SAM Magazine-Avon, Colo., January 21, 2009 -SkiData AG, a provider of RFID access controls, has acquired a 25 percent ownership in Resort Technology Partners, LLC (RTP), a major provider of integrated point-of-sale and Internet software for the resort, recreation, and attractions industries. The investment will strengthen and expand the existing...

SAM Magazine-Killington, Vt., Jan. 19, 2009-Killington Resort and Burton Snowboards joined forces this past summer to break ground on the East Coast's first Stash run, one of only five in the world. The Stash opened to the public in December, with a grand opening on Jan. 15. Celebrating the day were Burton pro riders Dave Downing, Yale Cousino, and...

SAM Magazine-Granby, Québec, Jan. 16, 2009-The Leitner Technologies Group has acquired the Camoplast Track Machine Group and will integrate the division into Prinoth, Leitner's snow grooming division. Prinoth will manage production and sales of the group's utility and municipal vehicles as well as its existing Alpine machines. Leitner expects th...

SAM Magazine-Helena, Mont., Jan. 16, 2009-The Montana House of Representatives is considering an assumption of risk law to protect a wide range of recreation businesses from liability lawsuits. The bill would shift the burden for managing the inherent risks in many sports to participants, much like ski-related assumption of risk laws in many other ...

SAM Magazine-Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 16, 2009-In the wake of a mixed holiday season that saw both slumps and records set, resorts are still seeking ways to drive traffic to the lifts. One of the more recent promotions is Squaw Valley's Sacramento shuttle service. The shuttles leave Sacramento at 7 a.m. every Saturday for Squaw Valley, providing...

SAM Magazine-Cody, Wyo., Jan. 13, 2009-Wyoming's Sleeping Giant ski area, which has been closed since 2004, has just received a $500,000 grant from the state as the resort seeks to remake itself as a non-profit, community venture. The grant was part of $22 million doled out by the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) at its meeting last Thursday ...

SAM Magazine - Crystal Mountain, Wash., January 10, 2009 - With surrounding resorts reopening after warm rains caused havoc to conditions and spiked avalanche danger, Washington's Crystal Mountain remains embattled due to road closures. The Washington Department of Transportation has continued road closures on Highway 410, the only access road to t...

Robert Drake  SAM: You guys had a near miss with a fire this summer, tell us about it. Robert Drake: We did. The Cascade Fire started at the far end of the West Fork Canyon behind the resort and quickly made its way down canyon toward us. It started over the weekend when there are typically not a lot of people on the mountain over the s...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., Jan. 9 2008-Following news of declining occupancy rates in Vail, Aspen lodging properties are reporting lower occupancy rates for the holiday season. In Aspen, a soft Christmas week holiday period saw occupancy at just 67 percent compared to last year's 87 percent. Advance reservations are similar reduced. As of the la...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Jan. 9, 2009-Unaudited interim data for Vail Resorts (VR) show season-to-date skier visits for the company's five mountain resorts were down 5.8 percent compared to the prior year. Lift ticket revenues dropped 7.5 percent, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each year. Bookings through VR's central re...

SAM Magazine-Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., Jan. 8, 2009-Heavy rains and high snow levels have taken a toll on Washington ski resorts, with avalanches, mudslides and floods shuttering resorts and making access roads impassible. At Snoqualmie Pass, rain sparked a 300-foot-wide slide that toppled two lift towers on the resort's Keechelus chairlift. The debr...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Jan. 8 2009-Ski resorts across the U.S. have been reporting strong holiday visits as December snowfall brought out skiers and snowboarders in droves. In Vermont, Okemo Mountain Resort saw skier rise seven percent above of the same Monday-through-Sunday period over the Christmas holiday last year, and six percent ahead o...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Jan. 2, 2009-Two separate avalanches-in areas closed due to avalanche danger-have resulted in fatalities at Canada's Whistler/Blackcomb resort. The incidents occurred on separate parts of the resort. In the first case, a 37-year-old Whistler resident died after triggering a Class 2 avalanche with a three-foot crown, ...

SAM Magazine-Jackson Hole, Wyo., Dec. 30, 2008-Routine avalanche control work at Jackson Hole on the resort's Headwall area triggered a substantial avalanche, which damaged the resort's Bridger Restaurant and forced the closure of the ski area's upper lifts. The slide, which occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, was triggered by patroller...

SAM Magazine-Nederland, Colo., Dec. 30, 2008-Eldora Mountain Resort general manager Brian Mahon, 49, was the victim of an apparently random shooting this morning at the resort. The suspect, 24-year-old Derick Bonestroo, a lift attendant at Eldora, fled the scene and was pursued by a Boulder County deputy sheriff. After a brief chase, Bonestroo stop...