SAM Coverage
Rick Kahl
-
Wasting Away
No BS: composting toilets can make economic and environmental sense. They are well-suited to locations where installing a septic system and/or leach field or…
-
Numbers, Numbers
The winter sports business is awash in numbers: skier-visit totals. EBITDA. Beginner conversion rates. Snowmaking gpm. These numbers matter, because they guide our business…
-
Hot and Cold
With wild swings in temperatures, areas all across the country had a Goldilocks winter. In New England, first it was too warm—and rained at…
-
Our Time of Opportunity
an interview with Rick Kahl “The failure to market our product is the single most important factor in our business stagnation. We’re not telling…
-
Dress for Success
When you walk into an unfamiliar store—Victoria’s Secret, say—and you need advice on a purchase, wouldn’t it be handy to be able to easily…
-
What color is our parachute>
Skiing has been, from its start centuries ago, a white sport. It’s played on a white field, and the participants have been mostly white.…
-
From the Top Down
What does it take for the Growth Initiative to be successful? The ski and snowboard school and the rental shop play a big role,…
-
Hard-Headed
Indemnification is becoming the risk management mantra for ski area shops that rent helmets. But many areas “haven’t organized their procedures to meet the…
-
Tamarack Takes Root
It’s not big enough. The elevation is too low. Snow isn’t reliable. The road is impassable. The terrain’s too flat. That was the word…
-
Riding in the Fast Lane
It’s been 30 years since the first Alpine Slide introduced summer visitors to the thrill of speeding downhill. Soon, there were 20 slides snaking…
-
On the Fast Track
Suppose you could teach beginners to ski from the top of the mountain, making parallel turns, by the end of their first day on…
-
Cutting it Up
Here’s the recipe for building the world’s most spectacular terrain park: Start with a pristine, snow-covered slope. Add four of the hottest terrain park…
-
Between a Helmet and a Hard Place
When Aspen mandated use of helmets by kids ages 12 and younger in its ski school programs last spring, it initiated a dramatic change…
-
Color It Fun
It’s a simple idea, really. A coloring book for pre-skiers and -riders, or for young riders on bad-weather days, or for a mountain-related activity…
-
A Man of the Moment
Rob Kautz, the 53-year-old CEO of California’s Sugar Bowl resort and new chair of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), embodies the NSAA’s goals…
-
The Helmet Issue
Colorado established a mark this winter that nobody wanted: By mid-March, a record 15 skiers had died on the state’s slopes. These stats were…
-
Environment Is Topic At Industry Week
Although downsizing is a reality at Times Mirror Magazines, publisher of Ski and Skiing Magazines, one event that seems sure to escape the budget-cutter’s…