SAM Magazine—Sheridan, Wyo., Dec. 1, 2015—The Antelope Butte Foundation (ABF), a non-profit organization dedicated to reopening Antelope Butte Ski Area, has received two significant donation commitments for its project to resurrect the facility, which has not operated in a decade. Jan Allen of Cosner Construction confirmed a $213,000...

SAM Magazine—Hunter, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2015—Peak Resorts has entered into an agreement to purchase Hunter Mountain, located in the Catskill Mountains of New York, for cash consideration of $35 million plus the assumption of two capital leases estimated at approximately $1.8 million. Hunter Mountain generates approximately $27 million (unau...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 19, 2015—Despite a relatively warm start to the fall, recent snowstorms out West and snowmaking conditions in the East have a number of resorts opening for the season just ahead of Thanksgiving weekend. Colorado has seen multiple snow storms roll through in the past week, giving many areas the base needed to...

SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 17, 2015—David Ingemie, president of Snowsports Industries America (SIA), was presented with the 30th annual BEWI Award during a luncheon in his honor on Nov. 13 at the Seaport World Trade Center on Boston Harbor. BEWI Productions president Bernie Weichsel, the award’s namesake, called David &ld...

Photo credit: www.tellurideskiresort.com. SAM Magazine—Telluride, Colo., Nov. 16, 2016—The Telluride Ski Patrol, which formed a union under the umbrella of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) last February, ratified its first union contract on Nov. 9 by a 50-1 vote. The three-year deal addressed several of the concer...

SAM Magazine—Truckee, Calif., Nov. 12, 2015—With storm totals in California being measured in feet, the ski and snowboard season is getting off to its best start in years on the West Coast. Nationwide, a number of resorts are already open and more are kicking things off, starting yesterday. Lake Tahoe has received more than two feet ...

SAM Magazine—Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Nov. 9, 2015—For the first time in the competitive atmosphere of the Quebec ski industry, two major players are teaming to offer a joint season pass. Ski Bromont and Mont Saint-Sauveur have created the Option Northeast, which gives anyone purchasing a season pass at either resort the opportunity to ad...

SAM Magazine—Fairfield, Idaho, Nov. 6, 2015—Matt and Dianne McFerran, a couple from Bend, Ore., are the new owners of Solider Mountain. More than 2,100 people had inquired about the resort, which was put up for sale on Oct. 14 at the price tag of $149,000, the amount of money the non-profit area owed to the bank. The McFerrans will b...

SAM Magazine—Nov. 5, 2015—While Killington Resort, Vt., was the first ski resort to open in the U.S. this season on Oct. 18, and Loveland and Arapahoe Basin, Colo., were the first to begin daily operations Oct. 29, several additional ski areas have opened or plan to kick-start their 2015-16 winter operations in the coming days. The f...

SAM Magazine—Donnelly, Idaho, Nov. 5, 2015—In a sign of Tamarack’s return to normal resort operations, the resort is launching Tamarack Lodging Co., the official reservation and property management company for Tamarack Resort, according to resort operator Replay Resorts. Tamarack is also resuming operation of all food and beverage...

SAM Magazine—Comox, B.C., Nov. 4, 2015—A Canadian subsidiary of Pacific Group Resorts Inc. (PGRI) has purchased Mount Washington Alpine Resort located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. According to Vern Greco, PGRI president and the CEO, the transition had been in the works for a few years. PGRI owns all 81 alpine runs and 22 ...

SAM Magazine—Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 4, 2015—After more than a decade of trying to rebrand itself as Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, the area is switching back to its original name, Lee Canyon, as of Nov. 9. “Despite changing our name to Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort in 2003, locals and longtime guests still refer to u...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Nov. 3, 2015—After nominations were collected last month for the I Am a Snowmaker competition, sponsored by SAM Magazine and HKD Snowmakers, six resorts were named 2016 finalists: Copper Mountain, Colo.; Okemo, Vt.; Sunday River, Maine; Whistler, B.C; Cataloochee, N.C.; and Stowe, Vt.

SAM Magazine—Auburn, Maine, Nov. 2, 2015—Scott Shanaman, a New Hampshire-based tramway inspector, is the new owner of Maine’s Lost Valley Ski Area. Home to 15 trails, two chairlifts and one lodge, the ski hill plans to open for the 2015-16 season on Dec. 18. The ski resort and banquet facility, located 35 miles southwest of Aug...

SAM Magazine—Avon, Colo., Oct. 30, 2016—A group of ski and snowboard instructors at Beaver Creek resort are looking to form a union, as early as this winter. If they are successful, the union would be the first of its kind in the United States. The instructors have asked the Communication Workers of American (CWA) in Denver to help them...

