The Voice of the Mountain Resort Industry  |  Est. 1964

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  • The Need for Speed

    Race programs can add to revenue, boost a resort’s image, and help develop lifelong skiers. Great ski racing careers typically begin at the pipsqueak stage. A pre-school kid takes an interest in speed and competition and enters the local race program, fueling dreams, perhaps, of Olympic or World Cup glory. Even if those dreams prove…

  • The Service Recovery Paradox

    Strategies to recover negative customer experiences, turning potential naysayers into loyal customers. When was the last time you had a truly remarkable experience as either a guest or client? Take a moment and think about it.  The last time I raved about an experience came in the aftermath of a frustrating interaction with the same…

  • F&B Insights

    Staffing, the guest experience, and sustainability drive a menu of ski area food and beverage tweaks and improvements. Staffing issues—exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic—continue to affect food and beverage operations at North American ski resorts. “It’s a unique challenge,” said Ross Ireland, a partner at Vancouver-based Hospitality Arts, which consults on ski resort F&B strategy…

  • News & Views :: January 2025

    The rich are getting richer, boomers are still skiing, the newcomer pipeline issue, Terrain Park Contest winners, and more. Mind the Wealth Gap By Katie Brinton   In a 1996 issue of SAM, founding publisher David Rowan opined, “As we struggle to understand our industry’s future—the mandate for NSAA’s convention … in May—we must grasp…

  • Snowbound Boston Draws 21,000

    SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 25, 2024—Snowbound Boston returned to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Nov. 15-17. Attendance was flat year-over-year, with the event drawing more than 21,000 visitors across three days of sunny and mild weather in the city. Event organizer Racoon Media Group reported having more than 200 brands and 48 resorts exhibiting.…

  • Demaclenko North America Appoints Diego Facchinetti as GM

    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 strategies, and building a continent-wide sales and service network.  Demaclenko…

  • Construction Site :: November 2024

    New lifts and snowmaking upgrades at ski areas big and small, for-profit and nonprofit, across North America. Mont Grand-Fonds, QC   Compagnie des Montagnes des ski du Québec (CMSQ), owned by e-Liberty, a Swiss online ski pass retailer, purchased Mont Grand-Fonds in September 2023. Soon after, the growing multi-mountain group ordered a detachable six-place Doppelmayr…

  • Staying Uniform

    Consolidation has led to a few major manufacturers dominating the uniform market, but wholesale suppliers and smaller outwear brands still hold their own.  Keeping ski area staffers comfortable while working outdoors in winter is big business. According to the National Ski Areas Association, ski area payrolls top 200,000. The Professional Ski Instructors of America and…

  • Independent Areas Top SKI Resort Rankings

    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.…

  • North Carolina Ski Areas Sustain Minimal Damage from Helene, Communities Not as Lucky

    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. While…