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• Lifts
• Construction

Resorts have become increasingly discerning about their investments in lifts—which, along with snowmaking, comprise the essential elements of a ski and snowboard resort. So a jump to 23 new lifts, from last year’s all-time low of 16, is a positive sign. Add a comment   CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE ARTICLE   Com...

• Resort Development
• Finance
• Ski Area Profiles

If you are going to start a major development project, it sure helps to have more than half of the build-out cost in your pocket well before the project is anywhere near completion. When the folks at Stowe determined about five years ago that there was a pressing need for a new kids activity and learning center (the Adventure Center), the first thi...

• Summer
• Activities
• Events

When your dad is a pro event racer and your mom is an event organizer, your birthday parties are bound to rock. Add a comment Adventure Games founders Helene and Bill Mattison, who hosted their first “baby adventure course” 12 years ago for their twins’ first birthday party. But even Helene and Billy Mattison had no idea what th...

• Ski Area Profiles
• Area Management
• People

After working together for 16 years, Greg Goddard and Claire Humber have forged a productive and fun working relationship. In 1999, Goddard, general manager for Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H., hired SE Group to conduct a concept study for Greg’s first master plan for the resort. Humber, SE Group director of resort planning and design, ...

• Summer
• Conferences / Trade Shows

The editors of SAM, along with a number of ski area operators, attended the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 17-20, looking for both specific products and general inspiration. We spied representatives from Bristol, Camelback, Jiminy Peak, Holiday Valley, Mont Saint-Sauveur, Nashoba Val...

• Diversity
• Marketing
• Business

When it comes to marketing or selling anything, you should never underestimate the power of women. A Nielsen consumer study from 2013 revealed women in America spend between $5 trillion and $15 trillion annually. The November 2013 issue of Businessweek reported 46 percent of viewers who watched the Super Bowl that year were female; that’s higher ...

• Rental
• Skis / Boots / Poles
• Snowboards / Boots
• New Products

Once the red-haired stepchild of the ski and ride world, rental equipment has become the family’s blossoming honor roll student. Rental equipment is a key factor in the important quest to recruit and retain newcomers to riding and skiing. Suppliers and resorts are both taking steps to improve the first-time experience, as well as the return-visit...

• Pub Memo

Superstars everywhere you look The start of a new year is a time to take stock of the past and look to the future. Here’s to those leading the way. Add a comment The winners of SAM’s 2015 Terrain Park contest are Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va., for best feature, and Holiday Valley, N.Y., for best event. Snowshoe’s jib was designed by...

• People
• Events
• Conferences / Trade Shows

Faces and Places... Add a comment   BEWI Awards Lunch Boston, Nov. 13, 2015 & BEWI Expo Denver, Nov. 6-8 Left: SIA’s David Ingemie received the BEWI Award. Representatives from across the snowsports industry lauded Ingemie for his work to grow the sport. From left: Bernie Weichsel; Bob Orbacz, SIA COO; Les Otten, LBO Hold...

• News
• Obituary
• People
• Industry Reports
• Miscellaneous

PEAK RESORTS ACQUIRES HUNTER MOUNTAIN On Nov. 30, Peak Resorts entered into an agreement to purchase Hunter Mountain, N.Y., for cash consideration of $35 million plus the assumption of two capital leases estimated at approximately $1.8 million. Hunter generates approximately $27 million (unaudited) in annual revenue. Shortly after the acquisition,...

• Terrain Park
• Terrain

Freestyle terrain is entering into adulthood, and we are faced with the reality that the terrain park has outlived its “fad” status. Just getting by and offering a cordoned off area on the outskirts of the resort isn’t acceptable to our guests anymore, and the protractors are coming out to try to pinpoint the magic recipe for building sweet f...

• Ticketing

When it comes to ticket scams, most resorts have seen it all. Scammers have long taken numerous routes to avoid paying full price—or pay anything at all—to ski or snowboard. Resold tickets, split tickets, dates whited out, child tickets on adults, borrowed season passes, Photoshopped passes, counterfeit tickets, skiers hiking past scanners at t...

• Weather
• Marketing
• Public Relations / Publicity

“This weekend, we expect a winter storm to impact the area, leaving behind several inches of snow, so everybody should plan to hunker down and not leave the house unless absolutely necessary.” Add a comment We’ve all watched the news and seen some meteorologists provide this kind of message, and for ski area operators this messa...

• Personnel Issues
• Management

Raise your hand if you’ve ever changed someone’s performance with a performance review. Keep it up if the change was positive and permanent. Yeah, me neither. Add a comment Managers complain that reviews lack substance, rarely producing useful outcomes. Employees complain the process fails to illustrate the body of their work. Bot...

• Mountain Spy
• Customer Service
• Activities

THE QUESTION: CAN I GO SLEDDING OFF TO THE SIDE SOMEWHERE WITH MY YOUNGEST CHILD WHILE MY OLDER SON IS SKIING? Add a comment     In this month’s mission, we broach the delicate subject of sledding. Though a seemingly simple question, the responses vary tremendously. As always, a personable response carries the day. Sen...

• New Ideas
• Summer
• Lifts
• Miscellaneous
• Lift Maintenance

Best ideas of 2015: tubing lanes, conveyor de-icing, load-here mats. Add a comment   SUNKEN LANES Implemented by Jay Roberts at Wintergreen Resort more than 10 years ago, this idea is still timeless and can be picked up by any resort, large or small. Ryan Locher, mountain manager at Bryce Resort, Va., recently borrowed this t...

• News
• Opinion

Perspective and Views... Add a comment   SMART CATS Technology has spread throughout the resort world as suppliers and operators seek to improve efficiency. In the grooming world, there have been two key arenas. Sun Valley’s big present: a Prinoth Leitwolf Tier 4 cat.First, engines. New EPA Tier 4 final engines are being int...