The Voice of the Mountain Resort Industry  |  Est. 1964

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  • SAM Names Summit Series Mentors, Mentee Applications Due Sept. 13

    SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 4, 2024—Nine mentors have been named for the seventh annual SAM Summit Series leadership development program, which will explore the theme “Leadership During Times of Constant Change” this year. In the mentor/mentee program, emerging resort leaders engage and learn from top industry veterans on a variety of topics affecting mountain resorts. The…

  • Construction Site :: September 2024

    New lifts, terrain, snowmaking, and lodges will breathe new life into a number of ski areas this winter. HOLIDAY MOUNTAIN, NY Mike Taylor is two years into rebuilding Holiday Mountain, which faced closure when he purchased the property in May 2023. Last summer, he focused on immediate needs such as controlling erosion and making sure…

  • Winning at Sport

    From Olympic venue to inclusive, inviting, and diverse community hub, WinSport is charting a unique course. There are a lot of choices to consider when carving out your ski area’s niche. If you work with passion and intention, your resort can become a top spot for winter sport newbies.  If you focus on training facilities,…

  • Crowd Control

    Ski resorts find a sweet spot with parking reservations, fees, and transportation strategies. Grooming, snowmaking, and lifts may be the sexier things to discuss in the ski industry, but there’s something far more mundane that arguably surpasses all three in terms of impact on operations: where to park the cars. “If there’s one thing that…

  • Hot Fourth of July Weather, and Business, for U.S. Ski Areas

    SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., July 17, 2024—While it’s hard for many to believe we’ve passed the 4th of July mile marker, the classic (and historically lucrative) summer holiday has now come and gone, leaving many operators grateful for water-based amenities and a continued interest in live music events.  For example, Snow King Mountain, Wyo., unveiled its…

  • 10 Under 30

    This class of 20-somethings is sure to impress with their problem-solving prowess, bright ideas, team-building skills, and passion for the industry. A self-proclaimed “lift nerd.” A calm-as-a-cucumber-in-a-crisis assistant patrol director. A “gifted clinic leader.” A viral content creator. Lifelong skiers and riders, and snowsports industry newbies. Undaunted problem solvers. Passionate leaders with big potential. This…

  • Construction Site :: July 2024

    Across North America, a variety of impactful—and, in several cases, difficult—projects got underway before the start of summer. SKI SUNDOWN, CT Ski Sundown began construction of its first new chairlift in 37 years in mid-April. Owner Bob Switzgable chose a fixed-grip quad from Skytrac to replace a base-to-summit Borvig triple.  An in-house crew started removing…

  • The Future of All-Weather Snowmaking

    The market is growing for all-weather “snowmaking boxes” as the technology continues to become more refined. When Ski Ward in central Massachusetts fired up its Latitude 90 all-weather snowmaking machine in earnest for the first time in October 2023, it was like Christmas in July. White flakes began falling, creating a mound of snow on…

  • WHAT GUESTS WANT

    Guest experience is the latest battleground for ski area market share. Here’s how to determine and measure what matters most to your guests. Most ski areas today compete primarily on the basis of the guest experience, rather than product or price. This is a significant change that has been occurring over the past two decades. To…

  • Peer Reviews

    Marketing leaders compliment other ski areas’ jobs-well-done.   Each year in the May issue, we like to include some unexpected love from one resort to another. “Peer Reviews” are an added bonus to a resort’s already  successful marketing season: kudos from an audience that it wasn’t necessarily targeting but is perhaps more meaningful than sales conversions…