SAM Magazine--Whistler, B.C., May 15, 2014--Despite a downtick in visits, revenue saw a slight uptick for the three and six months ended March 31, 2014. Total revenue was $138.8 million (all amounts in Canadian dollars) and $188.6 million for the three and six months, respectively, increases of $6.6 million or 5% and $6.2 million or 3%, respectivel...

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 14, 2014—Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc. results for the three months ended March 31 improved, largely due to reduced interest expense following its successful IPO offering in February. Net income for the January-March quarter was $108.9 million, compared to $62.1 million for the year-ago quarter. Intrawest ...

SAM Magazine--West Dover, Vt., May 13, 2014--A jury found that there was a two-year contract in place between Mount Snow and Alli (whose parent company is NBC) with an option for a third year to host the Winter Dew Tour event. Alli performed the first year of the contract by holding the Winter Dew Tour at Mount Snow in January of 2010 but did no...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, May 12, 2014—Snowbird Resort’s Dick Bass has partnered with Ian Cumming in a move that took many by surprise. The families have formed a partnership that makes billionaire Cumming majority owner of the resort. Bass remains as chairman. Cumming has the deep financial pockets Snowbird needs for capit...

SAM Magazine--Cheyenne, Wyo., May 10, 2014--A Wyoming Federal Court jury took less than 30 minutes to decide that Snow King Ski Area and Mountain Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was not liable for a minor’s fall from a chairlift in December of 2009. Texas residents Leya and Glenn Oswald, the child’s parents, sued Snow King Ski Area and...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., May 9, 2014—In a sign of the underlying strength of the winter sports market, snowsports retail sales rose 7 percent this past season, to $3.6 billion, compared to the prior year, according to the RetailTRAK report from Leisure Trends and Snowsports Industries America (SIA). For the season, apparel sale...

SAM Magazine--North Woodstock, N.H., May 9, 2014--Jessyca Keeler has been selected by Ski New Hampshire's board of directors to serve as executive director of the state association, which represents 33 Alpine and cross-country resorts. Keeler is an avid skier and snowboarder and has been involved in the winter sports travel and tourism industry...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 5, 2014—Resorts nationwide tallied 56.2 million visits for the 2013-14 season, making a strong rebound in the latter stages after a weather-challenged start. The total represented a mere 1.3 percent drop from the previous season, according to preliminary results from the most recent Kottke National End ...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, May 1, 2014—Powdr Corp and Vail Resorts have continued to address one another through the media and public forums, including a series of public letters between the two companies’ CEOs and the Mountain Travel Symposium, as they await a judge’s ruling on the status of Park City Mountain Resort&rsq...

SAM Magazine--April 28, 2014--Several resorts announced record-breaking seasons today. First up, Stevens Pass, Wash., hosted more than 406,000 visits this winter making 2013/14 its largest season since visits have been electronically tracked. While much of the West Coast saw below average snowfall, Stevens Pass surpassed its 450-inch average with a...

SAM Magazine--Broomfield, Colo., April 24, 2014--Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR) reported certain season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the season through April 20, 2014 and were adjusted as if Canyons was owned in both periods (but they do not include Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton). In short, visits were up 2.3% and lift revenue w...

SAM Magazine—Vail, Colo., April 22, 2014—SAM's fifth annual Summer Ops Camp, a hands-on educational and networking event, will head to Vail, Colo., Sept. 3-5. The Camp gathers resort managers and operators from around North America to explore the exciting opportunities in four-season attractions. In addition to a full schedule of...

SAM Magazine—East Stroudsburg, Pa., April 23, 2014—A father and son team, Kevin Fabiano and Kevin Jr., has bought Alpine Mountain Ski Resort and launched a multi-million dollar renovation of the area, estimated to reach $3 million in improvements by December 2014. The Fabianos purchased the area from Appletree Resource Group, which h...

SAM Magazine—Houghton, Mich., April 17, 2014—Vern Barber, manager of Marquette Mountain, Mich., for the past 32 years, is joining Mount Bohemia as general manager. He starts his new job May 5. Mount Bohemia president Lonie Glieberman said that Barber will be charged with managing the resort’s growing lodging facilities and year...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., April 16, 2014—The U.S. Forest Service has finalized policy guidelines that will open opportunities for ski areas to develop and offer a variety of year-round recreation activities on the National Forests. The revised directives stem from the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011. &q...

