SAM Magazine—Princeton, Mass., Nov. 21, 2024—Wachusett Mountain co-owner and ski industry leader David Crowley died Wednesday, Nov. 20. He was 69.  Crowley succumbed to a rare degenerative neurological disease called progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP. He was diagnosed several years ago. There is no known cure.  Wachusett shared the new...

SAM Magazine—Greenwood, Maine, Nov. 21, 2024—Mt. Abram Ski Area & Bike Park hired Josh Thompson as its new general manager. Thompson previously served as a mountain operations manager at Sunday River, Maine. “With over 15 years in the ski industry, specializing in mountain operations and risk management, Josh brings a wealth of expertise...

SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., Nov. 20, 2024—Vail Resorts named JD Crichton as the new vice president and general manager of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, effective Dec. 9. Crichton has served as director and general manager of Wildcat Mountain Resort in New Hampshire since 2021.Credit Myles Harrigan, Wildcat Mountain Resort As general man...

SAM Magazine—Bennington, N.H., Nov. 21, 2024—Vail Resorts has promoted Deirdre Riley to general manager of Crotched Mountain, effective Nov. 25. Riley most recently served as senior mountain operations manager at Attitash Mountain, N.H.Credit Vail Resorts    “With nearly 25 years in the ski industry, Deirdre brings a wealth of experie...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 19, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company closed the purchase of Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, expanding Alterra’s portfolio to 18 mountain destinations. A-Basin president and COO Alan Henceroth, who has been with the resort for 36 years, will continue to lead the resort and oversee daily operations with his longtime team....

SAM Magazine—Petaluma, Calif., Nov. 19, 2024—The Ski California board of directors has appointed 47-year industry veteran John Rice as the association’s new president. Rice, who has served as vice president and general manager of Sierra-at-Tahoe since 1993, succeeds Mike Reitzell, who was named president and CEO of the National Ski Areas Asso...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Nov. 15, 2024—The pace and pattern of early bookings at Western mountain destinations is largely consistent with last winter, according to the Monthly Market Briefing from the Business Intelligence division of Inntopia, which aggregates data from 28,000 lodging units in 17 mountain destination communities across...

SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Nov. 13, 2024—Vermont’s Killington Resort and Maine’s Sunday River are both opening Nov. 14 at 9 a.m., making them the first Northeast ski areas to open for daily operations.Courtesy of Sunday River The first day at each resort will be exclusively for passholders; the general public can get on snow starting Nov...

SAM Magazine—Los Alamos, N.M., Nov. 13, 2024—A “monster” early-season storm allowed Pajarito Mountain to open five weeks ahead of schedule last weekend on Nov. 9.  “This is historic for Pajarito Mountain,” said general manager Jasen Bellomy. “It’s been about 40 years since Pajarito has been able to open before Thanksgiving.”  ...

SAM Magazine—Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 13, 2024—The Australian Ski Areas Association (ASAA), which represents the interests of Australia’s ski areas and their stakeholders, has named Josh Elliott as its new chief executive officer. His appointment comes as the ASAA looks to strengthen its position as a leading advocate for the snow industry...

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:  CHRIS INGHAM, BRECKENRIDGE RESORT, CO Chris Ingham was appointed vice president of operations for Breckenri...

SAM Magazine—Tooele, Utah, Nov. 8, 2024—Italy-based snowmaking equipment manufacturer Demaclenko named Diego Facchinetti as the new general manager for Demaclenko North America, which serves the Canadian and U.S. markets.Andreas Lambacher and Diego Facchinetti He is responsible for leading the company’s local teams, developing new market str...

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Nov. 8, 2024—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe dropped ropes today on 1,000 vertical feet of skiing and riding. It’s one of several western ski areas to open for the early season in recent days.Courtesy of Breckenridge Natural snow and cold temps that allowed Mt. Rose to fire up its snow guns enabled the resort to be the first to ...

SAM Magazine—Palmerton, Pa., Nov. 7, 2024—A brush fire has burned several hundred acres near Blue Mountain Resort, Pa., this week. The resort has supported fire crews in efforts to suppress the Gap Fire, also called the Blue Mountain fire.Courtesy of Blue Mountain The fire, which is reportedly no longer advancing, is burning roughly 4 miles to...

SAM Magazine—Stowe, Vt., Nov. 7, 2024—Vail Resorts appointed Mike Giorgio as general manager of Stowe Mountain Resort, effective Nov. 18. Giorgio mostly recently led six of Vail Resorts’ Midwest ski areas as regional general manager. He was based out of Mt. Brighton Resort, Mich. Credit to Vail Resorts “Mike’s appointment as the new GM...

