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The School of Holiday Ops

A mountain of holiday challenges offered vital lessons in operations and communication. This season has thrown curveballs at resorts across North America. In addition to ever-changing Covid case numbers and protocols, a devastating staffing shortage has created industry-wide ripples. Add to that fickle early snow and warm temperatures, plus loosened or lifted capacity restrictions, and…
Presidents’ Week Turnout Strong, Not Record Breaking

SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Mar. 3, 2022—The Presidents’ Day holiday week proved fruitful for North American ski areas. Wilmot Mountain, Wisc.Operators from coast to coast were overwhelmingly positive regarding skier enthusiasm for the late-February holiday period, and operationally resorts seem to finally be finding their groove in this difficult season. West Much of the West had…
Gondola Cabin Detaches in High Winds at Sunday River

SAM Magazine—Newry, Maine, Feb. 25, 2022—A strong wind gust caused a gondola cabin to misfeed into the top terminal and detach from the haul rope of the Chondola lift at Sunday River, Maine, at 5:37 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23. The cabin fell approximately 10 feet to the ground. The 17-year-old guest inside sustained minor injuries, and…
Will the Spirit and Frontier Airline Merger Drive Skier Visits?

SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Feb. 10, 2022—In a $6.6 billion deal expected to close in the second half of 2022, Spirit Airlines will merge with Frontier, giving Denver-based Frontier Airlines the controlling stake in the combined entity. The merger of these two major discount airlines will form the fifth largest airline in the United States and…
Outsiders Network Aims to Diversify Outdoor Media, Marketing

SAM Magazine—Whistler, B.C., Jan. 20, 2022—Outsiders Network is a new online marketplace designed to connect brands with a diverse pool of outdoor talent and support, including athletes, models, actors, photographers, cinematographers, hair/makeup, and wardrobe crew who all specialize in shooting for media outside. The vetted talent is comprised of individuals of diverse ethnicity, gender, identity, sexual orientation,…
Crunch Time

As traffic surges, the industry must develop new strategies to manage resort access. Here’s a look at some of the parking and transport solutions underway. Last winter, thanks in part to a series of big Friday storms, the parking lots at Alta Ski Area, Utah, filled to capacity on more than a dozen different days,…
Schooled

Did snowsports schools find better ways to operate? Lessons from the pandemic suggest the answer is a resounding yes. Change—it’s the only constant in life. So said Greek philosopher Heraclitus in the year 500 BC. And although there is zero evidence that Heraclitus ever swung chairs or worked in a base lodge, his truism remains…
Snowcats Save Christmas at Kimberley

SAM Magazine—Kimberley, B.C., Jan. 4, 2022—After a suspicious Dec. 18 fire destroyed the control system for the main chairlift at Kimberley Alpine Resort, the ski area managed to find an innovative workaround just in time for the holidays. The disabled chair is the only lift out of the base area village, but with help from…
Corporate Culture, Redefined

Universal design principles can create a company culture that strengthens all aspects of your business—including the bottom line. In the Spring 2019 issue of Adventure Park Insider, SAM’s sister magazine, organizational development expert Paul Thallner suggested that diversity in the workplace represents untapped opportunities for growing your business. The benefits, he said, include greater relatedness…
The Value of Video

Video marketing is low-hanging fruit—here’s how to take advantage of it. When I was a snow reporter in the mid-2000s, the iPhone had just dropped, YouTube was in its infancy, and Facebook was some kind of forum for college kids. Still, it quickly became clear that online video had huge potential for reporting snow conditions…