PGRI president and CEO Vern Greco shares his thoughts on the acquisition with SAM. SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Sept. 8, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) made the highest and best final bid to buy Jay Peak, $76 million, following an auction with multiple bidders. PGRI president and CEO Vern Greco told SAM that after three years spent pursuing the acquisition, PGRI is poised to bring renewed stability to the resort and its staff, and tap into its passion and energy. The prevailing bid remains subject to approval by the United States District Court in Southern Florida during a final hearing scheduled for Sept. 16. Judge Darrin P. Gayles, who has presided over the receivership in federal...
SAM Magazine—Alberta, Canada, July 5, 2023—Summer operations at Lake Louise Ski Resort are shut down until further notice and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have arrested and charged a 40-year-old man with arson after a fire on July 3 destroyed a 100,000 square-foot building that houses hundreds of resort staff. About 160 employees...
SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., July 5, 2023—Lift mechanics and electricians at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) voted 7 to 3 to form the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Professional Union, joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) 7781. This is the second ski area lift maintenance crew in the country to unionize, following the ...
SAM Magazine—Denver, June 28, 2023—Two individual studies released by Snowsports Industries America (SIA) and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) show positive gains in snowsports participation, and outdoor sports as a whole. Snowsports participation increased significantly in non-alpine activities such as winter running and hiking, with 61 per...
SAM Magazine—Auckland, New Zealand, June 27, 2023—Just weeks before the start of the 2023 Southern Hemisphere ski season, the central government of New Zealand has provided a NZD$5 million loan to bail out two financially struggling North Island ski fields that operate on Mt. Ruapehu. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), the operator of Tūroa and Wh...
SAM Magazine—Bend, Ore., July 26, 2022—A Deschutes County jury ruled in favor of POWDR-owned Mt. Bachelor in a $15 million wrongful death lawsuit on Friday. The suit was brought against the resort by the father of a 24-year-old Bend snowboarder, Alfonso Braun, who suffocated and died after falling into a tree well within the resort’s boundary...
SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., June 26, 2023—James “Jim” Crown, an owner and managing partner of Aspen Skiing Company, died Sunday in a crash at the Aspen Motorsports Park, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office. Crown was in a single-vehicle accident, colliding with an impact barrier at the private, member-owned motorsports country...
SAM Magazine—Zanesfield, Ohio, June 26, 2023—Vail Resorts has promoted Alajos (Al) Fiel to the role of general manager of Mad River Mountain.
SAM Magazine—Franconia Notch, N.H., June 23, 2023—State-owned Cannon Mountain, which is part of Franconia Notch State Park, can move forward with major improvements to its iconic aerial tramway after the state legislature approved an $18 million appropriation to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) to fund “maintenance and ...
SAM Magazine—Stowe, Vt., June 22, 2023—Vail Resorts has named Shannon Buhler as the new vice president and general manager of Stowe Mountain Resort. She begins July 17. Buhler most recently served as senior director of mountain operations at Vail Resorts-owned Northstar California near Lake Tahoe. In a media release, Vail Resorts Eastern Regio...
SAM Magazine—Burke, Vt., June 22, 2023—An unnamed bidder has made an offer of an undisclosed amount to buy Burke Mountain Resort, according to a filing by Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver in charge of overseeing the ski area. Goldberg will continue to seek other qualified buyers, according to VT Digger. If a matching or higher ...
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 LAUREN BURKE, MT. BACHELOR, OR Mt. Bachelor has hired Lauren Burke as director of market...
SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., June 15, 2023—SAM's 13th Summer Ops Camp—an immersive, hands-on networking and educational event—is heading to Steamboat, Colo., Sept. 10-12, 2023. This year’s camp curriculum will offer attendees a spectacular mountain environment and engaging activities. We’ll explore the positive effects of communit...
SAM Magazine—Montville, N.J., June 15, 2023—Snow Partners promoted Jeff Boliba to the newly formed role of chief growth officer. As CGO, Boliba will oversee strategic partnerships and future growth across SNOW Partners’ businesses, which include Big SNOW American Dream and Mountain Creek, N.J., SnowCloud, SNO-GO, and SNOW Operating. Boliba...
SAM Magazine—Highmount, N.Y., June 14, 2023—A number of new capital upgrades including two new lifts and a 4,000-square-foot addition to the Longhouse Lodge are in the planning stages at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center after the New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) released its 2023 Unit Management Plan Amendment (UMPA). The rel...
SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., June 14, 2023—Lodging properties at western mountain destinations are facing a more price-sensitive customer this summer, according to the latest Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, part of the business intelligence division of Inntopia. Data collected through May 31 from 17 mountain destinations in seven states ...
