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Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. Submits Top Bid for Jay Peak at $76 Million
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...
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SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 14, 2023—The booking pace for guests arriving in January through June rose 13.3 percent compared to the same time last year at Western mountain destinations, boosting the aggregated occupancy for those six months 7.1 percent, according to the monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, part of the business i...
SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., April 21, 2026—Packed house for older fixed grip roundtable.The 49th annual Lift Maintenance Seminar (LMS) returned to Jiminy Peak, April 13-16, drawing a sold-out crowd of roughly 415 ski area operations professionals, supplier representatives, state officials, and experts from all over North America to engage in a...
SAM Magazine—Canmore, Alberta, April 20, 2026—Climate/snowpack presentation. Credit: Reese Brown.The Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) Annual Conference drew 72 attendees from across North America to 1988 Winter Olympic venue Canmore Nordic Centre in Alberta, Canada, April 8-10, 2026. Attendance was up compared to the last three years...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE TROY HAWKS, GIANTS RIDGE, MN Giants Ridge has appointed Troy Hawks as marketing director. Most recently, Hawks...
SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., April 13, 2026—A new leadership structure at Purgatory Resort includes general manager Dave Rathbun moving into the role of chief executive officer of Purgatory Resort Holdings, the company overseeing the resort’s affiliated businesses, owned by Mountain Capital Partners. In addition, Josh Benson will become senio...
SAM Magazine—Vail, Colo., April 8, 2026—Shaydar Edelmann has been appointed as vice president and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain. He succeeds Beth Howard, who is retiring at the end of the ski season after 41 years with Vail Resorts, but will “remain engaged” during a leadership transition period. “I’m incredibly honored...
SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., April 6, 2026—Pat Campbell and Geraldine LinkThe National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) will recognize two longtime industry leaders at its 2026 National Convention and Tradeshow, May 4–7 in Carlsbad, Calif., awarding Pat Campbell the Lifetime Achievement Award and Geraldine Link the Industry Impact Award. Camp...
SAM Magazine—Pierce County, Wash., March 27, 2026—Linnea Hansen has been named the new president and COO of Washington’s Crystal Mountain, effective immediately. She will report to Alterra Mountain Company regional chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Western Mountain Division Ron Cohen. “Linnea is a strong leader w...
SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., March 23, 2026—The SAMMY Leadership Award Class of 2026 includes four terrific leaders whose spheres of influence and positive impact extend far beyond their office walls. This year’s SAMMY honorees are: Kari Brandt, risk manager, Sugar Bowl, Calif.; Jay Dougherty, president and general manager, Mount Southington, ...
SAM Magazine—Jackson, N.H., March 12, 2026—Indy Pass director and Entabeni Systems CEO Erik Mogensen has bought out early investors to take full ownership of Black Mountain in New Hampshire, in a significant shift from his original plan to sell ownership shares to individuals and create a board of trustees to operate the ski area. Mogensen led...
SAM Magazine—Denver, March 11, 2026—Jared Smith plans to step down from his role as chief executive officer of Alterra Mountain Company at the end of this season. An exact end date was not shared. Smith joined Alterra as president in June 2021, reporting to then-CEO Rusty Gregory. He previously served as president and global chairman of Ticket...
SAM Magazine—Burke, Vt., March 2, 2026—Gabe Porter Henry leads an on hill tour.After nearly a decade in receivership, Vermont’s Burke Mountain is coming out of hibernation. New owners Bear Den Partners are prioritizing long-deferred capital improvements and operational stability, having already accomplished a variety of projects after taking ...
SAM Magazine—Glenwood, N.Y., March 2, 2026—Kissing Bridge All Seasons Resort has hired Matt Thomas as its new general manager. Thomas comes to the role with nearly 30 years of ski industry experience, most recently serving more than six years as director of risk management at Telluride Ski and Golf, Colo. “We are beyond excited to bring Ma...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE MASON WILLETT, MOUNT SUNAPEE, NH Vail Resorts has appointed Mason Willett as director of mountain operations a...
SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Feb. 23, 2026—Taylor Middleton, the longtime Big Sky Resort executive who led the Montana destination through decades of expansion and repositioned it as one of North America’s premier ski resorts, died Friday at his home in Big Sky. He was 68. An Alabama native and 1979 University of Alabama graduate, Middleton ...
SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 18, 2026—Alterra Mountain Company has appointed David Flueck as chief customer officer and president, Ikon Pass. Flueck will lead the company’s customer engagement strategy as well as its sales, marketing and communications functions, and steward continued growth of the Ikon Pass product. He joins Alterra from Marri...
SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Feb. 9, 2026—Colleagues took time to connect sharing stories and highlights from the season. A banner winter across much of the East, marked by consistent cold temperatures for snowmaking, steady natural snowfall, and record holiday attendance at many ski areas, set an upbeat tone for the National Ski Areas Associa...
SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Feb. 3, 2026—Nearly 7,500 total votes were cast for the six competing snowmaking teams during the 13-day voting period of the 2026 I AM a Snowmaker contest, with Seven Springs, Pa., receiving the most votes to take home the title. Contest sponsor HKD Snowmakers president Charles Santry honored Seven Springs at the ...
SAM Magazine—Tooele, Utah, Jan. 26, 2026—Prinoth named Andrew Nicolas as CEO of its U.S. snow grooming division in December. In his new role, Nicolas oversees snow grooming services and product distribution for the U.S. market. “With Andrew’s leadership, Prinoth continues to reinforce its position at the forefront of snow grooming techno...
SAM Magazine—Blakeslee, Pa., Jan. 23, 2026—Vail Resorts has hired Tony Torsell as general manager of Jack Frost Big Boulder, effective Feb. 15. Torsell, who grew up not far from the neighboring ski areas, succeeds previous GM Tony Santora, who is now the vice president of mountain operations at VR-owned Beaver Creek, Colo. “Coming back hom...
SAM Magazine—Snowbird, Utah, Jan. 16, 2026—NSAA president Mike Reitzell and Snowbird president Dave Fields at the first track breakfast.A challenging start to the season for much of the west kept some ski area personnel from attending the National Ski Areas Association Western Winter Conference, but a crowd of 690 industry professionals—up fr...
SAM Magazine—Nederland, Colo., Jan. 16, 2026—Powdr Corp. has hired Andrew Gast to serve as president and general manager of Eldora Mountain Resort, effective Feb. 1. Gast will serve in his current role as general manager of Mt. Ashland, Ore., until Jan. 24. Powdr CEO Justin Sibley said the company—which remains Eldora’s owner while the Tow...
SAM Magazine—Happy Valley, Ore., Dec. 30, 2025—Jay PeakExtreme and erratic weather defined the first week of the 2025 Christmas-to-New Year period across much of North America, forcing operators to contend not only with snow, or lack thereof, but also power failures, access disruptions, infrastructure breakdowns, and workforce concerns. Whi...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE LUCA SIGNORELLI, ASPEN SNOWMASS, CO Luca Signorelli has been appointed as senior vice president, commercial de...
SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Dec. 2, 2025—The Sky Tavern board of directors has appointed Chris "Toph" Brown as the Nevada ski area’s new chief executive officer. The decision was announced Oct. 25, 2025, following the retirement of former CEO Pat Cashell. Brown has long been part of the Sky Tavern leadership team, most recently serving as chie...
SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Nov. 25, 2025—Vail Resorts has appointed Celeste Burgoyne as executive vice president and chief revenue officer, effective Jan. 26, 2026. Burgoyne is the current president of the Americas and global guest innovation for athleisure-wear company lululemon. In her newly created role, Burgoyne will oversee Vail Re...
SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 19, 2025—The stalwart consumer ski and snowboard shows still play an important—and in some cases a growing—role in stoking excitement for winter sports in key markets of the country, and a handful of this year’s events reportedly did well in their current venues as relocation and expansion discussions are ...
SAM Magazine—East Burke, Vt., Nov. 19, 2025—Burke Mountain Resort has named industry veteran Gabe Porter-Henry as its new general manager, effective Dec. 1. He will work alongside interim general manager Tom Day through the end of the calendar year as the resort continues its transition to new ownership under Bear Den Partners. Porter-Henry ha...
SAM Magazine—Huntsville, Utah, Nov. 5, 2025—Powder Mountain has appointed Brandi Hammon as president, overseeing all resort operations, real estate, and hospitality. Hammon, an Ogden Valley native, previously served as the resort’s chief revenue officer and has been involved with Powder Mountain’s growth and development since its transitio...
SAM Magazine—Pinedale, Wyo., Nov. 4, 2025 —White Pine Ski Resort has named Dalan Adams as general manager and Austin Bevilacqua as assistant general manager.Dalan Adams and Austin Bevilacqua. Credit: White Pine. Both are longtime Pinedale residents with community ties and experience in outdoor recreation and hospitality. Adams brings near...
SAM Magazine—New York City, Oct. 30, 2025—Indy Pass director Erik Mogensen speaks during the Indy Pass press event.The number of Indy Pass products sold for 2025-26 grew 60 percent year-over-year, and pass holder redemptions at partner ski areas were up 40 percent for the 2024-25 season compared to 2023-24, according to a presentation at the se...
