SAM Magazine - Vail, Colo., October - In the wake of headlines around the globe proclaiming an economic meltdown, resorts are scrambling to bolster business via a wide variety of creative discounting programs from burritos to free lift tickets. The discounts are as varied as the resorts that offer them, but all have a singular purpose: to bring gue...

SAM Magazine - Malone, N.Y., October 24, 2008 - New York ski resort Titus Mountain and the ski area's former manager, Zachary L. White, have been charged with one felony and three misdemeanor violations of Environmental Conservation Law by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Division of Law Enforcement. The charges s...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Oct. 23, 2008-Intrawest successfully completed an agreement to refinance a $1.7 billion loan which was due today when it received unanimous support from its existing lender group. "We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with our lenders, particularly given the challenges of the global credit markets," sai...

SAM Magazine - West Dover, Vt.., October 12, 2008 - Taking advantage of cold temperatures at the end of last week, Mount Snow was able to open Launch Pad, a learning hill near the base area over the weekend. The resort set up a small park with half a dozen features, becoming the first ski area to open in the East. The Launch Pad terrain ...

Snow Hunter - Stockholm, Sweden, November 1, 2008 - Visitors to Stockholm this winter will be able to enjoy a spot of city centre skiing thanks to the opening of Skistar's Hammarbybacken skiing complex. Skistar is Scandinavia's leading ski resort operator, owning the region's top resorts of Are, Trysil and Hemsedal amongst others. Convenie...

Snow Hunter - Demark, November 1, 2008 - Despite global warming, Denmark's rather low lying hills and the global growth of indoor snow centres, the country has opened its first outdoor snow ski resort. Local media reports say that Danish businessman Ole Harild received a 100,000 Euro grant from the European Union to construct his ski run on the ...

Snow Hunter - New Zealand, November 1, 2008 - Snow was still falling last week as New Zealand's Mt. Hutt prepares for its final weekend opening of the winter from Friday, October 24th until 4p.m. on Monday, October 27th after closing during this week. Ski Area Manager Dave Wilson commented, "It's been one of the best seasons in decades," he said...

SAM Magazine-McCall, Idaho, Oct. 21, 2008-Brundage Mountain has upgraded the ski area's grooming fleet, adding new terrain parks and enhancing food and beverage operations for the 2008-09 season. Improvements include a new mid-mountain refuge, the Bear's Den, an eight-sided 1,300 square-foot log building with seating for approximately 88 people. Th...

SAM Magazine -Aspen, Oct. 21, 2008-Mountain operations crews at Snowmass have been experimenting with a product called Ice Protector Optiforce, a "snow blanket" which covers existing snow, insulating and preserving it. Produced by the Swiss flooring firm Landolt and distributed by Eiger International, Ice Protector Optiforce is used in Europe to pr...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Oct. 17, 2008-Copper Mountain will open Nov. 7, one week ahead of its scheduled opening date. Traditionally, the mountain has run the lifts in late October and early November, but the sessions are reserved for race training and other private access, including PSIA demo team training. Expected open terrain includ...

SAM Magazine-Palm Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2008-Michael Strauss, who was the voice of skiing in The New York Times for two decades, died Oct. 11 at the age of 96 in Palm Beach. In his extensive and remarkable 75-plus years as a sports journalist, Strauss covered everything from archery to yachting, but he especially loved skiing. He served as The Time...

SAM Magazine-Ishpeming, Mich., Oct. 16, 2008-American ski mountaineering pioneer and famed instructor Bill Briggs joins the U.S. Ski Team's Liz McIntyre, Nelson Carmichael, and Cary Adgate as this year's inductees into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place in April. Briggs became a fully certifi...

SAM Magazine - Heber, Utah, October 14, 2008 - Deer Valley ski resort has teamed up with Utah Valley University's Heber campus to offer a ski instructor training course. The course will include six hour-and-a-half classroom sessions at the UVU Heber campus and two full days of on-mountain training. The sessions will be lead by Deer Valley Resort D...

SAM Magazine - Mammoth Lakes, Calif., October 15, 2008 - A 200-foot-long tunnel under Mammoth's Lupine ski run and the Eagle Express chairlift collapsed on Friday, closing the Lake Mary Road. The road services the Tamarack Lodge and the Eagle Lodge base area. There were no injuries in the incident and a cause has yet to be determined. Lake Mary Roa...

SAM Magazine-Orlando, Fla., Oct. 15, 2008-Stephen Rice has been named vice president and managing director at CNL Lifestyle Company, LLC. In his new role, Rice will focus on asset management within CNL's ski and mountain lifestyle portfolio and work closely with the company's acquisitions team to expand CNL's holdings. CNL Lifestyle Company is the ...