April 2026

Indy Pass Adds 16 Resorts for Next Season. Indy Pass continues to grow, which is a good thing, because it offers bargain rates and other perks to smaller, independent areas at less than half of other multi-destination season passes. More. Seniors Skiing

Ikon Pass Adds SilverStar, Giants Ridge. SilverStar Mountain Resort in British Columbia has joined Ikon Pass as a partner resort and Giants Ridge, Minn., has been added as a bonus mountain on the 2026-27 pass. More. SAM

MCP Details $37.5M in Planned Capital Improvements. Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) plans to invest more than $37.5 million in capital improvements across its Power Pass network ahead of the 2026-27 season in the United States and the 2026 season in South America, with projects focused on snowmaking expansion, lift infrastructure, and terrain development. More. SAM

Ikon Pass Adds Partners, Benefits, and Other Changes for 2026-27. Alterra Mountain Company’s 2026-27 Ikon Pass suite of products is on sale  with new partners, access, benefits, and numerous other changes. More. SAM

A New Lift Will Unlock 1,000 Acres of Steep Expert Terrain at Powder Mountain (UT).  Powder Mountain’s new expansion will bring a chairlift to the steep “DMI” (short for Don’t Mention It) terrain pod while adding a new base lodge and other amenities. More. Ski

$1 Billion Expansion Plans Could Make Nordic Valley, UT, One of the Premier Ski Resorts in the State. Nordic Valley has long been one of the state’s more low-key ski areas. If built as envisioned, Nordic Valley would go from a modest ski hill to one of the more dramatically reimagined resorts in the West. More. SnowBrains

Mont-Sainte-Anne Details Lift Replacements, Other Improvements. Mont-Sainte-Anne has ordered three new lifts to replace four existing lifts as part of a CA$100 million investment plan that operator Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) is undertaking in partnership with the Québec government to modernize the resort’s lift infrastructure. More.

Pico (VT) Ski Resort Retires Historic Chairlift. Pico Mountain announced that the Outpost Double chairlift is now closed for good. Earlier this ski season, it experienced a main drive-shaft failure. After further review, an engineering analysis revealed that further repairs are no longer possible. More. Unofficial Networks

Berkshire East and Catamount Join Bear Den, New Mountain Alliance Formed. Berkshire East and Catamount Resorts in Massachusetts have joined Bear Den Partners, formalizing an ownership transition that brings the Schaefer family’s two ski areas into a growing portfolio alongside Vermont’s Burke Mountain and Smugglers’ Notch. More. SAM

Mountain Collective Pass Adds Referral Bonus for 2026-27. The 2026-27 Mountain Collective pass is on sale and has retained all the resort destinations around the world that it offered in 2025-26. More. SAM

New Hampshire Will Become Headquarters for Indy Pass and Parent Company. Erik Mogensen has announced that he will buy out all early investors in Black Mountain and return the ski area to 100% private ownership. He will also permanently relocate the headquarters of Entabeni Systems to the Jackson, New Hampshire, site, as well as the headquarters for the Indy Pass. More. SnoCountry

Oregon Legislature Passes Waiver Reform Bill. Oregon lawmakers finally passed a bill that strengthens the enforceability of liability waivers in the state after several previous attempts to quell what had amounted to a crisis for the state’s outdoor recreation providers failed to progress over the past decade or so. Senate Bill 1517 passed the Oregon House 55-2 on March 5 and the Senate 29-0 on March 6. More. SAM Ed. Note: The Northwest Ski Club Council carried out an extensive letter writing campaign to support the legislation.

Vail, Alterra Named in Antitrust Class Action over Pass Pricing. Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have been named in a federal antitrust class-action lawsuit challenging pricing and competitive practices tied to their Epic and Ikon passes, respectively. the complaint alleges the companies engaged in anticompetitive conduct by bundling multi-resort access and setting single-day lift ticket prices high enough to steer consumers toward season passes. More. SAM

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz Opens Up About Expensive Lift Tickets, Crowding In Wall Street Journal Interview. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz gave some insight into how he and Vail Resorts view high ticket prices, crowding, and dwindling Epic Pass sales. Katz seldom gives interviews, so his conversation with WSJ Correspondent Roberto Ferdman gives a rare glimpse into his thinking on some of the more contentious issues facing skiers today, More. Snowbrains

Ski Helmet Usage Just Hit An All-Time High of 91% In The 2024/25 Season. According to a report from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), overall helmet usage among U.S. skiers and snowboarders reached a national all-time high of 91% during the 2024/2025 skis season, up from just 25% back in the 2002/03 season. That’s a generational shift in behavior playing out over two decades. More. Unofficial Networks via Google Alerts

More Than Just a Sticker: How Mips Is Changing Helmet Safety in Skiing. SnowBrains spoke with Mips CEO Max Strandwitz to better understand what the technology does and why it has become increasingly common across snow sports and beyond. More. SnowBrains

La Niña Fades as NOAA Expects El Niño by Summer With Significant Impact on Winter 2026-27. The climate pattern that has shaped global weather for the past year is nearly done. La Niña is weakening quickly, and by summer, its warm-water counterpart El Niño could take over. More. SnowBrains

 Germany’s Last Glacier Ski Resort Disappears as Zugspitze’s Platt Lift is Torn Down. An era in German winter sports is drawing to a close as the final ski lift on the Zugspitze glacier area is being dismantled this week — a sad sign of how climate change is reshaping alpine landscapes. More. SnowBrains

