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ISKINY-PSAA Expo
The annual ISKINY-PSAA Expo, Sept. 19-21, 2016, at Holiday Valley, N.Y., attracted more than 345 ski resort, vendor, and guest attendees from across North America. The program kicked off with the annual golf tournament and opportunity to demo Holiday Valley's aerial adventure parks. {loadposition sany} (Thanks to Dave Gibson from Propeller Media Works for the beautiful photos!) Participants attended seminars ranging from managing peak days to energy choices and alternatives, crisis communications, and staffing strategies. Michael Berry kicked off NSAA's Fall Education seminars with his keynote titled, "Seven Important things." These things were addressed in more detail during foll...
From April 10-13, 2013, over 20,000 gathered in Innsbruck for the Interalpin show. The mood was upbeat as everyone celebrated a great winter in Europe. Check out our photo gallery below.
A few days before the epic blizzard of 2013 hit New England, the NSAA Eastern Trade Show and Conference took place at Mount Snow, Vt., from February 4-6. In all, 72 ski areas were represented by 351 ski area attendees who were able to shop at 120 supplier booths. We just wish the snow had arrived before the show!
SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 5, 2013—Nearly 19,000 attendees representing 80 percent of the buying power in the snowsports industry descended on the Colorado Convention Center from January 31-February 3. More than 900 brands showcased their latest innovations and hottest products for the 2013-14. Attendees packed up and headed to to the On-Snow Demo Feb. 4-5, hosted in conjunction with the Western Winter Sports Reps Association's Rocky Mountain Demo and in partnership with the Cross Country Ski Areas Association at Winter Park and the Nordic Demo at Devil's Thumb Ranch.
NSAA's western trade show and conference, held at Snowbird in Utah from January 22-24, 2013, had a total of 731 attendees who networked, shopped and enjoyed the Utah Slopes. Of the 731 total, 374 were ski area attendees representing 78 ski areas and 357 supplier attendees representing 136 companies.
Bernie Weichsel, Producer of the BEWI ski and snowboard expos and the BEWI Award, received the New England Ski Museum’s Spirit of Skiing award in recognition of his influence in popularizing the sport. It was presented at the ski museum’s 35th Annual Meeting and Dinner at Wachusett Mountain Resort, MA on Nov. 17.
Watch the video below...
SAM Magazine visited Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA on December 15 to help celebrate Wachusett's 50th anniversary. The event was in conjunction with the Eastern Ski Writers Association.
Grab at look at SAM's photos from the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2012, where new products were on display and where future trends are emerging. Many of these trends and products play to the inherent strengths of mountain resorts: nature, active rather than passive customers, and the family experience. They will also require new ways of understanding customer service. One thing is for sure, though -- it pays to know what the competition is up to and how we can fit into the year-round recreation scene.
PSIA-AASI Fall Workshop Promotes Team Spirit
Each October, the PSIA-AASI Demo Teams, leaders from across the organization's membership, sponsor partners, and miscellaneous media meet for pre-season training at Copper Mountain, Colo. It's an excellent time to catch up with PSIA members and learn first-hand about the goals for the season.
Vail Village Gondola on Schedule for Nov. 16 Opening
Vail is replacing the venerable Vista Bahn Express with a new 10-passenger Leitner-Poma gondola that will be the first and fastest of its kind in North America. The new lift travels up to 1,230 feet per minute and has an hourly capacity of 3,600, an increase of 40 percent. The cabins offer heated seats, and riders will have wi-fi access for the duration of the 7.5-minute trip.
From September 25-27, 2012, Gravity Logic hosted its annual forum in Whistler, B.C. With over 30 ski area attendees, the forum was packed with great presentations covering everything from marketing to risk management...and of course great riding. Whistler supplied three sunny days that allowed attendees to check out arguably one of the world’s best downhill bike parks.
During September, two trade shows took place in the Northeast and here is a brief overview, plus lots of great pictures.
First up was the New England Summit, held at Sunday River Ski Resort, Maine, where 218 ski area personnel from 53 resorts across New England and eastern Canada gathered together.
The SAM Summer Ops Camp, based at Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah Sept. 4-6, paired site visits to Park City, Canyons, and the Utah Olympic Park with a varied schedule of indoor sessions at Canyons on the business aspects of summer operations. Topics ranged from complementary marketing and activity development among neighboring resorts to examinations of specific types of activities, from ziplines and aerial parks to water decks.
From August 5-8, 2012, 406 Midwest ski industry colleagues gathered at Boyne Highlands, Mich., for some networking, trade show shopping and to try out a few new toys. Here are some photo highlights.
SAM Magazine—Boreal, Calif., June 11, 2012—BMX pro Nate Wessel bunny hopped his bike over the striped tape, cutting it on the way down, to kick off the grand opening of Woodward Tahoe on Saturday, June 9.
The 15th annual SAMMY Leadership Awards were presented during the 2012 NSAA National Trade Show in San Antonio, TX on May 7. Congratulations to Matt Skinner, Jody Churich and Peter Sonntag.
Partnering with Burton Snowboards and Lucasfilm, Sierra at Tahoe this season has opened Yoda's Riglet Park, a miniature progression park for 3- to 6-year-olds. The park helps kids learn the ways of the Force, and snowboarding, through interactive learning nodes, or staging areas, that showcase custom-made wood carvings of Chewbacca, Jar Jar Binks, Yoda and others.
From February 7-8, 2012, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) held its Eastern Trade Show and Conference at Killington, Vt. Thanks to great snowmaking, Killington provided some great runs for attendees, while NSAA kept them busy indoors with informative sessions and great networking opportunities during trade show hours.
The 2012 SIA Snow Show, which was held January 26-29 at the Denver Convention Center, showcased more than 900 brands. Over 19,000 attendees—an increase of nearly 1,000 from the previous year, despite a falloff in retail sales in the past few months—reviewed the latest and greatest trends in hardgoods, softgoods and accessories. Following the Denver show, a few thousand enthusiasts demoed skis, snowboards, boots, and accessories from 115 brands at Winter Park and Devil's Thumb Ranch January 30 and 31.
From January 17-19, ski areas and suppliers alike descended on Squaw Valley, Calif., for the NSAA Western Conference and Trade Show. Understandably, the number of attendees was off by about 150 over previous years, but that didn't stop those who did attend from taking part in informative sessions and a little trade show shopping. Sixty-two resorts were represented by 221 attendees and 115 supplier companies were showcased.
