SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., March 8, 2021—Big SNOW American Dream general manager Jim Haas, 70, died Saturday, March 6, due to complications caused by Covid-19. Haas is the second active ski area leader to die from issues related to Covid-19. Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn., president Bruce Anders died in January at age 64.  Haas was the f...

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 4, 2021—Details of the 2021-22 Ikon Pass were released today, and they are nearly identical to the pre-Covid passes for 2020-21. Now encompassing 44 resorts, the primary options are the Ikon Pass, the more limited Ikon Base Pass, and four-day Ikon Session Pass. The first two come with many of the same benefits as for ...

SAM Magazine—Donnelly, Idaho, March 3, 2021—Tamarack Resort has unveiled a new community-focused lift pass to reward local students for their commitment to school and to support increased access to outdoor recreation. The SKY (Students-Kids-Youth) Pass will provide free, year-round Tamarack lift access to local K-12 students in the Va...

SAM Magazine—Oliver, BC, March 3, 2021—An employee of Baldy Mountain Resort in British Columbia died Friday, Feb. 26, from injuries sustained after reportedly becoming stuck beneath a grooming machine. He was 70 years old.  "Despite the efforts of other employees and emergency first aid attendants on the mountain, the 70-year-old man did ...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colorado, Feb. 23, 2021—Pocket Outdoor Media (POM), which has been accumulating active lifestyle content and services, significantly expanded its reach by acquiring Outside Magazine and the entire Outside Integrated Media, including Outside Studio, Outside TV, and the Outside GO travel business.  Separately, it also ...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., Feb. 23, 2021—Waterville Valley Resort, N.H., and Saddleback Mountain, Maine, are joining the Indy Pass through the end of the current 2020-21 season for the 2021-22 season. Both resorts will provide two days of skiing and riding to all Indy Pass holders during both seasons. There are no blackout dates for the remai...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., Feb. 18, 2021—Teton Gravity Research (TGR) and the Indy Pass will explore the spirit of independent ski and snowboard areas around North America in a film and video project titled “In Pursuit of Soul.” The project will produce digital and social storytelling at 12 independent resorts throughout the winter season,...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 18, 2021—January snow and a drop in both Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations combined to give a boost, albeit small, to business across the West, according to the monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing from Inntopia. For the month, lodging occupancy was down 29.1 percent, average daily rate fell 12.3 percent,...

SAM Magazine—Rome, Italy, Feb. 16, 2021—Many of Italy’s ski resorts were ramping up to open this week, some starting Monday, Feb. 15, when the government’s ban on recreational skiing at resorts was set to expire—making snow, grooming, preparing facilities, staffing up, etc. However, resorts were informed at 7 p.m. on Sunday that health mi...

SAM Magazine—Neihart, Mont., Feb. 10, 2021—George Willett has sold Showdown Montana to his daughter, Katie Boedecker, after nearly 48 years of running the resort.Katie Boedecker and George Willett Boedecker, who grew up at Showdown, has worked many positions at the ski area, including general manager for the last three years. She joins a very ...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Feb. 10, 2021—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) 2021 winter conference and trade show was held virtually, Feb. 1-5. Attendees participated in educational sessions, networking events, and trade show hours from wherever they happened to be. The event was, of course, different than the traditional winter gathe...

The latest virus tracking reports from Insights Collective are showing light at the end of the tunnel, with new cases and hospitalizations declining.  Only Oregon, Puerto Rico, Arkansas and Vermont saw an increase in cases. We are cautiously optimistic. View the recent virus tracking report.  ...

SAM Magazine—Collingwood, Ont., Feb. 9, 2021—The province of Ontario will allow ski resorts to gradually start reopening to the public soon, following a six-week (or longer) closure.Calabogie Peaks On Monday, the province lifted the Emergency Declaration that forced resorts to close beginning on Dec. 26, 2020, just before the key Christmas hol...

Cross-country ski areas across Canada and the US were surveyed the second week of January with some promising results reported. Some of the key findings: Revenues were higher than had been projected, healthy season pass sales for more than half of the respondents (some with 20% or greater growth) and day pass sales have increased for more than...

