SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Aug. 27, 2024—Sierra-at-Tahoe has joined the Ikon Pass for winter 2024-25. It will be one of six California ski resorts offered on the Alterra Mountain Company-owned pass this winter.  “We are excited to expand Ikon Pass access in California by offering even more in the Tahoe area,” said Erik Forsell, chief mar...

SAM Magazine—Keystone, Colo., Aug. 27, 2024—Vail Resorts has appointed Shannon Buhler to become vice president and general manager of Keystone Resort, Colo., effective Sept. 16. Buhler will be one of four female GMs leading Vail Resorts ski areas in the Rocky Mountains.Courtesy of Keystone Resort “Vail Resorts has an incredible pool of talen...

SAM Magazine––Shawnee on Delaware, Pa., Aug. 27, 2024––Shawnee Mountain Ski Area has entered a four-year renewable energy credit (REC) purchase agreement with ENGIE Resources, a subsidiary of ENGIE North America. Under the agreement, Shawnee will claim 6,000 annual RECs, equivalent to 6,000,000 kWh of electricity delivered to the grid from ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 27, 2024—Massive fall snowstorms set South America’s ski season off on what has been the best winter this century for many centers there, the majority of which opened weeks early in May.Courtesy of La Parva It was a more challenging first month or so in Australia and New Zealand, though snowmaking pulled ski a...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 27, 2024—Drawing insights from a survey of ski area marketers across North America, the inaugural "Outlook on Resort Marketing" report, created by SAM Magazine and MMGY Origin, is now available exclusively for SAM subscribers. Designed as a key resource for marketing professionals in the ski industry, the repor...

SAM Magazine—Juneau, Alaska, Aug. 22, 2024—Craig Cimmons has been selected as the new general manager of Eaglecrest Ski Area, beginning in early October. Cimmons currently serves as the director of the ski and ride school and community engagement at Jay Peak, Vt.  Cimmons was chosen from a pool of 17 applicants, according to a report from KTO...

• Resort Sale

Updated at 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2024. SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt, Aug. 22, 2024—POWDR has agreed to sell Killington Resort and Pico Mountain to a group of local investors. The sale is expected to close this fall. Following news of the sale, sources report that POWDR also plans to put several of its other ski resort properties—Eldora, Col...

Midwest ski area operators, their teams, and industry suppliers gathered earlier this week at the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) Summer Meeting and Trade Show at the beautiful Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., August 11-14. Attendance was slightly down from last year, which was no surprise given the very challenging winter most experienced. ...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 16, 2024—Rates and occupancy are leveling out in the West, according to the latest Monthly Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. The latest report highlights just how rate sensitive summer guests have become, as a slight uptick in rates last month led to a modest dip in...

Crystal Ridge general manager Riley May at the Midwest Ski Areas Association show.SAM Magazine—Franklin, Wis., Aug. 14, 2024—Rock Snowpark has rebranded as Crystal Ridge, which was the ski area’s original name when John Kaishian first opened it in 1987. The new name goes into effect immediately and the rebrand includes a new Crystal Ridge log...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 7, 2024—SAM has partnered with the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), Taos Ski Valley, N.M., and Mountain Towns 2030 to welcome key stakeholders in the mountain resort community to the 2024 Climate Solutions Summit in Jackson, Wyo., Oct. 15-16 with a free arrival-day program at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort....

SAM Magazine—Londonderry, Vt., Aug. 7, 2024—Magic Mountain has promoted mountain operations director Paul Maitland to general manager. Maitland will report directly to Geoff Hatheway, president of Magic Mountain and managing member of Ski Magic, LLC. “Paul has earned the respect of our staff in not only successfully managing the mountain ope...

SAM Magazine—White Haven, Pa., Aug. 5, 2024—The Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association (PSAA) is rebranding as the Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association (PORA). The new entity will welcome a broad scope of outdoor-focused businesses to its membership and support the state’s outdoor recreation economy by expanding employee education, promoti...

SAM Magazine—Canton, Mass., Aug. 5, 2024—Local investor Geoff Homer has acquired the five-year operating lease for state-owned Blue Hills Ski Area, with plans to grow the Boston-region operation in the coming years. The ski area was previously operated by the management of Campgaw Mountain in New Jersey under the LLC Ski Blue Hills Management....

• Lift Operations News

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 5, 2024—Voting is now open for the fourth annual Rise Up Challenge, a video contest highlighting a handful of skilled young lift mechanics who will keep chairs spinning at resorts for decades to come. This year, six resorts were chosen to submit a video, each featuring an up-and-coming mechanic from the reso...