SAM Magazine—Happy Valley, Ore., Feb. 6, 2026—Mt. Ashland Ski AreaThe historic snow drought gripping the Pacific Northwest claimed more operational days this week as four of Oregon’s ski areas announced indefinite suspensions or significant reductions in operations, leaving lift chairs empty and slopes bare across the lower Cascades and Siski...

SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Feb. 3, 2026—Nearly 7,500 total votes were cast for the six competing snowmaking teams during the 13-day voting period of the 2026 I AM a Snowmaker contest, with Seven Springs, Pa., receiving the most votes to take home the title. Contest sponsor HKD Snowmakers president Charles Santry honored Seven Springs at the ...

• Grooming
• leadership

SAM Magazine—Tooele, Utah, Jan. 26, 2026—Prinoth named Andrew Nicolas as CEO of its U.S. snow grooming division in December. In his new role, Nicolas oversees snow grooming services and product distribution for the U.S. market.  “With Andrew’s leadership, Prinoth continues to reinforce its position at the forefront of snow grooming techno...

• leadership

SAM Magazine—Blakeslee, Pa., Jan. 23, 2026—Vail Resorts has hired Tony Torsell as general manager of Jack Frost Big Boulder, effective Feb. 15. Torsell, who grew up not far from the neighboring ski areas, succeeds previous GM Tony Santora, who is now the vice president of mountain operations at VR-owned Beaver Creek, Colo.  “Coming back hom...

SAM Magazine—Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Jan. 23, 2026—Unionized workers returned to work today and Le Massif de Charlevoix will reopen for winter operations tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 24, after the resort and the union reached a tentative collective agreement, concluding a three-week strike. Earlier this week, Le Massif ownership ended the ...

SAM Magazine—Happy Valley, Ore., Jan. 21, 2026—MassanuttenThe 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend presented a stark geographical divide across North American ski areas. Based on a cross-continent survey of operators and regional associations, the weekend was defined by record-breaking snowfall and “all-time” attendance in the East, ...

SAM Magazine—Beaupré, Quebec, Jan. 21, 2026—Mont-Sainte-Anne and operator Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) have reached an agreement with the Quebec government to fund substantial capital improvements at the resort, including the replacement of four lifts with three new ones, new snowmaking infrastructure, and installation of warm-season ...

SAM Magazine—Boyne Falls, Mich., Jan. 21, 2026—Boyne Resorts has launched the Boyne Forever Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) public charity that will coordinate philanthropic giving and grantmaking across the company’s 13 North American properties. The foundation will focus on three areas: environmental stewardship, community investment,...

SAM Magazine—Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Quebec, Jan. 20, 2026—Le Massif de Charlevoix has closed for a second time amid an ongoing, indefinite strike by roughly 300 of its unionized employees. The resort closed from Jan. 2–6 when the strike began and had reopened with limited operations starting Jan. 7. Le Massif’s decision to shut do...

SAM Magazine—Bend, Ore., Jan. 20, 2026—Snowvana will make its East Coast debut when the consumer ski and snowboard expo comes to the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, Mass., just outside Boston, Nov. 6-8, 2026. The show will be held in four locations this year including Seattle (Oct. 16-18), Portland, Ore. (Oct. 23-25), and Wisconsin (No...

• Snowmaking News

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 20, 2026—Online voting for the videos produced by six chosen ski areas competing in the 2026 “I AM a Snowmaker” contest, sponsored by HKD Snowmakers, is now open. Voting ends Monday, Feb. 2, at 11:59 p.m. EST.  Since it debuted in winter 2013-14, the annual I AM contest has served as an important recogniti...

SAM Magazine—Snowbird, Utah, Jan. 16, 2026—NSAA president Mike Reitzell and Snowbird president Dave Fields at the first track breakfast.A challenging start to the season for much of the west kept some ski area personnel from attending the National Ski Areas Association Western Winter Conference, but a crowd of 690 industry professionals—up fr...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Jan. 16, 2026—Low snowfall led to a lackluster December for mountain town lodging operations across most of the West, according to the December Market Briefing from Inntopia's DestiMetrics division. But in spite of the challenges, lodging properties managed to mitigate much of the negative impact—at least for ...

• leadership

SAM Magazine—Nederland, Colo., Jan. 16, 2026—Powdr Corp. has hired Andrew Gast to serve as president and general manager of Eldora Mountain Resort, effective Feb. 1. Gast will serve in his current role as general manager of Mt. Ashland, Ore., until Jan. 24. Powdr CEO Justin Sibley said the company—which remains Eldora’s owner while the Tow...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 15, 2026—Skier visits for Vail Resorts (VR) destinations were down 20 percent for the season through Jan. 4 compared to a year ago, the company reported today. The news reflects below-normal snowfall across much of the West and the resulting limited operations at many resorts. It also provides a window into ...