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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—Montville, N.J., April 21, 2021—SNOW Operating has appointed Jeff Boliba chief operating officer for its SnowCloud technology company. Boliba spent the last 21 years with Burton Snowboards, most recently as its global marketing vice president of sport and participation. In his role with SnowCloud, he’ll be responsible for helping...
SAM Magazine—East Rutherford, N.J., April 14, 2021—Big SNOW American Dream named Mark Dobrowolski as its new general manager. Dobrowolski has been serving as interim GM since former general manager Jim Haas died in March. Dobrowolski joined Big SNOW, a year-round, indoor snowsports venue, as the guest experience manager in October 2019, prio...
SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., April 5, 2021—Alterra Mountain Company has promoted Mark Brownlie from regional chief operating officer (RCOO) for the company’s Western Region to chief operating officer of resorts. Working with the COO of hospitality to drive profitability and growth, Brownlie will oversee all of the company’s 15 destination op...
Resorts Maggie Murray and Jesse True, Arapahoe Basin, Colo. Arapahoe Basin welcomed Maggie Murray as its new finance director and Jesse True as its new marketing director. Murray began her career at Morgan Stanley in Boston before realizing that office towers were not her natural habitat. Her background includes top finance roles in local n...
RESORTS Sarah Sherman, Snowbird Sarah Sherman has been appointed communications manager at Snowbird, working within the marketing team to oversee the resort’s public and media relations and communications. Originally from Los Angeles, Sherman began her career as a snow reporter at Mammoth Mountain after graduating from the University of Souther...
In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. STEVE KRUSE, TIMBERLINE LODGE After 31 years at Timberline Lodge, Ore., longtime GM Steve Kruse has retired. Kruse was a World Cup technician in the 1980s and started at Timberline as the rental and repair m...
SAM Magazine—Wausau, Wis., July 8, 2020—Granite Peak Ski Resort has hired industry veteran Greg Fisher as its new general manager and marketing director. Fisher will be responsible for the overall operations of Granite Peak, including overseeing mountain operations, skier services, food and beverage, ski school operations, facilities, and resor...
In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. For even more updates on industry people, be sure to read News & Views in the upcoming July issue of SAM. Resorts Don Finn, Crystal Mountain, Wash. Don Finn started as Crystal Mountain’s director of sales on March 15...
Snow People is our monthly roundup of happenings to the people of and around the mountain resort industry. Send any personnel news to: news@saminfo.com. CHRIS JARNOT, MAYFLOWER MOUNTAIN VILLAGE, UTAH Industry veteran , and former SAMMY winner, Chris Jarnot has accepted a consulting role with Extell Development Company (EDC), focusing on Extell’...
SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Feb. 7, 2020—Following a strong western meeting in Squaw Valley, the 2020 National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Eastern Winter Conference and Trade Show was held at Killington Resort, Feb. 4 and 5. A big crowd of 677 ski area operators, suppliers, and speakers gathered for informative sessions, great skiing and rid...
Snow People is our monthly roundup of happenings to the people of and around the mountain resort industry. Send any personnel news to: news@saminfo.com.Longtime lift mechanic and operations manager Jeff Harvey Sr., right, stands with his son, Jeff Jr., at Ski Butternut. Jeff Harvey, Sr., and Jeff Harvey, Jr., Ski Butternut, Mass.Jeff Harvey Sr., o...
SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., Jan. 17, 2020—A variety of important topics and current issues were presented, pondered, and discussed at the 2020 National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Western Winter Conference and Trade Show, held at Squaw Valley, Calif., Jan. 14 and 15. A crowd of 687 ski area operators, suppliers, and speakers were full...
Snow People is our monthly roundup of happenings to the people of and around the mountain resort industry. Send any personnel news to: news@saminfo.com. SAMMIE LUKASKIEWICZ, CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, MICH. Longtime communications professional Sammie Lukaskiewicz has joined Crystal Mountain as public relations director. Since 2017, Lukaskiewicz had been w...
Snow People is our monthly roundup of happenings to the people of and around the mountain resort industry. Send any personnel news to: news@saminfo.com.RICK HERLIHY, WINTER PARK, COLO.Rick Herlihy has transitioned within Alterra Mountain Company from senior revenue manager at Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va., to director of sales at Winter Park, Colo. Herl...
CRANMORE, N.H.Cranmore Mountain Resort, N.H., announced several staffing updates. In resort operations, Tricia Garcia has been promoted to director of base area operations. She brought on Gregg Ludvigson as the resort’s new mountain bike and ski rental shop manager. Linda Dean, former member services supervisor at the rec...
