SAM Magazine—Marco Island, Fla., May 16, 2025—The heavy rain that was forecast for most of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) National Convention and Trade Show wound up missing Marco Island, where a total of 919 ski area operators and industry suppliers—up more than 200 people compared to the 2024 event in Texas—gathered for four da...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 14, 2025—Boreal MountainThe National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) recognized standout resorts and individuals for excellence in marketing, safety, sustainability, and guest conversion during its annual awards ceremony Tuesday, May 13, at the NSAA National Convention and Tradeshow in Marco Island, Fla. Boreal M...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 13, 2025—The National Ski Patrol (NSP) and Snow Angel Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing on-mountain collisions, have partnered on a new initiative to increase awareness of collision risks and encourage responsible behavior among skiers and snowboarders.  The initiative will include campaigns to ...

SAM Magazine—Innsbruck, Austria, May 12, 2025—Interalpin returned to Innsbruck, Austria, May 6–9 for its 25th edition, marking 50 years since the alpine technology and cable car trade fair was first held. Hosted every two years, the event brought together industry professionals from across Europe and beyond to discuss infrastructure, innovati...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., May 13, 2025—Winter lodging results in the Western U.S. ended largely flat for the season, and summer is continuing the trend. Aggregated results among 17 destinations spread across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho showed a slight dip in occupancy of 0.3 percent, offset by a 1.9 p...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 12, 2025—U.S. ski areas reported a total of 61.5 million skier visits for 2024-25, a 1.7 percent year-over-year increase, according to preliminary data from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). It was the second-highest total since NSAA began tallying skier visits in 1978, trailing only the record-setting...

SAM Magazine—Vernon, N.J., May 9, 2025—Starting in 2025-26, Snow Partners will offer the Snow Triple Play Card (S3P), a new multi-property product designed for occasional skiers and riders that don’t participate enough to justify buying a season pass yet wish to avoid paying the price of ever-rising day tickets.  According to data from the ...

• Technology Headline News

SAM Magazine—Twyford, UK, May 7, 2025—Accesso Technology Group has acquired the 1RISK suite of software solutions, including the company’s cloud-based online liability waiver and incident risk management data technology and related assets. Founded in 2012, 1RISK developed technology to streamline the process of securing liability waivers for...

SAM Magazine—Burke, Vt., May 6, 2025—The Bear Den Partners ownership group closed on its purchase of Burke Mountain Resort on Friday, May 2. The resort has been in receivership since 2016, and the sale was allowed to go through following the approval by the overseeing Florida judge for the group’s $11.5 million bid.  Members of the new grou...

SAM Magazine—Kaprun, Austria, May 6, 2025—The World Women’s Snowsports Organization (WWSO) hosted its inaugural Summit, April 20–26, 2025, in Kaprun, Austria. The event brought together more than 50 women leaders, coaches, instructors, and advocates from 12 countries to advance the visibility, influence, and impact of women in snowsports ed...

SAM Magazine—Windham, N.Y., April 30, 2025—Chip Seamans, a 39-year ski industry veteran who has served as president of Windham Mountain Club (née Windham Mountain) since 2011, has retired from day-to-day operations. Former director of membership Kristen Leach has been promoted to president, effective immediately. Seamans will continue in an a...

SAM Magazine—Southington, Conn., May 1, 2025—Mount Southington partnered with local schools to introduce students to both winter sports and sustainability through On Board, a youth-focused program developed in partnership with Snowball Effect. Rolled out this past winter, the initiative blends environmental education with physical activity to ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 29, 2025—Vail Resorts reported a 3.1 percent decline in skier visits across its 37 North American mountain resorts this winter, even as lift ticket revenue rose 3.4 percent for the season-to-date period ending April 20, buoyed by strong pre-committed season pass sales. While destination visitation from pas...

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, April 24, 2025—Doppelmayr USA promoted Keith Johns to the role of chief executive officer. He succeeds Katharina Schmitz, who stepped down March 31 after five years as CEO. Johns, a mechanical engineer, started at Doppelmayr USA in 2021 as vice president of project management before taking on his most recent ...

• Summer Operations News

SAM Magazine—Fontcouverte-la Toussuire, France, April 22, 2025— Les Sybelles, one of Europe’s largest ski areas, is working with French company MND to develop a new, board game-themed attraction based on Trek 12, an adventure and mountaineering board game. The year-round experience will include 27 installations spread across the resort.  M...