SAM Magazine—McCall, Idaho, Oct. 28, 2015—Brundage Mountain Resort is offering free lift tickets for its beginner chairlift this season in hopes of attracting newcomers of all ages. “We want to give people a free sample of the Brundage Mountain experience because we’re confident that they’ll fall in love with the sp...

SAM Magazine—Garden Valley, Idaho, Oct. 28, 2015—Idaho’s X-Sports Tubing Hill is now under the ownership of Jason and Kelly Sawin. X-Sports is home to 900-foot long tubing lanes ranging from beginner to advanced. The facility also has 15 miles of Nordic ski trails. The couple, who also own CHS Snowmakers, will be moving to Garden ...

SAM Magazine—Arapahoe Basin, Colo., Oct. 28, 2015—Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin will open for the 2015-16 winter season Oct. 29, matching the plan of neighbor Loveland Ski Area. “The recent cold weather and currently snowy conditions allow for a tremendous start to the season,” said Alan Henceroth, Arapahoe’s CEO....

SAM Magazine—Georgetown, Colo., Oct. 27, 2015—Loveland Ski Area will be the first resort in Colorado to open for the 2015-16 season on Thursday. That is, unless Arapahoe Basin gets open before then. “A winter storm delivered 17.5 inches of natural snow last week and brought the cold temperatures our snowmakers had been waiting ...

Jiminy's 12-acre installation can produce 2.3 megawatts. Photo courtesy of jiminypeak.com. The 12-acre installation located near the base Jiminy Peak encompasses 7,500 solar panels, making it the largest of its kind in the Northeast. The solar panels can produce 2.3 megawatts; combined with the resort’s 1.5 MW wind turbine,...

SAM Magazine—Boise, Idaho, Oct. 27, 2015—The board of directors at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area has chosen Brad Wilson to be the resort’s new general manager. Wilson has worked in a variety of management, marketing, sales and master planning roles over the past 30-plus yeas in the ski resort and hospitality industries. He ...

SAM Magazine—Ishpeming, Mich., Oct 26, 2015—The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame has chosen seven pioneers to join the Hall as part of the Class of 2015. They are: freestyle skiing world champions Genia Fuller and Bob Salerno; David Ingemie, president and CEO of Snowsports Industries America (SIA); former Skiing magazine publisher He...

The annual Toronto Snow Show, Oct. 15-18, 2015, at the International Centre, helped kick-start the upcoming Canadian winter ski season—as well as the North American consumer show season. Featuring a mix of vendors, local retailers and 40+ resorts from across North America, thousands of consumers flooded the trade show floor looking to purchas...

SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., Oct. 22, 2015—The economics of the ski industry, the minimum wage wave and the imperative to create increasing numbers of new skiers and riders has created an instructor shortage for many resorts across America. The Fairbank Group is tackling this problem by ramping up its efforts at all three of its resorts...

SAM Magazine—Squamish, B.C., Oct. 21, 2015—Plans to build a $3.5-billion four-season ski resort northeast of Squamish, B.C., face some key Provincial decisions this fall. The proposed resort on Mount Garibaldi’s Brohm Ridge could include 124 ski runs, three gondolas, 18 chairlifts and three interconnected villages, with 5,723 h...

SAM Magazine—Seward, Alaska, Oct. 21, 2015—While ski resorts across North America are slowly starting to open, the staff at Silverton Mountain Guides Heli Skiing scored powder turns and faceshots this week at their new base camp in Seward, Alaska. The new location complements Silverton's Colorado operation. “El Gordo [El Ni...

SAM Magazine—Pinkham Notch, N.H., Oct. 20, 2015—Wildcat Mountain was able to fire up snowmaking operations last Saturday, thanks to a cold weekend in which daytime temperatures hovered in the 20s and overnight dipped into the teens. The resort continued to make snow “non-stop” through Monday, according to its local ABC affil...

SAM Magazine—Victoria, Australia, Oct. 20, 2015—Australia’s Mount Hotham ski resort is investing AU$ 4.4 million in snowmaking infrastructure for 2016, the single biggest investment in snowmaking at the resort since its 2008 partnership with the government to install the Loch snowmaking dam, said GM Belinda Trembath. With the e...

SAM Magazine—Saint-Sauveur, Que., Oct. 19, 2015—Hot on the heels of Killington and Sunday River opening in the United States, Quebec’s Mont Saint-Sauveur is now the first resort open in Canada. Thanks to cold temperatures over the weekend and with the help of 16 hours of snowmaking, the hill opened today at noon, and will close...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Oct. 19, 2015—Peak Resorts, Inc. is arranging a $15 million line of credit to fund acquisitions and improvements at its current properties. The line of credit, being offered by the Royal Banks of Missouri, allows Peak Resorts to increase the limit to $20 million if needed. “This line of credit will a...