SAM Magazine—Warren, Vt., Feb. 5, 2021—Sugarbush Resort, in partnership with Green Lantern Solar, has installed a new solar array at Lincoln Peak. The array has a capacity of 133 kilowatts (kW), and will generate 190,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) over the course of a year. This is the latest installation funded by the two organizations, and the firs...

SAM Magazine—Boyne Falls, Mich., Feb. 5, 2021—Boyne Resorts has made a renewable energy purchase commitment with CMS Enterprises, a CMS Energy subsidiary, that offsets electric energy consumption at its resorts and facilities throughout North America as of Jan. 1, 2021.  The purchase is among numerous environmental initiatives and newly e...

This report is excerpted from a longer report by Gfeller Laurie LLP. We thank Charles Gfeller for sharing it with SAM. SAM Magazine—West Hartford, Conn., Feb. 5, 2021—Many ski areas and ski industry vendors have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated shutdowns. In the business world generally, this has led to a wa...

Yesterday, viewers were entertained with bad lumberjack jokes and live tiki chainsaw-carving with North Pole Design's Senan Gorman and SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. The event was held during the Supplier Direct Connect as part of the virtual NSAA Winter Conference. Attendees could vote for a tiki design ahead of the event, and Gorman crafted the one ...

As the U.S. and the world seek to escape the shadow of Covid-19, important steps are being taken on many fronts. Some of these may pose short-term challenges, but all are aimed at long-term recovery. Wonder why those $1,400 checks are so high on President Biden’s wish list? Curious to know how soon air travel might return to normal? Looking for o...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., Feb. 2, 2021—Soldier Mountain and Pomerelle Mountain Resort, Idaho, have joined the Indy Pass. Each resort will provide Indy Pass holders two days of access through the end of the 2020-21 season. The pass now includes access to 16 ski areas in the Pacific Northwest, and 61 North American ski areas in all.  Sol...

SAM Magazine—East Madison, N.H., Jan. 29, 2021—Highway West Vacations will be providing full property management for New Hampshire’s King Pine Ski Area, Purity Spring Resort, Tohkomeupog Summer Camp for Boys, and Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort, effective March 1, 2021. The Hoyt family will remain owners of the resort entities and retain...

SAM Magazine—Peterson, Utah, Jan. 29, 2021—A new private mountain resort development in Utah aims to open to members for skiing and riding next winter. Called Wasatch Peaks Ranch, it's located 35 minutes north from Salt Lake City, 10 miles south of Snowbasin Resort.  Wasatch Peaks Ranch encompasses 12,740 acres, including a planned 3,000 ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 28, 2021—Given the challenges the people in our industry are experiencing right now—and the need for resilience is greater than ever—SAM and High Peaks Group have relaunched the Summit Series Bootcamp: Resilient Leadership Training program to provide leaders at all levels of an organization with the too...

Virus cases are dropping. So are positivity rates and hospitalizations. Nearly 20 million Americans have begun receiving vaccines. The week’s Virus Tracker from the Insights Collective shows how the pandemic is affecting major resort destination communities and the markets they serve. And the news is looking up. Check out the full report her...

SAM Magazine—Boischatel, Quebec, Jan. 25, 2021—More than 4,000 total votes were cast during the seven-day voting period in the 2021 HKD I AM a Snowmaker contest, which showcased four snowmaking teams from resorts across North America: Blue Mountain, Ont.; Eldora, Colo.; Okemo Mountain, Vt.; and Squaw Valley, Calif. Voting concluded Monday, Jan....

SAM Magazine—Paris, France, Jan. 20, 2021—Ski resorts in France had hoped they could start up their lifts and welcome skiers and riders on Feb. 1, but rising Covid-19 infections and worries over the new variant of the virus have led French tourism minister Jean Baptiste Lemoyne to declare that resorts, among other businesses, must remain closed...

With the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the traditional education opportunities have moved online. We know it's a busy time, so SAM pulled together a chronological list of online educational content available to mountain resort operations so it's easier to see what important webinars, Huddles and Town Halls might be worth checking o...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 18, 2021—Vail Resorts (VR) reported that season-to-date visits at its North American resorts are down 16.6 percent for the season through Jan. 3, compared to the prior year through Jan. 5, periods that include the Christmas and New Year's holidays for both years. That translated for declines in several key m...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Jan. 15, 2021—Overall seasonal occupancy held steady during December from the previous month, but was down 18.6 percent compared to December 2019, according to the latest DestiMetrics Market Briefing from Inntopia. The average daily rate (ADR) also declined, by 10.6 percent, leading to a 27.2 percent drop in lod...

