Selling Snow

Imagine building one of the first new ski areas in North America in years, and just four years in, almost having the whole thing collapse, only to re-emerge years later and realize a slightly adjusted version of the original vision?

This week, we’re off to Tamarack Resort in Idaho, a mountain that didn’t just get built from scratch, but had to rebuild itself after hitting some serious turbulence. It's a fascinating deep dive into one of the most unique comeback stories in the ski industry. 

We sit down with CEO Scott Turlington, who’s been part of Tamarack’s journey from the very beginning, through the early vision, the 2008 financial crisis, and then returned to lead the resurgence that’s turning heads across the industry.

This conversation goes way beyond lifts and snow. We get into what it really takes to rebuild trust with your audience, how to position a resort that’s both destination and local, and why marketing is less about flashy campaigns and more about consistently delivering on your promises.

There are lessons here for anyone in mountain ops, marketing, or really any business trying to grow in a competitive space. So let’s get on our blue jeans and head out to the mountain on the shores of Lake Cascade for a chat with CEO of Tamarack Resort, Scott Turlingon.

We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode that you can use to up your own game.

Find all 12 at www.sellingsnow.com.

What if the future of skiing isn’t bigger, flashier, or more expensive—but actually simpler, more human, and more affordable?

In this episode of Selling Snow, we sit down with Travis Baptiste and Cindy Dady from Sunlight Mountain Resort, a fiercely independent ski area in Colorado that’s quietly rewriting the playbook. While much of the industry is chasing scale, Sunlight is doubling down on community, experience, and value and it’s working.

You’ll hear how they’re attracting loyal destination visitors from unexpected markets like Florida and Texas, convincing folks on the front range to go a bit further, why they’ve resisted raising prices even after major capital investments, and how their “vibe-first” philosophy is turning first-time guests into lifelong advocates.

If you’re wondering how smaller or independent resorts can compete and win while updating infrastructure without raising prices, this episode is for you. Now let’s hop in the hot springs and then head up to Sunlight Mountain for a chat with CEO Cindy Dady and Marketing Manager Travis Baptiste.

We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode to help you up your own marketing game. Find all 12 at www.sellingsnow.com.

Jay Peak, in Northern Vermont is known for two things: incredible terrain and an absurd amount of snow.

But behind that reputation is a much more complex story.

After emerging from a high-profile SEC scandal and ownership shakeup, Jay Peak has rebuilt trust and driven record performance—not by chasing premium pricing or polished positioning, but by doubling down on volume, value, and authenticity.

In this episode, we sit down with GM Steven Wright to break down how that strategy actually works—from pricing and packaging to filling shoulder periods and building a brand guests believe in.

If you’re trying to grow visits and revenue in a real-world operating environment, there’s a lot here worth paying attention to. So grab your pow skis and your bathing suit and let’s head up to Northern Vermont for a chat with President and GM of Jay Peak Steven Wright.

We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode to help you up your marketing game. Find all 12 at www.sellingsnow.com 

What if the most powerful thing you could do as a ski area… is just tell the truth?

This week on Selling Snow, we head to Northern California to a truly magical place in the shadow of a massive volcano, to return to the roots of what makes skiing fun.

In the Northern California region, lovingly referred to as “Almost Oregon,” we connected with 

Brendan Hickey and Grace Hornbea from Mt. Shasta Ski Park—an independent mountain that’s carving out its own unique lane in a world of mega passes and crowded resorts.

We get into how they’ve built a brand around being approachable, affordable, and human—and why leaning into honesty, instead of hype, is actually driving stronger connections with their guests.

Because at the end of the day, what people really care about, is having fun with friends, being outside in a spectacular location, and feeling something real.

From turning fixed-grip chairlifts into connection time… to building tight-knit communities through twilight skiing… to showing up authentically in their content—this episode is packed with ideas and learning  for ski areas that want to stand out by being themselves.

Grab your crystals, watch out for bigfoot, UFO’s or Lemurians, and let’s head to Mt Shasta Ski Park in Northern California.

We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode you can use to up your own marketing game. Find them all at www.sellingsnow.com

Today, we’re heading into the wilds of Western Maine to a true gem of a ski area. It’s always had great skiing. It hasn’t always had operating lifts, but over the last five years, the big mountain Maine skiing local legend is getting noticed.

Saddleback Main is a mountain with one of the more unique stories in the industry. Closed for five years, brought back to life during COVID, and now… somehow, just a few seasons later, named the number one ski area in the East.

But what makes this conversation so valuable isn’t just the comeback story.

It’s how they did it.

From rebuilding core infrastructure, to positioning against mega resorts, to creating a product that people genuinely feel connected to—this episode is full of practical insights that other operators can actually use.

So put on your earflap toque, watch out for moose, and come get some East Coast Powdah with Ethan Austin and Jim Quimby of Saddleback, Maine.

We pulled 12 Actionable Insights you can use to up your own marketing game. Find all 12 at www.sellingsnow.com

If you could imagine the Vermont dream. What would it look like? imagine growing up with a Dad who in 2/3rds of a year built a new ski area from scratch and growing up on a ski hill that is the family business.  Imagine  after several decades  the ski area fell on hard times and the family had to sell it. But… a decade later along with your 80 year old father the kids buy back the ski area and restore it to its former glory. Throw in a mug of maple syrup and some flannel and you’ve got the makings of a Hallmark movie.

Today’s episode takes us to Vermont, where we sit down with Lindsay and Evan Deslauriers from Bolton Valley, Vermont, a family-owned resort with one of the most unique comeback stories in the industry.