Don’t Knock ’Em Till You Ski ’Em. Why Appalachia’s Resorts Are Worth Exploring. Once you get past the stigma, the Southern Appalachians are an unexpected ski region that doesn’t deserve the overlook it gets. More. Ski

I Thought It Was a Gimmick—Until This $60 Boot Hack Saved My Toes at Zero Degrees. Bootcaps, low-tech toe wraps for your ski boots, add a crucial 20 degrees of warmth to keep you on the mountain all day .More.  Ski

February-March 2026

Ikon Pass Reveals 2026-27 Price, New Resorts, and Access for Skiers. The Ikon Pass, one of the two biggest multi-mountain ski passes, is back on sale soon with new resorts, deals for younger skiers, and expanded Colorado access. More. Powder

Indy Pass Adds 16 Partners, Launches Auto-Renewal Requirement for 2026-27 Sales. Indy Pass has added 16 new alpine and cross-country ski area partners and opened 2026-27 pass sales Feb. 25 to existing pass holders under a new automatic renewal structure the company said is designed to manage demand. More. SAM

Epic Pass Drops 20 Percent In Price, But Only For This Age Group. Vail Resorts announced a 20-percent discount for skiers aged 13-30, slashing the price of an Epic Pass to $869 and the price of an Epic Local Pass to $649. The 2026-’27 prices will debut at $1,089 for an adult Epic Pass and $809 for an Epic Local Pass. That’s about a 3.6 percent increase (which is a smaller increase from last year’s 6.5 percent). More. Ski

How Premium Season Passes With Exclusive Amenities are Quietly Influencing the Ski Industry. Resorts across North America are experimenting with ultra-expensive products that promise first tracks, shorter lines, private lounges, and a host of VIP perks to those willing to pay thousands of dollars for the privilege. More. Snowbrains

Oregon Introduces the ORCA Act of 2026 to Address the State’s Liability Insurance Crisis. A bipartisan coalition of Oregon lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 1593, also known as the Oregon Recreation Commerce and Affordability Act of 2026 (ORCA), for consideration in the upcoming legislative session. “Oregon’s liability laws are broken, and it’s not just hurting recreation providers,” Representative  Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) said. “It’s hurting small businesses of every kind that rely on basic liability waivers to operate.” More. Snowbrains

Steamboat’s Long-Held Local’s Only Side Country is Now Open to the Public. Now, two seasons after Alterra Mountain Company invested $200 million over three years on its “Full Steam Ahead” project, Steamboat is still finding its equilibrium between massive infrastructure improvements, increased visitation, a passionate local user base, and how people can best utilize the expanded mountain and base area. More. Freeskier

$100M Investment, Major Changes Coming to Mont-Sainte-Anne. Mont-Sainte-Anne and operator Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) have reached an agreement with the Quebec government to fund substantial capital improvements at the resort, including the replacement of four lifts with three new ones, new snowmaking infrastructure, and installation of warm-season attractions. More. SAM

ORDA Commits $15.9 Million for Upgrades at Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre. The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) board of directors approved $15.9 million in capital investments across Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre mountains, continuing a multi-year run of infrastructure upgrades at the state-owned ski areas. More.  SAM

Burke Mountain (VT) Revival Has Begun. After nearly a decade in receivership, Vermont’s Burke Mountain is coming out of hibernation. New owners Bear Den Partners are prioritizing long-deferred capital improvements and operational stability, having already accomplished a variety of projects after taking ownership in May 2025, with more on the horizon. More. SAM

Bear Den Partners Acquires Majority Ownership of Smugglers’ Notch (VT). Bear Den Partners has acquired a majority ownership interest in Smugglers’ Notch Resort from Bill Stritzler, who has owned Smuggs for 29  years and whose family will retain an ownership stake in the resort. Stritzler’s daughter and Smuggs CEO Lisa Howe will serve as an advisor on the future of the mountain. More.  SAM

Pats Peak (NH) Snowmaking Expansion Includes Multifold Increases to Pumping Capacity, Water Storage. Pats Peak will undergo a significant expansion of its snowmaking system this summer that will allow the ski area to double the number of snow guns it can operate at once starting in winter 2026-27. More. SAM

Powderhorn (CO) Launches Limited Three-Year Pass Tied to 60th Anniversary, Lift Investment. As it approaches its 60th anniversary season, Powderhorn Mountain Resort is introducing a limited three-year season pass, positioning it as both a loyalty offering and commitment to affordability amid a major capital upgrade and plans for future improvements. More. SAM

Pomerelle (ID) Sold to Longtime Mountain Manager. Pomerelle Mountain Resort in southern Idaho has been sold to mountain manager Zach Alexander and his wife, Crystal, according to Ski Idaho. The Anderson family, which has owned and operated the ski area for decades, finalized the sale this month. More. SAM

Shanty Creek (MI) Acquired by New Ownership Group. Trinidad Resort & Club, LLC has sold Shanty Creek Resort to a new ownership group called Shanty Creek Ski and Golf Resort, LLC. The resort is a 5,500-acre, four-season property that includes two ski areas—Shuss Mountain and Shanty Creek—five golf courses, a variety of lodging and dining options, and several other amenities. More. SAM

Little Switzerland (WI) to Invest $4 Million on Two New Chairlifts. Little Switzerland Ski Area will install two new Skytrac quad chairlifts this summer to replace the ski area’s Lift 1 and Lift 2, a unique “up and over” double chairlift that loads from both the base area and backside of the ski area and transports guests uphill in opposite directions to unload at the summit mid-point. It was originally installed in 1964. More. SAM

