Browse Our Archives

/ Archive Search

May 1999

Articles from 2005 or earlier are searchable but may not include the full content of the article. Not to worry, if you are a current subscriber, email sarah@saminfo.com or call 508-655-6409 and we will email you the artcile you are looking for (up to five per month) free of charge. Archive articles are available to non-subscribers for $8 each .

Become a subscriber and get 6 print issues a year + gain access to the full digital archives, click here, or email Sarah at sarah@saminfo.com

Below is the Table of Contents. We have selected a few articles that you can read in their entirety online.

To order an article that is not online or a back issue of SAM Magazine, email donna@saminfo.com.

cover image

Featured Story

The Chairlift: How It All Began

This cover honors the first single chairlift with a telegram from W. A. Harriman.

Bob Heron, 1914-1999

The editor and three ropeway engineers reflect on the legacy left by Bob Heron, a lift designer who worked on ropeway trams for the army in WWII, Aspen...

Bogus Basin Update-One Year Later

Bogus Basin, Idaho's GM reflects on the apparent smart move to sell $199 season passes. Capacity increased by 50-60 percent without causing the overcro...

Talking, Not Fighting editorial

This editorial urges the reader to turn to page 71 for John Fry's article about the industry sitting down at the table with anti-growth forces to discu...

Thoughts on Lift Safety

This editorial urges keeping the public trust in lift safety by not economizing on staffing or training in the operation of ever-more complex lifts.

A Very Special Issue

Introduction of the NSAA Convention issue that ties together the annual show and the Eighth Annual OITAF Congress. David also announces his pullback fr...

A New Crop of SAMMY Winners

This is the announcement of the year's SAMMY winners with brief bios for Tom Fortune (Stevens Pass), David Barry (Copper Mountain), Chris Gunnarson (Sn...

Buddy Pass, Part Deux

Buddy passes continue to draw skiers across Colorado. This report reviews the 99-00 offerings.

Multiple headlines

Miller Freeman Buys NSGA Sports Expo; Mountain Sports & Living Closes Down; Whitetail Finds Buyer; Alta Wins Ciurt Case; Golden Eagle Awards; Two Fires...

Talking, Not Fighting

This article showcases a conference in Vail where hard-line environmentalists and ski areas sat down to talk about collaboration in an effort to stay o...

Power Deregulation: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

This article examines the possibility of an empty promise of lower rates as the power industry begins the deregulation process. Jecker looks at what mi...

The King of the Cable Car

This article takes a look at the creator of San Francisco's cable cars. A.S. Hallidie (born as Andrew H. Smith in London) also built wire cable suspens...

A Salute to the Chairlift

David's article looks back at North America's chairlift history from the first rope tows installed in Quebec to the eight-place lifts of the modern era...

Sun Valley Singles: History Made

This is the story of how James Michael Curran (1903-1968) came to build the first chairlift at Sun Valley in 1936. He was a bridge engineer working for...

Grooming Vehicles 1999

This a roundup on the grooming vehicles offered by suppliers for the 1999-2000 season. A comprehensive table lists vehicles, prices and key details.

Project Paradise

This article describes the logistics of building Doppelmayr's Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas project. A twin-train funicular along an elevated, double-track g...

1997-1998 Economic Analysis

Weather and real estate played major roles in ski area performance. A table compares the profitability of resorts by size and shows key factors in thei...

A Successful Design

This is a description of the Lodge at Sunspot project at Winter Park: a new, expensive on-mountain lodge. The article is a veritable "how-to" on buildi...

Heading for the Hills

This is a look at traffic concerns along three major thoroughfares in Colorado, Utah and California and what some interested parties are doing to try a...

Hosting Mountain Bike Races

Mountain Bike races are a natural fit for ski areas. Facilities and terrain are similar. Here's a look at how some areas have made the events a great p...

What's New in the Lift Evacuation Manual

This article discusses the 4th edition of the Lift Evacuation Manual, a combined effort of the NSAA and National Ski Patrol.

Binding Indemnification Programs

This article outlines how a rental shop should go about joining a manufacturer's indemnification program to hedge against the possibility of future law...

The First Rope Tow

A new book by Louise Arbique and Marc Blais titled "Mont Tremblant" raises questions about the earlier claims that the first rope tows appeared in Shaw...

Winterizing Mount Washington

A description of the winterizing of the stately Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire so it can take in winter visitors to coincide with a recent acq...

OITAF Congress and OITAF-NACS: The Early Years

This is a history of the journey that brought the OITAF International Congress to the U.S. It's a peak inside the story of how the American contingent ...

OITAF Papers: A Preview

This report previews, in brief encapsulizations, the papers to be presented at the 8th International Congress for the Transportation by Rope in San Fra...

Trends in Ski Resort Transportation-Two Views

This is a look at significant trends and advances in lift transportation that should spell the cutting edge of the technology over the next five years....

Facts, Figures and Rules of Thumb

Nils provides mathematical formulas to make the calculations needed for some lift projects easier. He provides estimates for calculating motor HP, wire...

Seth Says: E-Commerce is Coming

The article explores the proliferation of retailers on the Internet and what that will mean for retail sales in skiing and snowboarding.

Letters

Jeff Theobald on snowboard benches, Cliff Wordall on the new marketing initiative,corrections re: March 1999 Idea Files piece on lifting frames and Mar...

Idea Files

Tower ascending cable system from Snow Valley, Calif.; Emergency brake system developed at Wilmot Ski Area, Wis.; Recycled ski-tip coat rack at Toggenb...

Blue Pages

Breathalyzer testing in Davos; Paying the Piper--snowboard injuries in SoCal could bring wet-blanket solutions; Shift in lift drive market as Sabina pe...

Challenging Season

This North American roundup tells the story of the good, bad and ugly 1998-99 ski season. The report discusses skier visit tallies across the continent...

samlogo footer

Ski Area Management - SAM | P.O. Box 644 Woodbury, CT 06798 | Tel. (203) 263-0888 | Fax (203) 266-0452 | Email news@saminfo.com

Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Ski Resort Websites and Marketing by nxtConcepts