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September 1992

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Featured Story

Is Elegance Essential?

This feature takes a look at the trend of multi-million dollar spending on mountain restaurants, focusing on three new summit restaurants in Colorado: The Outpo...

About The Cover

At Mount Snow, Vermont, a local farm owner has been grazing a flock of 65 sheep on the hill as a natural lawn mower. The project has been very well rec...

Outpost On High

Written by Sherwood Stockwell

The Outpost, a new restaurant in Keystone, Colo., is a group of buildings that form a small village at an altitude of 11,444 feet. This dramatic concep...

Two Elk Fits A Niche

Written by Jack Zehren

The master plan for Vail, Colo., included a master lift system, skiing in distant bowls and memorable dining. A new mountain restaurant called the Two ...

A Safety Puzzle Solved

Written by Karl Steichen

An example of how the maintenance department at Sundown, Iowa, was able to construct a solid but forgiving barrier to prevent skier injuries on a steep...

A Topping For Powder Ridge

Written by Paul Janoff

Powder Ridge Ski Area in Minnesota decided that demand in their area dictated expansion. The plan they settled on called for adding 40 vertical feet to...

Sign Posts: Light, Versatile And Easy

Written by Michael Commins

The maintenance crew at Grand Targhee, Wyoming, devised an inexpensive and manageable way to make their own lightweight sign posts using a combination ...

Backyard To The Future

Written by Mickey Sullivan

Bristol Mountain, New York, maintains the ultimate metropolitan feeder ski hill, answering a community need and creating skiers for the future. A look ...

Top Or Bottom Drive

Written by John Dalton

The important decision of whether to select a top or bottom drive lift involves many factors, including alignment, drive location, capacity, access and...

Impact Wrenches: Ratcheting Quick And Easy

Written by Sanford Wilk

Electric impact wrenches are handy tools for mountain use when pneumatic wrenches are not convenient or available. A review of six types of impact wren...

Lessons Learned From Giving It Away

Written by Bob Gillen

At Crested Butte, Colorado, management decided not to charge for lift tickets for the first three weeks of the season. In lieu of lift revenues, the re...

Can Cads Keep Skiers Skiing

Written by Greg Kail

Inventor Walter Dandy claims his strange-looking device can keep skiers in action when knees would otherwise have persuaded them to hang up their skis....

Former Drexel Executives Gain Control Of Vail Associates

Written by Mike Spaniola

A look at the bankruptcy hearings for George Gillett. Among the major transactions is the assumption of control of 60 percent of Vail Associates by fou...

Computers For Small Areas: Learning The Basics

Written by Robin Smith

A look at how the current trends towards a service-based industry demand the efficiencies of computer technology, especially in a small ski area enviro...

Computers For Small Areas: Avoiding The Pitfalls

Written by Robert Macdonald

A look into the basic uses and misuses of computers at the small ski area. A description of an area's evolution into the computer age with a strong but...

Seasonal And Year Round Employee Differences

Written by William Hill

Using the results of a study conducted at several Colorado ski areas on the needs and attitudes of seasonal vs. year-round employees, the author has as...

New Products

Written by Staff

High pressure washer by Alfred Marcher Ski. Snowboard racks by Air Dry Systems. Power control system by Var+Controls. Human maze by Amaze Venture, Inc....

What's Happening To Advanced Classes?

Written by Stu Campbell

It appears as though people who take advanced ski lessons rarely repeat. This trend is explained along with possible actions to reverse this trend. Top...

Highlights Of A Skimpy Expansion Year

Written by Linda Goodspeed

A closer look at the three prevailing conditions for the weak number of orders so far this construction season: a poor economy, S&L banks loaning less ...

Reach Out And Touch At&T

Written by David Rowan

A somewhat mean-spirited look at the AT&T ski awards for using the ski industry for its own ends. Note: see letters in SAM, November, 1992, for several...

Yo, Dynos! Don't Norton

Written by Gary Black

A commentary on the sport of snowboarding and its recent accreditation at the FIS meeting. A look toward the future of the sport and its future in reco...