What It Really Takes to Build a Modern Ski Lift. No two chairlifts are the same and the engineering and construction must be adapted to the specific terrain and carrying capacity requirements. Replacement of an existing chairlift is a very different process from installing a new one in a new place. More. Ski

Is a $300 Ski Helmet Really Safer Than a $70 One? Ski Found Out. Every winter, Ski’s gear testers try out dozens of ski helmets, putting them through the paces in myriad locations and different weather conditions. Then they collect everyone’s detailed feedback and rate the winning helmets, calling out the best qualities in each one. More. Ski

March 2025

Women Ski Jumpers Win Equal Pay for First time at First Women’s World Cup in USA. For the first time in history, a Women’s World Cup ski jumping event was held on U.S. soil, marking a major milestone for the sport. The competition also made history by awarding equal prize money to female athletes for the first time, a significant step toward gender equity in professional ski jumping. More. Park City Town Lift via Google Alerts

Indy Pass Adds Six Ski Areas for 2025-26 Season. Indy Pass will include six new ski area partners in 2025-26, including the first Southern Hemisphere partner resort. The new additions are Burke Mountain, Vt.; Tenney Mountain, N.H.; Corralco Mountain Resort, Chile; Rauriser-Hochalmbahnen, Austria; Pila, Italy; and Mt. Washington XC, British Columbia, Canada. Indy Pass holders can ski this summer at Corralco when it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere. More. SAM

Mountain Collective 2025-26 Pass Adds Benefits, Loses A-Basin. For the 2025-26 season, the Mountain Collective Pass will once again offer two days of access to 26 ski partner resorts with some changes from the previous year, including the departure of Arapahoe Basin, Colo., and the addition of new pass-holder benefits. More. SAM

Idaho Supreme Court Reconsiders Ski Area Liability Ruling. Initially, a lower court ruled in favor of Sun Valley Resort, citing Idaho’s 1979 Ski Area Liability Act, which limits ski area operators’ liability for inherent risks of skiing. The Idaho Supreme Court reversed this decision in December 2023, stating that a jury should determine whether the resort had failed to meet the duties of ski area operators outlined in the state’s Ski Safety statute, regardless of the skier’s actions. The December 2023 ruling could lead to higher insurance costs for all ski areas. Sun Valley asked the court to rehear the case on the basis that the court failed to factor in considerations such as the duty of skiers in its original ruling.  More. SAM

Keystone Ski Patrol ratifies contract after months of negotiations with Vail Resorts.  The Keystone Ski Patrol Union announced that members voted to ratify a contract with Vail Resorts. More. KDVR-TV Denver via MSN.

Majority Sale of Powderhorn Brightens Future for Colorado Resort. A deal to make the managers of Powderhorn Mountain the majority owners of the western Colorado mountain promises to build upon recent upgrades. Located less than an hour’s drive from Grand Junction, Powderhorn first opened in 1966. More. SnoCountry

The 11 Oldest Ski Gondolas Still in Use in North America Today. While new gondolas are being installed each year across North America for skiing, this article will focus on the oldest gondolas still in operation for skiing access. More. SnowBrains

Honoring 60+ Years of East Coast Spring Skiing Tradition at Killington, VT, as Resort Begins Construction for New Superstar Chair in April.  The legendary Superstar Express Quad is being replaced with a new six-passenger chairlift and will close to the public on April 13, after providing almost 40 years of incredible spring skiing. The new lift will be finished in the fall, though not in time for the annual Thanksgiving World Cup race, which has been moved to Copper Mountain, Colorado, for 2025. More. SnowBrains

This May Be the Best East Coast Ski Season in Almost 20 Years: It Just Keeps Snowing. While it’s still relatively early, 2024-25 is shaping up to be a memorable year on the East Coast. More. SnowBrains

August  2023

Colorado Ski Traffic is About to Get a Whole Lot Better. Thanks to a major project by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), I-70 will be a much more enjoyable ride from Evergreen to Idaho Springs. The expansion from Evergreen to Idaho Springs will eliminate the bottleneck experience when three lanes merge to two, by way of an additional express lane. More. Freeskier

Utah Dept. of Transportation  Approves Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has released its final record of decision (ROD) to move forward with construction of a controversial eight-mile-long gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon. When complete, the gondola will feature a central station at the base of the canyon along with a new 2,500-stall parking lot. It will have the capacity to transport 1,050 passengers per hour at 35 people per cabin to Snowbird and Alta. More. SAM

Stratton Mountain Resort, VT, Announces $6.9 Million Investment. Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont, has announced a $6.9 million investment for the 23/24 season. The resort’s press release states that the investment will go into enhancing multiple facets of the guest and employee experience beginning in the base area with RFID lift gates and a reimagined beginner area. More. SnowBrains

Northeast Ski Areas Damaged, Closings Occurred  in Wake of Floods. An early July deadly storm dropped as much as 10 inches of rain on areas of New York’s lower Hudson Valley July 9 before moving East, bringing downpours across Vermont, with more than 4 inches of rain reported in some mountain locations. Several ski areas sustained flood damage. More. SAM

One Dead, One Seriously Injured After Tremblant Gondola Accident. One person has died and another reported in critical condition  in a Montreal-area hospital after a piece of heavy construction machinery struck a cabin on the Panoramic gondola at Mont-Tremblant Resort on July 16. Two people were riding in the cabin at the time of the crash. It’s believed the two were thrown from the cabin and fell several meters to the ground, according to reporting by the Montreal Gazette. More. SAM

