• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., April 23, 2019—More than 400 ski area operations professionals, industry suppliers, and experts from across the country spent three days learning, collaborating, and networking during the 42nd annual Lift Maintenance Seminar (LMS) at Jiminy Peak, Mass., April 16-18. More than a dozen new sessions were introduced amo...

• Ski Area Profiles
• Rental

Special Report by Steven Threndyle What do China, shopping malls, and snowball fights have in common? All three were floated as possible ideas for increasing skiing and snowboarding participation during the Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS) at Whistler-Blackcomb in early April. From the cavernous convention space of the Whistler Conference Centre t...

• Racing
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., April 19, 2019—The North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA) has named the winners of four of its annual awards.  Rick Kahl: Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award NASJA journalist and corporate members voted SAM’s own Rick Kahl as the 2019 Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award reci...

• Resort Development
• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Jasper, Alberta, Canada, April 18, 2019—Longtime Marmot Basin president and CEO Dave Gibson will retire at the end of June after leading the resort for 32 years. Jason Paterson, who has served as vice president of operations and maintenance at Marmot Basin since 2012, will succeed him. “I am both honored and thrilled for the opp...

• Racing

SAM Magazine—Denver, April 17, 2019—The only question left about western mountain lodging for the 2018-19 season is how big the record numbers will be—and if the record will be for occupancy, rate, revenue, or all of them.  In the most recent monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing released by Inntopia, aggregated actual occupancy for the ...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., April 11, 2019—Kicking off in the west this week, an intense spring snowstorm is expected to drop flakes all the way to the Northeast, making the 2018-19 season one that just keeps on giving. And since the snow’s not quitting, neither are resorts. Incredible snowpack has led many areas to extend their seasons and...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 9, 2019—Vail Resorts, Inc. has closed on its acquisition of the ski field leases and related infrastructure at Falls Creek Alpine Resort and Hotham Alpine Resort in Victoria, Australia. The closing price was approximately AU$179 million (approximately US$127 million) after adjustments for certain agreed-upo...

• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., April 2, 2019—The 2019 SAMMY Leadership Award winners include a sustainability leader, a change leader, a guest experience guru, and an innovative marketer: Dawn Boulware, Geoff Buchheister, Simon Pagé and Hugh Reynolds. The four, nominated by their peers, have demonstrated the leadership skills needed to help steer...

• Miscellaneous
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., March 29, 2019—Is there a 20-something rising star at your ski area who is poised to make an impact and climb through the ranks? If so, we encourage you to submit a nomination for him or her to be profiled as one of the “10 Under 30” in the July issue of SAM magazine. Nominations are due by April 19.Thi...

• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Vernon, N.J., March 29, 2019—Industry veteran Charles Blier is joining the SNOW Operating executive team as vice president and general manager of Mountain Creek Resort, N.J., which SNOW Operating owns and operates. Blier brings more than 30 years of resort operating experience to his role at Mountain Creek, where he previously spen...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine— Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, March 25, 2019—Vista Ridge, an all-seasons park in Alberta, Canada, named Dan Wilson as its new general manager in December 2018. Wilson took over as GM for Kevin Grogan, who stepped back from managing winter operations. Grogan continues as project manager for Vista Ridge’s several capital project...

• Lifts

In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. STEVE BOULANGER, MAINE Sunday River promoted Steve Boulanger to VP of mountain operations. Prior to the promotion, Boulanger served as the ski operations director since 2015, and patrol director before that. He started at S...

• Lifts
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 19, 2019—A winter season that began on a downward trend in the wake of last year’s disappointing snow conditions is now moving toward new records for lodging occupancy and revenue, according to the monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing from Inntopia. DestiMetrics, part of the Business Intelligence platform for Innto...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Lead, S.D., March 19, 2019—A ski resort in the Black Hills of western South Dakota is up for sale. The former Deer Mountain ski area shut down two years ago while going through bankruptcy proceedings. The current owners, the Milan Investment Club, made repairs and upgraded the water system for the 440-acre property, according to t...

• Lifts

by Evan Reece With a bold announcement last week, Vail gifted the ski industry an opportunity to broadly correct lift ticket pricing problems that have been building for many years, and to more quickly leap toward becoming wholly e-commerce/pre-sale businesses. While the announcement of “Epic for Everyone” paints a picture of some legitimatel...