SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Sept. 12, 2025— Western mountain lodging operators kept summer revenues in positive territory despite a softer August booking pace, according to Inntopia’s DestiMetrics Monthly Market Briefing. Occupancy for August rose 4.6 percent year over year while average daily rate (ADR) edged up 0.1 percent, yielding a...

SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Sept. 11, 2025—Indy Pass has partnered with the independent ski and snowboard retailers association Winter Sports Retailers (WSR) to provide discounts on gear and tune-ups for Indy Pass holders at participating shops.  WSR comprises more than 200 independent ski shops across the U.S., and many are expected to join ...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Maine, Sept. 10, 2025—Ski Maine hosted the annual New England Summit in Portland this year, bringing approximately 320 attendees together at the Holiday Inn by the Bay for two half days of education and networking, Sept. 8-9.L to R: Greg Sheets of Torrent Engineering & Equipment, Ian Jarrett of HKD Snowmakers, Kris Bl...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Sept. 10, 2025 — Alterra Mountain Company is spending more than $400 million on capital projects, guest amenities, and employee programs across its portfolio for the 2025-26 season, with a major share directed to Deer Valley Resort’s ongoing transformation.Deer Valley's new East Village Gondola. For the coming winter, t...

• Snowmaking News

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Sept. 10, 2025—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe has invested $6 million this season to add the new Wildslide Tahoe Tubing Center and expand its snowmaking systems.Courtesy of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe The resort has targeted a Nov. 8 opening date for skiing and riding, weather permitting, and a Thanksgiving start date for the tubing center....

• Summer Operations News

SAM Magazine—Whistler, British Columbia, Sept. 9, 2025—The fourteenth annual SAM Summer Ops Camp convened Sept. 2-4, at the world-class indoor and outdoor classroom of Whistler Blackcomb for three days of immersive learning, forward-thinking discussions, and genuine connection.  A full day on the mountain allowed both resort operators and ven...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 3, 2025—HTI Group is joining the HKD Snowmakers ownership team of Charles Santry, Anni Dupré Santry, and Ian Jarrett. The ownership stake in HKD adds to HTI Group’s existing portfolio, which also includes Leitner-Poma, Prinoth, and DemacLenko. In a related move, HKD will assume responsibility for DemacLenko ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Sept. 3, 2025—An Oklahoma woman who was left paralyzed from the waist down after she fell from a chairlift at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBME) in March 2022 was awarded $20 million in damages by a Colorado jury on Friday. The initial lawsuit brought by the victim’s family in 2022 claimed that when Annie Mil...

SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Aug. 28, 2025—Indy Pass has added 43 alpine and cross-country partner ski areas for the 2025–26 season, bringing its total to 271 worldwide. The pass went back on sale today. The additions include Mont Sutton and Owl’s Head in Quebec, Burke Mountain in Vermont, Hyland Hills in Minnesota, OK Bergbahnen in Germa...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Aug. 27, 2025—Ikon Pass holders will gain access to Valle d’Aosta’s five ski areas for winter 2025-26, including Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Cervino Ski Paradise, La Thuile Espace San Bernardo, Monterosa Ski, and Pila. “Endless joy abounds when exploring the special mountain culture of the Alps, and Valle d’Aosta serves...

SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Aug. 19, 2025—With the addition of dozens of new resorts, Indy Pass will go back on sale to the public Aug. 28, 2025. Indy halted sales of its 2025-26 pass in March after reaching its cap following a 10-day sales period. The company will also launch a new Learn-to-Turn pass that includes three total days of bundled l...

• Lift Operations News

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 18, 2025—Maddie Baldwin and the lift maintenance crew at Bogus Basin, Idaho, were voted the winners of the 2025 Rise Up Challenge. The challenge, sponsored by Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA), highlighted up-and-coming lift mechanics and their lift maintenance teams from five ski areas across North America: Bogus ...

SAM Magazine—Montville, N.J., Aug. 18, 2025—A new multi-mountain ski and snowboard product, the Snow Triple Play, will go on sale Sept. 1, offering Northeast skiers and snowboarders three days of lift access at 15 participating resorts in the U.S. and Canada for $199.99. “We recognized that there’s a significant portion of the skiing and s...

SAM Magazine—Lake Geneva, Wis., Aug. 15, 2025—It was Bo Bigelow’s first major event as executive director of the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) and the industry showed up in droves to celebrate the future, honor the past, learn, and network.Tim Larsen, Michael Bisner, and Nicholas Vornle from Axess with Dave Meeker, SAM Magazine. The 20...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 14, 2025—Western mountain lodging properties reversed a June slowdown in July by lowering daily rates more sharply than any time since September 2023, according to Inntopia’s monthly Market Briefing. The move boosted bookings for the rest of summer and into early winter. Data for the Briefing are drawn f...