Despite the growing availability of vaccines, the pandemic continues to demand attention. A new strain is putting more people, including kids, at risk of infection. States and localities continue to tweak protocols in response to high infection rates and climbing daily death counts, requiring attention and adaptation. Employees are becoming more in...

SAM Magazine—Woodstock, Vt., Jan. 13, 2021—As part of a research initiative and in partnership with Snow Sports Insights, the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) published the results of the most recent consumer survey conducted during the first two weeks of December. CCSAA also included results of a retailer survey conducted aroun...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 12, 2021—Since the Christmas holiday period, coronavirus cases have been rapidly on the rise in several major western ski states and feeder markets, according to the latest tracking report from the Insights Collective. As the national vaccination effort continues, record case counts have been recorded, and Arizona had ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 11, 2021—Online voting for the 2021 HKD and SAM “I AM a Snowmaker” contest is now open, and continues through midnight (EST) on Monday, Jan. 18. Since it debuted in the winter of 2013-14, the annual I AM contest highlights the hard work, determination, and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes ...

SAM Magazine—Kennebunk, Maine, Jan. 11, 2021—Cal Conniff, president/executive director of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) from 1973 to 1990 and a 1990 U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame honoree, died Jan. 8, a month shy of his 91st birthday.   Conniff devoted his life to the betterment of the sport and business of ski...

by Roger Lohr The Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) has been conducting online sessions with members since last spring, focused on sharing information about how X-C operations should respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Discussions resulted in widespread adoption of plans aimed at minimizing risk of virus transmission for staff and guests.&...

SAM Magazine—Jan. 7, 2021, Ludlow, Vt.—This holiday period didn’t break any visitation records, but demand across the country was solid, even as conditions varied wildly from region to region. For many North American resorts, this was also the first major test of their Covid-related policies, with mask compliance overall pretty good, though s...

SAM Magazine—Hunter, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2021—Hunter Mountain was compelled to close Tuesday, Jan. 5, after "a number of ski patrollers excluded out of work relating to COVID-19," according to a statement from Vail Resorts, and will remain closed through Jan. 7. The area plans to reopen on Friday, Jan. 8.  The closure of the resort was due to s...

Coronavirus cases were flat or down in 46 states and Washington, D.C., as the Christmas holiday week began, according to the latest tracking report from the Insights Collective. The trends were favorable in many major markets of importance to winter resorts, and in many resort communities as well. Check out the full report for the specifics here. ...

SAM Magazine—Collingwood, Ont., Dec. 23, 2020—The province of Ontario has imposed a 28-day shutdown of much of the province beginning Dec. 26 to curtail a spike in coronavirus cases, shuttering most of the province's ski areas during the holiday period and beyond. The shutdown has stirred pushback from both skiers and some resorts after months ...

SAM Magazine—Kelowna, B.C., Dec. 18, 2020–A cluster outbreak of 76 positive Covid-19 cases at Big White Resort has spurred action from the resort and community. The cases were related to group housing and social gatherings, according to Canada’s Interior Health, and led to the termination of seven Big White employees. Big Whit...

SAM Magazine—United Kingdom, Dec. 18, 2020—Here we present a roundup of ski industry news from across the pond, based on Patrick Thorne’s “Snow Hunter’s World Weekly Snow Resort News” for the week ending Dec. 19, 2020.Samnaun in Switzerland Most Swiss Ski Areas Now Open for 2020-21 Season More than 100 Swiss ski areas are now open wit...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 18, 2020—The surging pandemic and resort capacity limits combined to negatively impact lodging reservations in November at mountain resorts throughout the western U.S., with marginal snowfall at some destinations adding to the mix. Aggregated data from 18 mountain destinations in seven western states compil...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 16, 2020—Winter Park is implementing a passholder reservation system ahead of the holidays, as large crowds and limited terrain continue to stretch capacity limits at Colorado resorts. Previously, passholders were free to come and go as usual. Winter Park becomes the second Alterra Mountain Company resort t...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Dec. 14, 2020—National Ski Patrol (NSP) board of directors chairman Brian Rull wrote the following letter in response to a report published on SAM's website on Dec. 12, regarding the chairman's comments in the Fall issue of Ski Patrol Magazine and the departure of former NSP executive director Meegan Moszynski from t...

