#1: The United States's First Indoor Ski Area, Big Snow America, Set to Open in March 2019:

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Seeing as it's been incredibly hot across most of the United States this week, it seems appropriate to kick off this week's news by announcing that Big Snow America, the first indoor ski area in the United States, is scheduled to open on March 1, 2019. For long time readers, news of this project shouldn't come as a surprise as we first became aware of it back in April of 2016. In the years that have followed, we've learned more about Big Snow America, as well as the mega entertainment complex surrounding it. Located in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, American Dream will be the home to not only Big Snow America's 180,000 square foot, 800 foot tall ski area, but also a Dreamworks Water Park, Nickelodeon Theme Park, and all of the other entertainment options you'd expect, such as a shopping mall and cinema. While the location and presentation of Big Snow America and American Dream are unlikely to attract the most enthusiastic of ski enthusiasts, its very existence could set a strong enough example that other indoor ski areas might eventually be developed in North America. Given the increasing popularity of indoor ski centers overseas and Vail's strategy to hedge against climate change, it certainly wouldn't be the most surprising thing we've seen!

#2: New Sheffield Ski Village Owners Formally Announce Redevelopment Plan:

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While we're on the subject of summer skiing, we're excited to say that we have more good news from Sheffield Ski Village this week! To quickly recap, Sheffield Ski Village was once a premier destination for skiers in the U.K. Unlike most ski areas, it was entirely outfitted with dry slope terrain, meaning it was open year round, providing an opportunity for U.K. skiers like Olympian James Woods to develop their skills. Then, in 2012, an accidental fire razed the resort, putting a sudden and unwelcome end to its operations. In the following years, a number of other small arsons occurred, along with a lack of general upkeep, resulting in a ski area that seemed beyond repair, as well as at least one post-apocalyptic themed ski edit. While there has always been a local movement attempting to reopen the area, its future has looked bleak for years.

Then, this past December we unexpectedly learned that a developer known as "Extreme" had bought the area with plans to fully revitalize it. At the time it was purely talk, with big ideas such as an indoor skydiving tunnel, mountain biking, a skatepark, and more. This week though, things took a step towards the more serious as Extreme officially shared their development plans for the area. As it turns out, they were serious about their initial ideas. In their latest plans, the team at Extreme stuck to the core components of their original vision, while adding revenue ensurers such as a live music venue and E-Gaming and virtual reality hubs. Throw in a dash of shopping and it looks as though the development team has a solid plan in place to provide something for everyone while ultimately returning Sheffield Ski Field back into the destination it once was for skiers. There was a time when we seriously doubted the future of this area, but at this point, things are really starting to look up!

#3: An Interview with Alterra CEO, and Former Lift Operator, Rusty Gregory:

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Next up: a down right fascinating interview with Alterra Mountain Company's CEO Rusty Gregory. Okay, to be fair, the content of the interview could cause some eyes to glaze over, but for anyone with an interest in the inner workings of the ski industry, learning more about strategies behind ski resort consolidation, or even just business in general, this interview's a gold mine. Over the course of 14 questions, Gregory conveys a clear picture of what the ultimate goals of Alterra are, challenges facing ski resort owners, and how he sees the competitive landscape of ski resort ownership in regards to both the Goliath that is Vail, and the countless Davids that are small feeder hills.

Amongst his most interesting comments (of which there are many) are likely those that reference Alterra's views on how to properly operate a ski resort conglomerate. While recognizing that there are areas of ownership in which "power in numbers" comes into play, Gregory also repeatedly stresses the fact that each ski resort is its own idiosyncratic business. In other words, it would be ineffective and detrimental for Alterra to manage the details of all their resorts from a centralized location, rather than allowing each resort to be its own identity. Linked to these comments is the recognition that each resort in Alterra's portfolio is the home resort to a number of skiers, meaning there's already an existing culture in place that visitors have formed a connection with. As such, it's crucial that Alterra doesn't disrupt the established way of life at any of their resorts in order to retain their current customers. For many, sentiments like this one should come as a relief as one of the most common concerns of consolidation is the vanillifacation of the unique culture found at individual ski resorts. There's plenty more that we could discuss here, but ultimately we encourage you to read the interview yourself. Regardless of where you stand on consolidation, it's well worth a read.

#4: Steamboat Hosts Annual 4th of July Ski Jumping Competition:

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Finally, one last piece of summer ski news, although this one is slightly different. As you know, Wednesday was the 4th of July, meaning people all across the United States grilled, imbibed, illegally set off fireworks, legally watched fireworks, and ultimately celebrated the anniversary of their nation. While all of that was also certainly occurring in Steamboat Springs, locals there had another type of unique activity to partake in: their annual 4th of July Ski Jumpin' and Jammin' Ski Jump Contest. For the most part, it is what you think it is. Locals gather in the field surrounding the ski jump and indulge in food, drink, and music while watching athletes compete for the longest jump. What makes this event cool though, besides being in the heat of the summer, is the way it integrates Olympic level athletes with the local youth who are still discovering and developing their skills. As Steamboat Today points out, there were 6 or 7 current or former Olympians competing in the event, alongside local youth competitors as young a 9 years old. For a sport that doesn't receive nearly as much attention as freestyle skiing or ski racing, events like this that create a relationship between aspiring youth and their prospective heroes are crucial for the sport's longevity. All in all, it's a pretty cool event, and one that we certainly found worthy of sharing as we conclude this Top 5 Friday!

#5: And Now, Your Edits of the Week:

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Well, it's Not Skiing, But it's Too Good Not to Share:

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Does the Rest of the World Only Voice Text?

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Written by Matt McGinnis on 07/06/18