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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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SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., June 20, 2018—Registration is open for SAM’s ninth annual Summer Ops Camp, a series of seminars, workshops, and site visits that explore the state of the art in summer operations. Camp also provides a great opportunity to get hands-on with a wide range of summer activities, and to explore product offerings with a d...

SAM Magazine—Montpelier, Vt., June 18, 2018—The Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) reported 3.97 million skier visits at its member resorts during the 2017-18 season, a year-over-year increase of 1.2 percent, but just below the state’s 10-year average. Those visits helped generate $1.6 billion in economic activity during the winter season i...

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, June 18, 2018—Despite limited help from Mother Nature during the 2017-18 ski season, Utah ski areas posted their sixth-best season in terms of skier visits. Starting Nov. 21 at Brighton Resort and ending May 13 at Snowbird, visits for the season totaled 4,145,321—down 9.6 percent from last season’s all-tim...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., June 18, 2018—As part of its master development plan, Snow King Mountain Resort (SKMR) intends to build an on-site facility that will house approximately 50 seasonal employees. The Jackson town council must approve the plan before construction can begin. SKMR hopes to start building it by 2020. The site for the prop...

SAM Magazine—June 14, 2018—As winter weather remains unpredictable and skier visits stagnate, resorts are continuing to invest capital in their summer operations. Bike parks are booming, and adventure parks dominate the summer development field. More diversified summer operations are also popping up thanks to some exciting new partnerships. Acr...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., June 7, 2018—Vail Resorts reported earnings and pass sales increases in its all-important February-April third quarter. Net income grew 41 percent in the quarter, to $256.3 million, boosted by a reduction in income taxes as a result of U.S. tax reform and by the addition of Stowe to the VR portfolio for the 2017-...

SAM Magazine—Denver, June 7, 2018—Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today at its 55th Annual Meeting in downtown Denver skier visits at its now 24-member ski resorts tallied 7.1 million during the 2017-18 winter season. This year’s total is just slightly ahead of the five-year average, and only 2 percent lower than in 2016-17. “T...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, June 7, 2018—Powdr is shaking up its executive group, starting at the top. The company's founder and chairman John Cumming, has stepped down as CEO, making way for Wade Martin and Justin Sibley, who will serve as co-presidents. Tim Brennewald has been promoted to chief operating officer of Powdr. All moves are effe...

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SAM Magazine—Tremblant, Quebec, June 5, 2018—Mont-Tremblant hosted the Quebec Ski Areas Association annual meeting last week that welcomed a record crowd of 380 attendees from 51 ski areas across the province of Quebec. The province’s ski areas drew more than 6 million skier visits, up 1.4 percent compared to last season despite some challeng...

SAM Magazine—Incline Village, Nev., June 4, 2018—The community-owned Diamond Peak Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe was recently recognized as being STOKE Certified for its sustainability efforts. The resort joins Oregon’s Mt. Ashland Ski Area as the only two ski areas in the nation to achieve the recognition.

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., June 4, 2018—It’s been about 15 months since Vail Resorts added a new ski area to its portfolio, and today the company said it plans to add four more, with the acquisition of Triple Peaks, LLC, which is the parent company of Okemo, Vt., Mount Sunapee Resort, N.H., and Crested Butte, Colo., plus Stevens Pass, Wash., in a separate transaction. All four properties are currently operated under lease agreements with Ski Resort Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Oz Real Estate.

SAM Magazine—Dummerston, Vt., May 25, 2018—Maple Valley Ski Area, just outside of Brattleboro in southern Vermont, has sat idle for 18 years. This week, a Connecticut-based “member managed” company purchased the 375-acre property for $745,000 from another Connecticut-based company that has owned it for several years.

SAM Magazine—Pittsfield, Mass., May 25, 2018—Berkshire East owners Jon, Jim, and Roy Schaefer have closed on their acquisition of nearby Catamount Ski Area. Total purchase price was $2.3 million, which includes $1.66 million in outstanding debt.

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 21, 2018—Western mountain destinations eked out a lodging revenue increase of 1.8 percent over last year as of April 30. The aggregated figure set a new revenue record among participating properties, even though occupancy finished the season down one percent compared to the previous winter. Increases in the average daily rate (ADR) elevated total revenues. The season-end summary was reported by Inntopia in its monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing.