Bartz Named GM at Rebranded Snowriver Mountain Resort

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SAM Magazine—Wakefield, Mich., Sept. 8, 2022—The freshly rebranded Snowriver Mountain Resort (previously known as Big Snow Resort, and including the areas of Blackjack and Indianhead) has hired Benjamin Bartz as general manager. The news follows the completion of the acquisition of Big Snow by Charles Skinner, Jr., and his company, Midwest Family Ski Resorts, in late August.

Bartz will move from Giants Ridge, Minn., where he currently serves as mountain manager, to Snowriver over the next month, and begin there during the Midwest Family Ski Resorts first week of October.

“Ben impressed us in his interview, and we felt he was a natural fit for the job with his strong ties to the area and his knowledge of ski resort operations,” said Skinner, whose company owns Granite Peak, Wis., and Lutsen Mountains, Minn., in addition to Snowriver.

“I’m thrilled to be named general manager at Snowriver Mountain Resort,” Bartz said. “The Skinner family has shown a dedication to reinvestment and excellence in their operations at Granite Peak and Lutsen Mountains. I believe the future is bright at Snowriver, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Bartz grew up skiing the resorts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, having held season passes to Blackjack and Indianhead. A member of the National Ski Patrol, Bartz attended Gogebic Community College and Northern Michigan University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Ski Area Business Management following an internship at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado in 2017. For the past five years, he has been mountain operations manager at Giants Ridge.

Bartz has been tagged as a rising star in the past few years. In 2019, he was nominated for, and appeared in, SAM's "10 Under 30,” which highlights 20-something industry professionals who are working toward bigger roles. More recently, he was a mentee in SAM's Summit Series leadership development program.

In a related change at Snowriver, Timothy Moon was named assistant general manager. He will focus on inside operations, such as lodging, administrative operations, and events. He will also assist Bartz in transitioning to general manager; Moon has worked in various roles at Indianhead and Blackjack and has lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the last 12 years.

“Tim’s knowledge of the operations of these ski areas is incredibly vast,” Skinner said. “He was an obvious choice to help lead these ski areas. We are excited to see what these two young men can do together as we transform into the new Snowriver Mountain Resort.”