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SAM Magazine—Albany, N.Y., Oct. 23, 2020—As the winter season approaches, ski-country states and state ski associations are unveiling guidance and requirements for ski areas to open as safely as possible amid the ongoing pandemic.  Many plans include the National Ski Areas Association’s “Ski Well, Be Well” guidance. In most cases, i...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Glenwood Springs, Colo., Oct. 23, 2020—Sunlight Mountain Resort is supporting fundraising efforts to restore portions of the White River National Forest that were burned by the Grizzly Peak fire in nearby Glenwood Canyon this year.  Sunlight skiers and riders can add voluntary $5 contributions to their online season pass or l...

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This week's briefing from the Insights Collective addresses both short- and long-term issues confronting resort businesses during the pandemic. In the short term: As coronavirus cases and test positivity rates rise across the U.S., states and organizations are ramping up efforts to bend the curve (again). At the same time, those efforts continue t...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Albany, N.Y., Oct. 19, 2020—The governments of New York state and the Quebec province have given ski areas in their respective regions the greenlight to open this winter. In both regions, reopening is contingent on compliance with stringent public health recommendations. Tremblant, Quebec New York Beginning Nov. 6, New York ...

• Lifts
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., Oct. 19, 2020—The Indy Pass has added Jay Peak in Vermont to its alliance of independent ski areas, bringing alliance membership to a total of 57 resorts. Jay Peak will offer two days of skiing and riding to Indy Pass holders, with no blackout dates for the 2020-21 season.  “We’re happy to be joining this ...

The latest weekly briefing from the Insights Collective notes that lodging properties are responding to COVID-19 by offering extended-stay options, citing recent examples from Jay Peak, Vt., and the Red Lion chain. It further notes that during the pandemic, some customers have more money to spend on travel than in the past—because they have reduc...

• Ski Area Profiles
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SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Oct. 15, 2020—With only one month remaining in what has been a bleak summer for lodging at western mountain resorts, bookings and rates in the past few weeks have showed an appreciable uptick, helping to record early on-the-books revenue gains for the months of October and November—the first revenue gains sinc...

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., October 14, 2020—As new consumer-facing plans roll out, resorts remind guests to prepare for continued operational changes and challenges this winter. While reservation systems, capacity caps, and facility access will vary, guests can expect some consistency in protocols across the country and even internatio...

• Ski Area Profiles
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 14, 2020—To help resorts plan for the upcoming winter, SAM and SNOW Operating have partnered to produce the Capacity Management Video Series. The four-part video series will share insights on how resorts can manage capacity while providing a safe guest experience in a COVID-19 world.  Using real da...

• Ski School

SAM Magazine—San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 14, 2020—A substantial portion of the assets of Mountain News Corporation have been acquired from Vail Resorts by an investment group led by MNC veteran Chad Dyer and Jon Brelig. The 52-year-old international company provides snow reports, news, and information of interest to skiers and snowboarders thro...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., October 14, 2020—Snow King Mountain Resort secured preliminary US Forest Service (USFS) approval for major capital improvements slated to begin summer of 2021. Big ticket items include two new lifts: an eight-passenger Leitner-Poma gondola, and a Skytrac chair that will serve new terrain.  Snow King has been en...

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Will worldwide COVID-19 cases double by the end of the year? They could, and there’s no guarantee a vaccine will be available in time to quickly stem the spread of coronavirus. Other items of note in the latest weekly briefing from the Insights Collective: The state of Nevada’s very detailed conference guidelines shed light on how a total reope...

• Miscellaneous

RESORTS Bobby Johnson, Jr., Magic Mountain, Vt. Magic Mountain has hired Robert “Bobby” Johnson, Jr. as director of the Snowsports Learning Center, starting Dec. 5. Johnson is reported to be the first Black leader of a ski school in Vermont, and possibly the country. He began his teaching career at Smuggler’s Notch, Vt., in 1983, and joined...

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SAM Magazine—Denver, Oct. 7, 2020—Alterra Mountain Company is making leadership changes and creating new hospitality and real estate divisions as the company looks toward its long-term future while navigating the upcoming winter season during the pandemic. The two new divisions join the mountain division, which consists of the company’s ...

• Ski Area Profiles

With the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the traditional fall education opportunities have moved online. We know it's a busy time, so SAM pulled together a chronological list of all the online educational content for October and November so it's easier to see what important webinars, Huddles and Town Halls might be wor...