• Snowmaking
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Tannersville, Pa., March 22, 2021—A chair carrying three passengers detached from the haul rope and fell to the ground Sunday afternoon at Camelback Resort, Pa.  According to sources at the resort, the chair that fell was nearing the top terminal when passengers felt an unusual shaking, and the lift came to a jolting stop. Th...

• Ski Area Profiles

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021, mostly known for the $1,400 payments to individuals earning up to $75,000 and couples earning up to $150,000, extends several benefits to business as well. Most important for the owners, managers, and shareholders of winter sports businesses are provisions that include the following:   Sma...

• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., March 15, 2021—With just two months to go in the winter season, lodging at mountain destinations regained lost ground, according to the most recent Mountain Market Briefing distributed by DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia.  Year over year, actual occupancy for February was down 1...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., March 15, 2021—Vail Resorts (VR) saw year-over-year business levels improve during January and February, with season-to-date visits down 8.2 percent through March 7 compared to the prior year. Lift revenues declined 8.9 percent for the period, while ski school, food and beverage, and retail/rental revenues declin...

• Rental

SAM Magazine—Sundance, Utah, March 12, 2021—The new owners of Sundance Mountain Resort are wasting no time making improvements to the Utah resort founded by Hollywood luminary Robert Redford. Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners, which acquired Sundance in December 2020, plan to install two new chairlifts, expand parking, and ...

• Rental
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., March 11, 2021—It’s March, which means next season’s passes are going on sale. Many are offering financing options and carrying over Covid-related assurances. Prices seem to be holding steady and even rising, although a number of resorts are adding value, like spring access and reciprocal tickets, and offering disc...

Nearly one-fifth of the population has received at least a first dose of vaccine, according to the latest Virus Tracking report from the Insights Collective. As the vaccines continue to roll out, they will reinforce a long, downward trend in Covid cases that began in early January. Nationally, new cases are approaching 50,000 a day, on average, dow...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., March 8, 2021—Big SNOW American Dream general manager Jim Haas, 70, died Saturday, March 6, due to complications caused by Covid-19. Haas is the second active ski area leader to die from issues related to Covid-19. Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn., president Bruce Anders died in January at age 64.  Haas was the f...

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 4, 2021—Details of the 2021-22 Ikon Pass were released today, and they are nearly identical to the pre-Covid passes for 2020-21. Now encompassing 44 resorts, the primary options are the Ikon Pass, the more limited Ikon Base Pass, and four-day Ikon Session Pass. The first two come with many of the same benefits as for ...

• Marketing
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Donnelly, Idaho, March 3, 2021—Tamarack Resort has unveiled a new community-focused lift pass to reward local students for their commitment to school and to support increased access to outdoor recreation. The SKY (Students-Kids-Youth) Pass will provide free, year-round Tamarack lift access to local K-12 students in the Va...

• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Oliver, BC, March 3, 2021—An employee of Baldy Mountain Resort in British Columbia died Friday, Feb. 26, from injuries sustained after reportedly becoming stuck beneath a grooming machine. He was 70 years old.  "Despite the efforts of other employees and emergency first aid attendants on the mountain, the 70-year-old man did ...

• Ski Patrol
• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colorado, Feb. 23, 2021—Pocket Outdoor Media (POM), which has been accumulating active lifestyle content and services, significantly expanded its reach by acquiring Outside Magazine and the entire Outside Integrated Media, including Outside Studio, Outside TV, and the Outside GO travel business.  Separately, it also ...

• Ski School
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., Feb. 23, 2021—Waterville Valley Resort, N.H., and Saddleback Mountain, Maine, are joining the Indy Pass through the end of the current 2020-21 season for the 2021-22 season. Both resorts will provide two days of skiing and riding to all Indy Pass holders during both seasons. There are no blackout dates for the remai...

• Lifts
• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Feb. 19, 2021—As of Feb. 19, 28 Americans have died in backcountry avalanches this winter, five more than the entire 2019-20 season, according to avalanche.org. Experts say the primary culprit for the uptick is the unstable snowpack in the Rockies, which they call the most hazardous it’s been in a decade.  ...

• Lifts
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., Feb. 18, 2021—Teton Gravity Research (TGR) and the Indy Pass will explore the spirit of independent ski and snowboard areas around North America in a film and video project titled “In Pursuit of Soul.” The project will produce digital and social storytelling at 12 independent resorts throughout the winter season,...