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To the SAM Community:

A new resource for the industry: SAM Digital Archives

• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Tremblant, Quebec, June 5, 2018—Mont-Tremblant hosted the Quebec Ski Areas Association annual meeting last week that welcomed a record crowd of 380 attendees from 51 ski areas across the province of Quebec. The province’s ski areas drew more than 6 million skier visits, up 1.4 percent compared to last season despite some challeng...

• Marketing
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Incline Village, Nev., June 4, 2018—The community-owned Diamond Peak Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe was recently recognized as being STOKE Certified for its sustainability efforts. The resort joins Oregon’s Mt. Ashland Ski Area as the only two ski areas in the nation to achieve the recognition.

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., June 4, 2018—It’s been about 15 months since Vail Resorts added a new ski area to its portfolio, and today the company said it plans to add four more, with the acquisition of Triple Peaks, LLC, which is the parent company of Okemo, Vt., Mount Sunapee Resort, N.H., and Crested Butte, Colo., plus Stevens Pass, Wash., in a separate transaction. All four properties are currently operated under lease agreements with Ski Resort Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Oz Real Estate.

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SAM Magazine—Dummerston, Vt., May 25, 2018—Maple Valley Ski Area, just outside of Brattleboro in southern Vermont, has sat idle for 18 years. This week, a Connecticut-based “member managed” company purchased the 375-acre property for $745,000 from another Connecticut-based company that has owned it for several years.

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Pittsfield, Mass., May 25, 2018—Berkshire East owners Jon, Jim, and Roy Schaefer have closed on their acquisition of nearby Catamount Ski Area. Total purchase price was $2.3 million, which includes $1.66 million in outstanding debt.

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• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 21, 2018—Western mountain destinations eked out a lodging revenue increase of 1.8 percent over last year as of April 30. The aggregated figure set a new revenue record among participating properties, even though occupancy finished the season down one percent compared to the previous winter. Increases in the average daily rate (ADR) elevated total revenues. The season-end summary was reported by Inntopia in its monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing.

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 17, 2018—Resorts interested in joining the NSAA Climate Challenge have until tomorrow, May 18, 2018, to complete the enrollment form, or at least alert NSAA of intention to join.

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 17, 2018—In its most recent edition of “Capital Watch,” the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) said the list of co-sponsors in the House and Senate for the Ski Fee Retention Act of 2018 is growing, thanks in part to efforts by ski areas that operate on public lands and state associations reaching out to their respective federal lawmakers—but the more the merrier.

SAM Magazine—Marco Island, Fla., May 11, 2018—The National Ski Areas Association recognized six ski areas and one state association with Safety Awards for exceptional initiatives to educate guests and employees about skiing and snowboarding responsibly.

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., May 11, 2018—The presence of the Ikon Pass and Epic Pass in the Northeast market doesn’t appear to have impacted sales of Peak Resorts’ incumbent Peak Pass. The company reported that consolidated sales of the five Peak Pass products through April 30, 2018 increased 14 percent in units and 16 percent in revenue year-over-year, buoyed by a 47 percent jump in unit sales of the Drifter Pass, an unrestricted discounted pass for the 18- to 29-year-old crowd.

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• Trail Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Marco Island, Fla., May 8, 2018—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) presented its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Awards to Jerry Blann, the former longtime president of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyo., and Onno Wieringa, the longtime general manager of Alta, Utah, at the National Convention and Tradeshow here.

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• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Marco Island, Fla., May 8, 2018—Bear Valley Mountain, Calif.; Crystal Mountain, Mich.; and Boreal Mountain, Calif., won the 2018 Golden Eagle Awards for excellence in environmental initiatives. Sha Miklas of Arapahoe Basin, Colo., was named the “Hero of Sustainability” honoree for 2018.

• Lifts
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Snowbasin, Utah, May 8, 2018—Snowbasin Resort came home with two awards from the National Ski Areas Association convention in Florida: the Conversion Cup and Best Overall Safety Program.

• Area Management
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Pittsfield, Mass., May 7, 2018—The owners of Berkshire East Mountain Resort in western Massachusetts have reached an agreement to acquire nearby Catamount Ski Area. SAM reported in April that Catamount president Tom Gilbert and vice president Rich Edwards were actively seeking an investor, a joint venture partner, or a new owner/operator for the mountain. The deal is expected to close in the next two weeks. The purchase price was not disclosed.