SAM Coverage
Peter Oliver
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Islands of White
This article is the first of a two-part series looking at examples of how equipment suppliers have partnered with ski-area operators to devise solutions…
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Know Before You Go
The folks at Gunstock were eager to get into year-round operations, but knew enough to do their homework before they dove in. “Summertime, and…
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Ramping Up Retail
What resort shops can do to improve their sales. Retail efforts at many ski areas commonly lack the kind of allure and excitement that…
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Mountain of Opportunity
Mont Saint-Sauveur in Québec has long seen the potential of summer operations as a legitimate profit center. Location, the real-estate business instructs us, is…
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Crossing the Line
Advances in riding equipment are making the backcountry more accessible than ever. But how do we keep guests safe? Out of bounds. For many…
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Electronic Ticketing
New ticketing systems are leading to an increase in profits and a decrease in payroll and fraud. The horse-drawn carriage, the telegraph, the candle——at…
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In the Fast Lane
Tubing continues to grow in popularity, both with customers and resorts looking to expand their revenue streams. Tubing, the low-skill relative of skiing and…
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Utes Can Be Brutes
UTVs are great at tackling small ski area jobs. UTVs, off-road machines with side-by-side seating that are the practical, responsible big brother to ATVs,…
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The VFD Retrofit
Variable frequency drives are beneficial in many ways, including energy savings and improved performance. For many outside of a small circle of professional electrical…
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Getting Schooled
Ski school participation is waning across the board. How do we get more people to sign up to try our sport? In the golden…
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Reinventing Summer
Revenue-generating summer attractions don’t have to break the bank. Summer has long been a season of quandary for ski resorts. Winter ends, revenues dry…
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Making Snow Better
Technology advances in both air/water stick and fan guns help resorts maximize production in marginal conditions. The recipe for making snow is pretty simple,…
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Killing It in Summer
Killington, site of SAM’s 2017 Summer Ops Camp this September, has developed a masterful plan for raising its summer revenues. A few years ago,…
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Gimme Shelter
Employee housing has become a pressing issue for resorts nationwide. Communities and areas are taking a variety of steps in response. It is something…
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Rental Buyer’s Guide :: January 2017
The broadening scope of the rental shop customer has manufacturers enhancing the quality of their products. If there is a unified message about the…
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The East Wins a World Cup
How and why Killington went for a golden opportunity—and got it. Staging any event is akin to assembling a jigsaw puzzle—piecing together disparate logistical…
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Matching Capital to Capacity
Blue Mountain, Pa., clearly had room to grow in its market. But just how much growth could it handle financially? If you were planning…