SAM Magazine--August 1, 2008--All non-essential staff have been evacuated from Red Lodge Ski Area. Mont., in the face of a fast-moving wildfire that is threatening the resort. The Forest Service has approximately 700 firefighters and support staff battling the blaze. But with high winds expected and only 10-percent of the conflagration contained, t...

SAM Magazine - Denver, Co., July 31, 2008 - A Denver jury has found Vail Resorts not liable in a lawsuit claiming that the company was negligent in hiring ski instructor David Lorenzen, who was found not guilty of rape last year in a case involving a 17 year old woman who Lorenzen was instructing. The victim claimed she was raped in January 2006...

SAM Magazine - Lynchburg, Va., July 31, 2008 - The Christian institution of higher learning founded by Jerry Falwell, Liberty University, has announced plans to install a dry ski slope on the campus. The University is working in conjunction with the English dry slope manufacturer, Snowflex, and the facility will be named the Mountain Snowflex Cente...

SAM Magazine - Calgary, AB., July 31, 2008 - While the airline industry has been rocked by high fuel prices and consumers tightening their belts when it comes to vacation travel, several Canadian resorts got a bit of good news with the announcement that Delta Air Lines will commence direct jet service from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Canadian Rockies I...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., July 31, 2008-Two mergers have changed the face of snowsports media this week. Storm Mountain Publishing (SMP), the owners of Snowboard and Freeskier Magazines have announced that the company has acquired the assets, including websites and subscribers of recently defunct Future Snowboarding magazine. And, Ski Press has ...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Lakes, Calif., July 23, 2008-Joining the growing number of airlines to offer resort access, Horizon Air will inaugurate daily nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Mammoth Mountain for the 2008/2009 season, starting Dec. 18 and running through Apr. 12. "The addition of commercial air service to Mammoth represents a big step to...

SAM Magazine-Hidden Valley, Pa., July 23, 2008-Scott Bender has joined the Buncher Resort & Hospitality Group, LLC as vice president of resort operations and will lead the management team at Hidden Valley Four Seasons Resort. Bender was formerly the president and CEO of neighboring Seven Springs Mountain Resort, where he worked for more than 25 yea...

SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, July 21, 2008-Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, tennis stars and Tamarack Resort fans, and their investment group have decided against building a proposed Fairmont luxury hotel at the fledgling resort. The group cited Tamarack's uncertain future as the reason for its decision. Originally, the investment group planned to...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., July 21, 2008-It's a long way from being a lift op to becoming a senior VP. But Derek Koenig, who spent a year in the early 1990s working as a Beaver Creek lift op, has done just that, having been named VR's new senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Koenig will assume responsibilities for VR's corporate mar...

SAM Magazine - Kirkwood, Ca., July 17, 2008 - Kirkwood ski resort is partnering with its utility provider, Mountain Utilities, to build a 20-turbine wind energy farm for the resort and local residents. "Our goal is for Kirkwood to become the renewable energy leader in the ski resort industry," said Tim Cohee, Chief Marketing Officer of Mountai...

SAM Magazine-Crested Butte, Colo., July 15, 2008-Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) hired Chris Corliss, formerly mountain manager at Mount Sunapee, N.H., as mountain manager. The resort has been conducting a nationwide search since May to fill several top executive positions in the company, and kept within the ranks of Triple Peaks (owned by Tim...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., July 15, 2008 - Vail Resorts' stock closed $1.23 down on Tuesday after analysts at Bank of America and Thompson Financial downgraded the stock from "buy" to "neutral." The "difficult domestic economic environment" and the threat of softer spending at the top end of the luxury market were cited as concerns. Analysts also ci...

SAM Magazine - Aspen, Co., July 15, 2008 - Four years ago, Aspen hosted the first Meeting. The eclectic cast of filmmakers, media types and professional athletes spent the inaugural sessions charting a course for the future: bigger events, more exposure, and riches for all. While not everyone has gotten rich in the ensuing four years, there's n...

SAM Magazine-Ascutney, Vt., July 14, 2008-Orange Lake Resorts has acquired 26 villas at Ascutney Mountain Resort and assumed management responsibilities for the condo hotel, fitness center, and food and beverage at the resort. Ascutney remains responsible for mountain operations, marketing, and future resort development. Financial terms of the deal...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., July 14, 2008-U.S. Rep Mark Udall has developed a draft bill to update the federal 1986 Ski Area Permit Act. The bill would expand the act to recognize winter sports beyond alpine and nordic skiing and include summer recreational activities such as mountain biking and concerts. "My bill would make it clear that activ...