From growing up on the mountain… to losing the resort… to rebuilding it as a multi-season, community-driven business—this episode is packed with lessons on resilience, authenticity, and what it really takes to create a ski experience people keep coming back to.

We get into everything from night skiing strategy and building a year-round revenue model, to building out one of the largest in-resort backcountry touring networks to why “authenticity” isn’t a marketing tactic—it’s a byproduct of culture.

If you love touring, night skiing,a good down-home, authentic ski experience or are just a sucker for a great family business story, this one is for you. Put on your best flannel, take a shot of maple syrup and let’s get it with Evan and Lindsay Deslauriers of Bolton Valley.

We pulled 12 actionable insights from this episode that you can use to up your own game. You can find them all at www.sellingsnow.com

It’s common and great advice that great ski area leadership should make sure they still spend lots of time on the mountain. Now… Imagine…you actually grew up on the mountain, and you’re now one of the Vice Presidents at that same resort? A Mountain your grandfather bought in the 80’s, and despite being one of the top ski areas in North America, it’s still family-owned nearly a half-century later.

Today, we’re chatting with Kendra Scurfield from Banff Sunshine Village—one of North America’s most iconic and stunningly beautiful ski resorts. This episode is all about what it really takes to build a brand that feels authentic, consistent, and worth coming back to.

We dive into how Sunshine protects its identity in a competitive destination market, the perks and challenges of family ownership, and why sometimes saying no is just as powerful as saying yes when it comes to brand partnerships and new trends. 

If you care about brand clarity, differentiation, and evolving without losing what makes your resort special, this one’s for you.

Now let’s take a trip high into the Rocky Mountain alpine with Kendra Scurfield, VP Brand & Communications at Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort. 

We pulled 12 actionable insights from this episode. Get all 12 at www.sellingsnow.com.

How do you build a financially sustainable ski hill in a small northern market while keeping skiing accessible and affordable for locals?

That’s the challenge the team behind Mount Sima in Whitehorse, Yukon has been solving by leaning into what they do best.

Today’s guest is Sam Oettli, General Manager of Mount Sima. Sam has been skiing the mountain since day one before stepping into the GM role.

In 2013, the society that originally built Mount Sima ran into financial trouble and ultimately folded. A new non-profit group, Friends of Mount Sima, stepped in to take over operations with a renewed vision go answer the question,  how do you make the economics of a small, northern ski hill work?

The answer was leaning into what the Yukon does best, cold, early winters. By investing in and positioning the mountain as an early-season training destination, Mount Sima began attracting national and international ski teams looking for reliable snow in November. That strategy brought new revenue to the hill, helped stabilize the nonprofit model, and allowed the organization to reinvest back into the mountain while keeping skiing accessible for locals.

In this episode, we talk about rebuilding a ski hill after financial collapse, turning extreme northern conditions into a competitive advantage, and how a small community mountain with just one main lift has become an important training hub for elite athletes.

So grab a coffee, put your handwarmers in, and let’s head north of 60 for a conversation with Sam.

We pulled 12 actionable insights from this episode. Get them all at www.sellingsnow.com.

There’s a certain reverence in ski circles when someone says, “Have you been to Whitewater?”

It’s spoken like a legend, a place of impossibly deep snow, tight tree lines, storm cycles that stack overnight, and terrain that feels raw and earned. Tucked outside Nelson, in the heart of the Kootenays, Whitewater has long been whispered about as one of those mountains you don’t just visit — you discover.

That’s the myth we give you the real story.

Whitewater isn’t just surviving on myth. It’s growing. Expanding terrain. Upgrading lifts. Investing in infrastructure. Attracting skiers from around the world. And doing all of it while fiercely protecting the independent, slightly offbeat, Nelson-rooted culture that made it special in the first place.

In this episode, we unpack how a mountain known for deep snow and epic terrain is navigating the hard part: scaling the business without losing its soul. How do you grow without becoming generic? How do you modernize without sanitizing? How do you stay proudly Kootenay while competing in a global ski market?

Make yourself a Glory Bowl from the Whitewater Cookbook and settle in for the story behind the legend and the strategy that’s keeping it alive, because there’s no business like snow business on Selling Snow

Get all 12 actionable insights and how you can implement them to up your marketing game here at www.sellingsnow.com

The 90’s were a magical time. Extreme Sports were becoming mainstream, and it seemed every sport had an element of going backwards… except skiing. Wanting to change that, one kid in his parents' garage quietly and quite literally reshaped the skiing world.

On today’s episode of Selling Snow, we’re sitting down with Jason Leventhal, the founder of J Skis and the original creator of the twin-tip ski.

Jay’s been in the ski industry for over 30 years. He’s built brands from his parents’ garage, nearly gone bankrupt more than once, sold a company to K2, and then started over again — this time putting everything he’d learned together with a radically different model.

J Skis isn’t sold in shops. There are no sponsored athletes. No massive marketing budgets. Instead, it’s a direct-to-consumer brand built on scarcity, personality, art, email, and a relentless focus on fun.

In this conversation, Jay breaks down why most ski brands struggle to survive, how selling less product can actually make you more money, why email still beats social media, and what small brands can do better than the biggest players in the industry.

If you’re in the ski business, outdoor retail, tourism marketing - or if you’re just fascinated by how niche brands actually succeed -this is one you don’t want to miss.

Now go find your favourite chair… sit in it backwards, and let’s get into it with J Levinthal, founder of J Skis.

Get all 19 actionable insights from this episode HERE