SAM Coverage
Area Management
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Yellow Flag Management
Few would argue the responsibility of a general, mountain manager or maintenance supervisor in minimizing labor cost in a labor-intensive business such as running…
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Wintergreen
A ski resort that last winter hung up the “sold out” sign every weekend — some days closing its entrance gate before 7:00 a.m.…
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The Locals Win
Vermonters, by nature, generally play their cards pretty close to their vest. They’re usually not given to loud guffaws and back-slapping, nor other signs…
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Yellow Flag Management
One of the biggest surprises to me upon entering the ski industry was the seeming lack of planning and control of capital projects and…
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Management Styles
The ski industry is coming of age and as a result of its new-found maturity, many ski resort operators are taking a look at…
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Press Passes
Establishing good working relationships with the local press should be as primary a goal for a ski area as a program of efficient snow…
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Yellow Flag Management
Managing a small, seasonal company such as a ski area is not unlike coaching an athletic team. You develop a strategy for the game…
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Conventions
Before Thanksgiving and after Easter — that’s down time. Faced with at least seven months of such bleakness, many Midwestern ski areas are looking…
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New York-Private Vs Public
“The State of New York is subsidizing the operation of its three ski centers. “The three state-operated ski centers incurred a loss of nearly…
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The Freebie Hustle
“Robert Wilkinson” visited a number of ski areas in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania last season. As a “staff editor of Ski magazine, he…
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If I Were A Ski Area Operator
Last winter, Ski Area Management announced a nationwide contest with cash prizes for the best essays on the subject, “If I were a ski…
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Rumbling And Sliding
Easily the most talked-about summer marketing device is the slide. There are two systems being marketed which are quite different in design, but which…
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I Win You Win
The best paid, well-trained, ski area employees can blow their cool under the stress of a holiday rush, a lift down, screwed up lodge…
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What Produces Profits
Last year a Wall Street type was overheard saying, “So what’s to running a ski area? One business is like any other.” Fortunately (for…
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Educating The Bosses
Can you learn to operate a ski area by reading a textbook? Well, certainly not — no more than you can learn to run…
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Glendinning Report
“Ski Industry Pilot Study and Recommended Marketing Effort” by Glendinning Associates It’s time we all put this matter of skier market growth into proper…
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What To Do If The President Comes Skiing
What is it going to be like having a skiing President? Harry Truman liked Key West. Eisenhower went for fishing the Colorado trout streams.…
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The Meaning Of Max
Riding up the gondola at Vail, looking down at the massive trail complex spreading below him, the college-aged youngster snapped with sudden vehemence, “Not…