National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
April 2023
Alterra To Invest Nearly $500 Million This Year. Alterra Mountain Company plans a nearly $500 million capital investment program across its portfolio of destinations over the next year. That includes almost $400 million in lifts, snowmaking, summer adventures, additional guest amenities, and resort infrastructure; $50 million dedicated to employee housing; and $40 million for technology upgrades. More. SAM
Vail Resorts Tahoe Properties to Institute Paid Parking, Carpool Incentives. Starting winter 2023-24,Vail Resorts-owned Northstar California, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe region will implement paid parking for certain lots in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion and parking shortages on weekends, holidays, and peak periods. All three will still offer free parking opportunities daily. More. SAM
Solitude Dedicates $16 Million Towards Capital Improvements, Including Lifts and Snowmaking. Solitude is planning more than $16 million in off-season capital improvement projects, including an upgrade of its Eagle Express quad, Utah’s first detachable chairlift. More. SAM
Nearly Every Indy Pass Partner Returning For The 2023-24 Season. The Indy Pass released an updated list of ski resorts that are confirmed partners for the 2023-24 season. So far, 102 of the 105 partners have confirmed that they will be returning for the 2023-24 season. More. Unofficial Networks
Vail Resorts Increases Epic Pass Pricing 8%, Expands European Partners. Vail Resorts has released pricing for the 2023-24 Epic Pass suite. The restricted Epic Local Pass will retail for $676 and the unlimited Epic Pass will go for $909, increases of roughly 8 percent year-over-year but still below the price for the 2020-21 Epic Pass. The company slashed prices 20 percent for 2021-22. More. SAM
Mountain Capital Partners 2023-24 Power Pass Pricing Remains Relatively Flat. Mountain Capital Partners released its 2023-24 Power Pass family of season passes, raising the price of its top-tier Power Pass $50 while lowering or keeping flat the prices of others and adding a new pass-holder benefit of 30 percent off day tickets. The Power Pass is good at Spider Mountain Bike Park in Texas and eight Western ski areas, including Purgatory and Hesperus, Colo.; Arizona Snowbowl, Ariz.; Brian Head and Nordic Valley, Utah; Pajarito and Sipapu, N.M.; and Willamette Pass, Ore., which MCP began operating in October 2022. More. SAM
Snowbasin and Club Med Part Ways. Snowbasin and Club Med cancelled development of a 320-room hotel, the plans for which were unveiled in September 2021.SnowbasinUpdate The Club Med hotel was originally scheduled to open for winter 2024. It would have been the resort’s first on-site lodging and Club Med’s first U.S. ski area location since the closure of its Copper Mountain, Colo., hotel in the mid-1990s. More. SAM
NZ Ski Areas To Limit Skier Numbers on Peak Dates. One outcome of the pandemic has been an increasing move by some of the world’s more popular destinations to limit numbers on the slopes and prevent overcrowding. North American resorts have been leading the way with this, but now New Zealand’s Cardrona and Treble Cone resorts are joining the movement for winter 2023 "in an effort to improve guest experience on the mountains.” More. SAM
Here’s Where We’ll Be Skiing in Late Spring—and Maybe Even Into Summer. The plentiful snow that’s graced the western half of the country is leading to longer ski seasons and extended closing dates. Already, several Colorado resorts—including Steamboat, Aspen, and Copper—have officially extended their ski season, as have several ski areas in the Tahoe region. More. Ski Magazine
Western Resorts Get Buried, East Makes Up for Lost Time. With historic snowfall at ski areas throughout the western United States, many resorts are poised to wrap up the season with later-than-expected closings and strong visitation and revenue. In the East, by contrast, the season started slowly, with rainfall and warming events affecting terrain and snow quality into February, at which point colder temperatures and snowfall returned, giving the snowpack a much needed boost. More. SAM
A-Basin Ambushed People In Parking Lots And Brought Them Up To Ski Area. They intercepted these folks as they booted up in the Dino Lots on a random Saturday morning in March. With the help of Gus Kenworthy, they approached skiers and riders with two options – they could continue on with their plans to ski wherever it is they were going to, or, if they were up for an adventure that doesn’t include road rage and 30-minute lift lines, jump on a tricked-out A-basin bus and have a once-in-a-lifetime catered ski experience. While on the bus, the participants were given themed merch and Go Pros. More. Unofficial Networks.
U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Inducts 18 Members. The U.S. National Ski& Snowboard Hall of Fame inducted 18 members from the 2021 and 2022 class, along with one member from 2018 on March 25, 2023, in Big Sky, Montana. Included among the members was Olympic champion Bode Miller, the late Gary Black Jr, who founded Ski Racing magazine, the first American to win an Olympic snowboard medal Shannon Dunn-Downing and famed alpine coach Phil McNichol. More. U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Inconsistencies in Classification of Ski Slope Difficulty Ratings. According to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), the U.S. had 473 ski resorts operating throughout the country during the 2021/22 season, offering different conditions, terrain, and elevations. However, when it comes to the classification of the difficulty levels assigned to varying slopes throughout these resorts, there seems to be an inconsistency throughout the ski industry in the U.S. More. Unofficial Networks