SAM Magazine—Wenatchee, Wash., Dec. 19, 2025—After major storms brought torrential rain and damaging winds that washed out roads and depleted an already thin snowpack, further delaying ski area operations in Washington, four outdoor recreation groups coalesced to provide an update and resources for would-be travelers to the state’s mountains ...

SAM Magazine—Telluride, Colo., Dec. 19, 2025—Communication between Telluride Resort and the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association (TPSPA) will resume following a union vote earlier this month to reject the resort’s proposed contract, according to reporting by the Telluride Times. Contract negotiations between the resort and the patr...

SAM Magazine—Kellogg, Idaho, Dec. 17, 2025—Idaho ski areas recorded 2.4 million skier visits in 2024-25, the fifth straight season with more than 2 million visits and the second highest total on record, ranking it tenth among 37 states with ski areas and a record 3.9 percent share of skier visits nationally, according to an RRC Associates repor...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo. Dec. 16, 2025—Below average snowfall and faltering consumer confidence negatively impacted November booking activity at Western destinations, according to the latest Market Briefing from the DestiMetrics division of Inntopia. The booking pace during November plunged 19.8 percent for arrivals in the next six month...

SAM Magazine—Seattle, Wash., Dec. 16, 2025—A series of severe atmospheric rivers beginning on Dec. 9 brought the Pacific Northwest ski season to a grinding halt, forcing the closure of virtually every ski area in Washington and Oregon. Mission RidgeHeavy rains and unseasonably high freezing levels have washed away early-season snowpack and trig...

SAM Magazine—Beaupré, Quebec, Dec. 15, 2025—Quebec regulators have ordered the closure of four aerial lifts at Mont-Sainte-Anne (MSA), postponing the resort’s planned opening and marking the latest regulatory action in a series of infrastructure and safety concerns at the ski area. In a Dec. 12 statement, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec ...

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...