• Legal

SAM Magazine—Las Vegas, Nev., April 13, 2023—Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) has acquired Lee Canyon ski resort, located about 50 miles northwest of Las Vegas, from Powdr Corporation and local partner, the Thomas family. Lee Canyon brings MCP’s ski resort portfolio to 10 properties, including Colorado’s Purgatory Resort and Hesperus ski are...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Grand County, CO—April 10, 2023—Sales of the 2023-24 Indy Pass have been suspended after the volume of renewals and purchases by new passholders exceeded expectations. The pass had only been available to new customers for 10 days. Officials plan to reassess their sales goals in terms of volume and capacity.  “We’re metering...

• Personnel Issues
• Environment

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., April 7, 2023—The four individuals being recognized with 2023 SAMMY Leadership Awards demonstrate the innovative thinking, collaborative spirit, and transparent leadership needed to guide our industry through its next evolution. This year’s honorees are: Preston Cline, safety advocate; Nadia Pepin, champion of comm...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Sheridan, Wyo., April 7, 2023—Four Antelope Butte Foundation (ABF) board members have resigned this week, three citing safety concerns regarding operation of the Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area (ABMRA) Summit lift on the mountain’s closing weekend, according to a news release from ABMRA.  The Summit lift did not operate...

• Marketing
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Slinger, Wis., April 6, 2023—Little Switzerland will permanently close its summer bike park because of increased insurance costs.  In a statement posted to its social media accounts, the company stated, “Our insurance company has dropped coverage of the bike park, and alternative insurance options would not make the park econom...

• Environment

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 6, 2023—Vail Resorts has named Nadia Guerriero, currently vice president and COO of Beaver Creek Resort, Colo., senior vice president and COO of the Rockies Region, and appointed her to the company’s executive committee. In her new role, Guerriero will lead Vail Resorts’ six resorts in Colorado and Utah...

• Marketing

With historic snowfall at ski areas throughout the western United States, many resorts are poised to wrap up the season with later-than-expected closings and strong visitation and revenue. Photo courtesy of Alta Ski AreaIn fact, the records shattered and milestones reached by western resorts are seemingly endless, with new updates pouring in even a...

• Lifts
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Broomfield Colo., March 30, 2023—Vail Resorts (VR) plans to introduce a new membership program called My Epic Gear, which could replace the habit of owning gear with renting, for the day or for the season. The program will launch in 2024-25 at selected resorts, according to the plan, following a pilot program, with a limited number...

• Safety

In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to supplier news, awards and obits, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE JESSE TRUE, MAGGIE MURRAY, LOUIS SKOWYRA, and TONY CAMMARATA, ARAPAHOE BASIN, Colo. Jes...

• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—United Kingdom, March 30, 2023—One outcome of the pandemic has been an increasing move by some of the world’s more popular destinations to limit numbers on the slopes and prevent overcrowding. North American resorts have been leading the way with this, but now New Zealand’s Cardrona and Treble Cone resorts are joining the movem...

• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Grand County, Colo., March 29, 2023—Nearly all 2022-23 Indy Pass alpine partner resorts—102 out of 105—have committed to the pass for the 2023-24 season. Two of the others, Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Ashland, Ore., are pending and expected to renew. The final resort, Snow Valley, Calif., was purchased by Alterra Mountain Company ...

• Area Management
• Safety

SAM Magazine—Phoenix, Ariz., March 29, 2023—Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) is taking on a new venture: golf. The winter resort operator is buying Silver Creek Golf Course, which includes management of neighboring Bison Golf Club. Both are par 71 public courses located in Show Low, Arizona. Separated by less than 20 miles in the White Mountain...

• Snowmaking
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, March 29, 2023—Solitude is planning more than $16 million in off-season capital improvement projects, including an upgrade of its Eagle Express quad, Utah’s first detachable chairlift. The investment will fund four projects all set to commence this spring and summer. In addition to the new lift, proj...

• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Huntsville, Utah, March 24, 2023—Snowbasin and Club Med cancelled development of a 320-room hotel, the plans for which were unveiled in September 2021. The Club Med hotel was originally scheduled to open for winter 2024. It would have been the resort’s first on-site lodging and Club Med’s first U.S. ski area location since the ...

• Lifts
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Lake Tahoe, Calif., March 24, 2023—Starting winter 2023-24, Vail Resorts-owned Northstar California, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe region will implement paid parking for certain lots in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion and parking shortages on weekends, holidays, and peak periods....