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SAM Taps Whistler Blackcomb to Host 2025 Summer Ops Camp
SAM Magazine—Whistler, British Columbia, March 18, 2025—SAM’s Summer Ops Camp will be held at Whistler Blackcomb, Sept. 2-4, 2025, offering three days of education, networking, and hands-on learning focused on the future of summer operations at mountain resorts. This year’s camp will also feature a partnership with the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA), bringing together a dynamic mix of resort professionals from across North America. Whistler Blackcomb has been at the forefront of year-round recreation development, balancing business innovation with environmental sustainability. With a robust lineup of summer attractions—including the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Peak...
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SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 1, 2018—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) selected four member ski areas to receive its annual Sustainable Slopes Grants: Blue Mountain Resort, Pa., Mountain High Resort, Calif., POWDR Resorts, and Snow Creek Ski Area, Mo. The Sustainable Slopes grant program provides cash and in-kind funding to support sustainability projects at NSAA member ski areas.
SAM Magazine—April 24, 2018, Vernon, N.J.—Mountain Creek is debuting a new ecommerce and point-of-sale solution called SnowCloud this summer. Aimed at simplifying guest transactions, SnowCloud will replace all other sales and access software at the resort, including online sales, onsite sales and management, and lift gate access. It is built around the same ultra-high frequency RFID technology as Vail Resorts’ Epic Mix and the Disney Magic Band.
SAM Magazine—Snowbasin, Utah, April 20, 2018—Snowbasin Resort appointed Davy Ratchford as its new GM effective May 2018. Ratchford will succeed retiring GM John Loomis.
SAM Magazine—Denver, April 19, 2018—Significant snowfall in many regions continued through March and raised March occupancy 0.5 percent compared to year-ago levels. That cut the decline for the 2017-18 winter season from 2.6 percent to 1.3 percent, according to Inntopia in its monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing.
The word innovation connotes creative, forward-moving success. But as a principal theme of the Forum portion of the 2018 Mountain Travel Symposium, April 11-12 in South Lake Tahoe, there was a reminder that innovation is best used remembering the lessons of yesteryear, and that nothing comes easy.
SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., April 18, 2018—Mountain Capital Partners, which owns Purgatory and Arizona Snowbowl among other resorts, has entered into an operating agreement with Skyline Mountain Base, LLC, to manage and operate Nordic Valley Ski Resort, Utah.
SAM Magazine—Denver, April 12, 2018—“We’re listening. And we heard you loud and clear. We’ve adjusted our January dates.” That was the message from Outdoor Retailer VP and show director Marisa Nicholson in a letter to the industry, unveiling a return to late-January dates for the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in Denver—Jan. 30–Feb. 1. The new dates are about three weeks later than the schedule announced back in February.
SAM Magazine—Boone, N.C., April 11, 2018—D. Grady Moretz Jr., one of the co-founders of Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, N.C., died on April 8, 2018 at the age of 88.
SAM Magazine—Wrightwood, Calif., April 5, 2018—The Powder Alliance has added Sugar Bowl Resort, Calif., Loveland Ski Area, Colo., Castle Mountain Resort, Alberta, Canada, and Ski Marmot Basin, Alberta, to its list of participating resorts for the 2018-2019 winter season.
SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., April 4, 2018—SAM Magazine is bestowing its 2018 SAMMY Leadership Awards on a remarkable quartet: Nadia Guerriero, Tish Lopez, Ryan Lavoie, and Aaron Maddox. The four, nominated by their peers, have demonstrated the leadership skills needed to help steer the snowsports industry into the future. They will receive their awards during a ceremony at the NSAA National Convention in Marco Island, Fla., May 4.
SAM Magazine—Hillsdale, N.Y., April 3, 2018—Catamount Ski Area owners Tom Gilbert and Rich Edwards are seeking an investor, joint venture partner, or new owner/operator for the mountain. The pair has enlisted real estate brokerage firm Mirus Resort Advisors to assist in the search.
SAM Magazine—Jamesville, N.Y., April 3, 2018—The lift-maintenance training program coordinated and subsidized by Ski Areas of New York (SANY) will offer an expanded curriculum starting this, its seventh year, when the program kicks off in May. The program will include a group of advanced fixed grip and detachable lift classes, as well as condensed basic fixed grip training.
SAM Magazine—March 28, 2018—The month of March came in like a lion for ski areas across the country, a welcome shot in the arm after what was turning out to
be a challenging season from coast to coast. The first two-and-a-half weeks of the month brought a parade of storms—powerful systems off the Pacific, and complicated Nor’easters on the East Coast—that dumped several feet of snow, attracting crowds and extending the seasons for many ski areas.
SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., March 23, 2018—Jay Peak is the only mountain resort in Vermont to be designated as a Gold-level participant in the 3>4>50 initiative, a statewide Department of Health program that helps residents understand and address the impact of chronic disease in Vermont. This designation stems from the resort’s dozen-plus wellness measures designed to enable employees to live a healthy life. Gold is the highest designation, followed by Silver- and Bronze-level participation.
SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., March 23, 2018—The inaugural Ski California Lift Maintenance and Operations Education (LMOE) Conference will take place June 5 – 7, 2018 at Squaw Valley. This new event will include a variety of classroom sessions, hands-on training, and networking opportunities, all aimed at advancing the knowledge of ski resort lift maintenance and ops personnel.