SAM Magazine—Jay Peak, Vt., Oct. 11, 2019—The third annual Mountain Technology Symposium, held Oct. 2-4 at Jay Peak Resort, Vt., drew more than 130 ski industry tech leaders and suppliers to discuss the future of technology in the ski industry. A pre-conference survey highlighted that, according to attendees, the biggest resort challenge and th...
SAM Magazine—Montville, N.J., Sept. 27, 2019— Four-decade industry veteran Jim Haas has been hired as the general manager of Big SNOW America, the new real-snow, indoor, year-round ski and snowboard center at the American Dream retail complex. Haas started his career with Snowshoe Mountain, where he held several management positions in risk, h...
resorts SARAH JONES, STEAMBOAT SKI RESORT, COLO. Sarah Jones has been named the first ever director of sustainability and community engagement at Steamboat Ski Resort. Starting Sept. 30, Jones will be responsible for furthering the resort’s policy goals on climate and energy and developing and driving the resort’s sustainability practic...
SAM Magazine—Lake Geneva, Wis., Aug. 26, 2019—The Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA) Summer Meetings & Trade Show drew a large crowd of 424 attendees—including supplier reps and personnel from 55 different ski areas—to the Grand Geneva Resort, Aug. 18-21. The first-time location, a former Playboy Hotel, was well received. Grand Geneva...
In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent happenings to people who are part of the mountain resort industry. This time around, we’ve combined July and August. For even more updates on industry people, be sure to read News & Views in each and every issue of SAM Magazine. TESS HOBBS, SNOWBIRD, UTAHTess Hobbs Tess Hobbs has been pr...
In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. For even more updates on industry people, be sure to read News & Views in the upcoming July issue of SAM. DON MACASKILL, WHITETAIL RESORT, MERCERSBURG, PA.Long-time vice president and general manager Don...
SAM Magazine—June 7, 2019, Jay Peak, Vt.—The Vermont Ski Areas Association (Ski Vermont) held its annual meeting at Jay Peak Resort, June 5-6, 2019, a gathering that welcomed 190 attendees from resorts, brands, and tourism. Ski Vermont revealed 2018-19 total skier visits in the state reached 4.1 million, up 5.2 percent year-over-year. “From ...
SAM Magazine—Conway, N.H., June 7, 2019—Ski New Hampshire hosted its annual conference and trade show in Meredith, N.H., June 4-5. At the conference, Ski NH president Jessyca Keeler reported that total visits—including alpine, cross country, and tubing—for winter 2018-19 were an estimated 2.3 million, up more than 100,000 over last year, or...
By Dave ZookThe California mountain resort industry gathered in Squaw Valley for the Lift Maintenance and Operations Education Conference (LMOE) for the second year running on June 4-6, 2019. The underlying theme of the content-rich conference was working together to create a safer, better industry. Topic areas were addressed through three days of ...
In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry. MIKE FERGUSON, ALTERRA MOUNTAIN COMPANYAlterra Mountain Company named Mike Ferguson as chief human resources officer. Ferguson will lead the development and implementation of attracting and retaining talent. His responsibil...
SAM Magazine—San Diego, Cali., May 6, 2019 - More than 950 members of the winter resort industry descended on the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, Calif., April 29–May 2 for the NSAA National Convention and Tradeshow. It was the most highly attended national convention since 2008. Conventioneers reveled in the aftermath of the fourth-greates...
In SAM’s monthly Snow People, we highlight recent personnel moves that have been made in the mountain resort industry.MARK SEITER and GREG RALPH, Angel Fire Resort, N.M.Mark Seiter was named Angel Fire Resort’s new CFO, and Greg Ralph was named the new director of marketing. Both Seiter and Ralph will report to Angel Fire CEO John Kitts. Seite...
Special Report by Steven Threndyle What do China, shopping malls, and snowball fights have in common? All three were floated as possible ideas for increasing skiing and snowboarding participation during the Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS) at Whistler-Blackcomb in early April. From the cavernous convention space of the Whistler Conference Centre t...
The combined forces of Ski Areas of New York (ISKINY) and Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association (PSAA) once again staged an informative, lively, and entertaining expo, this time at Peek’n Peak in western New York. A total of 324 ski area personnel and suppliersNSAA's Mike Lane uses props to demonstrate ski lift functions with the help of Doppelmayr'...
Nearly 450 resort staff, industry partners, and exhibitors attended the 2018 New England Summit Sept. 11-12 at Sunday River Resort, Maine.Wintry Mix's Alex Kaufman helps us develop PodSAM at NES (Photo courtesy of Dave Gibson) The event kicked off with seminars on topics ranging from web trends to climate change and ended with multiple sessio...
