• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, June 16, 2022—Ski Utah’s 15 member resorts reported a total of 5,829,679 skier visits during the 2021-22 winter season, breaking the record set in 2020-21 by more than a half million visits—an increase of about 10 percent. Utah has set visitation records in three of the last four seasons, with only the pandemic...

• Lifts
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., June 14, 2022—As post-pandemic demand eases and inflation continues to loom large, lodging properties at 17 mountain destinations across seven western states are recording notable occupancy declines for the first time in nearly two years, according to the latest report from DestiMetrics, the Business Intelligenc...

• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Montpelier, Vt., June 13, 2022—Alpine ski areas in Vermont welcomed 3.76 million skier visits during the 2021-22 winter season, up 6.5 percent year-over-year, but 6 percent below the state’s 10-year average, according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association (Ski Vermont), which shared numbers at its annual meeting last week at Sugar...

SAM Magazine—Conway, N.H., June 13, 2022—Visits to New Hampshire ski areas during the 2021-22 winter season for alpine, cross-country, and tubing overall totaled 2,220,102, down 3 percent compared to the 2,295,424 visits in 2020-21. Courtesy of Dave Gibson The overall decline is almost entirely attributed to variable weather, according to Ski...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Denver, June 10, 2022—Skier visits for the 2021-22 season at the 22 Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts were up 14 percent year-over-year, and CSCUSA is projecting a new statewide skier visit record—including non-CSCUSA member resorts—edging out the previous record of 13.8 million visits in 2018-19 by a few hundred...

• Lifts

SAM Magazine—Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Quebec, June 8, 2022—Le Massif de Charlevoix has signed a three-year agreement with the Mountain Collective, according to Radio Canada. Le Massif is the first eastern Canadian ski area to join the pass coalition, which includes 22 other properties across North America. “This is part of our busine...

• Lifts

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 JJ TOLAND, SUGARBUSH, VT Sugarbush Resort has brought on JJ Toland as vice presiden...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Victoria, Australia, June 8, 2022—The winter season has begun in the Southern Hemisphere. Historically early and abundant snowfall this year in Australia has allowed several ski areas to drop ropes ahead of the traditional June 11-13 opening weekend. Courtesy of Falls Creek Resort's Instagram Mount Hotham in Victoria opened June ...

• Lifts
• Personnel Issues

SAM Magazine—Beaupré, Quebec, June 3, 2022—The preliminary results of the 34th Economic and Financial Study of Ski Areas show 6.3 million visits were recorded at Quebec ski areas during the 2021-22 winter season, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2020-21. The recipient of the Réal-Boulanger Award, Mr. Eddy Zajac, surrounded by Mr. Yves Jun...

• Lifts
• Lift Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., June 2, 2022—Many of North America’s resorts opened later than they would have liked this winter, but a few standout areas made up for the deficit and leveraged late-season snow to offer late-season turns. There are a still a handful of resorts across the country operating after Memorial Day Weekend, and a few hon...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., May 31, 2022—Six lift maintenance teams have been chosen to participate in the second annual Rise Up Challenge, supported by Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA): Arizona Snowbowl, Ariz.; Boston Mills Brandywine, Ohio; Magic Mountain, Vt.; Whistler Blackcomb, B.C.; WinSport, Alberta; and Winter Park, Colo. The teams are co...

• Lifts
• Personnel Issues

SAM Magazine—Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, May 31, 2022—One of the two new tram cabins being installed at Snowbird, Utah, fell to ground on Saturday, May 29, leaving it damaged beyond repair. The cabin was being lifted by a crane onto the hanger when it fell, according to Snowbird general manager Dave Fields, who said he is grateful no one wa...

• Resort Development

SAM Magazine—Lutsen, Minn., and Wausau, Wis., May 25, 2022—Charles Skinner, the owner of Minnesota’s Lutsen Mountains Ski Area and Wisconsin’s Granite Peak Ski Area, has entered a definitive purchase agreement to acquire all of the assets of Big Snow Resort, including more than 1,000 acres of private land, from owner Art Dumke. Big Snow Res...

• Lifts
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 25, 2022—Alterra Mountain Company president Jared Smith will be promoted to chief executive officer, effective Aug. 1, 2022. Current CEO Rusty Gregory will step back from day-to-day operations to become vice chairman of the board. Smith joined Alterra Mountain Company in June 2021, tasked with operating and further dev...

• Resort Development
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., May 24, 2022—Outside Inc., owner of several active outdoor media brands and related publications, including SKI magazine, will reduce print production by 80 percent across the company, according to internal communications from company leadership. This includes reducing SKI to one print issue a year, plus the annual ...