SAM Magazine—Breckenridge, Colo., Oct. 23, 2025—Six-hundred mountain community stakeholders gathered in Breckenridge, Colo., for the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Solutions Summit, Oct. 9–10. The two-day event brought together resort leaders, municipal officials, energy sector representatives, and nonprofits to share strategies for acceleratin...
SAM Magazine—Tannersville, Pa., Oct. 21, 2025—Camelback Resort has appointed two veteran hospitality executives to lead the year-round Poconos destination.Jason Bays Jason Bays will serve as vice president and general manager, providing strategic direction for the resort, and Olivier Marc Glattfelder will oversee all day-to-day and front and ba...
SAM Magazine—Enfield, N.H., Oct. 3, 2025—Whaleback Mountain has named Khara Benoit as its new general manager. Benoit has spent the past four years at Whaleback managing the lodge, events, food and beverage, and daily operations, a role that allowed her to combine her passion for the mountain with her commitment to creating community-centere...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE KATHY HASTINGS, STEAMBOAT RESORT, CO Steamboat Resort has promoted Kathy Hastings to vice president of food an...
SAM Magazine—Tannersville, Pa., Sept. 29, 2025—Nearly 160 ski area and supplier personnel descended on Camelback Resort last week for the National Ski Areas Association’s Mountain Technology Symposium, where IT teams, business analysts, and industry vendors gathered to explore how technology can help shape the future of the ski industry.Sever...
SAM Magazine—Slinger, Wis., Sept. 24, 2025—Schmitz Brothers Resorts has hired longtime ski industry leader Greg Fisher as the new general manager of Little Switzerland ski area, effective immediately. Fisher has 25 years of mountain resort experience, much of it in leadership roles. He most recently served for five years as general manager...
SAM Magazine—Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Sept. 23, 2025—Les Sommets, which owns and operates five resorts in Quebec, has promoted three long-standing employees to corporate vice president roles.Simon Pagé Simon Pagé was named executive vice president and deputy general manager of the company. Isabelle St-Germain was appointed as VP of finance, an...
SAM Magazine—Ellicottville, N.Y., Sept. 18, 2025—L to R: Brandon Quinn from GetSkiBots, NSAA's Earl Saline, Ski Big Bear (Pa.) GM Lori Phillips, and NSAA's Mike Lane at the trade show.The annual joint conference and expo hosted by Ski NY and the newly rebranded and reorganized Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association (PORA, formerly Pennsylv...
SAM Magazine—Ishpeming, Mich., Sept. 16, 2025—The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame has named eight to its Class of 2025, to honor individuals who have shaped and elevated skiing and snowboarding in America. The Hall of Fame will fete the eight at the Class of 2025 Announcement Party on Sept. 23 in Ogden, Utah. The Class will be inducted o...
SAM Magazine—Portland, Maine, Sept. 10, 2025—Ski Maine hosted the annual New England Summit in Portland this year, bringing approximately 320 attendees together at the Holiday Inn by the Bay for two half days of education and networking, Sept. 8-9.L to R: Greg Sheets of Torrent Engineering & Equipment, Ian Jarrett of HKD Snowmakers, Kris Bl...
SAM Magazine—Whistler, British Columbia, Sept. 9, 2025—The fourteenth annual SAM Summer Ops Camp convened Sept. 2-4, at the world-class indoor and outdoor classroom of Whistler Blackcomb for three days of immersive learning, forward-thinking discussions, and genuine connection. A full day on the mountain allowed both resort operators and ven...
SAM Magazine—Lake Geneva, Wis., Aug. 15, 2025—It was Bo Bigelow’s first major event as executive director of the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) and the industry showed up in droves to celebrate the future, honor the past, learn, and network.Tim Larsen, Michael Bisner, and Nicholas Vornle from Axess with Dave Meeker, SAM Magazine. The 20...
SAM Magazine—Red Lodge, Mont., July 31, 2025—Red Lodge Mountain has hired Jean Mikulas as its new president and general manager. She brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the ski and hospitality industries to the role. Mikulas is a Montana native who earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana, “so the mou...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE GAVIN MALIA, STEAMBOAT RESORT, CO Steamboat Resort hired Gavin Malia as its new vice president of engineering,...
SAM Magazine—Madison, N.H., June 26, 2025—Longtime team member Amanda Buswell has been promoted by the Hoyt family—owners of King Pine Ski Area, Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort, and Purity Spring Resort, among other businesses—to the role of regional general manager in charge of strategic operations and planning across the portfolio. ...
