SAM Magazine--Londonderry, Vt--March 6, 2012--One month after selling its 300th share, the threshold needed to begin the skier-owned Magic Partnership LLC at Magic Mountain was met. The ski area finished raising the maximum shares allowed for the investment with 333 shares sold at a price of $3,000 each for a total of $999,000. Much of this capital...

SAM Magazine-Big Sky, Mont., Feb. 24, 2012-For the first time, Big Sky will run the Lone Peak Tram to give guests access to the 11,166-foot peak and its 360-degree views, and offer guided Lone Peak Expeditions, starting in July 2012. The outings will involve riding a chairlift, the tram, and safari vehicle. The Tram has operated winters only since ...

SAM Magazine-Wildwood, Mo., Feb. 24, 2012-Peak Resorts plans to spend $2 million on a variety of improvements at Hidden Valley ski area for the 2012-13 season. Hidden Valley plans to expand skiable terrain by 30 percent, including a new 2,000 foot-long run that will be the resort's longest; blanket the new terrain with snowmaking; and add a quad ch...

SAM Magazine-Middlefield, Conn., Feb. 24, 2012-The town of Middlefield's Board of Selectmen last week approved a $1 million bid to purchase and reopen Powder Ridge ski area in the latest attempt to revive a hill that has been closed since 2007. The bid was made by the owners of nearby Brownstone Exploration & Discovery Park. Brownstone's managin...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 22, 2012-Vail Resorts will acquire Kirkwood Mountain Resort in a deal expected to close within the next month, making Kirkwood VR's third property in the Tahoe area and seventh overall. Purchase price is approximately $18 million. Vail Resorts is purchasing the ski resort as well as the undeveloped sites at t...

SAM Magazine-Stevens Pass, Wash., Feb. 20, 2012- Three skiers died in an out-of-bounds avalanche on the back side of Stevens Pass Sunday, including Stevens marketing director Chris Rudolph. The others were professional freestyle skiing judge Jim Jack and local John Brenan. A fourth person caught in the slide, pro skier Elyse Saugstad, deployed an a...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Feb. 17, 2012-Recent shifts in storm systems that brought much-needed snow to many western resorts came too late to boost early season destination travel, with hotel occupancy declining 3.7 percent during the month of January, according to the most recent data from the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). The booking pace ...

SAM Magazine--February 16, 2012--Peak Resorts has announced its plan to build a new 48,000-square-foot main base lodge at Brandywine Ski Resort, Ohio. The new lodge is estimated to be a capital investment of upwards of $5 million that will replace three existing buildings resulting in all skier services being combined in one location. The lodg...

SAM Magazine--February 13, 2012--Two unfortunate incidents took place this past weekend in the ski industry. First, on February 11, three people were injured at Coffee Mill Ski and Snowboard Resort, Minn., when a chair fell from the rope thirty feet to the ground. The ski area was hosting a racing tournament when the accident happened around 1 p.m....

SAM Magazine-San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 9, 2012-Arizona Snowbowl and the U.S. Forest Service gained another court victory today as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District affirmed a district court decision upholding the Forest Service's 2005 Record of Decision regarding snowmaking at the Snowbowl, rejecting a suit brought by the Save the ...

SAM Magazine-Amherst, Va., Feb. 8, 2012-Wintergreen Resort is cutting expenses, collecting 2013 membership dues early, and asking its 1,800 members for a $6 million cash infusion to help the resort meet financial challenges stemming from this winter's warm weather and below-average snow, according to several news sources. Wintergreen Partners In...

SAM Magazine--February 3, 2012--Last night, February 2, the Cache County Planning Commission granted a conditional use permit for the proposed Cherry Creek ski area in northern Utah. The proposal for the new ski area includes 203 acres of terrain, base area and mid-mountain facilities, four lifts, a terrain park, a zipline, three water storage ...

SAM Magazine--February 3, 2012--Peak Resorts, the parent company of Crotched Mountain, N.H., announced the acquisition of the high speed detachable quad at Ascutney Mountain, which has closed its doors. Crotched will install the 5,000+-foot lift this coming summer. The Garaventa CTEC lift will replace a fixed grip lift and access an additional 2...

SAM Magazine--January 28, 2012--Yesterday marked the start of the 2011-12 winter season for Utah's newest ski resort Eagle Point. The opening signifies that every Utah ski and snowboard resort is open for the season. A fresh blanket of snow during the past 24 hours added two to eight inches to resort snow totals. This snowfall, in addition to the p...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Jan. 25, 2012-The meeting of the terrain park task force of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F27 Snow Skiing Committee at the Denver Convention Center yesterday failed to produce the anticipated fireworks. There was general agreement that most of the variables in terrain park jumps are user-generated, and t...