SAM Magazine-Durango, Colo., Nov. 25, 2008-Winter resorts received a record 18 A grades in the Ski Area Environmental Scorecard this year, compared to 12 last year, thanks to increased efforts to reduce energy consumption, install green energy technologies and reduce greenhouse gases. "Ski areas have accelerated their efforts to become more ener...

SAM Magazine - West Dover, Vt., November 21, 2008 - Mount Snow has announced that the resort is tweaking its snow reporting methods and will no longer list "runs open", focusing instead on acreage available for skiing. The ski area says that the move will increase snow and condition reporting accuracy, and give guests a better feel for exactly what...

SAM Magazine--Aspen, Colo.., November 21, 2008, 2008 --The Aspen Skiing Company has developed a partnership with shipping company UPS to create a program which allows guests to ship skis and snowboards, bypassing the latest baggage fees implemented by airlines. Resort guests can save approximately $50 to $300 depending on the number of bags bei...

SAM Magazine-Jackson, Wyo., Nov. 12, 2008-Tom Fortune has joined Snow King Resort as director of recreation, a new position that includes overall management of the Snow King ski area as well as summer operations and management of the Snow King Center, a year round ice skating arena and conference center which is owned by the city of Jackson and ope...

SAM Magazine-San Francisco, Nov. 12, 2008 -Call it a sign of the times: online lift ticket discount retailer Liftopia has doubled the number of resorts that use the service, to more than 80, for the 2008-09 season. The roster includes Park City, Crested Butte, Taos, Snowbird, and Arapahoe Basin. "We hope that we can help get more people on the hill...

SAM Magazine-Lake Louise, Alberta, Nov. 12, 2008-Charlie Locke, the former owner of Lake Louise, has reacquired a 50 percent share in the resort from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR). As part of the agreement, Locke will assume the role of managing partner for Lake Louise. Locke was instrumental in creating the resort as a primary investor ...

SAM Magazine-Breckenridge, Colo., Nov. 12, 2008-Colorado's Breckenridge resort will host the first stop of the 2008-09 Winter Dew Tour on Dec. 18. The tour will also make stops at Vermont's Mount Snow (Jan. 8) and California's Northstar-at-Tahoe (Feb. 19). The tour will feature many of park and pipe's biggest names, including Simon Dumont, Tanner H...

SAM Magazine-Bozeman, Mont., Nov. 11, 2008-The Yellowstone Club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, with a combined debt of $344 million and assets listed at $1.1 billion. The club is seeking court approval for a $4.5 million loan from Credit Suisse-to which it already owes $307 million-that would allow the resort to remain open a...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-The North American ski season has kicked off in earnest, with resorts opening across the continent. Early openings include Snowbird, which is taking advantage of more than 40 inches of snow this month to chalk up the second earliest opening in the ski area's history to open today. Colorado ski ar...

SAM Magazine-Princeton, Mass., Nov. 7, 2008-Despite the flurry of recent negative economic news, Wachusett Mountain Ski Area has seen several positive indicators this fall. Among them: attendance at the resort's several fall festivals was up more than 20 percent, including record attendance at some events. Sales during the annual Columbus Day eq...

SAM Magazine-Mt. Crested Butte, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-Crested Butte Mountain Resort is teaming up with Crested Butte Mountain Guides to offer a new "Adventure Guide Program" this winter. The program will combine backcountry ski skills and education with guided in-bounds and out-of-bounds skiing. "This is the perfect addition to our programs," says...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Mountain, Calif., Nov. 3, 2008-Skiers and snowboarders took the slopes Monday morning as Mammoth Mountain officially kicked off the 2008-09 winter season, 10 days prior to its scheduled opening. A powerful storm hit the area over the weekend, dropping up to 18 inches of snow. On Monday morning hundreds of skiers and riders ...

SAM Magazine -Windham, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2008-Eastern ski resorts got a jump on the ski season after an October storm brought snow and colder temperatures to the region. The storm dropped more than two feet of snow in parts of the region. Windham Mountain in the northern Catskill Mountains reported 27 inches of snow on the ski area's upper elevation...

SAM Magazine-Franconia Notch, N.H., Nov. 3, 2008-SE Group received the New England Ski Museum's Spirit of Skiing Award at the Museum's 31st annual meeting Oct. 25 at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. The 50-year-old SE Group, originally named Sno-engineering, was founded in Franconia, N.H, home of the Ski Museum. But there's more to the...

SAM Magazine-Snowmass, Colo., Nov. 3, 2008-The snow blanket experiment at Snowmass ski area was a success. The resort utilized the blanket, called Ice Protector Optiforce and produced by the Swiss flooring firm Landolt, over the summer to preserve snow in the ski area's terrain park. According to Rich Burkley, Aspen's general manager of mountain...