SAM Magazine-Cortland, N.Y., Mar. 9, 2011-Greek Peak Mountain Resort, NY is developing an Adventure Fun Center that's part of a $20 million expansion. The center, scheduled to open in June, includes a ropes course, zip lines, a mountain biking park, alpine coaster and tubing center. The Wiegand alpine coaster will be 4,300 feet in length. There ...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Mar. 8, 2011-Snow sport sales increased 13 percent in units and 16 percent in dollars for a total of $516 million at retail this January, the strongest in at least 10 years, according to the Leisure Trends Group. Snow sport retailers comfortably outpaced general retail, which was up 8.3 percent over January 2010, accord...

SAM Magazine-Ruidoso, N.M., Mar. 7, 2011-Two weeks ago, the Elk Lodge at Ski Apache became the nation's first winter resort to offer slopeside slot machines. "During the Presidents' Day weekend we had a nice turnout," said Justin Rowland, Ski Apache's director of operations. "We opened midday on Saturday, and ran Saturday, Sunday and Monday." Th...

SAM Magazine-Nederland, Colo., Mar. 7, 2011-Eldora Mountain Resort's 2011 Master Plan has been accepted by the U.S. Forest Service. Eldora has been working on its updated Master Plan for more than two years, during which time it conducted research, solicited public input and studied the impacts of future projects from both business and environmenta...

SAM Magazine--March 7, 2011--Mount Snow, Vt., announced that it will replace its Summit Local triple chair with a Leitner-Poma high-speed detachable six-passenger bubble chairlift. The new lift will have a ride time of seven minutes. Every night the chairs will be run off the line and stored in a heated barn to protect the bubbles and allow the ...

SAM Magazine--March 7, 2011--Johnson Controls Snow announced the hiring of James Voskuil as the new GM for the North American market. Voskuil will be based out of Denver, Colo., and started on February 28, 2011. Voskuil is new to the industry, but has an extensive international sales and general management background and is also bilingual in Englis...

SAM Magazine--The Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA) has announced the appointment of David Lynn to president and CEO. Lynn comes to CWSAA from Sun-Rype Products Ltd., where he was president and CEO. Lynn, an avid skier, will begin his duties on April 4, 2011. In the meantime, Lynn will travel with retiring CEO and president, Jimmie Spenc...

SAM Magazine--February 24, 2011--The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced that Todd Buchholz, a former White House director of economic policy, will be the keynote speaker at the NSAA National Convention in May. Buchholz's presentation, "New Realities in the Post-Recession American Economy,"will decipher the riddle of the evolving eco...

SAM Magazine--February 22, 2011--Last Friday night, masked gunmen shot and killed three tourists on their way to Mt. Elbrus ski resort in the Caucasus region. In addition, a gondola at the resort was blown up. According to published reports, last month President Dmitry Medvedev announced a $15 billion plan to turn the Caucasus into a tourist des...

SAM Magazine--February 22, 2011--Sugarloaf reopened its Spillway East lift yesterday after closing it in late December after a derailment, which inured eight. The Maine State Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety reinstated the lift's operating license on Monday after a load test was performed on Friday, February 18. The cause of the derailment t...

SAM Magazine-Nederland, Colo., Feb. 21, 2011-Beginning today, Eldora Mountain Resort is offering a free day of skiing or riding to anyone who has a lift ticket or a season pass from any other ski area. The offer is designed to introduce Eldora to Colorado skiers and riders. "We've come to realize just how many skiers and snowboarders in Colorado...

SAM Magazine-The upward trend in lodging occupancy at major Western mountain destinations continued for January, with average occupancy up 5.8 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). The figures are based on reports from 265 property management companies in 15 mountain destinations in Colorado, Uta...

SAM Magazine--February 14, 2011--Leitner Technologies has purchased 100 percent of the Swedish company Lenko Snow AB, Inc. along with developing an active participation with the South Tyrolean snowmaking company Demac. The purchase of Lenko includes its Austrian, Italian, U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries including a facility in Queensbury, New York. ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Feb. 2, 2011-The energy level was high at the 2011 SIA Snow Show here last week, reflecting a record-setting retail season that has drawn down inventories to the bare-wall level for many city and suburban stores. The shelf cleaning coincides with a major shift in hard goods, with rocker skis and snowboards on the rise, along wi...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Feb. 2, 2011-Intrawest is moving its headquarters to the Denver metro area in the coming off-season. An internal memo informed the company's Vancouver employees of the plan last week. While the memo said the move will take place by the end of 2011, the transition could begin as early as July, SAM has learned. Since Intrawest...