SAM Magazine-Truckee, Calif., Feb. 17, 2010-East West Resort Development, an affiliate of East West Partners which has built luxury resorts in the Tahoe area, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. The filing primarily affects three Tahoe-area properties: Old Greenwood, Gray's Crossing and the Northstar Highlands, along with Tahoe Mountain Club. It doe...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 9, 2010-Intrawest today announced a definitive purchase agreement to sell its interests in Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to the Becnel family of Destin, Florida. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed; the transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2010. The purchase agreement inc...

SAM Magazine-Louisville, Colo., Feb. 8, 2010-Olympic bronze medalist Jimmie Heuga, a star of the 1964 Olympic Winter Games and one of the U.S. Ski Team's greatest ski racers, died today, on the eve of the Olympics in Vancouver and 46 years to the day after he won his medal. Heuga was 66. "Jimmie Heuga was a champion in every sense of the word," ...

SAM Magazine--Squaw Valley, Calif., February 2, 2010--Late last week, Squaw Valley USA announced that it has completed the acquisition of The Village at Squaw Valley, a four-season mountain resort village at the base of the ski resort, from Intrawest. The Village was started in 2002 and was developed by Intrawest. Last week's transaction include...

SAM Magazine--Vancouver, B.C., January 28, 2010--Intrawest and a newly formed company, Panorama Mountain Village Inc. (Panorama Inc.) announced today that they have entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement that will enable Panorama Inc. to purchase Intrawest's interests in Panorama Mountain Village. Panorama Inc. is made up of area homeow...

SAM Magazine--Golden, B.C., January 26, 2010--Canadian Premier Gordon Campbell announced the approval of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's New Master Plan. The 40-year plan includes 20,000 bed units, an 18-hole golf course, a multi-use trail system with 11 proposed lifts and 4,188 acres of skiable terrain. "At the Provincial level we have now appr...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., January 26, 2010--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) reported that its 22 member resorts saw a one-percent increase in skier visitation for the first portion of the 2009-2010 winter season over the same period last year. The period, which runs from October 7, 2009 through December 31, 2009, saw some early snowstorms in t...

SAM Magazine-Boyne Falls, Mich., Jan. 22, 2010-After the devastating earthquake in Haiti last week, winter resorts joined the worldwide response by staging a variety of charitable fundraising events over the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend. More than 15 resorts across North America set up donation funds to help aid the people of Haiti. Boyne ...

SAM Magazine-Granby, Québec, Jan. 22, 2010-Prinoth is taking over direct distribution of its Alpine products in the Midwest, assuming responsibility that was previously handled by Track Inc. Prinoth will open its own facilities to manage Midwest sales, service and parts distribution for all Alpine groomers, and incorporate this new site into its...

SAM Magazine-Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan. 22, 2010-The U.S. Olympic Committee has bestowed its highest honors on three U.S. Ski Team athletes on the eve of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn was named 2009 USOC SportsWoman of the Year, Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick was honored as SportsMan of the Year, an...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., Jan. 20, 2010-In a statement released this afternoon, Intrawest disputed published reports about an impending foreclosure action and asserted that it remains in control of all its resorts. "There have been inaccurate and misleading media reports surrounding Intrawest today," the statement says. "Fortress In...

SAM Magazine--January 13, 2010--After filing for bankruptcy protection, the East Coast retail chain, Ski Market, was granted permission by the bankruptcy court to find a buyer by February 12. According to published reports, the future buyer would get Ski Market free and clear of its current debts. Ski Market owes more than $4 million to its loca...

SAM Magazine--January 13, 2010--The Canadian Ski Council (CSC) released its policy on helmet usage at Canadian ski areas. It reads: "The Canadian Ski Council recommends wearing helmets for skiing and riding. Skiers and snowboarders are encouraged to educate themselves on the benefits and limitations of helmet usage. The primary safety consideration...

SAM Magazine--Stowe, Vt., January 8, 2010--On December 31, 2009, Chartis acquired Stowe Mountain Resort from the beleaguered AIG. Chartis was formed in the summer of 2009 as a separate subsidiary of AIG that took over AIG's property-casualty and general insurance business. For its part, AIG is spinning off many of its programs following the $182 bi...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 8, 2010-Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR) has seen a slight decrease in business levels from a year ago, according to data released by the company today. Lift ticket revenue through Jan. 6, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue, was down approximately 0.4 percent compared to last year's comparable perio...