Fire Destroys Lake Louise Ski Resort Employee Housing. Summer operations at Lake Louise Ski Resort were temporarily shut down after an arson fire. A 40-year-old man was charged with arson after a  July 3 fire destroyed a 100,000 square-foot building that houses hundreds of resort staff. There were no fatalities and summer operations have resumed although with some reductions in services.  More. SAM

11 Ski Areas Flee Ski Cooper Pass as Indy Delivers Ultimatum: Drop Cooper or We Drop You. At issue is Ski Cooper’s $379 season pass, which offered three lift tickets each at 73 ski areas when it went on sale July 1. Reciprocal agreements among ski areas are common. The majority of Indy’s partners have established at least a handful as a benefit to their season pass holders. But Indy Pass officials say that the scale of Ski Cooper’s coalition has created a shadow multi-mountain national pass masquerading as a small-mountain pass. More. Storm Skiing Journal

Crested Butte Lift Mechanics, Electricians Vote to Unionize. Lift mechanics and electricians at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) voted 7 to 3 to form the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Professional Union, joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) 7781. This is the second ski area lift maintenance crew in the country to unionize, following the unionization of Park City Lift Maintenance last October. More. SAM

May  2023

How Western States Are Trying to Solve Ski Resort Traffic. State officials and ski resorts in the West are weighing solutions to mitigate crushing traffic up to the slopes, as population growth and a rise in outdoor recreation lure more people to the mountains. More. Axios via MSN News

Indy Pass to Meter Growth After Record Volume Halts Sales. Sales of the 2023-24 Indy Pass have been suspended after the volume of renewals and purchases by new passholders exceeded expectations. The pass had only been available to new customers for 10 days. Officials plan to reassess their sales goals in terms of volume and capacity. More. SAM

Will Utah’s Newest Ski Area Be the Next to Ban Snowboarding? When completed, Mayflower Resort will be the first new ski area in the U.S. since 2004. Here’s the latest on the massive project. More. Ski Magazine

Windham Mountain Gains New Majority Owners, Multi-year Capital Investment. Windham Mountain ownership has secured new investment from two hospitality and resort development families that will provide growth capital for a multi-year development and renovation plan at the resort. More.  SAM

MCP Acquires Lee Canyon (NV). Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) has acquired Lee Canyon ski resort, located about 50 miles northwest of Las Vegas, from Powdr Corporation and local partner, the Thomas family. More. SAM

America’s Only Summer Ski Area Set To Open Memorial Day Weekend. Skiers and snowboarders looking to get some summer turns in the Big Sky State, Beartooth Basin is planning to open May 26th (weather dependent). Tickets go on sale shortly and the mountain has a daily capacity is 80 skiers, so if you have a date in mind purchasing asap is recommended. More. Unofficial Networks

FOR SALE: Private Montana Ski Area ($3.5 Million). Wraith Hill Ski Area is a 160-acre plot of land featuring a ski area with an 800-foot vertical drop. Eight trails range in beginner, intermediate, and advanced difficulty. While there is a surface lift, it’s unclear if it’s still operational. Wraith Hill is bordered by thousands of acres of Forest Service land. More. Unofficial Networks

Small towns reclaim abandoned ski areas as nonprofits. Under the gaze of the imposing Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado, the 50-acre Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park is the story of so many American ski areas, only the community was determined to change the script. More. AP via Google Alerts

Stifel to Have Naming Rights of U.S. Ski and Snowboard in Partnership Expansion. Stifel Financial Corporation have expanded their partnership with U.S. Ski and Snowboard, acquiring the naming rights of all ski teams, it has been announced. More. Inside the Games via Google Alerts

The Story Of SoCal’s Abandoned Year-Round Ski Slope. Opening back on June 25, 1966, the $750,000 project in Chino Hills  became the largest synthetic ski slope on the planet. The project got its inspiration from similar slopes in Japan, with it using plastic bristle tiles rather than snow. More. Unofficial Networks

Eight Reasons Why Spring Is the Best Time of Year to Ski. Everyone knows that skiing exists in the spring, but people don’t understand how spectacular spring skiing truly is. Here are the top eight reasons why spring skiing is the best time of year to ski. More. SnowBrains

October 2022

Winter Park Resort to expand terrain this winter. Among a series of announced improvements, Winter Park Resort is opening new terrain for the 2022-23 ski season that the resort says will almost double its expert-only terrain over last season.  More. Steamboat Pilot & Today

Three More Ski Areas Added to Indy Pass. Bluebird Backcountry, Colo.; Chestnut Mountain, Ill.; and Snowriver, Mich., have joined the Indy Pass starting in winter 2022-23. With the additions, Indy Pass holders will have two days of access to 96 alpine ski areas and 13 Nordic ski areas in North America and Japan. More. SAM

Mountain Collective Adds Sugar Bowl. The Mountain Collective Pass has added Sugar Bowl, Calif., to its now 25-destination roster. The Tahoe resort joins Sun Valley, Snowbasin, Marmot Basin, and Le Massif de Charlevoix as new partners for upcoming season. More. SAM

Ikon Pass Adds Sun Peaks, Grandvalira Resorts Andorra. Ikon Pass has added Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia and Grandvalira Resorts Andorra in Andorra for the 2022–23 season. With five other partners added earlier this year—Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley, France, Sun Valley, Idaho, Snowbasin, Utah, Lotte Arai Resort, Japan, and Panorama, B.C.—Ikon Pass holders will now have access to more than 50 mountain destinations in 11 countries. More. SAM