SAM Magazine—Glenwood, N.Y., Nov. 1, 2024—Kissing Bridge Ski Resort was sold to California tech investor Rhett McNulty for $1.06 million. McNulty formed Kissing Bridge All Seasons Resort Inc. in Wyoming to purchase the ski area, which is about 40 minutes south of Buffalo.  While the deal closed this week, McNulty told Buffalo Business First t...

SAM Magazine—Saint Paul, Minn., Nov. 1, 2024—The Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) has named Bo Bigelow as its next executive director, effective today. His predecessor Amy Reents stepped down in October after leading MSAA for more than eight years.  Bigelow will continue to serve as executive director of the Minnesota Ski Areas Associatio...

SAM Magazine—Leadville, Colo., Nov. 1, 2024—Starting this winter, Ski Cooper lift ticket rates will be the same online as they are at the ticket window, bucking the trend of ski areas charging top dollar on-site to incentivize guests to purchase tickets in advance online at a discounted rate. The nonprofit ski area has also reduced its Monday-T...

SAM Magazine—Truckee, Calif., Nov. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts has named Tara Schoedinger vice president and general manager of Northstar California Resort, effective Nov. 11. She moves from Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colo., where she served in the same role. At Northstar, Schoedinger takes over for Amy Ohran, who became president and COO of Palis...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 31, 2024—Snowbasin, Utah, earned the top spot in the West and Mad River Glen, Vt., repeated as the best in the East in the 2025 SKI Reader Survey Awards. There were a few big movers in the rankings, both up and down, as well as a continued affinity for independent resorts. Rankings are based on responses from S...

SAM Magazine—Revelstoke, British Columbia, Oct. 30, 2024—Dave Morrison is the new CEO of Mica Heliskiing, a boutique heliski operation and lodge in the Canadian Rockies. Morrison has more than 25 years of ski industry experience.  “Dave Morrison is a proven leader with a remarkable track record in managing and growing luxury ski resorts and...

SAM Magazine—New York City, Oct. 30, 2024—The Mountain Collective Pass has expanded its network of resorts with the additions of Sunday River, Maine, and Megève, France, for the 2024-25 season, bringing the total number of resort partners to 27 worldwide.  “These two world-class resorts complement our existing network perfectly,” said Mo...

SAM Magazine—Bear Valley, Calif., Oct. 29, 2024—The California Mountain Resort Company (CMRC) has appointed new general managers to two of its ski areas: Brad Cumberland was promoted to general manager of Bear Valley, and Troy Cohee was promoted to general manager of China Peak.Brad Cumberland and Troy Cohee “At Bear Valley, we've restructu...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 23, 2024—SAM invites ski area operators to participate in a new survey aimed at gathering insights into summer business and operations. The survey, launching today, seeks to capture the latest trends and challenges faced by ski areas as they continue to evolve their operations. Responses are requested by Monday,...

SAM Magazine—New York City, Oct. 24, 2024—Indy Pass has added access to 30 more alpine, cross-country, and indoor ski areas for the 2024-25 season, including Loveland Ski Area, Colo., and 12 resorts in Innsbruck, Austria. The additions were revealed at a media event in New York City Wednesday night. With the additions, Indy Pass will release a...

SAM Magazine—Jackson Hole, Wyo., Oct. 24, 2024—Mountain Towns 2030 gathered 540 attendees from the ski industry, government entities, and other stakeholder groups in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Oct. 14-16, for the annual Climate Solutions Summit. The event focused on innovative solutions to combat the effects of climate change and issued a resoundin...

SAM Magazine—Shrewsbury, Mass., Oct. 21, 2024—Thanks to its all-weather snowmaking system, Massachusetts’ Ski Ward has staked its claim as the first ski area in North America to open for lift-served skiing and snowboarding for the second year in a row.Courtesy of Ski Ward Several Colorado ski areas also appear ready to drop ropes in the comin...

SAM Magazine—Homewood, Calif., Oct. 14, 2024—Homewood Mountain Resort will not operate for 2024-25 after its financial partner withdrew its support for this upcoming winter season, the Lake Tahoe ski area said in an announcement published on its website. Homewood cited financial viability and delays in approvals to proposed updates of the resor...

SAM Magazine—Jackson, N.H., Oct. 5, 2024—At a standing room only crowd at Black Mountain, Indy Pass and Entabeni Systems announced they have purchased Black Mountain from the Fichera family, who have owned and operated the ski area for the past 30 years. Indy Pass managing director and Entabeni Systems founder Erik Mogensen, who spoke at the co...

