National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
August 2015
Beijing will host 2022 Winter Olympics. Beijing has been selected to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, beating out Almaty, Kazakhstan, by a 44 to 40 vote. It will be the first city to host both a summer and winter Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that Beijing was awarded the Games because it aligned with the IOC’s goal to bring a “stronger focus on sustainability, legacy, and transparency” to the event. More. SAM
Nick Sargent Named New President of SIA. The SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Board of Directors has chosen Nick Sargent, former vice president of global business alliance at Burton Snowboards, as its incoming president. Sargent will begin in a transitional role Aug. 24 before succeeding David Ingemie as president following the 2016 SIA Snow Show in Denver.
During his 12 years at Burton, Sargent cultivated the brand’s global partner portfolio to include snow event and product partnerships with brands such as 3M, Fox Sports, Garmin, Mini, and Pepsi. Prior to this, Sargent managed Adidas-Salomon’s global winter Olympic initiatives. More. SAM
2014-15 Ski Industry Statistics & Trends: Facts, Stats & Skier Visits. So how was your season? Maybe you skied more days than last year, or maybe not. Did you try a new resort this year, or just stick close to home? Did you buy a season pass or get day ticket? Did you bring a friend to try snowboarding or skiing?
Ski areas are also asking themselves these same questions (or variations on these questions) as they wrap up their season and tally statistics from the winter. Some operational metrics that ski areas pay close attention to include skier visits, season passes sold, beginner lessons taught, and, of course, weather and snowfall. Let’s find out how the season went during the 2014/15 winter. More. Huffington Post via Destimetrics Ed. Note: This is good background reading for discussions with delegates and industry at the NSCF Annual Meeting.
Utah’s Mountain Accord Approved to Move Forward. The executive committee of Utah’s Mountain Accord, an organization composed of ski industry professionals and conservation groups, unanimously has approved a plan for the future development of the Wasatch Mountains, according to Curbed Ski. Mountain Accord’s goals are to improve transportation, protect the environment, and boost recreation and the economy in the Central Wasatch through land swaps, tunnels, and other forms of redesign.
Mountain Accord is not legally binding at this point, but some ski resorts have already agreed to swap some of their land for federal acreage and other incentives. Right now, 2,417 acres will go to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in exchange for 760 acres. Resorts including Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton will also receive permits and approval to develop their base areas and more water for snowmaking. Curbed Ski reports that the land the resorts are getting is at the base of the mountains, since Mountain Accord wants to promote building up existing base areas rather than swallowing up more land. More. Outside/Curbed Ski via Destimetrics.
Park City Map Shows Just How Much Development Could Happen in the Coming Years. Park City is currently in the midst of a construction boom, with projects ranging from the Park City Film Studios to Vail Resorts’ massive $50 million plan to create the largest ski area in North America. Recently, the Park Record published a map from the Park City Municipal Corporation showing just how much development could happen in the future. Originally drafted in 2013, the City Hall map shows the development rights attached to a series of parcels in Park City, Summit County, and Wasatch County. And although the map mostly focuses on larger development, it’s a visual example of the significant growth that could be coming to the region. More. Curbed Ski
Future of Whitefish Mountain’s Jesus Statue in Hands of Court. An iconic six-foot-statue of Jesus at Whitefish Mountain Resort may have to find a new home. Known as “Big Mountain Jesus,” the statue is currently the subject of a three-judge appeals panel after an atheists group asked it to be removed from the U.S. Forest Service property in Montana.
The Knights of Columbus first erected the statue in 1954 to memorialize soldiers who died while fighting during the Second World War. Apparently, soldiers were inspired by the mountain shrines and statues that are ubiquitous in European mountain towns. More. Curbed Ski
Town of Vail is Poised to Ban Marijuana. Vail’s temporary ban on retail marijuana could become permanent very soon. Although 2012’s Amendment 64 legalized the recreational sale of pot, towns and counties were still allowed to impose their own bans. In the Vail Valley, retail operations were allowed in unincorporated Eagle County and the town of Eagle, but the Vail Town Council has never permitted recreational sales. Now, after the Vail Town Council passed yet another extension of a 2014 moratorium banning pot shops, the council will consider a permanent ban. More. Curbed Ski
June Ranked the Warmest on Record. Analyses by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) have all reported June 2015 as being the warmest—or tied for the warmest—of any June on record, the Washington Post reported last week.
