May 2026

 Snow Partners to Launch New Multi-Mountain Product, Expand Snow Triple Play. Snow Partners is launching a new multi-mountain frequency product, Snow Pass. The pass will provide two days of access to each partner ski area and operate as a cooperative. The company is also expanding its three-day multi-mountain product Snow Triple Play to the Midwest. More. SAM

Skier visitation in the U.S. tumbled by more than 6 million in the Rocky Mountain West amid a historically hot and dry winter. Roughly 9 million fewer skiers and riders took to the slopes this season than last, with the Rocky Mountain West accounting for more than two-thirds of that decline, according to preliminary data released this week by the National Ski Area Association. The data counted skier visits, or each time an individual used a lift ticket or season pass to a ski area. More. The Aspen Times via Google Alerts

 Global Skier Visits Hit Record 399M for 2024-25. Global skier visits reached a record 399 million in the 2024-25 season, surpassing the previous high of 392 million set in 2018-19, according to the 18th edition of the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism, compiled by Laurent Vanat. More. SAM

These 5 East Coast Resorts Just Had Their Best Seasons on Record. From the longest season to the earliest opening, these are the East Coast ski areas who won the 2025-’26 season. More. Ski

Vail Resorts Visits, Revenue, and Pass Sales Down. Skier visits, lift revenue, and other season-to-date metrics reported by Vail Resorts were down for the North American ski season through April 19, 2026, compared to the same period through April 20, 2025. More. SAM

Bought a Ski Pass and Didn’t Use It? Here’s What You Can (and Can’t) Get Back. Common sense dictates that since you didn’t use the service you paid for, you should get your money back. Right? Right?!?!? Unfortunately, usually not. More. Ski

$1 Billion Expansion Plans Could Make Nordic Valley, UT, One of the Premier Ski Resorts in the State. A major approved development plan could transform the Ogden Valley ski area into something far larger, with new lifts, expanded terrain, hundreds of lodging units, chalets, condos, hotel rooms, employee housing, and a full village-style base area. More. SnowBrains

Homewood, Sugar Bowl, Lee Canyon Working To Debut Lifts Next Season. A trio of lifts highlight the summer construction season in the Far West, including the ongoing resurrection of a ski and snowboard mountain on Lake Tahoe, and the latest version of a one-of-a-kind, parking lot-base gondola. More. SnowCountry

Nearly 2,000 Ski and Snowboard Instructors Join Labor Suit Against Vail Resorts. Nearly 2,000 current and former ski and snowboard instructors have joined a collective action Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit against Vail Resorts, according to reports citing consent forms filed in federal court in Colorado last week. More. SAM

One Staff Member Killed, Another Injured After Work Basket Falls at Mt. Hood Skibowl. Two Mt. Hood Skibowl employees were in a work carrier when it fell from the line of the Upper Bowl chairlift Thursday morning, killing one and injuring the other. More. SAM

Parents Charged with Endangerment After 5-Year-Old Falls from Lift.  The parents of a 5-year-old boy who fell from a chairlift at Blue Knob All Season Resort were each arraigned this week on a felony charge of endangering the welfare of a child. The boy was riding the lift alone when he reportedly turned to adjust his goggles, slipped off the chair and fell 20 feet to the trail below. He did not sustain any major injuries. More. SAM

Official Report on the Castle Peak, CA, Avalanche That Killed 9 Reveals Critical Decision Errors, Undeployed Airbags, and Victims Buried 8 Feet Deep. The Sierra Avalanche Center has published its official investigation report on the February 17, 2026, Perry Peak near Frog Lake/Castle Peak avalanche that killed nine skiers and guides northwest of Lake Tahoe. The report is publicly viewable on Avalanche.org. More. SnowBrains

Skier Killed After Sluff Knocked Them 2,000 Feet Down a Cliff in Rogers Pass, BC. A skier died after a small loose-snow avalanche knocked them off their feet and sent them tumbling 2,000 vertical feet (600 vertical meters) down the northeast face of Swiss Peak in Rogers Pass, Glacier National Park, British Columbia. More. SnowBrains

Taxing the Mountain: Vail Resorts’ Blended Sales Tax Angers New Hampshire Residents.  When a skier in New Hampshire buys an Epic Day Pass or full Epic Pass to Attitash, Wildcat, Crotched Mountain, and Mount Sunapee, they’re now paying an Epic Pass sales tax of approximately 3.2% at checkout, even though New Hampshire collects no such tax on retail transactions. 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