SAM Magazine-Salt Lake City, Utah, Sept. 8, 2010-F. Scott Pierpont will be joining Doppelmayr CTEC as vice president of sales in mid-October. Pierpont has spent his entire professional career in the ski industry, including president/managing director positions with Grand Targhee, Canyons, and Mount Snow. He has also been a part of the ANSI B77.1 co...

SAM Magazine-Bolton's Landing, N.Y., Sept. 8, 2010-Winter resorts have long recognized that their greatest competition comes not from one another, but from other leisure activity industries. Disney is often held up as the ultimate competitor. Yet Disney openly shares its knowledge of and approach to customer service, and that expertise is featured ...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Sept. 8, 2010-The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) is awarding $100,000 in grants and in-kind contributions through its Sustainable Slopes program. The grants were the primary focus of the ten-year-old program this year. The 10th Sustainable Slopes Annual Report, released yesterday, details the program and the ski...

SAM Magazine-New Zealand areas appear to have emerged with no significant damage from the recent 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter of the quake was at Darfield, a town just east of the Porter's Heights and Mt. Hutt ski areas. Both resorts managed to open on Saturday. The worst damage from the quake seemed to be east of Darfield, toward Chr...

SAM Magazine-Christchurch, New Zealand, Sept. 3, 2010-An earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude hit Christchurch, New Zealand, and the South Island, causing widespread damage and power cuts to most of the city. The quake was centered about 20 miles west of Christchurch and 20 miles underground. It hit at 4.35 a.m. Saturday. It is not known how the l...

SAM Magazine-Jay, Vt., Sept. 1, 2010-A three-way land swap at Jay Peak clears the way for base area and on-mountain expansions, including replacement of the area's old Stateside lodge and upgrading lifts. The deal also allows future development on the mountain while providing a buffer between the resort and the Long Trail, a 273-mile hiking trail t...

SAM Magazine-Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Aug. 31, 2010-Sugarloaf is expanding onto neighboring Burnt Mountain in a development that will eventually add 655 acres of terrain over the next decade, effectively doubling the area's size. For the coming season, the area is adding 270 acres. The expansion is part of a comprehensive, 10-year plan for devel...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Aug. 31, 2010-Vail Resorts is launching EpicMix, an online and mobile application that lets guests at the company's five resorts digitally capture their ski and ride experiences and share them. "EpicMix takes the fun of playing and sharing online and marries it with the very real experience of skiing and riding," sai...

SAM Magazine-Durango, Colo., Aug. 31, 2010-Jack Turner, the producer of the soon-to-be-released "Cheap Ski Movie," has launched a ski movie trivia contest with a grand prize of $40,365.79. The first eligible person to correctly answer 100 trivia questions based on "Cheap Ski Movie" and the history of skiing/snowboarding takes home the cash prize. ...

SAM Magazine-La Veta, Colo., Aug. 26, 2010-A newly formed Cuchara Valley Recreational Metropolitan District has taken ownership of the Cuchara Mountain Resort in southern Colorado, and officials there hope to redevelop the dormant former ski area into a year-round sports facility. Huerfano County established the special recreation district to op...

SAM Magazine--August 26, 2010--A proposed helmet law (SB 1652) for minors in California passed the state Assembly last week and the Senate yesterday and will now head to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for sign-off. The bill would impose a $25 fine on parents of kids caught skiing or snowboarding without a helmet. Ski areas will be required to po...

SAM Magazine--Trenton, N.J., August 24, 2010--In a 33-2 vote yesterday, the New Jersey state Senate passed a bill requiring kids under the age of 18 to wear helmets at ski areas. Under the proposed law (it heads to the state Assembly now), parents, legal guardians and supervising adults will be fined $25 for the first offense and up to $100 for rep...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2010-Canyons is adding two state-of-the-art Doppelmayr quads, including the first in the U.S. with heated seats and orange bubble enclosures, improving access to the gondola from the village, expanding terrain and expanding its snowmaking capabilities. This is the first phase in the redevelopment Canyons under...

SAM Magazine-Billings, Mont., Aug. 19, 2010-A federal judge has ruled that Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth caused the Club's bankruptcy in 2008. However, the judge also found Credit Suisse partly to blame for the spectacular collapse, and it seems likely that Blixseth will be liable for "only" $20 million to $65 million of the more than $200 ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Aug. 17, 2010-Despite growing signs of economic weakness, the overall travel industry continues to rebound. Mountain destinations participating in the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP),* experienced sharp increases in July occupancy, as well as increases in the advance reservations for the next six months. Destinatio...