• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Vadito, N.M., May 18, 2022—The largest recorded fire in New Mexico history is threatening two prominent ski resorts and potentially a third. Sipapu and Angel Fire are implementing action plans to mitigate imminent danger from the merged Calf Canyon and Hermit Peaks fires, while Taos Ski Valley is monitoring fire activity. At Sipapu...

• Area Management
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Bolton, Vt., May 18, 2022—Bolton Valley, Vt., chief financial officer and finance director Nathaniel Mathes will assume the role of vice president and chief operating officer for the company, effective immediately. Mathes had spent eight years as Bolton Valley’s finance chief, and now shifts to overseeing all operating department...

• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 13, 2022—U.S. ski areas saw a record 61 million skier visits for the 2021-22 season, an increase of 3.5 percent year over year, according to data from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA).  The Rocky Mountain region reported a record high number of skier visits, totaling 25.2 million visits. The Northeas...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., May 12, 2022—Western mountain destination lodging properties posted several new all-time records for winter season occupancy, daily rates, and revenue, according to the most recent Monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. For the first time since early 2021, thou...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., May 12, 2022—Aspen Skiing Company (Ski Co.) and Alterra Mountain Company have acquired e-commerce provider Aspenware through a joint venture. Aspenware will remain a standalone business with ongoing operations to serve its clients and the industry, while maintaining its current staff and leadership. The acquisition w...

• Marketing
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Government Camp, Ore., May 10, 2022—Mt. Hood Skibowl has suspended its summer bike operations after losing a lawsuit from a man who said he hit a signpost on a ski area bike trail and was paralyzed from the waist down. From Mt. Hood Skibowl's Website In March, a Multnomah County jury awarded $11.4 million to Gabriel B. Owens afte...

• Ski School
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., May 10, 2022—The Indy Pass has introduced a new category of resort partners: Allied Resorts. Allied resorts will offer discounted lift tickets to Indy Pass holders, while Indy will offer discounted AddOn passes to allied resort unrestricted season passholders.  The move has allowed Indy to increase its partners in...

• Lift Maintenance
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., May 10, 2022— Mike Goar, currently vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain Resort, Utah, will lead Andermatt-Sedrun, Switzerland, Vail Resorts’ first European property.  Goar will serve as VP, COO, and managing director of Adermatt-Sedrun, reporting to Pat Campbell, mountain operation...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Jeffersonville, Vt., May 9, 2022—Smugglers’ Notch, Vt. will offer free, full-time childcare for all employees. The benefit will be rolled out in phases beginning this month, and it applies to full-day care for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years old as well as some offerings for older children on days when an employee is working. Di...

• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Vail, Colo., May 4, 2022—The Vail town council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to begin possible condemnation proceedings on a 23-acre parcel of Vail Resorts-owned land in East Vail, citing concerns over the wellbeing of a herd of bighorn sheep in the adjacent natural preservation. The land was selected in 2019 as an approved site for a $17 m...

• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., April 29, 2022—A proposed 10-to-15-year master development plan for Winter Park Resort, Colo., includes a series of gondolas spanning nearly three miles that would connect downtown Winter Park to the Winter Park Resort village, among a variety of other elements that include new and replacement lifts, expanded te...

SAM Magazine—Burlington, Vt., April 29, 2022–Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak Resort, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and pay more than $8 million in restitution for his role in a "Ponzi-like" scheme that misused $200 million of EB-5 investor funds raised to support capital projects at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain, as well ...

• Safety
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 28—Vail Resorts (VR) was up 19.4 percent in lift ticket revenue and 12.5 percent in skier visits through mid-April compared to Covid-limited 2020-21, according to the company’s latest shareholder report. CEO Kirsten Lynch said the strong year-over-year performance was “as expected,” and noted that Cov...

• Personnel Issues
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., April 27, 2022—The nomination period is now open for SAM’s annual “10 Under 30.” Members of the mountain resort industry are invited to nominate a standout 20-something-year-old who is already making an impact at the ski area where they work and poised to become a leader in the industry. The chosen 10 rising st...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., April 27, 2022—Indy has rebranded its primary pass product as the Indy Base Pass. The Indy Base Pass—not to be confused with the similar-sounding Ikon Base Pass—will continue to provide two days at Indy’s roster of independent partner resorts, subject to newly reduced blackout dates. The Indy+ Pass will remain...