SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Sept. 1, 2021—Mandatory evacuation orders for the Caldor Fire have been extended to Douglas County, Nev. Smoke from the Caldor Fire wafts over a ridgetop near Kirkwood Ski Resort in Eldorado National Forest, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)Heavenly Ski Resort and Kirkwood are brace...

• Safety

SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Aug. 31, 2021—The Caldor Fire continues its push east and northeast, with Heavenly Ski Resort and Kirkwood Ski Resort sitting in its path. Map of active evacuation order south of TahoeBoth resort areas are under mandatory evacuation order. “It has not made it to Heavenly, but that is the direction it is...

• Personnel Issues
• Racing

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Aug. 30, 2021—Alterra Mountain Company has purchased Purcell Heli-Skiing in British Columbia, Canada. The business and ski tenure will be incorporated into Alterra-owned CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures. CMH president and COO Rob Rohn will oversee the transition and all operations. “At Alterra Mountain Co...

• Safety

SAM Magazine—Twin Bridges, Calif., Aug. 30, 2021—The two-week-old Caldor Fire spread rapidly over the weekend, advancing northeast toward the Lake Tahoe Basin. USFS webcam image from Aug. 29, 2021The fire pushed into Sierra-at-Tahoe’s West Bowl first, with long-range spot fires arriving at the resort summit Sunday night.  Forest Service w...

• Racing
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., Aug. 27, 2021—On Tuesday, a California appeals court blocked a 30-year, $1 billion expansion plan for Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows (SVAM), saying the development plan fails to adequately address potential environmental damage, as well as increased area noise and travel.   The three-judge panel granted par...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 26, 2021—Mountain resort industry personnel began gathering in-person again at the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) Summer Meetings and Tradeshow in mid-August. MSAA in session It was the first of several planned in-person events this fall, most of which were either cancelled or went virtual in 2020 due to ...

• Area Management
• Ski Area Profiles

SAM Magazine—Mohawk, Mich., Aug. 23, 2021—Mount Bohemia bumped its starting wage to $20 an hour for all jobs except bartenders, who will start at $15 per hour, plus tips. The move aims to make employment at the Upper Peninsula ski area attractive in a tight labor market. “We’ve been at $15 for about four years, and initially it helped us a...

• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Twin Bridges, Calif., Aug. 20, 2021—California’s Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood Mountain Resort were forced to close earlier this week after the U.S. Forest Service closed the Eldorado National Forest—in which both resorts operate—in response to the growing Caldor fire, burning to the west of both resorts. Screenshot of the Cal...

• Snowmaking
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Lake Geneva, Wis., Aug. 20, 2021—The Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) hosted the first in-person ski industry meeting and trade show since Covid-19 upended things. On Aug. 15-18 at Grand Geneva Resort in Wisconsin, 254 attendees from ski areas, associations, and affiliates joined 119 supplier representatives to celebrate the su...

• Lifts
• Area Management

SAM Magazine—Taos Ski Valley, N.M., Aug. 19, 2021— Taos Ski Valley has raised its starting pay for entry-level positions to $15 per hour, exceeding the living wage of $14.94 for Taos County, as stated by the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Taos Ski Valley’s living wage increase is coupled with a plan to expand staff housing, with the aim of pro...

• Lifts
• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine—Pinecrest, Calif., Aug. 17, 2021—California’s Dodge Ridge Ski Resort is being acquired by Mountain High Resort, Calif., owners Invision Capital and Karl Kapuscinski, Mountain High president and CEO. Karl & Audrey Kapuscinski and Frank & Sally HelmLongtime Dodge Ridge owners Frank and Sally Helm are retiring. The Helm fam...

• Miscellaneous
• Grooming
• Trail Maintenance

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 17, 2021—Despite rising concerns about the Covid-19 Delta variant and smoky conditions across much of the Western U.S., 18 Western mountain destinations across eight states are setting new benchmarks for occupancy, rate, and revenue. And as of July 31, that enthusiasm for mountain vacations was continuing ...

• Snowmaking

SAM Magazine–New South Wales, Australia, Aug. 16, 2021—Ski fields in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, including Perisher and Thredbo, have temporarily shut following a government imposed statewide snap lockdown, in effect Aug. 14-22. The resorts had previously been open to locals.  In a statement on its social channels, Thredbo said, “Whil...

• Lifts
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, Aug. 13, 2021—Solitude Mountain Resort will increase its starting wage for hourly, non-tipped employees to $15 an hour. Starting Aug. 14, 2021, job offers for summer and winter employment will reflect the new pay scale and current, eligible Solitude employees will see wage adjustments. “I am proud to...

• Lifts
• Miscellaneous

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., August 11, 2021—Vail Resorts has named Rob Katz’s successor: Kirsten Lynch, currently the company’s chief marketing officer, will be appointed chief executive officer and elected to the Vail Resorts’ board of directors, effective Nov. 1, 2021. Kirsten LynchAt that time, Katz, CEO since 2006, will move into...