Canada to Remove All COVID-19 Restrictions for Travelers. Canada will lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions for international and domestic travelers starting Oct. 1. More.  CBS News via Inntopia

Mountain Capital Partners to Operate Willamette Pass Resort. Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) has entered a joint venture with the Wiper family to operate and manage Willamette Pass Resort, Ore. The partnership will begin immediately. More. SAM

Telluride Renews Epic Pass Partnership with Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts and Telluride renewed their partnership for an undisclosed number of years. The terms remain the same: Full Epic Pass holders get seven days at Telluride with no blackouts. Four-to-seven-day Epic Day Pass holders with “all resorts” access can also redeem those days at Telluride. More. The Storm Skiing Journal

Pacific Group Submits Top Bid for Jay Peak at $76 Million. Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) made the highest and best final bid to buy Jay Peak, $76 million, following an auction with multiple bidders. More. SAM

No Immediate Changes Planned for Jay Peak. Pacific Group Resorts Inc. (PGRI) does not plan to make any immediate changes to Jay Peak’s pass products, management, or infrastructure for the 2022-23 season. More. SAM

Maine’s Shawnee Peak Returns to its Original Name, Pleasant Mountain. Maine’s Shawnee Peak will return to its original namesake, Pleasant Mountain, a move that honors its 84-year history and the mountain it calls home, said resort officials. More. SAM

Alterra Acquires Ski Butlers Rental Service. Alterra Mountain Company has acquired Ski Butlers, a leading ski equipment rental and delivery service based in Utah. Ski Butlers will remain a standalone business with ongoing operations in 50 worldwide ski destinations while maintaining its current staff and leadership. Alterra hopes to expand the service to more resorts, both within and outside Alterra’s portfolio. More. SAM

Indy Pass Sales Reflect Growth in Partnerships. After adding 40 partner resorts since the end of the 2021-22 season, the Indy Pass now has 96 alpine ski areas on-board offering two days of access each to Indy Pass holders, plus 14 cross-country ski areas. More. SAM

Vail Resorts Plans Mobile Access Feature for 2023-24. Vail Resorts plans to utilize technology that will allow guests to store and use their season pass or lift ticket directly on their phone. The new feature will be tested during the 2022-23 North American winter season, with roll-out to guests expected for the 2023-24 season. More. SAM

“Where There’s Snow, We’ll Go”: This Black Ski Club In D.C. Was One Of The First In The U.S. Black Ski, Inc. has been etching out a supportive space in the powder for jet-setting African Americans in the D.C. area since 1972. Based in the D.C. area, the organization was one of the earliest Black ski clubs in the U.S. More. DCist/WAMU American University Radio via Google Alerts

Vail Resorts Launches Youth Access Program. Vail Resorts will provide more youth of color with the opportunity to learn how to ski or snowboard through its expanded Epic for Everyone youth access program. During the 2022-23 winter season, Vail plans to partner with nonprofit and youth development organizations working to support youth of color to host 9,000 youth across 29 resorts. More. SAM

Season Passes Now Consistently Represent More Resort Visits Than Lift Tickets Nationwide. According to Aspen Daily News, season pass holders have been the dominant form of mountain access since 2019-20 season. In that year, 45.5% of visits were by season pass holders, while only 43.5% were made up by single day passes. Since then, it’s only gotten more severe, with last season seeing season passes representing 51.9% of visits and lift tickets representing only 37.3% of visits (the remaining percentage is represented by employee passes and complimentary tickets). More. Unofficial Networks via Inntopia

Best Months To Ski Colorado Ski Resorts. The short, fill-in-the-blank answer is late February into mid-March. At face value, it seems like a pretty easy question to answer. However, there are particular nuances that the ski enthusiast should be aware of. More. SnowBrains

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Class of 2022. The inductees include X Games gold medalist, U.S. Open champion and Boarding for Breast Cancer pioneer Tina Basich; America’s first Olympic snowboard medalist Shannon Dunn-Downing; “father of freestyle snowboarding” Terry Kidwell; speed skier C.J. Mueller; freeskiing pioneer Kent Kreitler; one of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team’s most successful coaches, Phil McNichol; longtime Ski Racing International publisher Gary Black (posthumous); Mammoth Mountain and Alterra Mountain  Company leader Alan “Rusty” Gregory; and adaptive snowsports pioneer Gwen Allard. More.  SAM

September 2022

Historic Climate Bill Expected to Benefit Ski Industry. The package includes the largest climate, energy, and environmental justice investment ($370 billion) in U.S. history, from which the U.S. ski industry stands to benefit. More. SAM

Ski and Sports Shops See Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Equipment Supplies. Ukraine is one of the biggest producers of winter sports equipment in Europe, producing hundreds of thousands of skis and snowboards each year. Certain brands may be hard to come by this snow season as disruptions in ski production from the war could rupture the supply chain. More. Sacramento Bee via Stars and Stripes

After Apocalyptic Lift Lines Last Year, Vail Resorts will Limit Ticket Sales this Winter.  Daily tickets at all of the company’s 37 North American resorts will be capped, but Epic Pass holders will not be affected. More. Ski Magazine

Vail Resorts Drops Vaccine Requirements, Will Limit Day Tickets. Vail Resorts has updated its Covid protocols, dropping vaccine requirements for guests and staff, and will limit day ticket sales for the upcoming winter season, according to its 2022-23 operating plan. Across all its resorts, the company will no longer require face coverings, vaccines, or dining reservations for guests. More. SAM

