More than 500 lift mechanics, operations staff, managers, suppliers, and instructors attended the 45th annual Rocky Mountain Lift Association (RMLA) Spring Conference May 2-5 in Grand Junction, Colo. The theme was “Expanding Winter into Summer” but focus was clearly on lift maintenance training and winter operations. There were fewer sessions on risk management and guest service this year, and more about how to keep older lifts healthy.

It was 40 years ago that Jake Burton Carpenter began testing his early snowboards at Stratton Mountain, Vt., and launched snowboarding’s love/hate affair with winter resorts. Ironically, it was resorts’ initial wariness of snowboarding that set Burton on a course that has made the company Jake founded one of the best partners winter resorts have known.

SAM Magazine—Santa Fe, N.M., May 16, 2016—New Mexico’s nine alpine and four Nordic ski areas saw 938,000 skier visits during the 2015-16 season, up 3 percent year-over-year and 20 percent above the previous five-year average of 783,000. Ski area visitation contributed $524 million to the local economy, almost $17 million more than in 2014-15, according to Ski New Mexico.

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 16, 2016—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has named Crystal Mountain, Mich., and Taos Ski Valley, N.M., as recipients of its annual Sustainable Slopes Grant Program. Funds from the program target carbon emission reductions, snowmaking improvements, and climate adaptation at U.S. ski areas.

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., May 16, 2016—The process of booking, organizing, and managing ski school reservations could get an upgrade thanks to a partnership between SNOW Operating and software firm SnowCloud.

SAM Magazine—Portage, Wis., May 16, 2016—Cascade Mountain is working on a $9 million expansion project that includes two new lifts, seven new trails, additional snowmaking, an expanded main lodge, paved parking, and base area improvements. And that is just the first part of what will be a three-phase expansion plan.

SAM Magazine—Pacific Palisades, Calif., May 11, 2016—Burton Snowboards has made a $50,000 contribution to Protect Our Winters (POW), which the organization says will be used “to invest in its operational capacity and ongoing advocacy efforts on behalf of the snow sports community.” Burton and POW have worked together since 2011, with POW l...

SAM Magazine—Bend, Ore., May 11, 2016—Powdr has appointed John McLeod as president and general manager of Mt. Bachelor, Ore. A longtime Bend resident, McLeod served as

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SAM Magazine—Salzburgerland, Austria, May 9, 2016—The jury has always been out as to whether new lifts attract more people, but according to usage figures recently released by the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Austria’s Salzburgerland, there may be evidence they do.

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 9, 2016—Strong numbers at Intrawest’s Colorado resorts and Canadian Mountain Holidays helped balance the challenging winter its eastern properties endured. Total revenue decreased 1.9 percent, to $314.2 million, for the three months ended March 31, compared to the same prior-year period.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, April 29, 2016—Lee Canyon president and general manager Kevin Stickelman has resigned from Lee Canyon, Nev., to become chief operating officer of the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah. Stickelman had been in the Powdr organization for 15 of the last 20 years, leading Lee Canyon (formerly Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort) for the last six.

SAM Magazine—Grand Junction, Colo., April 28, 2016—Leitner-Poma has acquired Salt Lake City-based chairlift builder and retrofitter Skytrac, a company established by legendary liftbuilder Jan Leonard and former CTEC employees, with roots in aerial lift technology that extend back nearly five decades. The purchase was completed this week.

SAM Magazine—Bellefontaine, Ohio, April 27, 2016—After losing its base lodge to a fire last September and operating out of temporary Sprung Structures this past winter, Mad River Mountain, Ohio, plans to break ground on a new $6.5 million, 46,000-square-foot base lodge in May.

SAM Magazine—Palmer, Alaska, April 27, 2016—Silverton Mountain Guides Alaska Heli has named lifelong Alaskan and 25-year ski industry veteran Di Whitney as its new vice president of operations. Most recently, Whitney was general manager and VP at Alyeska Ski Resort.