SAM Magazine—Sundance, Utah, Dec. 14, 2020—Robert Redford is selling Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah to Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners, which are both real estate investment firms specializing in the hospitality industry.  The transaction includes all assets of Sundance Mountain Resort, including the resort b...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 11, 2020—Meegan Moszynski is no longer executive director of the National Ski Patrol (NSP) after three and a half successful years in the position, and NSP members are wondering why. Her abrupt mid-November departure coincides with mounting backlash from something NSP board chair Brian Rull wrote in his “Cha...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 11, 2020—Vail Resorts (VR) reported a 44-percent net loss for its first fiscal quarter of 2021, a consequence of Covid-19 impacts on summer ops across North America and winter ops in Australia for the period ending Oct. 31. Season pass sales through Dec. 6 saw a 20 percent increase in units year-over-year, t...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Dec. 9, 2020—Ski area operators worked hard for months to develop operating plans and protocols for this strange winter, knowing all along their original plans would likely change several times after opening day depending on several variables: the severity of the pandemic, guidance and restrictions from government, g...

The weekly virus tracking report from the Insights Collective shows a mixed performance for Western resorts and major metro markets across the U.S. Cases are at elevated levels, based on the 7-day average for new cases per 100,000 population, in Miami, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, N.M., and Jackson, Wyo., though the trend in the latter two is decre...

With vaccines on the way, some travel companies are planning for future growth, according to the Weekly Briefing compiled by the Insights Collective. At present, though, employees at companies across the U.S. have become increasingly hesitant to travel for business, Zoom remains the go-to meeting site, vacation rentals—both globally and in the U....

SAM Magazine—San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 4, 2020—Liftopia Inc. entered an “assignment for the benefit of creditors,” or ABC, to liquidate its assets, through which Norwegian-Spanish holding company Skitude has acquired the assets of Liftopia Inc., according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The proceeds from the sale will be use...

SAM Magazine—Paris, France, Dec. 2, 2020—The debate about restrictions on opening ski resorts, especially for the holidays, in European nations is evolving as government leaders begin to announce decisions about what can be open, when, and who can’t go where. Over 300 ski area workers attended a protest to open the resort at Les 2 Alpes ...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., Dec. 2, 2020—While holiday openings were still plentiful this Thanksgiving, the model for opening seems to have shifted in parts of the country, with many resorts opting to slow roll their winter operations with post-holiday, midweek first-day targets. A handful of resorts had record setting holiday periods though, and...

RESORTS Sarah Sherman, Snowbird Sarah Sherman has been appointed communications manager at Snowbird, working within the marketing team to oversee the resort’s public and media relations and communications. Originally from Los Angeles, Sherman began her career as a snow reporter at Mammoth Mountain after graduating from the University of Souther...

SAM Magazine—Paris, France, Nov. 30, 2020—With the pandemic spiking across many regions in the European Union, France has declared that ski lifts won't run this December, while fellow EU members Germany and Italy are threatening to keep ski areas from operating through the month as well. But with other nations vowing to keep resorts open, it re...

The latest news and observations from the Insights Collective regarding how Congress, states, and municipalities are trying to aid business even as they try to stem the spread of COVID-19. From tax holidays and increased safety messaging to online sales assistance and a liability waiver for businesses, you can read the details here. Add a co...

It will be several months before vaccination levels dent the spread of the pandemic. That should make us thankful for the financial benefits of outdoor dining, wearing masks, and COVID information apps, all of which are chronicled in the latest Weekly Briefing from the Insights Collective. Get the details here. ...

SAM Magazine—Newry, Maine, Nov. 20, 2020—Resorts have had to get creative with their formerly indoor, packed-room staff orientations. Sunday River, Maine, has gone the drive-in route. The evening of Nov. 17 saw the first of at least five drive-in staff orientations at the resort. Each will have about 50 cars, and staff members who live in the ...

While COVID-19 infection levels remain high—and climbing, in many locations—this week’s Virus Tracker from the Insights Collective shows a bending of the curve. If that continues, this fall’s wave could hit a lull ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. See the full report, with data on both major markets and local resort communities, here....