More Bidders for Jay Peak Likely to Appear. With the likelihood that another bidder (or more) for Jay Peak will surface in the next few days, the resort’s federal court appointed receiver, Michael Goldberg, filed a motion Aug. 18 proposing a new deadline of Sept. 2 for the sale of the resort. More. SAM

Indy Pass Adds Mountain High and Dodge Ridge in Calif. Indy Pass has added two more resorts to its growing list of partners for the 2022-23 season:  Mountain High and Dodge Ridge, Calif. The additions bring Indy Pass’s total alpine and Nordic resort partners to 106. More. SAM

Big Rock, Maine Gets $2.5 Million Boost from U.S. Department of Commerce. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) has awarded a $2.5 million grant to Big Rock Mountain to boost tourism by supporting investment into a new chairlift and increased snowmaking capacity at the Mars Hill, Maine, ski area. More. SAM

Big Snow, Mich. Acquisition Closed, Renames as  Snowriver Mountain Resort. Charles Skinner Jr. has closed on the acquisition of Big Snow Resort, which includes Indianhead and Blackjack ski areas, all of which will be renamed with new branding. Big Snow will transition to Snowriver Mountain Resort, the Indianhead area will be called Jackson Creek Summit, and Blackjack will be Black River Basin. More. SAM

Ikon Pass Adds Lotte Arai, Japan and Panorama, B.C. Alterra Mountain Company’s Ikon Pass has added Lotte Arai Resort in Japan and Panorama Mountain Resort in British Columbia. With the additions, the pass will provide access to more than 50 destinations in 10 countries for the 2022-23 season. More. SAM

The Most Legendary Skier in California History? “Snowshoe Thompson.” He was a skiing beast who charged 90 miles over the Sierra Nevada in the dead of winter – solo – on 10-foot skis carrying an 80-100-pound pack in only three days. Then, he’d turn around and charge the 90 miles back home in only two. The guy did this twice a month during winter for 20 years (1856 – 1876)…. More. SnowBrains

 August 2022

Vermont Ski Area Ditching Its Controversial Name. Suicide Six will become Saskadena Six to alleviate any negative impact the current name could have on visitors. More.  Ski Magazine

Keystone Bergman Bowl Restoration Approved, But Lift Will Not Open for 2022-23. Work on Keystone Resort’s Bergman Bowl Express will move forward after the U.S. Forest Service approved the resort’s plan to restore environmental damage to a high alpine area incurred during construction. However, the lift will not be completed as scheduled in time for the 2022-23 winter season due to construction delays. More. SAM

Mt. Hood Meadows Joins Indy Pass. Indy Pass will now include Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore. The ski area is Indy’s largest resort partner by skier volume, and it brings the pass’ total resort partners to 105 for the 2022-23 season. More. SAM

Mountain Collective Adds Marmot Basin. The Mountain Collective Pass has added Marmot Basin, Alberta, to its winter 2022-23 roster. Marmot Basin is the seventh Canadian resort to join the pass partnership. (Le Massif de Charlevoix in Quebec signed on in June.) Its addition brings the total number of Mountain Collective resort partners to 24 worldwide More. SAM

Indy Pass Adds Black Mountain of Maine, Meadowlark, Aomori Springs in Japan as Full Partners; Paul Bunyan, King Pine, Cherry Peak as Allied. The Indy Pass has added Black Mountain of Maine; Meadowlark, Wyoming; and Aomori Spring, Japan as full downhill partners. Black’s Nordic center will join the pass as a separate entity, becoming the fifth ski area to add both operations to Indy, and the 13th Nordic partner overall. King Pine, New Hampshire; Paul Bunyan, Wisconsin; and Cherry Peak Utah will join the pass’ new Allied Resorts program. More. The Storm Skiing Journal

Motion Filed to Sell Jay Peak, PGRI Begins Bid Process. A motion for approval has been filed for Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) to enter into a $58 million asset purchase agreement (APA) to acquire Jay Peak Resort, Vt. A judge has 10 days to accept or deny the motion; if accepted, the asset purchase agreement would become the initial bid in a potential auction to purchase the resort. More. SAM

Schweitzer Breaks Ground On $22 Million Employee Housing Development. Schweitzer, Idaho, is amongst a growing list of ski resorts across North America that are investing millions of dollars into employee housing initiatives. More.  Unofficial Networks via Inntopia | Destimetrics

Vail Town Council Blocks Permits for Vail Resorts Employee Housing Project. The Vail town council approved an emergency ordinance this week that suspended all permits for any activity on Vail Resorts’ 23-acre property in East Vail where the company planned to build a $17 million affordable housing development. The housing project was already in limbo after the council began proceedings earlier this year to condemn the property, citing the development as a threat to a local herd of bighorn sheep that range on the land. More. SAM

Two More European Glaciers Close for Summer Skiing Due to Warm Temps, Melting Snow. Austria’s Mölltaler Gletscher and France’s Val d’Isère are the latest resorts to suspend summer operations. More. Ski Magazine

Italian Glacier Resort Closes as Glaciers Melt. Passo Stelvio is the latest summer ski resort to close as warm temperatures take their toll. Some question how many more years glacier skiing in Europe will be able to continue. The freezing level in Switzerland is currently over 5,000m (~16,250 ft.) – higher than any alpine peak. More. Planet Ski via Inntopia | Destimetrics

