November 2024

SAM Terrain Park Contest 2024

Our annual contest shows how park builders flexed their creativity and ambition during the 2023-24 winter season.  Every year, as we sift through the dozens of entries we receive for this contest, we keep our eyes peeled for trends and notable highlights to point out here, and also monitor to see Our annual contest shows how park builders flexed their creativity and ambition during the 2023-24 winter...

March 2024

Cutters Camp Turns 20

Celebrating 20 years of terrain park community building, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. It started with a conversation with Day Franzen after we profiled him in a story about Superpark, when he said the behind-the-scenes sharing at that event was special and it would be great to replicate i Celebrating 20 years of terrain park community building, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

March 2024

2024 Groomer Report

After years of tweaks and changes, both PistenBully and Prinoth have reached greater uniformity across their model lines, aiming to make life easier for operators and mechanics. “The highly competitive marketplace for snow grooming equipment is at something of a crossroads …  “The long-dev After years of tweaks and changes, both PistenBully and Prinoth have reached greater uniformity...

November 2023

New HQs for Mountain Ops

Mountain operations have expanded greatly over the decades, and so must the notion of “maintenance shops.” Maintenance shops are one of those capital expense items that are often difficult to fund. The guest doesn’t see them, and they can put a large dent in an area’s budget, knocking the Mountain operations have expanded greatly over the decades, and so must the notion of “maintenance...

November 2023

Terrain Park Contest 2023

From massive features to culture-cultivating events, video edits, and the crews that make it happen, our annual celebration of resort terrain park builders’ innovation and creativity has it all.  Congratulations to the 2023 Terrain Park Winners. Learn more here.  Another year and another stro From massive features to culture-cultivating events, video edits, and the crews that make it...

September 2023

The Training Conundrum

To develop the next generation of mountain ops employees, we must find new ways to provide crucial training and pass along expertise. Raise your hand if you’ve heard the term “YouTube University” thrown around in your shop. Now, keep it raised if you yourself have said it. (Insert raised han To develop the next generation of mountain ops employees, we must find new ways to provide crucial...

July 2023

Building for Efficiency

After Grand Targhee's old maintenance shop collapsed, the resort planned for and built a new shop with all the fixins to help its crew do their jobs right. The basic elements of an efficient maintenance shop have remained constant over the decades, though some shops still lack one or more of these After Grand Targhee's old maintenance shop collapsed, the resort planned for and built a new shop...

March 2023

2023 Groomer Report

Snowcat manufacturers are responding to the needs of their customers with more efficient, sustainable grooming machines and improved software and training tools. Early in the days of the commercial ski industry, the skiing surface was at the mercy of Mother Nature, topography, and previous skier t Snowcat manufacturers are responding to the needs of their customers with more efficient,...

November 2022

Terrain Park Contest 2022

Our annual showcase of the finest freestyle fabrications with resort-submitted entries in four categories: features, events, edits, and—new this year— crews. In the same way that terrain park crews like to rebuild their parks to keep them fresh, we made some changes to this year’s Terrain Pa Our annual showcase of the finest freestyle fabrications with resort-submitted entries in four...

November 2022

Smooth Operations

How to get the most out of today's impressive mountain ops management software. Mountain operations teams have traditionally functioned and stayed organized largely by routine, using paper checklists and clipboards, and relying on institutional knowledge. Introducing a new software platform that p How to get the most out of today's impressive mountain ops management software.

November 2022

Behind the Curtain

Sharing the day-by-day details of mountain operations can be a successful way to create community while marketing your resort. In ski area marketing, we know that a crisp image of a skier slashing a turn through deep snow on a bluebird day will land with guests. But can the day-to-day activities o Sharing the day-by-day details of mountain operations can be a successful way to create community...

November 2022

New Products :: November 2022

Equipment, tools, and tech for ski area operators. SMI SNOW MAKERS: L120 The L120 is the newest and largest all-weather snowmaking machine from SMI Snow Makers. It has four, 30-metric-ton flake-ice evaporators that can run independently or at the same time, all housed in an 8’ x 40’ footpri Equipment, tools, and tech for ski area operators.

July 2022

We Need Women in Operations

Female mountain ops pros are breaking into the boys' club. Here's why our industry will be better off with more women in the field. The maintenance shop at your ski area is likely a male dominated space—and likely always has been. Our industry’s complacency about that fact is starting to shift Female mountain ops pros are breaking into the boys' club. Here's why our industry will be better...

March 2022

2022 Groomer Report

Recent updates and improvements have made grooming machines more powerful and comfortable, and software tools continue to be refined for efficient operations. Not all grooming machines are created equal, and that’s a good thing. Given that every mountain is unique, and that the slate of groo Recent updates and improvements have made grooming machines more powerful and comfortable, and...

March 2022

Caring for Your Snowcats

Proper preventative maintenance in the offseason will keep your grooming fleet purring. Ferraris. That’s what Peak Resorts founder Tim Boyd called our snowcats when he sat down the grooming team heading into the first season that his company owned Mount Snow, Vt. I told him I preferred Porsches, Proper preventative maintenance in the offseason will keep your grooming fleet purring.

November 2021

2021 Terrain Park Contest

SAM's showcase of freestyle fabrication is back for its 16th year, with resort submitted entries in three categories, including a new one: "Park edits."  Winter 2020-21 was a strange one, but it didn’t stop terrain park crews from building creative and progressive elements for their faithful to SAM's showcase of freestyle fabrication is back for its 16th year, with resort submitted entries...

July 2021

Build a Great Grooming Team

Here's what it takes to find the right people, develop their skills, and turn them into a smoothly functioning unit. Whether your resort has 7,000 acres or 100, a fleet of 30 snow grooming vehicles or just one, it takes a team to prepare and produce a quality snow surface. Big or small, everyone m Here's what it takes to find the right people, develop their skills, and turn them into a smoothly...

March 2021

2021 Groomer Report

Powerful machines are getting more efficient, while technology continues to elevate slope management, fleet management, and training programs. For anyone in the market for new grooming equipment, the checklist of requirements is long. Needs to be powerful. Needs to be efficient. Needs to be versat Powerful machines are getting more efficient, while technology continues to elevate slope...

November 2020

Terrain Park Contest: A Look Back

Terrain park luminaries weigh in on contest entries from the past five years. The year 2020 has upended everything, so we took the opportunity to reformat the Terrain Park Contest this year. We figured if there was ever a time to look back at good things from the past, it was now. To help with t Terrain park luminaries weigh in on contest entries from the past five years.

September 2020

DIY: Tracking Groomer KPIs

Key performance indicator (noun): a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization, employee, etc. in meeting objectives for performance.   Trail grooming is more art than science. It is a craft that takes years to develop and tune in the never-ending pursuit of perfect Key performance indicator (noun): a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an...