SAM Magazine—Breckenridge, Colo., April 16, 2014—Occupancy and revenue remained on an upward trend at destination resorts through March, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics. Results varied with the weather for the three major regions covered in the firm’s monthly report. But strong summer reservations across all three regions f...

SAM Magazine--Queensbury, N.Y., April 3, 2014--April Fool's Day was no joke for West Mountain--the area has exited bankruptcy. According to the Post Star, the final decree was made public this past Tuesday. Apex Capital, which has been operating the area since last summer and who bought the first mortgage on the property in November of last yea...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., April 3, 2014—SAM Magazine is proud to announce the 2014 SAMMY Leadership Award winners: Patricia Campbell, Kevin Stickelman, and Laura and Matt O’Brien. The awards, given annually to individuals who will shape the future of the mountain resort industry, are in their 17th year. Patricia C...

SAM Magazine--Orlando, Fla., March 31, 2014--CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (or REIT), today announced its operating results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013. As of March 14, 2014, CNL owned a portfolio of 145 lifestyle properties, 73 of which are wholly-owned and run by operators under long-term, triple-ne...

SAM Magazine--Boise, Idaho, March 28, 2014--In an effort to reflect the changing landscape of the mountain resort, Idaho is the latest state to update its bill that oversees ski areas. The governor signed Bill 462 on March 26 and the new Bill goes into effect on July 1, 2014. The update expanded the skiing language to include snowboarding and other...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Mar. 26, 2014—As the Talisker-Vail-Park City Mountain Resorts’ (PCMR) lease lawsuits head toward two crucial court dates in April, action has been heating up. The latest move: Vail Resorts (VR) has said it is willing to buy PCMR’s base facilities. Vail CEO Rob Katz made this bid in a letter t...

SAM Magazine--Mars Hill, N.C., March 26, 2014--A lodge located at the top of Wolf Ridge Ski Resort burned to the ground during the early hours today. Called the Ridge Lodge, it was built to handle overflow from the base area lodge and to accommodate guests staying in the resort's cabins at the summit. The lodge was unoccupied at the time of the...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Mar. 21, 2014—Intrawest saw increased visits at its resorts in the early season, and that fueled revenue growth for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, Intrawest Resort Holdings reported earlier this week. The report and subsequent call with analysts also indicated that Intrawest sees potential for growth in the future...

SAM Magazine--Salt Lake City, Utah, March 19, 2014--Ski Utah and representatives from Alta, Brighton, Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), Snowbird, and Solitude held a news conference today at Ski Utah’s headquarters to announce their support for an over-the-snow connection between all seven resorts via chairlift and ski r...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Mar. 17, 2014—Reflecting its diversified holdings across Colorado, Utah, and California, where this winter’s weather has been both favorable and not, Vail Resorts saw net income decline 2.1 percent, to $59.1 million, for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 ended Jan. 31, 2014. Visit growth of 11.9 per...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., March 17, 2014--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today that its 21 member resorts reported an increase in skier and snowboarder visitation in January and February. Visits at CSCUSA resorts, which do not include any resorts owned by Vail Resorts, were up by 8.6 percent during the second period of the 2013/14 s...

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 13, 2014—Advance reservations at mountain resorts in both the Rockies and the Northeast were strong in February. As of Feb. 28, with nearly 95 percent of all winter lodging business either completed or on the books, lodging visits showed a 4.6 percent increase for the 2013-14 season (November through April) co...

SAM Magazine--Crystal Mountain, Wash., March 11, 2014--Guests checking out Crystal Mountain's website this morning for the Mountain Report found this: The bottom of the High Campbell chairlift was taken out by a very large avalanche late yesterday afternoon. The area was closed and nobody was hurt. The avalanche was triggered by an explosive...

SAM Magazine--Tamarack, Ida., March 11, 2014--In an auction on Monday, Credit Suisse, the main creditor for Tamarack, was the only bidder for three large sections of Tamarack Resort at a sheriff's sale. According to KTVB news, Credit Suisse now owns most of the physical properties instead of collateral interest, including the mountain assets an...

