SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., March 6, 2024—Both Bombardier Recreational Products, which owns Ski-Doo snowmobiles, and Polaris have issued recalls for certain snowmobile models due to potential safety issues. Bombardier is recalling roughly 8,100 model year 2024 Ski-Doo MXZ and Renegade snowmobiles equipped with Pilot X skis sold in the United S...

SAM Magazine—Concord, N.H., Feb. 22, 2024— Six months after the departure of John “JD” DeVivo, New Hampshire’s Cannon Mountain will soon have a new general manager, Jace Wirth.  New Hampshire lawmakers recently approved the salary for Wirth, allowing the Steamboat Springs, Colo., native to take the helm at the state-owned ski area in ...

• Conferences / Trade Shows
• Summer
• Obituary

SAM Magazine—Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Feb. 16, 2024—Today, Sugarloaf is opening West Mountain, a new 120-acre terrain expansion served by a high-speed detachable quad with an uphill capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour, which terminates at the Bullwinkle’s restaurant near the midpoint of the 4,237-foot mountain. Nine of the planned 12 trails ...

• Marketing
• Business
• Regulation
• Lift Maintenance
• Diversity

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 15, 2024—Hotel bookings at mountain destinations in the western U.S. have dropped to a 30-month low, while room rates remain stubbornly high despite a drop in guest interest in overnight stays, according to the latest monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia....

• Rental
• Conferences / Trade Shows
• Skis / Boots / Poles
• New Products
• Cross Country / Snowshoeing
• Snowboards / Boots

SAM Magazine–Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 15, 2024—Skiers hit the slopes at New Mexico’s Sandia Peak Ski Area last weekend as the mountain opened for the first time in two years.Courtesy of Sandia Peak Ski Area The opening marked the debut of operations at Sandia Peak under the aegis of Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), which announced a joint ven...

• Conferences / Trade Shows
• Area Management
• Pub Memo

SAM Magazine—Lafayette, Colo., Feb. 13, 2024—Snowsports school management software provider flaik is now a Certified B Corporation after satisfying the required criteria to earn the recognition, scoring 86.2 out of 100 in the evaluation of five primary areas relating to the company’s business practices: governance, workers, community, environ...

• News
• Snowmaking
• People
• Safety
• Racing
• Obituary
• International

SAM Magazine—Choteau, Mont., Feb. 12, 2024—Teton Pass Ski Area is the latest in a string of resorts to pull the plug on a 2023-24 ski season bedeviled by shifting weather patterns and unseasonably warm temperatures. A historic lack of snow—or almost any precipitation at all—has forced the early closure of the Montana ski area. In a six-pag...

• Snowmaking
• Ticketing

SAM Magazine—West Dover, Vt., Feb. 9, 2024—It’s that time of year again, when folks gather for a bit of networking, education, and snow sliding at the National Ski Areas Association winter conferences. More than 500 operators and suppliers descended on Keystone, Colo., Jan. 17-19, for the NSAA Western Conference. After a rough start to the s...

• Marketing
• Weather
• Public Relations / Publicity

SAM Magazine—Taylor Falls, Minn., Feb. 7, 2024—Wild Mountain snowsports manager Nathan Hakseth has been promoted to general manager of the Taylor Falls, Minn., ski resort. He will oversee all operations of the mountain and also retain his duties within the Snowsports School and Competitions department. Hakseth has worked in the ski industry fo...

• Management
• Personnel Issues
• Environment
• Racing

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Feb. 7, 2024—In an effort to gather data and insights on ski area marketing, SAM and MMGY Origin have partnered to launch an annual survey targeting resort marketers. The responses will inform the Annual Outlook on Resort Marketing report, which will serve as a yearly resource and benchmarking tool for marketing team...

• Lifts
• New Ideas
• Legal

SAM Magazine—Massanutten, Va., Feb. 7, 2024—Industry veteran Michael Hammes has been selected as the new general manager and vice president of Massanutten Resort, a four-season resort in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Hammes most recently served as director of base operations at Washington's Summit at Snoqualmie resort, part of the Boyne Res...

• News
• Opinion

SAM Magazine—Mount Snow, Vt., Feb. 6, 2024—Nearly 12,000 votes were cast during the 12-day voting period for the 2024 I AM a Snowmaker contest. This year’s contest showcased eight snowmaking teams from across North America: Brettons Woods, N.H.; Cataloochee Ski Area, N.C.; Copper Mountain, Colo.;  Gore Mountain, N.Y.; Greek Peak, N.Y.; Mammo...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Jackson, Wyo., Feb. 5, 2024—The sale of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JMHR) to a local group of investors, initially announced last August, is complete. The Kemmerer family, which has owned the independent ski resort for the last 32 years, officially closed the deal in early February. Financial details were not disclosed. “...

• Environment

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 5, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Arapahoe Basin from Dream Unlimited Corp. A-Basin will be Alterra’s 18th North American mountain destination. Toronto-based Dream Unlimited—a multi-billion-dollar real estate development, asset management, and private equity firm—acquired...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 2, 2024—KSL Capital Partners (KSL) closed a "single-asset continuation vehicle" for Alterra Mountain Company in late January, with total commitments of more than $3 billion, KSL said in a press release. What it didn't say, and what many in the industry are speculating about, is what this all means. Let's start with w...