• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Denver, January 13, 2018 –Skier visits at the 23 member resorts of Colorado Ski Country USA were down 13 percent compared to last year’s mediocre first period visit numbers, for the season through Dec. 31, 2017.

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 13, 2018—Vail Resorts reported a 10.8 percent decline in visits across its major North American resorts through the early season, reflecting adverse weather and snow conditions across a broad swath of the U.S.

• Rental
• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 11, 2018—The joint venture of affiliates of KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company that curated 12 mountain resorts across North America last year can now be referred to as something other than “yet-to-be-named entity” or “NewCo.” Meet the newly named Alterra Mountain Company.

• Rental

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Jan. 11, 2018—As usual, Mother Nature played a significant role in how successful mountain resorts were during the first major holiday period of the winter. Too warm, too dry, too cold, too windy—visits in many regions were dampened by the weather.

• Environment
• Terrain
• Trail Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 15, 2018—The Rental World + Backshop and Uniform Gallery will continue to showcase these product categories during the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, Jan. 25-28 at the Denver Convention Center. The exhibits provide a one-stop overview of the categories, and provide a quick way for buyers to survey their options.

• Grooming
• Trail Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Heavenly, Calif., Jan. 3, 2018—More than 1,100 mountain travel buyers and suppliers from around the world are expected to attend this year’s Mountain Travel Symposium at Heavenly-South Lake Tahoe, Calif., April 8–14. The week’s agenda is packed with A-list speakers, networking opportunities, educational sessions, and business development exchanges.

• Marketing
• Safety

SAM Magazine—Loveland, Colo., Jan. 2, 2017—On the morning of Thursday, Dec. 28, lift maintenance employee Adam Lee was killed while doing work on a conveyor lift at Loveland Ski Area. According to the chief deputy coroner, the preliminary cause of death is crushing chest injuries due to blunt force trauma. The resort said the incident happened around 11 a.m., and ski patrol was on-scene shortly after it happened. Lee was 40 years old.

• Summer
• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Montpelier, Vt., Dec. 28, 2017—Industry veteran Molly Mahar is the new president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA). This will be Mahar’s second stint with VSAA, having served as the association’s director of marketing from 1995 to 2001. She is currently the vice president of marketing and sales at Loon Mountain Resort, N.H. Her first day at VSAA will be Jan. 8.

• Lifts
• Ski School

 

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., Dec. 22, 2017—Josh Bremer’s “Junkyard Dog” feature at Whitecap Mountain, Wis., and the Scott Delforte Park Jam at Bristol Mountain, N.Y., are the winners of the 13th annual SAM 2017 Terrain Park Contest. The contest drew nearly 30 entries from around the world.

• Lifts
• Architecture
• Buildings & Grounds

SAM Magazine—Denver, Dec. 18, 2017—As of Oct. 31, winter season occupancy at mountain destinations in eight western states showed a slight decline year over year. But as of Nov. 30, that trend has reversed—despite mild weather and a general lack of early-season snowfall in the West, according Inntopia’s monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing.

• Resort Development
• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Burke, Vt., Dec. 18, 2017—An investigation is underway to determine what caused a 1986 LMC 1500 tracked vehicle to rollover Sunday evening on Burke Mountain, killing the driver after he was ejected from the cab. The passenger was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.

• Resort Development
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Canton, Mass., Dec. 14, 2017—Blue Hills Ski Area, located just outside of Boston, has named Molly Ross as its new general manager. Ross has been at Blue Hills for six years, starting as a customer service agent and most recently serving as the ski area’s business manager, before being promoted to general manager. She was recognized as a 2017 SAM “10 Under 30.”

• Lifts
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Denver, Dec. 14, 2017—Conditions leading into the Christmas holiday have been varied across the U.S. Up until the past few days, the West had been suffering from unusually warm temps and lack of snow, a situation some resorts have finally been able to remedy as cold nights have allowed for long-awaited snowmaking. Things haven’t been much wetter—or colder—in many parts of the Pacific Northwest or California. However, resorts in the East have been getting hammered for the past four or five days, and it looks like cold temps there will be sticking around for a while.

• Rental
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Val d’Isère, Savoie, France, Dec. 12, 2017—POMA has signed a €38 million (roughly $44.5 million) contract with The Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) to build five ropeways, one each at Val d’Isère, Tignes, Méribel, La Plagne, and Serre Chevalier ski areas. Construction for all will start this summer, and opening is planned for December 2018.

• Rental
• Safety

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 12, 2017—In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Vail Resorts said it expects to sell a total of more than 740,000 Epic Passes this year, with sales up roughly 14 percent in units and 20 percent in sales dollars.