SAM Magazine—Fairfield, Idaho, Oct. 16, 2015—If you’ve ever wanted to own a ski resort, then today might be lucky day. Idaho’s Soldier Mountain Ski Area, once owned by actor Bruce Willis, is currently for sale at the low, low price of $149,000. The not-for-profit ski area currently owes money to the bank for three year&rs...

SAM Magazine—Burnsville. Minn., Oct. 16, 2015—Buck Hill Ski Area, founded in 1954 by Chuck and Nancy Stone, has been purchased by current general manager Don McClure, along with partners David Solner and his wife Corrine. McClure has been involved with Buck Hill for more than 40 years. David Solner has spent the past 23 years as a le...

SAM Magazine—Wrightwood, Calif., Oct. 16, 2015—Mountain High in Wrightwood, Calif., and Snow Valley in Running Spring, Calif., are offering reciprocal lift privileges this winter. Passholders at each area are entitled to three days of free riding at the other resort, excluding blackout holidays. “We’re excited about offer...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Oct. 16, 2015—While western mountain resorts just wrapped up their third consecutive record-breaking summer season, winter bookings are showing weakness for the first time in more than three years, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics. DestiMetrics draws its data from approximately 290 property managemen...

SAM Magazine—Toronto, Ontario, Oct 16, 2015—In the yearly battle to be the first resort to open in North America, Killington, Vt., is gunning for the top. The Beast of the East has targeted Sunday, Oct.18 as its opening day, hours ahead of rival Sunday River, Maine. During a Ski Vermont media reception on Oct. 15 in Toronto, Ont., he...

SAM Magazine—Bethel, Maine, Oct. 14, 2015—On the heels of a relatively warm early fall across much of the country, Maine’s Sunday River Ski Resort plans to open for the 2015-16 season on Monday, Oct. 19. If all goes according to plan, it will be the first resort in North America to open this season. The current forecast for wes...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., Oct 14, 2015—More than 120 ski and snowboard resorts have signed up to take part in a Guinness Book of World Records biggest-lesson-ever attempt in an effort to generate press coverage and a slew of newcomers to skiing and snowboarding. The event will take place at 10 a.m. local time Jan. 8, 2016 at res...

SAM Magazine—Turin, N.Y., Oct. 9, 2015—The mother and son duo of Cyndy Sisto and Nick Mir have taken ownership of Snow Ridge Ski Resort. The Adriondack resort was previously owned by Russell Horn. “Snow Ridge has a rich history of providing exceptional skiing and snowboarding for central and northern New York families,” s...

A view from the top of Killington looking down Superstar, site of the November 2016 Audi FIS Ski World Cup women's races. SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Oct. 9, 2015—It’s official, Killington Resort will host Audi FIS Ski World Cup races Nov. 26-27, 2016, on its Superstar trail. The first World Cup in eastern U.S. in...

A view from the top of Killington looking down Superstar, site of the proposed November 2016 Audi FIS Ski World Cup women's races. SAM Magazine—Oct. 2, 2015—The “Beast of the East” is one step closer to hosting an Audi FIS Ski World Cup in 2016, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in the eastern U.S. in...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Oct. 1, 2015—There are still several hours left to join the Guinness World Record ski and ride lesson attempt. With 103 resorts signed on by mid-afternoon, organizers hope to reach 120 by tonight’s midnight deadline. “Given the high potential for publicity and the very low risk, why wouldn&rsq...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Oct. 1, 2015—Resorts have until midnight tonight to register for the attempt to establish a Guinness World Record for the largest mass-participation ski and snowboard lessons. More than 80 resorts have already signed up for what may be the year’s greatest PR and photo op in winter sports, and others ar...

SAM Magazine—Bondville, Vt., Sept. 30, 2015—Bill Nupp has been promoted from interim manager to president and chief operating officer of Stratton Mountain Resort, effective immediately. “After an extensive nationwide search and deliberate process, the Intrawest leadership team is proud to promote from within and have Bill Nupp ...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Sept. 30, 2015—Total mountain revenue for Vail Resorts (VR) increased 11.6 percent to $1.4 billion for the 2015 fiscal year, fueled largely by a 10.1 percent increase in season pass and ticket prices and a 6.5 percent increase in total skier visits. The results also include one month of peak season operat...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Sept. 30, 2015—Chamonix’s Mont-Blanc Valley is now part of the Mountain Collective 2015/16 season pass program. Chamonix is the Collective’s first European resort, and the fourth international destination, joining Thredbo, Australia; Hakuba Valley, Japan; and Valley Nevado, Chile. The Collective no...

