SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., March 27, 2026—Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have been named in a federal antitrust class-action lawsuit challenging pricing and competitive practices tied to their Epic and Ikon passes, respectively. Filed March 23 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the complaint alleges the compan...

SAM Magazine—Pierce County, Wash., March 27, 2026—Linnea Hansen has been named the new president and COO of Washington’s Crystal Mountain, effective immediately. She will report to Alterra Mountain Company regional chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Western Mountain Division Ron Cohen. “Linnea is a strong leader w...

SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., March 27, 2026—Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) plans to invest more than $37.5 million in capital improvements across its Power Pass network ahead of the 2026-27 season in the United States and the 2026 season in South America, with projects focused on snowmaking expansion, lift infrastructure, and terrain developme...

SAM Magazine—Charlemont, Mass., March 23, 2026—Berkshire East and Catamount Resorts in Massachusetts have joined Bear Den Partners, formalizing an ownership transition that brings the Schaefer family’s two ski areas into a growing portfolio alongside Vermont’s Burke Mountain and Smugglers’ Notch. The move folds Berkshire East and Catamou...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., March 23, 2026—The SAMMY Leadership Award Class of 2026 includes four terrific leaders whose spheres of influence and positive impact extend far beyond their office walls. This year’s SAMMY honorees are: Kari Brandt, risk manager, Sugar Bowl, Calif.; Jay Dougherty, president and general manager, Mount Southington, ...

SAM Magazine—Engelberg, Switzerland, March 18, 2026—A gondola cabin fell from the line this morning and tumbled down a slope at a ski resort in Engelberg, Switzerland, killing the only passenger, who police identified as a 61-year-old woman from the region.  The two-stage Titlis Xpress gondola stopped following the detachment, which occurred ...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., March 16, 2026—Fickle February snowfall led to significant disparities in winter occupancy between two different regions in the West—Colorado and Utah (CO/UT) on the one hand, and the “rest of the West” (RoW), i.e., California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, on the other. The most recent monthly Mar...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, N.H., March 12, 2026—Indy Pass director and Entabeni Systems CEO Erik Mogensen has bought out early investors to take full ownership of Black Mountain in New Hampshire, in a significant shift from his original plan to sell ownership shares to individuals and create a board of trustees to operate the ski area. Mogensen led...

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 11, 2026—Jared Smith plans to step down from his role as chief executive officer of Alterra Mountain Company at the end of this season. An exact end date was not shared. Smith joined Alterra as president in June 2021, reporting to then-CEO Rusty Gregory. He previously served as president and global chairman of Ticket...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., March 10, 2026—Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz pointed to “the most difficult weather environment in the Rockies we have ever seen” as the primary culprit for the company’s financial declines in both the second quarter ended Jan. 31, 2026, and season-to-date metrics. Q2 resort reported EBITDA was down 8.3 percent...

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, March 10, 2026—SunDown Lodge RenderingPowder Mountain will invest $40 million in a terrain expansion and base-area improvements on the public side of the resort as part of its evolving public/private operating model. The multi-year investment plan includes three lifts, a new lodge, and a 1,000-acre terrain expansion. R...

SAM Magazine—Salem, Ore., March 6, 2026—Oregon State HouseOregon lawmakers finally passed a bill that strengthens the enforceability of liability waivers in the state after several previous attempts to quell what had amounted to a crisis for the state’s outdoor recreation providers failed to progress over the past decade or so. Senate Bill 15...

SAM Magazine—DENVER, March 5, 2026—Alterra Mountain Company’s 2026-27 Ikon Pass suite of products goes on sale March 12 with new partners, access, benefits, and numerous other changes.  The full Ikon Pass, which offers the least restrictive levels of access to 76 ski areas around the world, will start at US$1,349 for adults ages 23 and up; ...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., March 5, 2026—The 2026-27 Mountain Collective pass is on sale and has retained all the resort destinations around the world that it offered in 2025-26.  The spring sale price is US$669/CA$895, up from US$639/CA$849 for 2025-26. The pass provides two days of access with no blackout dates to 27 ski areas in the United...

• Ski Inc. Series

If it’s done strategically, Wisconsin resort leader Rick Schmitz sees ‘no better investment’ than owning the snow for greater Milwaukee day trippers. Here’s why. (This the third stop on Andy Bigford’s Revival Road Trip, where he is offering monthly reports from the road as he works on the third installment in the Ski Inc. book series...