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  • SAM Taps Whistler Blackcomb to Host 2025 Summer Ops Camp

    SAM Magazine—Whistler, British Columbia, March 18, 2025—SAM’s Summer Ops Camp will be held at Whistler Blackcomb, Sept. 2-4, 2025, offering three days of education, networking, and hands-on learning focused on the future of summer operations at mountain resorts. This year’s camp will also feature a partnership with the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA), bringing together a dynamic mix of resort professionals from across North America.   Whistler Blackcomb has been at the forefront of year-round recreation development, balancing business innovation with environmental sustainability. With a robust lineup of summer attractions—including the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Peak...

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Quebec Ski Area Visits Hit 10-Year High

SAM Magazine—Bromont, Quebec, June 5, 2019—Preliminary results for the 2018-19 winter season show the 75 member resorts of the Quebec Ski Areas Association (ASSQ) saw 6.4 million total skier visits, up 4.6 percent year over year. It’s also a 10-year high for visits in Quebec, beating the 2010-2019 average of 5.97 million visits by 7.2 percent...

Baldy Mountain Resort Joins B.C. ERA Pass Alliance

SAM Magazine— Oliver, B.C., May 30, 2019—Baldy Mountain Resort is the latest ski area to join the Enhanced Reciprocal Agreement (ERA), an alliance in southern British Columbia that gives passholders access to four other independent ski areas in the region: Apex Mountain Resort, Manning Park, Mt. Seymour, and Mt. Washington. ERA offers passhold...

Snow People - May 2019

In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. MIKE FERGUSON, ALTERRA MOUNTAIN COMPANYAlterra Mountain Company named Mike Ferguson as chief human resources officer. Ferguson will lead the development and implementation of attracting and retaining talent. His responsibil...

Summer Openers Plan for Snow and Sunshine

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., May 23, 2019—The summer season at winter resorts is about to begin: Memorial Day Weekend openings abound. But Mother Nature seems to have missed the memo. May has seen unexpected snowfall across the country, particularly in the West, with recent dumps measuring in feet. As a result, several resorts are slated to open f...

Industry Advocates for Federal Action on Climate Change

SAM Magazine—May 23, 2019, Washington D.C.—A coalition of outdoor businesses and associations converged on Washington D.C. this week to advocate for climate legislation that will help protect the outdoor recreation economy.May 22 was the Lawmaker Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD) on carbon pricing. And the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership (...

Federal Criminal Charges Being Brought Against Stenger, Quiros, and Others

SAM Magazine—Burlington, Vt., May 22, 2019—The U.S. attorney’s office in Vermont is levying federal criminal charges against four of the people allegedly involved in defrauding foreign investors as part of the EB-5 program, which funded significant infrastructure developments at both Jay Peak and Burke Mountain in Vermont. Those indicted incl...

Utah Ski Resorts Set Record for Skier Days

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, May 21, 2019—Utah ski resorts recorded 5,125,441 skier visits during the 2018-19 season, breaking the previous record of 4.58 million set in 2016-17 by 12 percent. Visits were up 24 percent over last season. Consistent snowfall was a major contributor to the busy winter—every ski resort in the state recorde...

Visits Hit New Highs at Western Mountain Destinations

  SAM Magazine—Denver, May 21, 2019—Snow brings people, and this winter’s abundant snowfall resulted in a new all-time aggregated record for occupancy, rate, and revenue among participating destination mountain resorts in six western states. For the full winter—November through April—actual occupancy was up 5.6 percent compared to t...

Ski Areas Have Third Highest Injury Rate of Any Business in U.S.

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 15, 2019—According to a report in the latest NSAA Capitol Watch, recently released 2017 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data show “skiing facilities” have the third highest incidence rate of non-fatal occupational injuries among all industries in the U.S. The 2017 rate of 10.1 injuries...

Peak Resorts Reports Strong 2019-20 Season Pass Sales

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., May 10, 2019—Consolidated initial sales for Peak Resorts 2019-20 season pass products increased 20.8 percent on a unit basis and 19.8 percent on a dollar basis over the prior year through the springtime sales window, inclusive of Snow Time (Liberty, Roundtop, and Whitetail in Pennsylvania) pass sales in both periods....

Registration is Open for Summer Ops Camp in Gatlinburg

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., May 7, 2019—Registration is open for SAM's 11th annual Summer Ops Camp—a three day, all-inclusive program of seminars, workshops, and site visits that explore the state of the art in summer operations. Attendees also get to experience a wide range of summer activities, and explore product offerings with a diverse...

NSAA National Convention 2019

SAM Magazine—San Diego, Cali., May 6, 2019 - More than 950 members of the winter resort industry descended on the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, Calif., April 29–May 2 for the NSAA National Convention and Tradeshow. It was the most highly attended national convention since 2008. Conventioneers reveled in the aftermath of the fourth-greates...

Skier Visits Top 59 Million in 2018-19 Season

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., April 30, 2019—The preliminary total skier-visit numbers at North American resorts reached 59.1 million for the 2018-19 winter season, up nearly 11 percent compared to the 2017-18 total of 53.3 million visits. It ranks as the fourth most total visits since NSAA began tracking visitation in 1978-79. Abundant snowfa...

NSAA Launches Mountain Foundation

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., April 30, 2019—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has launched the Mountain Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to providing educational opportunities to the next generation of snowsports industry leaders. The foundation will award grants to ski industry employees so they can experience educational op...

Deirdra Walsh Appointed VP and GM of Northstar

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 30, 2019—Vail Resorts (VR) named Deirdra Walsh, a 17-year travel and tourism industry veteran, the new vice president and general manager of Northstar California Resort on April 25, 2019. Walsh formerly served as the senior director of mountain dining at Park City Mountain in Utah. In her new role, Wal...