More than 450 ski area and supplier members attended the Midwest Ski Areas Association Summer Meetings and Trade Show, Aug. 19-22, at Boyne Highlands Resort in northern Michigan.MSAA president Amy Reents with two-time Olympic medalist, and Midwesterner, Nick Goepper. Photo: Dave Gibson, Propeller Mediaworks The event was NSAA president Kelly Pawla...
SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, September 17, 2025—On Aug. 28, Park City Mountain bike patrollers voted to unionize with the Communications Workers of America, forming the Park City Bike Patrol Association. The vote came after patrollers and trail workers petitioned over the summer to unionize. Credit David Jackson/Park Record The move gives p...
SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Sept. 16, 2025—Indy Pass will end sales for the 2025-26 season at midnight on Thursday, Sept. 18, the company said today. With the cap reached, this will be the final sales window of the year. “We’re not going to compromise the sport and culture of independent skiing by prioritizing profit over our passholders,...
SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Sept. 12, 2025— Western mountain lodging operators kept summer revenues in positive territory despite a softer August booking pace, according to Inntopia’s DestiMetrics Monthly Market Briefing. Occupancy for August rose 4.6 percent year over year while average daily rate (ADR) edged up 0.1 percent, yielding a...
SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Sept. 11, 2025—Indy Pass has partnered with the independent ski and snowboard retailers association Winter Sports Retailers (WSR) to provide discounts on gear and tune-ups for Indy Pass holders at participating shops. WSR comprises more than 200 independent ski shops across the U.S., and many are expected to join ...
SAM Magazine—Denver, Sept. 10, 2025 — Alterra Mountain Company is spending more than $400 million on capital projects, guest amenities, and employee programs across its portfolio for the 2025-26 season, with a major share directed to Deer Valley Resort’s ongoing transformation.Deer Valley's new East Village Gondola. For the coming winter, t...
SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Sept. 10, 2025—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe has invested $6 million this season to add the new Wildslide Tahoe Tubing Center and expand its snowmaking systems.Courtesy of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe The resort has targeted a Nov. 8 opening date for skiing and riding, weather permitting, and a Thanksgiving start date for the tubing center....
SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 3, 2025—HTI Group is joining the HKD Snowmakers ownership team of Charles Santry, Anni Dupré Santry, and Ian Jarrett. The ownership stake in HKD adds to HTI Group’s existing portfolio, which also includes Leitner-Poma, Prinoth, and DemacLenko. In a related move, HKD will assume responsibility for DemacLenko ...
SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Sept. 3, 2025—An Oklahoma woman who was left paralyzed from the waist down after she fell from a chairlift at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBME) in March 2022 was awarded $20 million in damages by a Colorado jury on Friday. The initial lawsuit brought by the victim’s family in 2022 claimed that when Annie Mil...
SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Aug. 28, 2025—Indy Pass has added 43 alpine and cross-country partner ski areas for the 2025–26 season, bringing its total to 271 worldwide. The pass went back on sale today. The additions include Mont Sutton and Owl’s Head in Quebec, Burke Mountain in Vermont, Hyland Hills in Minnesota, OK Bergbahnen in Germa...
SAM Magazine—Denver, Aug. 27, 2025—Ikon Pass holders will gain access to Valle d’Aosta’s five ski areas for winter 2025-26, including Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Cervino Ski Paradise, La Thuile Espace San Bernardo, Monterosa Ski, and Pila. “Endless joy abounds when exploring the special mountain culture of the Alps, and Valle d’Aosta serves...
SAM Magazine—Granby, Colo., Aug. 19, 2025—With the addition of dozens of new resorts, Indy Pass will go back on sale to the public Aug. 28, 2025. Indy halted sales of its 2025-26 pass in March after reaching its cap following a 10-day sales period. The company will also launch a new Learn-to-Turn pass that includes three total days of bundled l...
SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 18, 2025—Maddie Baldwin and the lift maintenance crew at Bogus Basin, Idaho, were voted the winners of the 2025 Rise Up Challenge. The challenge, sponsored by Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA), highlighted up-and-coming lift mechanics and their lift maintenance teams from five ski areas across North America: Bogus ...
SAM Magazine—Montville, N.J., Aug. 18, 2025—A new multi-mountain ski and snowboard product, the Snow Triple Play, will go on sale Sept. 1, offering Northeast skiers and snowboarders three days of lift access at 15 participating resorts in the U.S. and Canada for $199.99. “We recognized that there’s a significant portion of the skiing and s...
SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 14, 2025—Western mountain lodging properties reversed a June slowdown in July by lowering daily rates more sharply than any time since September 2023, according to Inntopia’s monthly Market Briefing. The move boosted bookings for the rest of summer and into early winter. Data for the Briefing are drawn f...
