In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE LUCA SIGNORELLI, ASPEN SNOWMASS, CO Luca Signorelli has been appointed as senior vice president, commercial de...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Dec. 11, 2025—The 20th SAM Terrain Park Contest saw 40 percent more votes than last year and drew 85 resort-submitted entries spread across four categories: features, events, edits, and park crews. A selection of entries were presented in the November 2025 issue of SAM, and all were posted on saminfo.com, where the ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 11, 2025—Vail Resorts reported 4 percent year-over-year resort net revenue growth in the 2026 fiscal first quarter ended Oct. 31, 2025, fueled by a 35 percent increase in skier visits and strong pass sales in Australia and post-Labor Day in North America. The gains were somewhat offset by rising costs genera...

SAM Magazine—Mont-Tremblant, Québec, Dec. 9, 2025—Mont-Tremblant will be home to a new ski in, ski out Club Med resort in December 2028. Club Med Tremblant is the second Club Med to be built at a Canadian ski area following the 2021 debut of Club Med Québec Charlevoix at Le Massif and is the result of a collaboration between Club Med, Mont-Tr...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 9, 2025—Vail Resorts will now offer skiers and riders a discount on lift tickets purchased four or more weeks in advance for 12 of its mountain resorts, loosening the previously limited timeframes that non-Epic Pass holders could buy tickets for less than the highest window rates.Park City Mountain It’s th...

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Dec. 2, 2025—The Sky Tavern board of directors has appointed Chris "Toph" Brown as the Nevada ski area’s new chief executive officer. The decision was announced Oct. 25, 2025, following the retirement of former CEO Pat Cashell. Brown has long been part of the Sky Tavern leadership team, most recently serving as chie...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, N.H., Dec. 1, 2025—Black Mountain and the Town of Jackson have reached a settlement, ending a months-long clash over operations at the ski area, including the town selectboard’s move to revoke alcohol service permission for the mid-mountain Alpine Cabin and a federal lawsuit filed by the ski area in response.  Black Mo...

SAM Magazine—Haute-Savoie, France, Dec. 1, 2025—Alterra Mountain Company added France’s Megève Ski Area as an Ikon Pass partner for 2025-26. Full Ikon Pass holders will have seven days of access with no blackouts to the sprawling ski area in the French Alps, and Ikon Base Pass holders will have five days and no blackouts. Megève is the seco...

SAM Magazine—Vernon, British Columbia, Nov. 25, 2025—Pacific Group Resorts (PGR) has acquired SilverStar Mountain Resort in Vernon, British Columbia, from Powdr. PGR’s portfolio now includes six resorts after its acquisition of Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Colorado earlier this year and Jay Peak Resort in Vermont in 2022.  SilverStar becom...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Nov. 25, 2025—Vail Resorts has appointed Celeste Burgoyne as executive vice president and chief revenue officer, effective Jan. 26, 2026. Burgoyne is the current president of the Americas and global guest innovation for athleisure-wear company lululemon.  In her newly created role, Burgoyne will oversee Vail Re...

SAM Magazine—Paris, Nov. 25, 2025—After a competitive tender process, Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) has secured a new 25-year Public Service Delegation (PSD) to continue operating La Plagne, the world’s largest single ski resort by skiable terrain. CDA subsidiary Société d’Aménagement de La Plagne (SAP) has managed the resort since its creat...

SAM Magazine—Waitsfield, Vt., Nov. 24, 2025—The Mad River Glen co-op board of trustees voted unanimously to exercise its right of first refusal to acquire 1,100 acres of land that surrounds the existing ski area. The vote was triggered after a third-party offered $2.5 million to buy the property from the current owner.  The land the ski area ...

SAM Magazine—Upson, Wis., Nov. 24, 2025—Whitecap Mountains Resort has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, a process that halts collection efforts as the resort negotiates with creditors.  The petition follows several years of financial strain. In 2019, a chimney fire destroyed th...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., Nov. 21, 2025—Ninety-three percent of eligible Jackson Hole Ski Patrol employees backed a petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board for a union representation election, according to a release from the patrol. If certified, the group would form the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol Union under Communications Worker...

A special analysis and commentary by Andy Bigford. The town of Nederland’s efforts to buy neighboring Eldora Mountain Resort, with the support of an advisory group called 303 Ski, might be called heroic—and a model for others to follow. The town and 303 Ski rose to the occasion after Powdr Corp. put Eldora on the market, investing more time ...