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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—Cheyenne, Wyo., March 22, 2017—Wyoming has become the 29th state to adopt ski safety legislation after Gov. Matt Mead signed the Wyoming Ski Safety Act into law earlier this month. According to an NSAA report, the bill defines inherent risks involved with skiing and snowboarding, immunizes ski areas from claims resulting from these risks, and places operational requirements on ski areas to improve mountain safety.
SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., March 22, 2017—Today, the Forest Service will host an ADA webinar for ski area and agency personnel from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. The subject of the webinar is Accessibility for Resorts and Areas with Four Season Uses.
SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., March 21, 2017—At the end of the day on Friday, March 31, Winter Park Resort president and CEO Gary DeFrange will retire from the post he’s held since 1997. Intrawest COO Sky Foulkes will succeed DeFrange as president.
SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., March 21, 2017—FIS should be thrilled with Aspen after the resort hosted a tremendously successful World Cup finals event that drew huge crowds, had excellent TV ratings, and garnered compliments from competitors, right? Not according to FIS secretary general Sarah Lewis.
SAM Magazine—Denver, March 20, 2017— The list of accessible ski areas on the M.A.X. Pass continues to get longer, with six new properties hopping on-board for 2017-18, including Windham, Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface in New York, Lutsen in Minnesota, and Granite Peak in Wisconsin. That brings the grand total up to 44 ski areas in roughly 22 states and provinces that M.A.X. Pass-holders will have access to next season, with five unrestricted days at each.
SAM Magazine—Denver, March 20, 2017—With less than a month remaining in the winter 2016-17 booking season, overall aggregated occupancy for 19 western mountain resorts remains essentially flat, up 0.3 percent as of Feb. 28, compared to the same time last year. In contrast, overall aggregated revenue is up 7.3 percent for the same time period, according to a report by DestiMetrics. The data also revealed that 90 percent of all of last season’s business has already been booked or “banked” for this season.
SAM Magazine—Denver, March 20, 2017—Visits to Colorado Ski Country USA’s 22 member ski areas were up 1 percent during the second period of the 2016-17 season, which runs from Jan. 1, 2017 through Feb. 28, 2017, compared to the same period last year.
SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., March 13, 2017—Vail Resorts fiscal 2017 second quarter results for the period ending Jan. 31 show growth in just about every category compared to the same period last year, with Whistler Blackcomb driving much of the increase. The slow start to the winter season in Colorado dragged the results a bit for the rest of the company.
SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., March 13, 2017—Snow continues to be the story here in the States as well as in Europe.
SAM Magazine—Denver, March 13, 2017—Sales tax collections in Colorado’s mountain communities once again reached an all-time high in 2016, mirroring the steep climb of skier visit numbers, resort revenues, and statewide tourism numbers since 2012, according to a report in The Denver Post. And while winter is still the high season, it’s difficult to call the non-winter months the “off-season” any longer.
SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., March 9, 2017—Season-pass launch season has begun, and many 2017-18 products are currently available at their introductory prices. There are also some updates and additions to the mix.
SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., March 3, 2017—The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board identified several deficiencies during a lift inspection at Hesperus Ski Area, including signage, record keeping, general maintenance, and insufficient operator training, prompting management to close the ski area until the issues are addressed.
SAM Magazine—Sugar Mountain, N.C., March 3, 2017—The family of a teenager who was stranded on a chairlift after it closed last February at Sugar Mountain, N.C., is suing the resort for $75,000.
March 25 – April 1, 2017, Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
The annual Mountain Travel Symposium gathers more than 1,000 mountain travel experts from around the world for a week of networking, deal-making, education, and fun. Each day features a variety of programming geared toward growing the mountain travel business. Part of the programming is Wednesday and Thursday’s MTS Forum—a series of discussions and seminars led by top industry professionals.
SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., March 1, 2017—As usual, Mother Nature played the biggest role in how successful the Presidents’ holiday period was for ski areas across the country. In general, it appears that a majority of the nation’s ski areas fared pretty well.