SAM Magazine—Valley County, Idaho, Aug. 14, 2025—A lightning-sparked wildfire that ignited late Aug. 12 is burning about 1.5 miles south of Tamarack Resort, Idaho, and has prompted the Valley County Sheriff’s Office to issue a “ready” stage evacuation notice advising nearby communities of the potential need for an evacuation. The Rock ...
SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Aug. 4, 2025—The 2025 Rise Up Challenge is underway, and voting is officially open. Now in its fifth year, this video contest shines a spotlight on a handful of talented young lift mechanics, rising stars who are essential to the future of mountain operations. This year, five resorts each nominated a standout team m...
SAM Magazine—Wilmington, N.Y., July 22, 2025—Whiteface Mountain will join the Mountain Collective pass for the 2025-26 season, expanding the multi-resort pass’s Northeast footprint. The announcement marks the latest addition to the Mountain Collective’s lineup, which now includes 27 ski areas across five continents. Passholders receive two...
SAM Magazine—Leeland, Mich., July 21, 2025—The Leelanau Conservancy plans to acquire and revitalize the defunct Sugar Loaf ski area in northwest Michigan, transforming it into a year-round public recreation destination with a focus on ecological restoration and inclusive access, and without any ski lifts. The conservancy has entered into a pur...
SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., July 17, 2025—Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports and the Bart Adaptive Sports Center plan to merge, forming what will be the largest year-round adaptive sports organization in the eastern region of the U.S. Under the proposed plan, which is pending legal finalization, Bart Adaptive will merge into Vermont Adaptive by...
SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., July 16, 2025—The booking pace at Western mountain destinations ticked up slightly in June, the first such gain since last November. Revenues also posted a comfortable year-over-year increase. However, booking pace results were skewed by a drop in the number of available room nights. “When we simply count the ...
SAM Magazine—Henniker, N.H., July 14, 2025—In less than 24 hours, more than 120 students in career and technical education (CTE) programs around New Hampshire pre-registered for The. Pipeline Project’s first-ever Ski Career Exploration event, scheduled for Oct. 15 at Pats Peak, N.H. The event is designed to help students explore career option...
SAM Magazine—Olympic Valley, Calif., July 10, 2025—The massive planned base area development at Palisades Tahoe appears to be moving forward after the resort and two Tahoe-area environmental conservation groups agreed to various reductions in scope, ending a 14-year legal battle that has delayed the project from breaking ground. Prior to the a...
SAM Magazine—Nederland, Colo., July 9, 2025—The Town of Nederland has signed a letter of intent to buy Eldora Mountain Resort from Powdr following months of negotiations that began in fall 2024. The two entities will continue negotiating based on the rules set forth in a mutually agreed upon term sheet and could close by early October, accordin...
SAM Magazine—Keystone, Colo., July 7, 2025— Ski area representatives attending the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit this October are invited to arrive early for a special pre-Summit gathering hosted at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area on Monday, Oct. 6. The event is a collaboration between Mountain Towns 2030, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA)...
SAM Magazine—Longmont, Colo., July 7, 2025—While Washington has been focused on Trump's megabill, the administration has continued to pursue its anti-immigration policies and efforts to downsize the bureaucracy. The J-1 cultural exchange program, which many resorts tap for seasonal workers, could fall victim to this effort in a year or two, eve...
SAM Magazine—Durango, Colo., July 3, 2025—Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) plans to acquire a controlling stake of Andacor S.A., the longtime owner and operator of El Colorado and Parque Farellones near Santiago and majority shareholder of Pillán (Villarrica) and Volcán Osorno ski areas in southern Chile. Photo credit: El ColoradoIf all corpo...
SAM Magazine—Salem, Ore., July 2, 2025 — Bipartisan efforts to restore the enforceability of recreational liability waivers in Oregon failed to advance before the close of the state legislative session June 29, leaving the state’s ski areas and other recreation providers facing an escalating insurance and liability crisis.Oregon State House ...
SAM Magazine—Boise, Idaho, June 30, 2026—The Idaho Supreme Court has reversed its precedent-breaking December 2023 ruling in Milus v. Sun Valley Co., reinstating a lower court’s summary judgment in favor of Sun Valley Resort in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of a skier who died after colliding with snowmaking equipment. The De...
SAM Magazine—Denver, June 30, 2025—Outside’s second-annual Festival and Summit, May 29–June 1, drew roughly 35,000 visitors to Denver’s Civic Center Park. Attendance was nearly double that of the inaugural event in 2024, a sign the concept has room to grow and could yet become a meaningful way to promote participation in a wide range of ...
