• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Turin, N.Y., Aug. 9, 2023—An apparent EF-3 tornado with peak wind speeds of 140 mph damaged all three chairlifts and several structures at Snow Ridge Ski Resort on Monday evening.  The National Weather Service reported that the tornado touched down around 7:42 p.m. in the town of Lewis, N.Y., where it uplifted the roofs of two ho...

• Environment
• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Banff, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 9, 2023— A power outage on the Banff Gondola, owned by attraction and hospitality company Pursuit,  stranded hundreds of sightseers at the top of Sulphur Mountain Monday night, leading some to eventually hike down in the middle of the night. The Globe and Mail newspaper suggested that as many as ...

• Area Management
• Ski School

THIS REPORT WAS UPDATED ON AUG. 14 SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., Aug. 4—The role and impact of reciprocal pass agreements has been put in the spotlight as Indy Pass has requested its partner resorts terminate their reciprocal deals with Ski Cooper, Colo., whose large and growing roster of pass partnerships has put it in position to potentially ...

SAM Magazine—Teton Village, Wyo., Aug. 4, 2023 – After 31 years of ownership, Jay, Connie, and Betty Kemmerer have sold Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) to a group of local investors for an undisclosed amount. Owners of JHMR Connie, Betty and Jay KemmererThe Kemmerers, who purchased JHMR in 1992, said their highest priority was maintaining J...

• Personnel Issues
• Environment

SAM Magazine—Frisco, Colo., Aug. 3, 2023—Copper Mountain hosted the third annual Ski Conservation Summit on July 26. The event brings together local land managers and resort operators to share best practices and techniques to advance conservation efforts in their local environments. Courtesy of Copper MountainThis year, eight Colorado ski areas...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Lutsen, Minn., Aug. 3, 2023—Lutsen Mountains, part of Midwest Family Ski Resorts, has submitted a letter to the USFS asking it to defer a decision on the resort’s proposed $60 million expansion onto 500 acres of the Superior National Forest. Local Tribes retain recreational rights to the land under the 1854 Treaty, an agreement b...

• Safety

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 1, 2023—Voting is now open for the third annual Rise Up Challenge, a video contest highlighting a few skilled young lift mechanics who will no doubt 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 its lift ma...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Sun Peaks, British Columbia, July 25, 2023—Sun Peaks Resort has promoted Darcy Alexander, vice president and general manager for the past 32 years, to CEO. Alexander will focus on long-term strategy, investment opportunities, government relations, and real estate and infrastructure development. Meanwhile, current CFO Amy Blakeney ...

• Ski School
• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Franconia, N.H., July 25, 2023—Cannon Mountain director of sales and marketing Greg Keeler has been named as interim general manager of the ski area, effective Sept. 1. Keeler will succeed longtime GM John “JD” DeVivo, who has accepted the role of general manager of Antelope Butte Recreation Area in Wyoming, starting Sept. 6. ...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Tremblant, Quebec, July 17, 2023—One person has died and another is in critical condition in a Montreal-area hospital after a piece of heavy construction machinery struck a cabin on the Panoramic gondola at Mont-Tremblant Resort on Sunday.  Two people were riding in the cabin at the time of the crash. It’s believed the two were...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah—July 13, 2023—The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) yesterday released its final record of decision (ROD) to move forward with construction of a controversial eight-mile-long gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Image credit: Gondola Works The ROD, the final step in the Environmental Impact Statement...

• Ski School

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo.—July 13, 2023—Positive economic news during June spurred an uptick in advance summer reservations, according to DestiMetrics’ most recent monthly Market Briefing.  Data compiled through June 30 revealed that the booking pace increased and daily rates improved slightly after five months of softening compared...

• Area Management
• Marketing

SAM Magazine—July 13, 2023—Water has started to recede in Vermont after torrential rains and historic flooding in some mountain locations, with Killington, Magic Mountain, and Okemo among the most heavily impacted.Parking Lot of Magic Mountain. Courtesy of Magic Mountain Molly Mahar, president of Ski Vermont, said those ski areas are reporting...

• Marketing
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Franconia, N.H., July 11, 2023—Longtime Cannon Mountain Ski Area GM John “JD” DeVivo will assume the role of GM of the non-profit Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area in northern Wyoming on Sept. 5. DeVivo will leave the state-owned Cannon on Aug. 31, after 16 years, and with a total of 33 years in the outdoor industry in th...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Mount Hotham, Victoria—July 11, 2023—Australia’s Mount Hotham Skiing Company has named Tina Burford as its new general manager. Burford comes to the position with almost four decades of experience, including 32 years at Perisher, where she served as resort services director.   In addition to her term at Perisher, Burford has...