SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, May 2, 2012—Now in its third year, SAM's Summer Ops Camp will head west to Canyons, Utah, from September 4 to 6. The Summer Ops Camp is a hands-on educational and networking event that gathers resort managers and operators from around North America to explore the exciting opportunities in four-season at...

SAM Magazine--May 2, 2012--Vail Resorts, Inc., released lift ticket sales, ski school and other ancillary results from the 2011/12 season, as compared to the same approximate time period last year. The measurements are from the beginning of the ski season through April 22, 2012, and are compared to the beginning of the ski season in 2010 through Ap...

SAM Magazine—April 26, 2012—In spite of postponing its opening by one week due to minimal snow conditions, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Mont., is more than pleased with the finish of the 2011/2012 ski season. Although snowfall and skier visits were down in December, the resort reported more snow in January, February and March in 2012 than...

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, Apr. 24, 2012—Twenty prominent business and community leaders have formed a coalition to support SkiLink, which would connect Canyons and Solitude via gondola. They hope the project will pave the way for additional links between resorts and the eventual creation of the largest multi-area “ski cir...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., April 18, 2012—SAM Magazine is excited to announce the winners of the 2012 SAMMY Leadership Awards. The three recipients prove that to be successful in the mountain resort industry takes a lot of energy, enthusiasm and, above all, passion. The 2012 SAMMY winners are: Jody Churich, ...

SAM Magazine—Seattle, Apr. 18, 2012—Eight legends of skiing were inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall Fame in a ceremony here last Saturday. Among the honorees were ski area developers Nick Badami and Phil Gravink, ski show producer Harry Leonard, ski historian Mason Beekley, speed skier and writer Dick Dorworth, and competitor...

SAM Magazine—Squaw Valley, Calif., Apr. 18, 2012—Below average snowfall and snowpack, combined with record-breaking warm temperatures, led to a 3.9 percent decline in occupancy at Western mountain destinations during March compared to the same month last year, according to the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). Similar declines w...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Apr. 18, 2012—Vail Resorts has joined conservation groups in supporting Senator Mark Udall and Congressman Jared Polis in their efforts to designate additional wilderness and special management areas in Eagle and Summit counties, home to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone. The areas under cons...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, April 16, 2012—Continuing a three-year wrangle, Park City Mountain Resort and its landlord, Talisker, remain in negotiations regarding PCMR’s lease of much of its ski terrain, despite a series of legal moves in the courts. Last week, Talisker responded to a lawsuit filed by PCMR in early March, in ...

SAM Magazine—Boise, Idaho, Apr. 16, 2012—Pension fund trustee and investment adviser Matthew Hutcheson, who bid $40 million for Tamarack Resort in 2010, has been arrested on 31 counts for defrauding two pension funds under his control. The indictment charges that Hutcheson used the money in his effort to buy the Tamarack resort as well ...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., Apr. 13, 2012—Snow sports retail sales were down 12 percent in units and 4 percent in dollars through the end of February, according to the RetailTRAK, released by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) and The Leisure Trends Group. Sales totaled $3.2 billion. Sales declined most for accessories, down 15 p...

SAM Magazine--April 12, 2012--Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR) today announced that the company has closed on its acquisition of Kirkwood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe, Calif. Vail Resorts now operates three mountain resorts in the Lake Tahoe region and together with Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California. The transaction, which included the ski ...

SAM Magazine--April 11, 2012--Powderhorn, Colo., is celebrating the end of its first season under new ownership with good results. The season started on August 4, 2011, with the purchase of the 45-year-old western Colorado resort by Andy Daly and Ken, Tom and John Gart. While most resorts had to open late or close early this season, Powderhorn ...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, April 5, 2012-While many Colorado resorts experienced skier-day declines in the face of a warm, dry winter, Aspen/Snowmass saw visits increase through February, and they could end up for the season. The reason? Aspen's position as a true destination resort. Through the beginning of March, Aspen room occupancy was up 8.4 perce...

SAM Magazine--April 5, 2012--Actor Bruce Willis has announced that he would be willing to give his small Idaho ski area, Soldier Mountain, away to the right non-profit group. Soldier Mountain operates two chairs and one rope tow on permitted Forest Service land (about 1,150 acres). According to published reports, one such nonprofit group, the So...