SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Dec. 19, 2023—Several inches of rain fell across most of New England Sunday into Monday, causing many ski areas to temporarily suspend operations due to the heavy precipitation and high winds or significant local flooding, or both. According to early reports, damage to resort infrastructure appears to be limited. Damage...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Dec. 19, 2023—Lone Peak tram, the largest on-mountain infrastructure project in Big Sky Resort’s history, opens today. Courtesy of Big Sky ResortThe resort broke ground on the installation in summer 2022 and began load testing the new Doppelmayr/Garaventa ropeway system in November of this year.  The grand openi...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 14, 2023—The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI), in partnership with Vail Resorts and the town of Vail, Colo., will host Interski 2027.Interski 2023, courtesy of PSIA-AASI The event, held every four years at different locations, will bring toge...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 13, 2023—Modest snowfall across much of the West and rate-sensitive customers weary of high prices combined to bring down on-the-books occupancy (and some daily rates) for the full winter season, according to DestiMetrics, the Business Intelligence division of Inntopia, in its most recent Monthly Market Bri...

• Personnel Issues
• Legal

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Dec. 13, 2023—In order to keep Powder Mountain financially viable, CEO Reed Hastings plans to sell more real estate at the property and provide homeowners with an area of lift-served terrain that only they can access beginning in 2024-25. The rest of the 8,464-acre resort will remain open to the public.  “While many...

• Marketing
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 8, 2023—On a Dec. 7 earnings call, Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch reported continued pass sales growth in both units and revenue for the company headed into the 2023-24 season. Pass product sales for the North American ski season increased approximately 4 percent in units and approximately 11 percent in sale...

• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Mt. Hood, Ore., Dec. 8, 2023—Legendary snowboarder Shaun White is part of a trio of big names making a significant investment in We Are Camp, the parent company of Windells action sports camp and High Cascade snowboard camp, which White attended as a youth, helping to propel his career.  We Are Camp operates action sports camps f...

• Marketing
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Warrensburg, N.Y., Dec. 5, 2023—Hickory Ski Center is getting a lifeline to fund payment for liability insurance that will allow the ski area to open its lifts for the first time since 2015.  Indy Pass and Entabeni Systems CEO Erik Mogensen and Unofficial Networks publisher Tim Konrad are providing financial assistance to pay a $...

• Ski School
• Racing

SAM Magazine—Saint-Côme, Quebec, Dec. 1, 2023—The coroner’s report about the Jan. 29, 2023, death of a 6-year-old girl at Val Saint-Côme resort in Quebec calls into question ski area staff training and safety practices, as the investigation revealed several missteps during the accident.   According to the report, Lily Leblanc was in a sk...

• Marketing
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 1, 2023—Vail Resorts has entered into an agreement to acquire Crans-Montana Mountain Resort in Switzerland from CPI Property Group (CPIPG), the majority owner of Remontées Mécaniques (French for “ski lifts”) Crans Montana Aminona (CMA) SA, which controls and operates all the resort's lifts and supporti...

• Marketing
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Nov. 30, 2023—The International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday named Salt Lake City as the “preferred city” to host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Once a preferred host has been selected, no other cities are permitted to apply to host the same Games, making Salt Lake now the sole candidate for ...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Nov. 27, 2023—Vail Resorts lost its appeal of the Park City planning commission’s decision to deny approval to Park City Mountain for installing two new chairlifts that would effectively replace three existing chairlifts.  At the heart of the court’s decision were two issues that have been the source of ire a...

• Rental

SAM Magazine—Wardsboro, Vt., Nov. 22, 2023—Inconsistency has been the theme so far in this young winter season across North America. Stratton Mountain Opening DayThere's been just enough snow and cold to get some ski areas’ lifts spinning, while others wait for their window to make enough snow for a good product. Several areas have had to pus...

• Resort Development
• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 16, 2023—Alterra Mountain Company has appointed Ron Cohen, president and COO of Mammoth Mountain, Calif., and Rob Perlman, president and COO of Steamboat, Colo., to the newly created roles of executive vice president (EVP), regional operations.Rob Perlman In that capacity, both will serve on Alterra’s executive leade...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Kirkwood, Calif., Nov. 16, 2023—Ricky Newberry has been named VP and GM of Kirkwood Mountain Resort. Newberry comes from Heavenly, where he’s served as VP of mountain operations since 2021. However, he started his 23-year ski industry career at Kirkwood in 1999, straight out of college, on the ski patrol. Both ski areas are owned...