SAM Magazine—Alta, Wyo., June 26, 2025—The Intermountain Ski Areas Association (ISAA) hosted its annual conference atAward Winners, Paul Etcheverry, Tim Hendrickson, and Bill Cheney. Courtesy of Emma Calder with Thunderbird Enterprise. Grand Targhee Resort, June 9-11, drawing more than 320 participants from ski areas across Idaho, Montana, U...
SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, June 24, 2025—Pacific Group Resorts (PGR) has promoted Zach Marlowe and Mike Manara to serve as general managers of Wintergreen, Va., and Mount Washington, British Columbia, respectively, effective July 1.Zach Marlowe and Mike Manara “These internal promotions reflect our ongoing commitment to cultivating leader...
SAM Magazine—Taos Ski Valley, N.M., June 20, 2025—Taos Ski Valley named longtime executive John Kelly as its new chief executive officer, with current CEO David Norden transitioning to chairman of the board in a planned leadership succession.John Kelly and David Norden “Since the resort was built 70 years ago by Ernie and Rhoda Blake, it’s...
SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., June 19, 2025—Indy Pass and Entabeni Systems have hired four senior executives to their C-suite: Alex Lahood as chief operations officer; Olga Grunskaya as chief financial officer; Nick Niebes as chief marketing officer; and Andy Shepard as chief purpose officer, a newly created role. Seth Ogden also joined the team ...
SAM Magazine—Rossland, British Columbia, June 18, 2025—Red Mountain Resort is undergoing a major leadership transition as longtime CEO Howard Katkov and resort president Don Thompson are both stepping down from their roles and, effective July 6, industry veteran Mark Schroetel will become the resort’s new president. Mark Schroetel and Howard...
SAM Magazine—Wilmington, Vt., June 18, 2025—The Hermitage Club at Haystack Mountain has appointed Joshua DeBottis as its incoming executive director and general manager, effective August 2025. DeBottis will succeed Bill Benneyan, who joined The Hermitage Club in 2020 and oversaw its successful transformation into a member-owned private mountai...
SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, June 12, 2025—Utah’s 15 alpine ski resorts recorded 6,503,635 skier visits during the 2024–25 winter season. While down 3.6 percent from last season, it’s the third-highest skier-visit total in state history and a 3.3 percent increase over Utah’s five-year average, according to the state’s trade asso...
SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., June 12, 2025—The 2025 Ski California Lift Maintenance & Operations Education (LMOE) Conference drew a record 403 attendees to South Lake Tahoe, June 3-5. Under the theme “Back to Basics,” this year’s event aimed to reinforce foundational knowledge while addressing the evolving challenges of oper...
SAM Magazine—North Conway, N.H., June 10, 2025—Nearly 400 snowsports operators and industry suppliers gathered at Cranmore Mountain Resort, June 3–5, for Ski NH’s Annual Conference and Trade Show. Loon Mountain Resort employees Andrew Noyes and Ana Yacoubian (middle) and Ski NH's president, Jessyca Keeler (right). During the event, the trad...
SAM Magazine—Warren, Vt., June 6, 2025—A total of 205 resort and supplier members gathered at Sugarbush Resort for the Ski Vermont annual meeting, June 4 and 5, where it was revealed that Vermont alpine ski areas welcomed more than 4.16 million skier visits during the 2024-25 season, up 1.1 percent year-over-year.Keynote speaker Mirna Valerio p...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive. PEOPLE ETHAN AUSTIN, SADDLEBACK, MAINE Ethan Austin has been appointed director of marketing at Saddleback Ski Area...
SAM Magazine—Burke, Vt., June 2, 2025—The new owners of Burke Mountain have coaxed industry veteran Tom Day out of retirement to serve as interim general manager of the resort, effective June 5. “Honestly, unretiring again to help Burke in this transition was an easy decision. It’s what I love to do,” said Day, adding, “It’s always...
SAM Magazine—Gatineau, Quebec, May 30, 2025—More than 560 attendees gathered in Gatineau for the Eastern Canada Ski Areas Conference and Tradeshow, May 26-29. ASSQ CEO Yves Juneau (and his discerning taste in reading material) with SAM's Katie Brinton.It was the first time the event has been held since 2016. The conference brings together ski i...
SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., May 27, 2025—Kirsten Lynch has stepped down as chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, and Rob Katz, who served in the role from 2006 to 2021, is returning to the role, effective immediately. Lynch had led the company since November 2021, succeeding Katz after his 16-year tenure as CEO. During her time at the h...
