SAM Magazine--April 5, 2012--Fifty-two years after the Olympic flame was first ignited in the Tahoe region, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and Nevada Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki announced the formation of the Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee (LTWGEC) today, a new joint California Nevada initiative to develop an Olym...

SAM Magazine--April 3, 2012--TechnoAlpin, founded in 1990 in Bolzano (Italy) and a major player in snowmaking, (35% market share in Europe) has just formalized the acquisition of all the activities of Johnson Controls Neige (JCN) in France, Italy and the U.S. JCN is a snowmaking equipment market leader in France with 60% market share and 30% worldw...

SAM Magazine--April 3, 2012--Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker signed the "Skier Safety Act" today defining the responsibilities of both participants and ski area operators. Wisconsin Ski Industries Association (WSIA), representing 32 ski areas across the state, expressed gratitude to Representative Pat Strachota and Senator Glenn Grothman for thei...

SAM Magazine--March 30, 2012--According to the Cache Valley Daily, Utah's Cache County Board of Adjustment upheld the planning commission's approval of a conditional use permit for the proposed Cherry Peak Ski Area this week. Logan Checketts, who owns the property where Cherry Peak would operate, was first granted the permit in February, but sev...

SAM Magazine--March 28, 2012--The NY-state-owned Belleayre Ski Center has found a new overseer with the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which operates both Whiteface and Gore Mountain for the State of N.Y. Until now, Belleayre was under the control of the Department of Environmental Conservation. The move is expected to benefit Be...

SAM Magazine-Newry, Maine, Mar. 26, 2012-Weather-challenged resorts in the East and West are declaring their commitment to guests by making snow, extending their seasons, or offering free skiing and riding. As most Eastern ski resorts are closing for the season in the wake of last week's unprecedented heat, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon Moun...

SAM Magazine--March 23, 2012--Bolton Valley, Vt., officials announced that the Vermont Land Trust has signed a contract to purchase the 1,161 acres of terrain that host the Bolton Valley Nordic and backcountry trails. The Vermont Land Trust's purchase price and related expenses is $1,850,000. Because of the property's statewide significance, th...

SAM Magazine-Invermere, B.C., Mar. 21, 2012-The B.C. government has approved development of the long-stalled Jumbo Glacier Alpine Resort, which could become the country's first year-round glacier-based ski resort if environmental appeals don't cause further delays. The resort will be located in the Purcell Mountains on an old sawmill site, not far ...

SAM Magazine--March 19, 2012--Colorado Ski Country USA's (CSCUSA) 22 member resorts reported a decrease in skier visitation during the second period of the 2011/12 ski season, which counts skier visitation from January 1 through February 29. During this mid-season time period, skier visits at CSCUSA resorts slipped by 5.2 percent compared to las...

SAM Magazine--March 16, 2012--The non-profit organization that runs Mt. Ashland, Ore., the Mt. Ashland Association, was granted the Forest Service permit to operate the ski area. Prior to the Forest Service decision yesterday, the city of Ashland held the permit, but the City Council voted last Fall to give it up in order to have better control ove...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Mar. 16, 2012-The Alpine World Cup finals are still to come, but already USST athletes are primed to conclude one of the most successful seasons in history. The list of accomplishments is quite long: • Lindsey Vonn won her 16th career Audi FIS World Cup title. She also won her 53rd race, fifth-best all-time am...

SAM Magazine--March 9, 2012--Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) today filed a lawsuit against Talisker Land Holdings, LLC. The suit seeks to resolve a lease issue. "After extensive and, sadly, unsuccessful negotiations, we reluctantly took the initiative to file this lawsuit," says Jenni Smith, president and general manager of Park City Mountain ...

SAM Magazine-Washington, D.C., Mar. 7, 2012-Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month (LSSM) 2012 taught nearly 100,000 beginner lessons during January, program organizers estimate, up from 75,000 the previous year, despite a widespread lack of snow. To counter the uncooperative weather, many resorts focused attention on their snowmaking expertise to hel...

SAM Magazine-Salt Lake City, Mar. 7, 2012-The Utah legislature has passed a resolution supporting the long-dreamed-of Utah Interconnect, which would link Deer Valley, Park City, Canyons, Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton. The resolution passed the Utah State Senate on Mar. 5, 22 to 7, and the House of Representatives on Mar. 6, 58 to 16, large...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Mar. 6, 2012-Vail Resorts (VR) saw its fiscal second-quarter net income drop 15 percent as the mild, low-snow winter kept customers away, especially at its Tahoe resorts. Increased ticket prices and room rates mitigated the drop in visits, or the decline would have been greater. This winter's weather has been espe...