SAM Magazine--March 11, 2014-- Whistler, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Alta, Snowbird and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, members of the Mountain Collective, which offers purchasers two days at each of the destinations, plus a 50% discount on all additional days, have released an expanded pass product for the 2014/15 season. A limited number of passes...

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., March 10, 2014—The snow sports retail market finished January up 4 percent in units sold and up 7 percent in dollars, reaching $2.8 billion for the season to date (August through January), according to the SIA RetailTRAK. The report is prepared by Leisure Trends for SnowSports Industries America (SIA). Tot...

SAM Magazine--Olympic Valley, Calif., March 10, 2014--Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are teaming up with Sugar Bowl next season to offer passholders sliding privileges at all three resorts, plus Royal Gorge Cross Country. Holders of Squaw/Alpines's Gold pass are allowed four free days at Sugar Bowl and Royal Gorge. Sugar Bowl's unrestricte...

SAM Magazine--Albany, N.Y., March 10, 2014--New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of the ‘I Ski NY’ Bus, a new, dedicated bus line to 13 upstate ski mountains from New York City and Toronto to begin service for the 2014-2015 winter ski season. Currently, only two mountains—Hunter and Windham Mountains...

SAM Magazine—Pagosa Springs, Colo., Mar. 7, 2014—On Tuesday, Mar. 4, Wolf Creek Ski Area avalanche technician and senior patroller Colin Sutton was caught in an avalanche while conducting an exploration and research mission via helicopter on Conejos Peak. The avalanche occurred at about 1:30 p.m. He was immediately dug out by his partne...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Mar. 7, 2014—Some of the world’s best snowboarders will descend on Aspen March 19-23 to try their hand on a halfpipe—or two—that is unlike anything done before. For this Red Bull Signature Series event, two competition-spec halfpipes will be constructed side-by-side, complete with rails, wall...

SAM Magazine--Richmond, Utah, March 6, 2014--A new resort in Cache County, Utah, (close to Logan) is set to open its doors next season, bringing the state's total to 15 mountain resorts. Called Cherry Peak Ski Resort, the small 200-acre resort will postion itself as a teaching mountain. According to Utah Public Radio, the resort will feature th...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., March 6, 2014--Like cell phone companies, Intrawest has roled out a new pass product designed for the "modern" family. Called the Intrawest Passport, the pass will offer children 12 and under free skiing and riding, as well as redefine who can be included in the product. The season pass includes six days of sk...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 28, 2014—With many resorts already selling season passes for the 2014-15 season, Vail Resorts (VR) is adding one of the snowiest powder skiing resorts in the world—Niseko, Japan—to its Epic Pass program. Epic Passholders will receive five complimentary consecutive days at Niseko, Japan, f...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Feb. 28, 2014—Olympian Tiger Shaw will take over as president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) effective Mar. 3 as part of a planned transition, replacing longtime USSA chief Bill Marolt. Shaw was named chief operating officer last fall. He has spent the last five months working c...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 26, 2014—Despite the legalization of private use of marijuana in Colorado, public use of pot remains illegal. And so, over the past several weeks, Vail Resorts (VR) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have destroyed a number of structures associated with prohibited marijuana use. The structures had be...

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 24, 2014—A record-matching 17 Team USA skiers and snowboarders left the Sochi Olympic Winter Games with medals, including a record eight gold in on-snow events. Of course, it helped that there were more events for skiers and snowboarders—a total of 30 in all, including new slopestyle and ski halfpi...

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 24, 2014—Canadian skiers and snowboarders racked up a dozen medals during the Sochi Games, nearly half of the 25 medals won by Canadian athletes. They also took home four of Canada’s 10 gold medals. All that helped Canada rank fourth in the overall medal count, and third in the gold-medal count, ju...

SAM Magazine—North Woodstock, N.H., Feb. 21, 2014—Winter resorts in New Hampshire generated $1.15 billion in direct and secondary sales for the 2012-13 season, according to Ski NH’s most recent economic study. That impact stemmed from visits by 3.26 million winter and summer guests at the group’s 33 member areas and more tha...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 19, 2014—Buffeted by the weather, destination lodging occupancy in the East and West was up 4.7 percent for the November-January period compared to a year ago, according to research firm DestiMetrics. With 85 percent of visits either completed or on the books, lodging properties surveyed by DestiMetrics appear ...

SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Feb. 18, 2014—Heavenly Mountain Resort has formally objected to the U.S. Forest Service's 15-year land management plan for Lake Tahoe. In a letter, the resort said that the Forest Service plan would limit future expansion of the four resorts in the Tahoe Basin to just 200 acres in total and ign...

SAM Magazine--Hillsdale, N.Y., February 13, 2014--Catamount announced a 10-year master plan that includes a luxury ski in/ski out condominium complex called The Berkshire Mountain Club. The 66 fully furnished suites will have full kitchens and be available in studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom unit configurations with amenities, such as a restaurant/loun...

SAM Magazine--Stowe, Vt., February 13, 2014--Spruce Peak Realty, LLC and Stowe Mountain Lodge, LLC, affiliates of Stowe Mountain Resort, along with a group of owners of 40 condominium units at Stowe Mountain Lodge, announced that they have reached an agreement in principle as to the terms of a settlement resolving a putative class action lawsuit al...

SAM Magazine--Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois, February 12, 2014--Employees at Le Massif de Charlevoix voted yesterday for the right to strike. Management has been in negotiations with the union, which only includes mountain employees and not hotel or train employees, but were unable to come to an agreement. In the meantime, the resort said that it w...

SAM Magazine—Dixville Notch, N.H., Feb. 12, 2014—The owners of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel and the Balsams Wilderness Ski Area have engaged American Skiing Company founder Les Otten to help redevelop the hotel and resort, which have been closed for the past three years. Otten, founder and former president of the American Skiing Co...

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 8, 2014—Acting on an idea first promoted by SAM five years ago, NBC Olympics, in partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee and national governing bodies including the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), has created the Olympic Gold Map to help newcomers take up Olympic sports and existing partic...

SAM Magazine—Woodbury Conn., Feb. 7, 2014—After years of circling around the conversion question, resorts across North America are deploying new and innovative approaches to the learning experience. Novel programs aimed at increasing trial and conversion are seeing big success at several resorts, and were all the rage at the NSAA East a...

SAM Magazine—Martinsville, N.J., Feb. 4, 2014—As the wintersport season nears its midpoint, several sources are weighing in with their projections for the season. RRC estimates resort visit totals will range between 51 and 53 million, depending on weather and other factors over the season’s second half, while destination lodging v...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., January 31, 2014-- Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc., which counts Winter Park, Stratton, Steamboat, Mont Tremblant, Blue Mountain and Snowshoe among its holdings, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 15,625,000 shares of its common stock at $12 per share yesterday. The Company priced 3,125,000 shares ...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 30, 2014—Bolstered by strong retail sales this season, the annual Snowsports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show kicked off this morning with a "Sendoff to Sochi" opening ceremony. The event showcased the various official uniforms of the U.S. alpine, freestyle, snowboard, and freeskiing teams. With 94 ...

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014—Another local's area is getting a new lease on life: Skyline Mountain Base, an investment group comprised of local and European investors, has acquired the Wolf Mountain ski resort here from America First Credit Union. No terms of the deal were disclosed. Wolf Mountain fell into bankruptcy i...

SAM Magazine--West Dover, Vt., January 24, 2014--A 120-million-gallon water storage pond for snowmaking and a new 36,000-square-foot base lodge for guest services are two of the projects Mount Snow will fund through EB-5, an immigrant investor program. The projects, newly approved under the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center, total $52 million in investm...

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Jan. 23, 2014—Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) and ESPN have reached an agreement that will have the X Games calling Aspen/Snowmass its home until 2019. Now in its 13th year, ESPN chose to continue its long-term partnership with ASC, already the longest-tenured X Games host. And by 2019, Aspen/Snowmass will have hos...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 16, 2014—Favorable snowfall in December in most mountain regions in the U.S. helped boost lodging occupancy and revenues for the month, according to DestiMetrics (formerly the Mountain Travel Research Program, aka MTRiP). The upward trend in both occupancy and revenue is carrying into the remainder of the seaso...

SAM Magazine--Salt Lake City, Utah, January 15, 2014--Wasatch Equality announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Alta and The U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to open the ski area up to snowboarders. The non-profit group was formed solely for this purpose. The following is a portion of the group's release: SALT LAKE CITY — J...