SAM Magazine—Kelowna, B.C., Sept. 30, 2015—According to CBC.ca, Crystal Mountain, a day ski area in West Kelowna, B.C., will not open for the 2015-16 winter season. In March 2014, one of Crystal’s chairlifts incurred a deropement, and three chairs fell to the ground. Four guests were taken to the hospital. As a result, the BC S...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Sept 29, 2015—In the never-ending debate over which resort is the best, Ski magazine released its 2016 Top 10 list of Western North American resorts today. The publication’s readers voted Whistler Blackcomb, B.C., as number one for the second straight year. The resort is celebrating its 50th anniversar...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., Sept. 29, 2015—There are only two days left to enter SAM’s 11th Annual Terrain Park contest, sponsored by Burton Snowboards. The magazine aims to showcase the most unique terrain park features and innovative park contests from last season. Start sorting through your creations and submit your entry for the feature and/or events categories.

Mount Sunapee's Bruce McCloy and Jay Gamble proudly display their "trophy" on a Pats Peak-mobile. SAM Magazine—Newbury, N.H., Sept. 29, 2015—Golf lore is filled with a number of classic slugfests played out on the greens, like the 1949 Motor City Open between Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum, or the 1981 Millio...

The annual ISKINY-PSAA Expo Sept. 21-23, 2015, at Lake Placid, N.Y., attracted more than 370 ski resort, vendor, and guest attendees from across North America. Two major themes dominated the gathering: the guest experience and risk management. Before diving into business, though, the fun kicked off with a tour of the operational areas at Whitefa...

The near-record turnout at this year's New England Summit Sept. 15-17 showed how much excitement there is in the region as resorts anticipate what El Nino will bring—including the possibility the Northeast is looking at another record-breaking snowfall year. Show organizer Bo Bigelow of the Ski Maine Association said the Summit drew 290 s...

SAM Magazine—New Hampshire, Sept. 21, 2015—It’s been a busy year with multi-resort companies and independent ski areas rolling out new pass partnerships (see Blue Pages, SAM Sept. issue). And now, it’s about to become even busier with the entry of the MiniMIX pass in New Hampshire. Available for only $199, the pass includ...

The continued growth in summer resort operations lured more than 160 attendees representing 50 resorts, along with 34 vendor partners, from across North America to SAM’s 6th annual Summer Ops Camp at Camelback Resort, Pa., Sept. 9-11. The three-day conference addressed several aspects of “The Serious Business of Summer Fun” and provided several opportunities to demo a variety of summer activities and different ways to program them.

SAM MAGAZINE—Zanesfield, Ohio, Sept. 18, 2015—The lodge at Mad River Mountain caught fire and was destroyed Wednesday night. The resort was closed at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. There is currently no information as to the cause of the fire. Reports indicate that part of the A-frame brick and mortar building i...

SAM MAGAZINE—Cortland, N.Y., Sept 16, 2015—Greek Peak is purchasing Toggenburg. During a press conference at Toggenburg today, former owner Jim Hickey and the new owners—who are also co-owners of Greek Peak Mountain Resort—Marc Stemerman and John Meier, addressed the details. Greek Peak Mountain Resort owners Marc Stemerm...

SAM Magazine—Taos, N.M., Sept. 16, 2015—Taos Ski Valley is increasing its minimum wage to $10 an hour, making it one of the higher paying resorts in the country for entry-level employees. As one of the largest private employers in the state, the resort decided to increase the minimum wage to ensure it retains and recruits the best em...

SAM Magazine—Mt. Hood, Ore., Sept. 16, 2015—Mt. Hood Meadows has appointed three employees, Steve Warila, Jeremy Riss and Matt Troskey, to new vice president roles in an effort to restructure and provide year-round recreational and hospitality experiences. Meadows COO Jake Bolland said, “This reorganization is designed to prope...

SAM Magazine—Toronto, Ont., Sept. 16, 2015—The C.J. Group of Companies has acquired the media brands of Toronto-based SBC Media. The acquisition includes eight magazines, all SBC websites, social media accounts and assets, which will now operate under C.J. Oyster Publishing, a division of the C.J. Group. The titles and brands now own...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Sept., 15, 2015—Intrawest Resort Holdings Inc., reported a major financial improvement in fiscal 2015, increasing revenues by 14 percent and cutting its net loss for the year by 96 percent. The improvements were due to the addition of 100 percent ownership of Blue Mountain, Ont., and the restructuring and ref...

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Sept., 15, 2015—Peak Resorts Inc, reduced its spending for its fiscal first quarter, ending July 31, 2015, helping to reduce its net loss to $7.1 million, compared to a net loss of $8.2 million during the previous year’s first quarter. The company cited lower interest expense for much of the improvement...