Photo courtesy of Kim Jochl.SAM Magazine—Banner Elk, N.C., Oct. 2, 2024—Ski areas in the mountains of western North Carolina appear to have suffered relatively minimal damage from Hurricane Helene, which caused historic flooding after dropping 1-2 feet of rain, or more, through a wide swath of mountain communities in a short time, Sept. 26-27. ...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 2, 2024—Eleven up-and-coming industry leaders have been selected to participate as mentees in the SAM Summit Series leadership development program. Hailing from resorts of all sizes across North America, the mentees represent many different departments and roles.   The 2024-25 Summit Series mentees are: Jos...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts has unveiled a "resource efficiency transformation plan" that will save $100 million over the next two years, and then $100 million a year after that. The plan is designed to improve organizational effectiveness through a combination of scaled operations, global shared services, and exp...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts' Epic Pass product sales through Sept. 20, 2024, for the upcoming 2024-25 North American ski season decreased approximately 3 percent in units and increased approximately 3 percent in revenue in sales compared to the prior year through Sept. 22, 2023. Pass sales dollars are benefiting...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 1, 2024—Vail Resorts reported its Q4 and full-year 2024 results last week for the fiscal year ending July 31, detailing what was a difficult 2023-24 season across North America and in Australia. Even so, VR fared relatively well compared to the record fiscal year 2023 that preceded it. VR also revealed a "r...

SAM’s Snow People highlights 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:  Nelson Wingard and Corey Peterson COREY PETERSON and NELSON WINGARD, STEAMBOAT SKI RESORT, CO Steamboat Ski Resort ha...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 30, 2024—Ski areas across North America are invited to nominate their snowmaking teams to participate in the 10th annual “I AM a Snowmaker” contest, presented by HKD Snowmakers. The “I AM” contest offers the opportunity for a handful of resorts to showcase their snowmaking teams and the work they do via...

SAM Magazine—Newbury, N.H., Sept. 26, 2024—Vail Resorts named Susan Donnelly as the new general manager of Mount Sunapee, effective October 7. Donnelly most recently served as general manager of Crotched Mountain Resort, N.H. She fills the role previously held by Peter Disch, who became VP of mountain operations at Heavenly, Calif., in August ...

SAM Magazine—Salida, Colo., Sept. 24, 2024—Monarch Mountain has appointed Chris Haggerty as the new general manager of the ski area. Haggerty succeeds retiring GM and COO Randy Stroud, who will stay on for the 2024-25 winter season to help with the transition.  “Having worked various positions in the industry, Haggerty will provide a unique...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Sept. 24, 2024—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has appointed Ski California president Mike Reitzell as its new president and CEO. Reitzell will replace Kelly Pawlak, who gave her notice in May that she would be stepping down as the leader of NSAA.  "Mike’s passion for the ski industry and his impressi...

SAM Magazine—Greenwood Village, Colo., Sept. 23, 2024—PNP Supply reached a partnership agreement with Demaclenko that will support and expand North American distribution of TRM (Tiroler Rohre GmbH) ductile-iron pipe for snowmaking systems. TRM is based in Tirol, Austria, and PNP Supply LLC has been the exclusive North American importer of the ...

SAM Magazine—Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Sept. 23, 2024—Andrew Rusynyk has been appointed as general manager of Pass Powderkeg (PPK) Ski Hill and the Pass Community Pool, both owned and operated by the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. Rusynyk started on September 16 and has since been integrating into PPK’s operations, which include hiking and mo...

SAM Magazine—Blue River, British Columbia, Sept. 23, 2024— Alterra Mountain Company has promoted Elias Ortner to president and COO of Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing (MWHS), based in Blue River, British Columbia, effective immediately. In his new role, Ortner, who most recently served as general manager of MWHS, is responsible for all operati...

SAM Magazine—East Madison, N.H., Sept. 20, 2024—Shawn Taylor has been promoted to general manager of King Pine, N.H. Taylor, who started as a seasonal employee at King Pine in 1986 and has been year-round since 1996, previously served as the ski area’s assistant general manager. During his time a King Pine, Taylor has contributed to nearly e...

SAM Magazine—Cortland, N.Y., Sept. 20, 2024—The annual Ski NY-SkiPA Expo was held at Greek Peak Mountain Resort on Sept. 15-18, welcoming more than 300 ski area and supplier attendees for educational sessions, a trade show, and networking opportunities.  According to Ski Areas of New York (SANY), attendance was down slightly from last year. N...

SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Sept. 17, 2024—Lodging properties in Western mountain destinations eased back on daily rate increases over the summer and successfully boosted summer occupancy. The same strategy has sparked a significant boost in early bookings for the upcoming winter. That's the latest news from the monthly Market Briefing fro...