NASA, which based its average temperatures on data from 1951 to 1980, says June 2015 tied with June 1998 for record temperatures. JMA, which released its monthly report last Wednesday, says that four of the past six Junes, including this year’s, have been among the top five warmest. June 2015 was 0.74 degrees higher than the average temperature, based on dates ranging from 1981 to 2010. This is the greatest difference in average of any June on record. More. Outside Magazine via Curbed Ski
Telluride Ski Resort Buys the Peaks Resort & Spa. Telluride Ski & Golf announced that it has closed a deal with Peaks Capital Partners to take over the ski-in/ski-out Peaks Resort and Spa. The Peaks Resort features 177 rooms and is known for their 42,000-square-foot spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and 9,100-square-feet of meeting space. This is the second hotel property purchased by the ski area; Telluride Ski bought the Inn at Lost Creek in April 2013. The Peaks, however, is a much bigger property and will fulfill the demand for Telluride to book larger events at using the Peaks conference facilities. More. Curbed Ski
Fenway Park might host a snowboarding competition, complete with 100-foot ramp. Fenway Park, one of the country’s most venerated baseball stadiums, is tentatively set to get a radical makeover this winter. Gone will be the diamond and in its place will be 100-foot snowboarding ramp, if plans worked out by Fenway Sports Management and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association on Thursday actually come to fruition. Don’t worry, though, the stadium’s wild new look will only be temporary. The ramp will be part of the U.S. Grand Prix tour at Fenway on Feb. 11-12.
“Our intentions are to stage the biggest and best big-air competition in the history of the sport at Fenway Park,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association executive Michael Jaquet told Sports Business Daily. More. The Washington Post via Google Alerts
Jiminy Peak (MA) to Add 2.3 Megawatt Solar Facility. Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, widely lauded for being the first ski area in the U.S. to install a wind turbine in 2007, continues to distinguish itself as one of the “greenest” ski areas in the U.S. In its latest move, the resort is partnering with the Massachusetts-based solar project developer and owner Nexamp to construct a 2.3 megawatt community solar facility. More. Ski Area Management (SAM)
Bridger-Teton National Forest OK Moves Jackson Hole Resort Closer to New Gondola. The new Sweetwater gondola and 15 other projects on the slopes of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort are now one step closer to reality. The land manager in charge of the ski area, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, signed off last week on a draft decision notice and “finding of no significant impact” for the suite of projects, which range from a zip line to expansion of the Casper restaurant. The tentatively approved plans are now subject to an “objection process,” and are open again to public review. More. Jackson Hole News via Destimetrics
Echo Bounces Back as Public Ski Hill. Echo Mountain is re-opening its slopes to the general skiing and snowboarding public once again this winter. The Front Range Ski Club purchased the area in 2012 and turned it into a private race training center. It continues to manage the 226-acre area, but plans to open Dec. 10 with a renewed focus on the family and beginner guests. Day lift tickets are currently listed at $49, and season passes start at $159. More. SAM
Dubai Tower Plans World’s Longest Indoor Ski Slope. Dubai developments like to set records, and the recently announced Meydan One project has a whole list of records it’s after, including the world’s longest indoor ski slope. At a nearly three-quarters of a mile, the planned slope would almost double the current record holder, the AlpinCenter in Germany. The base area for this slope would be an 8,000-seat venue for sporting events and shows, the Meydan Arena. The rest of the development will include the world’s tallest residential tower, the largest dancing fountain, the highest 360-degree observation deck, a beach, a marina and a huge indoor sports complex. More details on the slope itself are scant at this point, but that’s somewhat understandable as first phase of the project is slated for completion by 2020. More. Curbed Ski
The Winter Park Ski Train Reboot Is Shifting Into Higher Gear. The Winter Park Ski Train was once an iconic part of Colorado lifestyle, carrying skiers from Denver’s Union Station to the slopes for decades starting in 1940. Now, for the first time in six years, there’s talk of reviving the train, possibly as soon as this winter.
What might this new ski train be like? The goal is this: Starting in the 2016-2017 ski season, a person could land at Denver International Airport in the morning, take the new East Rail Commuter Line to Union Station, board the Ski Train and arrive right at the slopes of Winter Park without ever needing a car — all in about three hours. Winter Park says it’s the only place in North America where it’s possible to take the rails all the way to a ski resort. More. Colorado Public Radio via Destimetrics