New Zealand Ski Resort Closes Due to Too Much Snow. Ski resorts in the southern hemisphere are having a great season with massive snowstorms dumping feet of snow on the mountains. In fact, there was too much at Mt Lyford Alpine Resort near Christchurch, New Zealand. More. SnowBrains via Inntopia | Destimetrics

The 13 Largest Ski Resorts on Earth. So, where are the biggest ski resorts on Earth?  Mostly in the Alps, it’s true, but there are a couple of others outside of the Alps in North America. More.  SnowBrains

Online Marketplace Takes the Hassle Out of Buying and Selling Used Gear. Got old skis and packs hanging around? Geartrade will take used gear off your hands and cut you a check in the process. More. Ski Magazine

World’s Oldest Skier Turns 105. “I’ve been able to ski consistently for 61 years, including a few runs this year at Sugar Bowl, but I can no longer ski at my favorite resorts in Utah because I can’t handle the altitude. I still do my 45 minutes of exercise every morning to keep limber, and that helps my mind, too,” he told Stanford Business School’s journal in July last year, after turning 104. More. InTheSnow.com

Europe’s Largest Dry Ski Slope Opens in Ukraine, Despite War. A huge dry ski slope has gone into operation near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Work on the facility began last autumn and was completed in early summer, despite Russia’s invasion. More. InTheSnow

 May 2022

Bode Miller Launches Peak Ski Company with Six New Ski Designs. Miller is launching a new venture, Peak Ski Company, a direct-to-consumer ski brand leading with a line of six all-mountain skis designed for skiers like you and me—which is to say, skiable by mortal enthusiasts. Miller is joined by co-founder Andy Wirth, most recently the president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings until 2018, who will serve as the brand’s CEO. More. Outside Online

Indy Pass Introduces New XC Pass. Indy Pass has introduced the new Indy XC Pass for 2022-23, which will include two days of access to seven cross-country ski areas in North America. The pass costs $69 for adults, $29 for youth ages 12 and under. Cross-country access will also be included on the regular Indy Pass ($279 adult, $119 youth) in addition to the two days at each of the 82 alpine partner ski areas. More. SAM

Vail Resorts to Add Housing for 875 Employees Across Four Resorts. Vail Resorts has planned four new investments in employee housing at Park City Mountain, Utah, Whistler Blackcomb, B.C., Vail Mountain, Colo., and Okemo Mountain Resort, Vt. The new housing will in total provide affordable housing options to more than 875 VR employees, an increase of more than 10 percent across the company’s resorts. More. SAM

Vail Town Council Halts Vail Resorts Affordable Housing Project. The Vail town council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to begin possible condemnation proceedings on a 23-acre parcel of Vail Resorts-owned land in East Vail, citing concerns over the wellbeing of a herd of bighorn sheep in the adjacent natural preservation. The land was selected in 2019 as an approved site for a $17 million affordable housing development to house 165 employees. Vail Resorts had pledged an additional $100,000 for habitat improvement aimed at preserving the herd of bighorn sheep, which uses part of that parcel for critical winter range at times. More. SAM

Indy Rebrands Core Pass Product, Reduces Blackout Dates. Indy has rebranded its primary pass product as the Indy Base Pass. The Indy Base Pass—not to be confused with the similar-sounding Ikon Base Pass—will continue to provide two days at Indy’s roster of independent partner resorts, subject to newly reduced blackout dates. The Indy+ Pass will remain unrestricted at all resorts. More. SAM

Winter Park Proposed Master Plan Calls for Gondola to Connect Town and Resort. A proposed 10-to-15-year master development plan for Winter Park Resort, Colo., includes a series of gondolas spanning nearly three miles that would connect downtown Winter Park to the Winter Park Resort village, among a variety of other elements that include new and replacement lifts, expanded terrain, new facilities, and more. More. SAM

NY Olympic Regional Development Authority Plans $91.7 Million in Improvements. The state Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) board of directors approved more than $91.7 million in upcoming capital projects, including nearly $20 million for construction of a new lodge at the North Creek Ski Bowl and $38 million for seven new or upgraded lifts at ORDA’s Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre mountains. More. SAM

Stowe Mountain to Implement Paid Parking. Stowe Mountain Resort will implement a new parking plan for the 2022-23 season that includes paid and free parking as well as carpool incentives. The new strategy aims to reduce traffic congestion on the resort’s two-lane access road, a topic of much discussion this winter. More. SAM

More H-2B Visas Released for This Summer, NSAA Sets Sights on Winter Period. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released 35,000 additional H-2B visas for employers with start dates between April 1 and Sept. 30. The release more than doubles the 33,000 H-2B visas authorized by statute. NSAA director of risk and regulatory affairs Dave Byrd said that additional H-2Bs will also be needed for this winter season. More. SAM

Vail Resorts’ Rob Katz and Sugarbush’s Win Smith to be Recognized by NSAA. Win Smith and Rob Katz will receive the 2022 National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Lifetime Achievement and Industry Impact Awards, respectively. Smith owned Sugarbush for more than 19 years before selling the resort to Alterra Mountain Company in January 2020. After 15 years as CEO of Vail Resorts, Katz stepped down in November 2021 and assumed the role of executive chairperson. More. SAM

Former Jay Peak Owner Ariel Quiros Sentenced to Five Years. Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak Resort, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and pay more than $8 million in restitution for his role in a “Ponzi-like” scheme that misused $200 million of EB-5 investor funds raised to support capital projects at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain, as well as a biomedical research center in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Projects at Jay and Burke came to fruition, but the biomedical research center never did. More. SAM

