National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
January-February 2024
Alterra to Acquire Arapahoe Basin. Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Arapahoe Basin from Dream Unlimited Corp. A-Basin will be Alterra’s 18th North American mountain destination. More. SAM
Jackson Hole Sale Completed; Ski Area Will Stay in Local Hands. The sale of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) to a local group of investors, initially announced last August, is complete. The Kemmerer family, which has owned the independent ski resort for the last 32 years, officially closed the deal in early February. Financial details were not disclosed. More. SAM
New Lone Peak Tram Opens at Big Sky Resort. It is the first new tram built at a North American ski area in 15 years. The new higher-capacity system is a complete replacement of the resort’s original 15-passenger jig-back tram built in 1995. More. SAM
Deer Valley Ski Resort Shares Map Of Massive, 3,700 Acre Expansion. In addition to the new lifts and terrain, Deer Valley intends to construct another base area dubbed the “Deer Valley East Village,” alongside 1,200 new parking spots to accommodate additional skiers. More. Powder.com
Powder Mountain to Offer Private Skiing for Homeowners, Install Three New Lifts. In order to keep Powder Mountain financially viable, CEO Reed Hastings plans to sell more real estate at the property and provide homeowners with an area of lift-served terrain that only they can access beginning in 2024-25. The rest of the 8,464-acre resort will remain open to the public. More. SAM
A New Ski Resort is Proposed in B.C. Here’s Why This One’s Different From the Rest. The Spuzzum First Nation people announced plans last week to build an 815-skiable-acre resort with a 2,300-foot vertical drop and 11 lifts at full buildout. The Spuzzum people hope to build and operate the resort to provide career opportunities for members, and that’s primarily what sets it apart. More. Ski
Another Big Year, Even Bigger Lifts. North American ski areas installed 57 new ropeways in 2023, including some of the biggest lifts ever built on the continent, as manufacturers balanced strong demand with construction capacity. More. SAM
If Vail Resorts is Liable For Chairlift Fall That Left Teen Paralyzed, There Could Be Big Repercussions. The Colorado Ski Safety Act mitigates ski areas’ liability in the event of an accident, but this court case will test its limits. More. Ski
Heavenly Launches Probe After Guest Gets Stuck Overnight on Gondola. Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Ski Resort is investigating how a female snowboarder apparently was trapped overnight on its gondola. Monica Laso told reporters that she was directed by a Heavenly staff member to board the gondola around 4:58 p.m. on Feb. 25. The lift stopped running about two minutes after she boarded. Resort workers only discovered her predicament when the lifts began running again the next morning, about 15 hours after she had boarded. More. SAM
One Dead, One Injured in Inbounds Palisades Tahoe Avalanche. At least one person was killed and another sustained non-life-threatening injuries in an inbounds avalanche at Palisades Tahoe Jan. 10. More. SAM
Falling Trees Cause Loaded Gondola Cabin to Detach, Fall at Austrian Ski Area. A gondola cabin with four passengers in it detached from the haul rope and fell 23-33 feet after “several trees” fell on the line of a gondola at Hochoetz ski area. Three of the adults sustained serious injuries, with one taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries. More. SAM
National Ability Center Opens New Facility At Park City Mountain. The new 9,400-square-foot, state-of-the-art, accessible facility was made possible thanks to a donation from McGrath Development and a historic land lease donated by Vail Resorts. It will serve as a homebase for the organization’s adaptive ski and snowboard programs. More. SAM Ed. Note: This article and the one below link to a Ski Area Management (SAM) page called Social Good that contains a variety of good works being carried out by ski resorts.
Loveland Ski Area Joins Youth Initiative. The project, founded by Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame inductee Chris Anthony, aims to inspire and educate local youths through outdoor recreation opportunities. More. SAM
New Ice Grip Symbol For Winter Tires. In North America, determining if a tire is suitable for winter use can be challenging, if not impossible, and the new Ice Grip emblem seeks to address that. It shows that a tire has undergone testing to demonstrate safe levels of traction on bare ice when displayed on the tire’s sidewall. More. SnowBrains
Climate Change Terrifies the Ski industry. Here’s What Could Happen in a Warming World. The USA’s multibillion-dollar ski industry isn’t taking climate change lightly: According to the National Ski Areas Association, climate change is “the number one threat to the snowsports industry.” More. USA Today via Google Alerts
Vail Resorts Marks Sustainability Progress. Vail Resorts marked its second year of 100 percent renewable energy use at its 37 North American resorts and made strides in landfill waste reduction and energy efficiency company-wide, according to its 2022-23 Environmental & Social Responsibility Report. More. SAM
Aspen One Sustainability Report Highlights Advocacy, Research, and Action. A new sustainability report from Aspen One, the parent company of Aspen Skiing Company, ASPENX, and Aspen Hospitality, highlights the company’s environmental and social responsibility efforts in areas such as political action, research, and philanthropy. The report presents as part educational tool, part catalog of the company’s climate-forward efforts, and part call to action. More. SAM
