• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., May 12, 2022—Aspen Skiing Company (Ski Co.) and Alterra Mountain Company have acquired e-commerce provider Aspenware through a joint venture. Aspenware will remain a standalone business with ongoing operations to serve its clients and the industry, while maintaining its current staff and leadership. The acquisition w...

• Marketing
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Government Camp, Ore., May 10, 2022—Mt. Hood Skibowl has suspended its summer bike operations after losing a lawsuit from a man who said he hit a signpost on a ski area bike trail and was paralyzed from the waist down. From Mt. Hood Skibowl's Website In March, a Multnomah County jury awarded $11.4 million to Gabriel B. Owens afte...

• Ski School
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., May 10, 2022—The Indy Pass has introduced a new category of resort partners: Allied Resorts. Allied resorts will offer discounted lift tickets to Indy Pass holders, while Indy will offer discounted AddOn passes to allied resort unrestricted season passholders.  The move has allowed Indy to increase its partners in...

• Lift Maintenance
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., May 10, 2022— Mike Goar, currently vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain Resort, Utah, will lead Andermatt-Sedrun, Switzerland, Vail Resorts’ first European property.  Goar will serve as VP, COO, and managing director of Adermatt-Sedrun, reporting to Pat Campbell, mountain operation...

• Marketing

SAM Magazine—Jeffersonville, Vt., May 9, 2022—Smugglers’ Notch, Vt. will offer free, full-time childcare for all employees. The benefit will be rolled out in phases beginning this month, and it applies to full-day care for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years old as well as some offerings for older children on days when an employee is working. Di...

• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Vail, Colo., May 4, 2022—The Vail town council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to begin possible condemnation proceedings on a 23-acre parcel of Vail Resorts-owned land in East Vail, citing concerns over the wellbeing of a herd of bighorn sheep in the adjacent natural preservation. The land was selected in 2019 as an approved site for a $17 m...

• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., April 29, 2022—A proposed 10-to-15-year master development plan for Winter Park Resort, Colo., includes a series of gondolas spanning nearly three miles that would connect downtown Winter Park to the Winter Park Resort village, among a variety of other elements that include new and replacement lifts, expanded te...

SAM Magazine—Burlington, Vt., April 29, 2022–Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak Resort, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and pay more than $8 million in restitution for his role in a "Ponzi-like" scheme that misused $200 million of EB-5 investor funds raised to support capital projects at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain, as well ...

• Safety
• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., April 28—Vail Resorts (VR) was up 19.4 percent in lift ticket revenue and 12.5 percent in skier visits through mid-April compared to Covid-limited 2020-21, according to the company’s latest shareholder report. CEO Kirsten Lynch said the strong year-over-year performance was “as expected,” and noted that Cov...

• Personnel Issues
• Ski Patrol

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., April 27, 2022—The nomination period is now open for SAM’s annual “10 Under 30.” Members of the mountain resort industry are invited to nominate a standout 20-something-year-old who is already making an impact at the ski area where they work and poised to become a leader in the industry. The chosen 10 rising st...

SAM Magazine—Portland, Ore., April 27, 2022—Indy has rebranded its primary pass product as the Indy Base Pass. The Indy Base Pass—not to be confused with the similar-sounding Ikon Base Pass—will continue to provide two days at Indy’s roster of independent partner resorts, subject to newly reduced blackout dates. The Indy+ Pass will remain...

• Snowmaking
• Safety

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., April 21, 2022—The U.S. Forest Service issued final directives clarifying e-bike definitions and use management on National Forest System lands. Per the directive, all e-bikes, including Class 1 pedal-assist-only e-bikes, are now classified as motorized vehicles. As such, e-bikes are not allowed on non-motorized t...

• Resort Development
• Personnel Issues

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., April 21, 2022—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released 35,000 additional H-2B visas for employers with start dates between April 1 and Sept. 30, according to the latest Capitol Watch from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). The release more than doubles the 33,000 H-2B visas authorized by statute....

SAM Magazine—Bozeman, Mont., April 21, 2022—The Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) held its annual conference, April 5-6, 2022. The event was held virtually via Zoom for the second consecutive year due to Covid concerns. It had a nice balance of U.S. and Canadian participants, including suppliers and specialty retailers from 15 states ...

• Resort Development
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Ludlow, Vt., April 19, 2022—A busy industry events season gathers steam this week with the 45th annual Lift Maintenance Seminar, which began yesterday at Jiminy Peak, Mass. After two years of canceled events and virtual gatherings, in-person events appear to be back in full swing and industry interest looks healthy judging by early...