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  • Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. Submits Top Bid for Jay Peak at $76 Million

    PGRI president and CEO Vern Greco shares his thoughts on the acquisition with SAM. SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Sept. 8, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) made the highest and best final bid to buy Jay Peak, $76 million, following an auction with multiple bidders. PGRI president and CEO Vern Greco told SAM that after three years spent pursuing the acquisition, PGRI is poised to bring renewed stability to the resort and its staff, and tap into its passion and energy. The prevailing bid remains subject to approval by the United States District Court in Southern Florida during a final hearing scheduled for Sept. 16. Judge Darrin P. Gayles, who has presided over the receivership in federal...

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 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Mechanical Failure Leads to Lift Evacuation at Cannon

SAM Magazine—Franconia, N.H., Feb. 6, 2025—Yesterday morning, a mechanical failure on the Peabody Express quad forced the evacuation of 64 passengers at Cannon Mountain. At approximately 10:13 a.m., a bolt affixed to the power take-off (PTO) shaft failed on the Peabody Express. Because of the nature of the mechanical issue—the PTO transmits ...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Outside Interactive Acquires Inntopia to Create Adventure Travel Platform

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Feb. 6, 2025—Outside Interactive Inc., a leading creator of outdoor content and experiences, has acquired travel and hospitality software solutions provider Inntopia from Northstar Travel Group. The acquisition aims to create a comprehensive travel technology platform that will streamline booking and enhance travel ...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

The 2025 I Am a Snowmaker Contest Winner

SAM Magazine—Mount Snow, Vt., Feb. 4, 2025—Nearly 12,000 total votes were cast for the five competing snowmaking teams during the 14-day voting period of the 2025 I AM a Snowmaker contest. Contest sponsor HKD Snowmakers president Charles Santry revealed this year’s winner in the video below:      This year’s competing teams each pr...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

PGRI Acquires Controlling Interest in Powderhorn

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Feb. 4, 2025—Park City-based Pacific Group Resorts Inc., has acquired controlling interest in Powderhorn Mountain Resort just east of Grand Junction, Colo. The acquisition was made through PGRI subsidiary Powderhorn Pacific, LLC, which has operated the resort for the past six years. The Denver-based Gart family wil...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Snowvana Sets Northwest Dates, Adds Wisconsin Show

SAM Magazine—Bend, Ore., Feb. 4, 2025—Snowsport festival operator Snowvana will return to Seattle and Portland and debut a new show in Wisconsin in 2025. The events will include thousands of square feet of new and used gear at up to 70 percent off, dozens of regional ski resorts, lift ticket and vacation deals, snowsports vendors, contests, giv...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Buckley to Retire as CEO of JHMR, Doug Pierini to Succeed

SAM Magazine—Jackson Hole, Wyo., Feb. 3, 2025—Mary Kate Buckley will retire as CEO of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on May 31, 2025, after seven years leading the resort. Resort COO Doug Pierini will succeed Buckley on June 1, 2025. Doug Pierini and Mary Kate Buckley “It has been an incredible honor to work with Mary Kate, from her time on ...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Chair Detaches from Lift at Attitash, One Injured

SAM Magazine—Bartlett, N.H., Feb. 3, 2025—On Feb. 2, a carrier with one rider aboard detached from the Flying Bear lift at Attitash Mountain. The carrier fell approximately 20 feet. Credit to David Gunzburger Eyewitnesses report that the male passenger was conscious and walking after the fall. He has since been released from the hospital. Th...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Registration Opens for the 21st Gathering of Cutter’s Camp

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Jan. 30, 2025—Registration is now open for SAM’s Cutter's Camp, May 5-9, 2025, at Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore. The five-day program for terrain park professionals features on-hill and classroom workshops, one-on-one customized operator coaching, and demos of the latest machines and technology platforms for park groom...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Investment Firm Calls for Major Changes at Vail Resorts

SAM Magazine—Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 27, 2025—Late Apex Partners, LLC, an investment firm whose largest holding is Vail Resorts, is calling for transformational change at the winter resort company. In a letter to the Vail Resorts board of directors, Late Apex said that "over the past five years, Vail’s performance has been unacceptable. We bel...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Homewood Master Plan Revision Approved

SAM Magazine—Homewood, Calif. Jan. 27, 2025—The saga of Homewood Resort took another turn last week when the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) governing board approved Homewood's revised master plan.Photo credit: Homewood Mountain Resort The plan will allow for major improvements, including a new gondola, replacement lift, mid-mountain lodg...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Workers Threaten to Strike

SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., Jan. 27, 2025—Lift maintenance workers at Vail Resorts-owned Crested Butte voted for a strike authorization following negotiations in which Vail Resorts has refused to increase their pay, according to the union. Negotiations have dragged on for more than a year.Photo credit: Crested Butte. The 12 lift mainte...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Weather Dictates Variable Business Over MLK Holiday Weekend

SAM Magazine—Jan. 22, 2025, Ludlow, Vt.—As usual, snow, both manmade and natural, played a major role in shaping business over the three-day MLK holiday weekend. So did operational disruptions. Busy new mid-mountain lodge at Tamarack, Idaho. While a cold snap blanketed nearly the entire country at some point throughout the holiday, the effec...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Hotel Fire in Turkish Ski Resort Kills at Least 66

SAM Magazine—Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 21, 2025—A predawn fire at a hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Turkey killed at least 66, with another 51 injured, Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday. The resort is located in Northwestern Turkey's Koroglu mountains, about 185 miles east of Istanbul. The fire ignited at 3:30 a.m. News...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Lift Failure Injures 15 at Spain Ski Area

SAM Magazine—Barcelona, Spain, Jan. 20, 2025—A chairlift failure injured more than a dozen people Saturday morning at Astún resort in the Spanish Pyrenees. The bullwheel on a 1985 fixed-grip quad detached, causing the lift to derope on numerous towers, according to liftblog.com’s Peter Landsman.Credit to Meteosojuela La Rioja “Without a b...

 HEADLINE NEWS - Ski Area Management

Strong Attendance and Bluebird Skies at NSAA Western Conference

SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., Jan. 20, 2025—Attendance was up at NSAA’s Western Winter Conference, with more than 670 ski industry folks gathering at Palisades Tahoe, Jan. 14-16, for the education and networking event. Total attendance surpassed numbers for 2024 and 2023. NSAA’s new CEO Mike Reitzell welcomed everyone at a hosted br...