Lake Tahoe Chosen for Latest Monopoly Game. Makers of the game, Top Trumps USA, will replace the famous Atlantic City squares (from Boardwalk to Park Place) with representations of much-loved Lake Tahoe historic landmarks, treasured natural destinations, and summertime favorites. Under license from Hasbro, the games will be out in February 2023, and the public can help select the features on the board game. More. SnowBrains

Taos Ski Valley Looks to Reach Net-Zero Emissions with Help of a 100% Electric Snow Groomer. Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico recently became the first North American ski resort to use a fully electric snow groomer by putting a PistenBully 100 E into operation. This is just one of several actions the mountain village is taking to promote sustainability and achieve its pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. More. Electrek via Google Alerts

How The Ski and Snowboard Industry is Changing in 2022 (and What Comes Next). The 2021-22 snow season was marked by immense change as the industry continues to grapple with the ongoing effects of Covid-19 and climate change, but also sees increasing advancements in technology, sustainability and retail. More. Forbes via Google Alerts

Skier Sets Fastest Known Time on Mount Hood in Just His Underpants. Skier Jack Kuenzle just redefined the concept of going fast and light in the mountains. On Kuenzle skied up and down Oregon’s 11,249-foot Mount Hood in 1 hour 31 minutes 31 seconds—a mark that is believed to be the new fastest known time. More. Ski Magazine

The Last Best Ski Bars in the World. A completely opinionated list of the last great ski bars across the globe. These classic ski bars have been around long enough to earn a spot on this list, and a visit to any of them promises a true après-ski experience you’ll remember—and want to revisit. More. Ski Magazine

 March 2022

IKON Pass Adds Partner Resorts, Pass Options for 2022-23. Alterra Mountain Company unveiled the details for its 2022-23 Ikon Pass, which includes new pass product options, new partner resorts, and changes to access for several destinations. New partner resorts include Sun Valley, Idaho, and Snowbasin, Utah—which are defecting from Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass—and Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley in France. More. SAM

Mountain Collective Shuffles Partners for 2022-23. The Mountain Collective will include 22 destinations for the 2022-23 season, as Snowbasin, Utah, and Sun Valley, Idaho, return to the group, and Mammoth and Palisades Tahoe, Calif., and Sugarbush, Vt., withdraw. More. SAM

Indy Pass Holds Prices for 2022-23, Introduces Mega Switch Pass. Pricing for 2022-23 Indy Pass products will not increase from 2021-22, but new this year is a $20 discount incentive for mega pass holders to switch to Indy Pass. All 82 current resort partners are expected to return next season. A final resort roster with blackout dates will be released May 1. More. SAM

Big Sky Resort Announces New Tram, Gondola, Midmountain Sports Center. Big Sky Resort will add a new gondola from its base area, sports center, restaurant venues and a new tram to the top of 11,166-foot Lone Mountain as the final phase of its 10-year, $150 million expansion plan. More. Billings Gazette via Inntopia | Destimetrics

Snowbird to Get New Trams, First in the United States with Rooftop Balcony.  Snowbird will upgrade its Aerial Tram with new Doppelmayr cabins this spring. The cabins, which will feature a summer rooftop balcony and glass floor panels, will be the first of their kind in the United States. More. SAM

Alterra Plans $344 Million in Capital Improvements. Alterra Mountain Company plans to invest $344 million in capital improvements for winter 2022-23, its biggest single year investment since the company was formed. More. SAM

Sunlight is First Colorado Resort to Join Indy Pass. Sunlight Mountain has become the first Colorado ski area to join the Indy Pass. For the remainder of winter 2021-22 and the entire 2022-2023 season, Indy Pass holders will get two days at Sunlight with no blackout dates. More.

Alpine-X Proposes Second Indoor Ski Area for Texas. Alpine-X, a Virginia-based developer with plans to build 20 indoor snowsports resorts across North America, has signed a letter of intent to co-develop its second location in Texas. Its flagship indoor resort, projected to open in early 2025, is in its first phase of development in the Washington D.C. area. More. SAM

Vail Resorts Sold a Record Number of Passes. Now Their Ski Areas Are Facing a Logistical Nightmare.

Employees fear the corporate behemoth bit off more than it could chew, while pass holders cry foul about overcrowding and reduced hours. More. Outside Magazine via Inntopia | Destimetrics

FIS Cancels All Forthcoming 2022 World Cup Events in Russia, Including Ski Cross and Aerial Events. The international sporting federation for Ski and Snowboard competitions announced on Feb. 25 the cancellations of all World Cup events in Russia through the rest of the 2022 season including the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Sunny Valley, Russia. More. SnowBrains

Black ski groups descend on Snowmass to promote camaraderie, inclusion in the ski industry.  The skiing and snowboarding industry has historically been dominated by white and male participants, but industry leaders in Colorado are ramping up efforts to bring, especially, first-time skiers and snowboarders of color to their mountains. They said they want to make it more reflective and inclusive of all Americans. More. Colorado Sun via Google Alerts

America’s Birthplace of Organized Skiing is in Michigan, Here’s What It Looks Like. More than a century ago, local businessmen and skiing enthusiasts took steps to organize the National Skiing Association in Ishpeming, Michigan. As a result, the region is credited as the birthplace of organized skiing in America, and home to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. More. NPR

The Five Scariest Lifts in the World. Some lifts are scarier than others, and that should be recognized.  Whitelines.com put together a list of the 5 scariest lifts in the world, along with some details as to why each lift is great at raising the hairs on the back of your neck. More. SnowBrains