SAM's twelfth Summer Ops Camp—an immersive, hands-on educational and networking event—went to Tremblant, Quebec, Sept. 7-9, 2022, for three days of learning about the serious business of summer fun. The camp curriculum focused on developing a sustainable year-round business model that creates long-term balance for revenue and staffing by growing non-winter business through unique mountain experiences that attract a broader market of guests. 

 Schedule-at-a-Glance ~ Sessions ~ Additional Activities

2022 Schedule-at-a-Glance 

Wednesday, September 7
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Camp registration at Lodge de la Montagne
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Optional excursions to the Via Ferrata, Ziptrek Ecotour zipline, and Scandinave Spa. Sign ups available to registered campers. (See below for descriptions and sign up instructions.)
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Operator tour of Tremblant Base Village. Meet at the Summer Ops Hospitality Tent where we will start our tour. Get the inside take on what makes this four-season destination a success.
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.: Meet at the Summer Ops Hospitality Tent for champagne toast and gondola ride to the top of Tremblant. Cocktail and dinner reception at the mountaintop Grand Manitou with presentation by Tremblant President & CEO Patrice Malo.
10:00 p.m.: Explore Tremblant at night on your own.

Thursday, September 8
7:30 a.m.: Gondola opens for a ride to the peak and our home for the morning, the Grand Manitou.
7:45 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.: Vendor showcase breakfast at the Grand Manitou. Meet the vendors to learn the latest trends and products in summer operations.
8:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.: "Trends" session: Explore what is driving non-winter business, and new activities and experiences customers are seeking. In short, what do customers want, need, and desire right now? (See session descriptions below.)
10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: Coffee break with vendors and fellow campers.
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Summer Ops Camp Huddle with Insights Collective team, led by Tom Foley. The panel will expand on measuring our post-Covid recovery, future projections, and how to create opportunity out of challenges and craft a long range roadmap.
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Lunch at the Grand Manitou with sweeping views of the Tremblant valley. 
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m: Meet at the Summer Ops Hospitality Tent and choose between a fun-filled ride on a three-wheel cart, the Le Luge, and discover a new unique summer experience, or take a guided tour of Tremblant's unique four season village. Other demonstrations TBA. 
4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: Board the bus to visit the Treetop Walk Laurentides, the first of its kind treetop staircase and trail that is a universally accessible at-height adventure park. Join us at the top for a beverage and pop-up talk, followed by dinner at this unique and newly-opened operation. 
8:00 p.m.: Meet again at the Summer Ops Hospitality Tent as we embark on a special private experience to see Moment Factory's Tonga Lumina night forest walk. This is an immersive sound and light experience that leverages the natural mountain landscape to attract a broad and diverse year-round guest. End the evening with a special cocktail reception within the lights and soundscape of Tonga Lumina. 

Friday, September 9
7:30 a.m.: Gondola opens for a ride to the peak and our home for the morning, the Grand Manitou.
7:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: Vendor showcase breakfast at the Grand Manitou. Meet the vendors to learn the latest trends and products in summer operations.
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: "Seasonal Transition" session: Hear about lessons learned and ways to efficiently handle the increasingly tighter and more intense seasonal transition period.
9:45 -10:45 a.m.: "Selling Summer" session: Summer guests are different from our winter crowd. How can you help potential customers find, book and enjoy what's on tap in summer?
10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.: Coffee break with vendors and fellow campers.
11:15 a.m - 12:00 p.m.: "Incident Trends" session: Experts share latest data on summer ops incident trends.
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch at the Grand Manitou.
1:00 p.m.: Optional off-site activities. Ziptrek Ecotours and UPLA, a netted adventure park (see below)

2022 Camp Agenda 

Sign Up for Additional Activities (spaces are limited)

Ziptrek Ecotours – available on arrival day, Wednesday, September 7 at 1:05 p.m. (FULL) or Friday, September 7 at 1:05 p.m. (FULL)

Ziptrek Ecotours is an adventure ecotourism business renowned for delivering awareness and appreciation of the natural environment along with a healthy dose of adventure. They operates three traditional zipline tours in Mont Tremblant, Whistler, and Queenstown, New Zealand, as well as Ziptrek Technologies.  They are also the global licensee for Switchback®, bringing this game changing technology to the adventure recreation space. At the heart of Switchback® is a powered trolley that can turn corners, travel uphill, and control its speed and braking automatically. While the Tremblant location doesn't use the Switchback®, you are invited to come and enjoy the tou and learn how Switchback® solves some of the major challenges and constraints that traditional ziplines face; safety, throughput and design flexibility. The tour is about 3 hours long.

© SEPAQ Crédit Photo : Steve Deschênes

Via Ferrata Guided Tour – available on arrival day, Wednesday, September 7 at 12:30 p.m. (FULL) and 2:00 p.m. (FULL)

The Trekking Group will take you on an adrenaline pumping adventure through the mountains on a via ferrata. Experience a thrilling new perspective and discover this breathtaking destination from up high. Yannick Berger, professional climber and construction director of The Trekking Group will take you on a journey through the world of via ferrata. He'll show what these challenging climbing paths are all about, and why they're gaining in popularity as more people want to get up close with adventure. Where : Parc national du Mont-Tremblant. Duration : 2 hours

Scandinave Spa – 15 available spots for a tour on arrival day, Wednesday, September 7 at 2 p.m. (FULL)

Try a unique hydrotherapy model that embraces the natural environment. Guests will be encouraged to be adventurous and follow a guide’s lead who’ll share the virtues of embracing extreme temperatures in a journey towards wellness. As the group moves from hot to cold features a guide will share how to control breathing and respect optimal immersion times for maximum health benefits. Afterwards a group meditation will close the hydrotherapy, an ideal time for the body to integrate the physical gains from the thermal therapy while letting the nervous system settle and the mind to centre on the present moment. The combination of the guided hydrotherapy and meditation will allow guests to fully experience the immersive and intense journey of the Scandinavian baths, an experience that requires more concentration and courage than one might think.

UPLA Park Montreal – Friday September 9, 5-7 p.m. (spots open)

Join aerial adventure builder The Trekking Group at UPLA to experience their newest and most innovative adventure park concept yet. UPLA is North America's largest outdoor trampoline experience. In the summer of 2022, UPLA has generated over $1.5 million and welcomed over 100,000 guests in just two months. 

This experience is taking place at UPLA Mont Ste. Gregoire, just outside of Montreal, and is a convenient post Summer Ops Camp stop for anyone flying in and out of Montreal, or who is driving from the northeastern U.S. 

A casual meal and drinks will be provided on-site, and there are hotel options nearby.

Space is limited for all of these excursions, so sign up by emailing Sarah Wojcik at sarahw@saminfo.com.

CAMP PARTNERS