• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Nov. 4, 2022—Vail Resorts has hired Kenny Thompson Jr. to serve as the company’s first chief public affairs officer, effective Dec. 5, 2022. In the newly created role, Thompson will oversee government relations, community relations, communications, sustainability, and the company’s social responsibility platf...

• Resort Development
• Safety

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Nov. 3, 2022—Out of a strong field of 100 nominations, 10 talented mountain resort industry up-and-comers have been selected to participate in the fifth annual SAM Summit Series, a mentorship program aimed at developing future mountain resort industry leaders. The 10 mentees hail from areas of all sizes located all ...

SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Nov. 1, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) has completed its purchase of Jay Peak, Vt., from court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg. PGRI’s prevailing bid of $76 million was approved by the United States District Court in Southern Florida on Sept. 16, and the State of Vermont approved the assignment of leases fo...

• Safety
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., Oct. 28, 2022—The Base to Base Gondola at Palisades Tahoe, connecting the Village at Palisades Tahoe to the Alpine Lodge base area at the former Alpine Meadows, is set to open for the upcoming season. By tying together the two mountains, the gondola provides access to 6,000 acres of terrain, creating the lar...

• Ski Area Profiles
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Fabius, N.Y., Oct. 27, 2022—New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intermountain Management Inc. over Intermountain’s purchase and closure of Toggenburg Ski Area in 2021. James claims that Intermountain bought Toggenburg in August 2021 with the explicit intent to shutter the business and e...

SAM Magazine—Thompsonville, Mich., Oct. 27, 2022—Crystal Mountain named Karyn Thorr as its new chief operating officer, effective Oct. 26, 2022. She succeeds John Melcher, who was elevated to CEO in December 2021. As COO, Thorr will oversee on-mountain operations including lifts, grooming, maintenance, resort safety, and snowsports at the Michi...

• Rental
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Dresser, Wis., Oct. 19, 2022—Wisconsin’s Trollhaugen Recreation Area has joined the early-opening game as the third ski area to open for the season, and the first to offer chairlift served skiing and riding. Photo courtesy of Matthew Zabransky The area opened today, Oct. 19, and is operating from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. with future oper...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Bozeman, Mont., Oct. 19, 2022—Hiram Towle assumed his new role as GM of the non-profit Bridger Bowl Ski Area, Mont., this week. A 20-year industry veteran, Towle most recently served as GM of another non-profit area, Mt. Ashland, Ore., for the past eight years.  “Step one is lots of meetings with the team and getting caught up ...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Taylors Falls, Minn., Oct. 18, 2022—While a handful of resorts in the East and West began making snow in earnest last week, it was two Minnesota ski areas that jumped ahead in the race to open, with perennial contender Wild Mountain opening its Front Stage rope tow at noon CDT today. Wild edged out Andes Tower Hills, which yesterda...

• Rental
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Wakefield, Mich., Oct. 17, 2022—Snowriver Mountain Resort plans to install a new Doppelmayr six-passenger detachable chairlift for the 2023-24 season at the Jackson Creek Summit area of the resort. The new lift will replace three of the original chairs installed in the 1960s: the Chippewa Double, the Leelinaw Triple, and the Voyage...

• Marketing
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Oct. 17, 2022—SKI Magazine's 2023 “Top 50 Resort Reader Survey” has been released with some noteworthy trends, albeit not totally surprising to anyone who's been following ski industry news, even loosely.  The survey “points to the overall trend of people seeking out the non-corporate ski areas after a coup...

• Lifts
• Racing

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 12, 2022—SAM has launched its fifth annual Summit Series leadership development program and is calling for ski areas to nominate emerging leaders to participate as mentees. Mentees will engage with respected industry leaders in dialogue around key topics, gaining tangible takeaways to apply to their careers, o...

• Lifts
• Legal

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Oct. 12, 2022—Summer occupancy is likely to be down at the end of October, compared to both last summer and the pre-pandemic, benchmark-setting summer of 2019, as the booking pace remains slow. Lodging at Mammoth, Calif.However, the average daily rate (ADR) has continued to soar, allowing lodging properties to i...

• Legal

SAM Magazine—Gatlinburg, Tenn., Oct. 12, 2022—Local entrepreneur and former Sevier County attorney Joe Baker has acquired Ober Gatlinburg and all its assets—including the aerial tramway and employee housing properties—from longtime owners, the Anders family.  The property is held under a long-term lease from the city of Gatlinburg, dati...

• Racing

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Oct. 12, 2022—A group of lift mechanics and electricians at Vail Resorts-owned Park City Mountain, Utah, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form the Park City Lift Maintenance Professional Union.  The workers are seeking to organize under the United Professional Ski Patrols of America, a ...