows aims to make working at the resort more attractive with higher wages, benefits, and increased housing opportunities as the winter season approaches.  Meadows is raising its base pay to $15 per hour and will increase wages for all team members by $1.25 per hour. The entry-level wage i...

SAM Magazine—Bridgton, Maine, Oct. 22, 2021—Boyne Resorts has acquired Shawnee Peak, Maine. Transition of the resort’s ownership has begun immediately, with all Shawnee Peak team members being retained under Boyne Resorts’ ownership. Longtime Shawnee owners the Homer family will maintain a visible role at ski area for the near future.  In...

SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Oct. 22, 2021—Jay Peak Resort will offer free lift tickets, free hot dogs, and free mini-instructional lessons on the first day of winter operations. The “Day for the Devoted” is open to the first 1,000 people who register through the resort’s website. The resort typically opens for the winter season on the Friday a...

SAM Magazine—Danbury, N.H., Oct. 20, 2021—Industry veteran Erik Barnes has been named general manager of Ragged Mountain ski area. Barnes replaces Jay Gamble, who recently accepted the role of general manager at Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. Both resorts are operated by Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. Barnes previously served as the vice presiden...

SAM Magazine​​—Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 20, 2021—Three Vail Resorts (VR) properties have new general managers, and the company’s Midwest region has a new vice president.Donnelly and Crichton All four leaders were promoted from within the company.   Susan Donnelly takes over as general manager of Crotched Mountain Resort, N.H. Donnelly f...

SAM Magazine​​—Montville, N.J., Oct. 20, 2021—SNOW Operating has launched SNOW Partners, the new parent entity to preside over the company’s various operating businesses. Based in Montville, N.J., SNOW Partners comprises the ownership and executive teams for both the company’s resort operating and resort services divisions.  With this...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Oct. 15, 2021—After Powdr launched its new Fast Tracks pay-for-faster-lift-access program, reaction from skiers and snowboarders was swift—and largely negative. In response to the feedback, Powdr posted “A letter to the community regarding Fast Tracks” from co-presidents Wade Martin and Justin Sibley.  The ...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Oct. 15, 2021—As Western mountain destinations close in on a record summer, winter bookings are pacing ahead of the past two years as well. That good news comes from the latest Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. Based on data from 290 participating properties in ...

SAM Magazine—Pagosa Springs, Colo., Oct. 14, 2021—Wolf Creek will open this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16 and 17, with its Nova and Lynx lifts operating 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The resort received 14 in. of fresh snow from a recent storm, allowing it to at least be the first ski area in North America to announce its intentions to kickoff of the 20...

SAM Magazine—Twin Bridges, Calif., Oct. 14, 2021—Significant damage sustained from the Caldor Fire—a 221,000-acre conflagration that tore through the Tahoe Basin in late August and September—will impact operations at Sierra-at-Tahoe for the coming season, according to the latest from the resort. In an update posted to the resort’s social...