SAM Magazine-Canmore, Alta., July 8, 2006-Canadian Mountain Holidays helicopter skiing founder Hans Gmoser, 73, died July 5, two days after he broke his neck and was paralyzed in a bicycling accident on the 1A highway near Lake Louise. Gmoser was riding alone when he apparently fell. Gmoser, 73, founded the heli-skiing business in 1965. In recen...

July 10, New Zealand (SnowHunter)--Lake Wanaka Ski Tourism Boost New Zealand's Lake Wanaka is looking forward to an increase in visiting skiers and snowboarders, thanks to a multi-million dollar investment in winter sports infrastructure. Over the last three years, the town's ski areas of Cardrona, Snow Park and Treble Cone have jointly inves...

July 10, Austria (Snow Hunter)--Year Round Skiing Ends at Sölden Sölden in Austria has followed other glacier ski areas like Tignes in France by deciding to end 365 day ski lift opening. The resort previously boasted that one of its twin glacier ski areas, either the Rettenbach or Tiefenbach glacier, was open for skiing on every day of ...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, July 7, 2006-The American Skiing Co. (ASC) is in a legal tussle with Wolf Mountain Resort, from whom ASC leases much of the terrain that makes up The Canyons, over who will control the resort. Wolf has alleged that ASC defaulted on its lease and that Wolf is therefore entitled to repossess the resort. A judge has issue...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., June 28, 2006-Mark Dorsey is the new executive director of the Professional Ski Instructors of American (PSIA) and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI), according to The American Snowsports Education Association (ASEA). Dorsey, previously the assistant executive director, replaces Stephen Over, who ...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., June 28, 2006-The National Ski Patrol's board of directors elected Dr. James DeWeerd Jr. as national chairman at the annual board meeting here late last week. DeWeerd is one of five new board members seated Mar. 1, 2006, as a result of the special election held in February. DeWeerd hails from the North Central regio...

SAM Magazine-Killington, Vt., June 20, 2006-Vermont ski areas recorded 4,147,467 skier visits for the 2005-06 season, a nearly 6 percent decline from 4.4 million visits in 2004-05, according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association. Despite the decrease in skier visits, Vermont remains the number three ski state behind Colorado and California, the asso...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., June 19, 2006-Colorado resorts tallied 12.53 million visits in 2005-06, more than 500,000 better than the previous record and more than 700,000 better than the prior year, according to Rob Perlman, president of Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) at the organization's annual meeting here. Perlman noted that r...

SAM Magazine-Champion, Pa., June 19, 2006-After 74 years of ownership, the Dupre family is selling Seven Spring Mountain Resort to another longtime family business from the region, Ogden Newspapers, operated by the Nutting family. Ogden publishes 21 daily newspapers and 20 phone books with a circulation of more than one million households within a ...

SAM Magazine--Park City, Utah, June 15, 2006--American Skiing Company (ASC) released its third quarter figures and the news was good on a quarter to quarter comparison, but the company's debt load still runs high. Net revenues for resort operations for the 13 weeks ended April 30, 2006 were $132.8 million, compared to $132.3 million during the s...

SAM Magazine-North Woodstock, N.H., June 14, 2006-New Hampshire and New Mexico both saw visitor numbers drop for the 2005-06 season. Weather challenged skiers and riders in the two states. N.H. visits dropping 10 percent from last year's near-record level, to 2,021,098. New Mexico visits tumbled more than 50 percent, to 416,617 visits, down from 95...

SAM Magazine-Homewood, Calif., June 14, 2006-JMA Ventures, the company that built Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, has purchased Homewood Mountain Resort. The resort occupies 1,260 acres on Tahoe's West Shore. The move comes after 4th District Congressman John Doolittle, R-Roseville, blocked a possible sale of the property to the U.S. Forest Se...

SAM Magazine--June 1, 2006, Donnelly, Idaho--The newest four-season ski area, Tamarack in Idaho, announced the closing of a $250-million senior credit facility arranged by Credit Suisse. The financing allows for reinvestment of the proceeds from real estate sales against a pre-approved business plan for a period of five years, provided that certain...

SAM Magazine--Marco Island, Fla., May 25, 2006--The National Ski Areas Association announced that, based on prelimary estimates, national skier visits for the 2005/06 season will set an all-time record at 58.8 million visits. The previous record was set in 2002/03 with 57.6 million visits. Confirmation of the record will be made once all resorts...

SAM Magazine--Marco Island, Fla., May 25, 2006--The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) got a new chairman when Vail COO Bill Jensen was elected to the position during the national trade show and convention in Marco Island, Florida. Jensen most recently served as vice chairman and will replace outgoing chairman, David Crowley from Wachusett Mount...