SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, Mar. 19, 2010-A federal judge has declared Tamarack Resort bankrupt. The decision will allow newly named trustee Jeremy Gugino to begin liquidating the resort's assets and pay off creditors. Liquidation is expected to be a lengthy process. One major complication: Tamarack's largest creditor, Credit Suisse, is moving in...

SAM Magazine-Fresno, Calif., Mar. 19, 2010-Industry veteran Tim Cohee has signed an agreement to purchase Sierra Summit. The acquisition, which is expected to close by Apr. 30, will return Cohee to the area where he began his career nearly 30 years ago. Purchase price is said to be just under $4 million. Cohee, who has been an executive at Kirkw...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 16, 2010-Resorts in highly competitive markets continue to offer discounted passes with early-purchase incentives for 2010-11, often at 2009-10 prices. Many of these offers include additional perks, from discounted tickets for friends or summer activities to lodging and dining discounts. In Colorado, the Rocky Mountain ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 16, 2010-Lodging occupancy through February nudged up a scant 0.03 percent ahead of last season, continuing a very slow trend toward growth, according to the most recent Mountain Travel Research Program report. This "indicates the reversal of a long term down cycle," noted Ralf Garrison, founder and director of MTRiP. The ...

SAM Magazine-Chillan, Chile, Mar. 12, 2010-The Nevados de Chillan resort, and the hotel and conference center known as Termas de Chillan, experienced only minor damage from the earthquake, SAM has learned, and preparations for the upcoming season were not affected. The Chillan resort was the closest to the earthquake epicenter, about 110 miles, of ...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Mar. 11, 2010-A total of 18,932 attendees gave the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show its greatest attendance in six years, according to SIA. The show, with more than 3,100 booths representing 845 snow sports brands, was held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center Jan. 28-31 for the first time, after a 37-year r...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 11, 2010-Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member ski areas saw visits dip 4 percent durin January and February compared to the same period last year. This puts visits for the season to date down 2 percent. After an encouraging start to the season, visitation slowed in January, as snowfall lagged across a large part ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Mar. 10, 2010-Vail Resorts (VR) is continuing its popular season's pass programs and adding a new Epic 7-Pack as well as an unrestricted pass to Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. The Epic 7-Pack ($449) is a seven-day unrestricted ticket valid at Vail Resorts' five mountain resorts and Arapahoe Basin, about a 35 percent...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Mar.10, 2010-Vail Resorts (VR) reported mixed second-quarter results today, as a slight gain in mountain operations was offset by a slight decline in lodging revenues and a virtual absence of real estate activity this year compared to last, due primarily to the timing of real estate closings. Overall, the results sho...

SAM Magazine-Portillo, Chile, Mar. 9, 2010-Ski Portillo, located approximately 100 miles from Santiago, Chile's capital city, escaped the recent earthquake with no injuries and only superficial damage. Tierra Atacama, located in San Pedro de Atacama, more than 1,000 miles north of the epicenter, is also undamaged. Hotels, infrastructure, lifts, and...

SAM Magazine-Pine Island, N.Y., Mar. 9, 2010-Partek has issued a service bulletin for Borvig lifts manufactured from 1975 to 1982. Affected chair grips from this era must be removed from service in stages due to issues with the jaw area on the main grip body. The bulk of these grips were supplied on Borvig lifts from 1976-1980; some lifts built in ...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Mar. 9, 2010-Snow Sports market sales reached $2.26 billion in January, eking out a .4 percent gain in dollars sold compared with the dismal August through January period a year ago, according to the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit Report released today. Fewer carryover sales, coupled with more purchases o...

SAM Magazine-Boston, Mar. 5, 2010-The Boston Globe Ski & Snowboard Expo, staged by BEWI Productions, moves to the Seaport World Trade Center, close to downtown Boston, Nov. 11-14. The new site replaces the Bayside Expo Center, which had been the show's home for 26 years. The Center was recently bought by the University of Massachusetts. Which re...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 5, 2010-Despite a sluggish ski season hampered by the ongoing U.S. recession, mountain resort communities from around the U.S and Canada are sending hundreds of sales representatives to Banff, Alberta for the 35th annual Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS) Week Apr. 11-17. The Symposium's two trade shows allow marketers and tr...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Mar. 4, 2010-American Olympians are auctioning a variety of gear to benefit causes ranging from earthquake victims in Haiti to a cancer victim at Lake Tahoe. Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has teamed with TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres to continue the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti by auctioning a sign...