SAM Magazine—Wrightwood, Calif., Sept. 13, 2024—Leadership at Mountain High were able to return to the resort over the last two days to start assessing the damage from the Bridge Fire, which moved through the ski area Tuesday night and remains active in Angeles National Forest.Courtesy of Mountain High Karl Kapuscinski, CEO of California Mount...

SAM Magazine—Newry, Maine, Sept. 12, 2024—The New England Summit returned to Sunday River, Sept. 9-11, where more than 400 attendees from all over the Northeast participated in educational sessions, a trade show, and networking events.    Host Ski Maine held the event in Portland, Maine, in 2023, and it will return there to the Holiday Inn b...

SAM Magazine—Ishpeming, Mich., Sept. 12, 2024—The 10 members of the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Class of 2024 were unveiled yesterday in Lake Placid, N.Y. The group of Olympians, Paralympians, sport builders, and pioneers will be inducted, along with Class of 2023 member Jeff Brushie, at the annual Snowsports History Celebrat...

SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Sept. 13, 2024—Indy Pass is offering a new employee pass program that the company said is designed to help its partner ski areas recruit seasonal staff and retain year-round employees. Like the consumer Indy Pass product, employees at Indy Pass partner ski areas that opt-in to the program can redeem two days of skiin...

SAM Magazine—San Bernardino, Calif., Sept. 11, 2024—The Bridge Fire, burning in the Angeles National Forest, grew exponentially on Tuesday, surging into Mountain High resort and the communities of Wrightwood and Mt. Baldy, which are under mandatory evacuation orders. Credit to ALERTCalifornia An update from the Wrightwood Fire Safe Council at...

SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Sept. 9, 2024—Evacuation orders are in place for Mt. Rose –Ski Tahoe and neighboring Sky Tavern as firefighters work to contain the Davis Fire. A screen capture from the ALERTNevada webcam on top of Slide Mountain, the peak of Mt. Rose – Ski Tahoe. The 6,500-acre wildfire, which started in the Washoe Valley south ...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Sept. 6, 2024—Alterra Mountain Company has invested more than $300 million in capital improvements ahead of the 2024-25 season. The capital investment cycle included major projects at Deer Valley, Utah, and Winter Park, Colo., among others. The first phase of the East Village expansion at Deer Valley will debut this winter...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 6, 2024—SAM Magazine is offering a virtual Ski Resort AI Bootcamp this fall, aimed at informing resort personnel of the available artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and teaching practical AI skills, including the pros and cons of the various tools. The bootcamp, led by Mike Lannen of the digital agency ...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Sept. 4, 2024 – Alterra Mountain Company has named Amy Ohran the new president and COO of Palisades Tahoe. She succeeds Dee Byrne, who is retiring after 40 years in the industry.  “I am very excited for this new opportunity at the legendary Palisades Tahoe,” said Ohran, in part, in a statement. “I look forward to le...

SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Sept. 4, 2024—After nearly three decades leading Big Sky Resort, president and chief operating officer Taylor Middleton will step down from day-to-day responsibilities on Oct. 1, 2024.Taylor Middleton and Troy Nedved Current general manager Troy Nedved will succeed him, assuming both the president and COO positions....

SAM Magazine—McCall, Idaho, Sept. 4, 2024—Brundage Mountain Resort has established a new fire department based at the resort and will soon be a licensed EMS transport provider, creating its own independent emergency response agencies that will serve the resort area. The new Brundage Mountain Fire Protection Association (BMFPA) hired a fire chi...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 4, 2024—Nine mentors have been named for the seventh annual SAM Summit Series leadership development program, which will explore the theme “Leadership During Times of Constant Change” this year. In the mentor/mentee program, emerging resort leaders engage and learn from top industry veterans on a variety ...

SAM Magazine—Canmore, Alberta, Aug. 30, 2024—Switzerland-based wire rope manufacturer Fatzer AG has acquired Canada-based Rocky Mountain Lift Services and Supplies Inc., aka Rigging Specialties. Rocky Mountain Lift Services and Supplies Inc. (RMLSS) provides products and services for rope rigging applications as well as rope installations, mag...

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., Aug. 30, 2024—National Ski Patrol (NSP) is expanding its membership to include working patrollers who have first responder credentials, such as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), wilderness first responders (WFRs), and paramedics. NSP had previously only opened membership to those who intended to take or had alr...

SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 28, 2024—The 2024 Rise Up Challenge, sponsored by Leitner-Poma of America, highlighted up-and-coming lift mechanics and their lift maintenance teams from six ski areas across North America: Berkshire East, Mass.; Crystal Mountain, Wash.; Mount Sunapee, N.H.; Palisades Tahoe, Calif.; Purgatory, Colo.; and Snowbir...