SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Mar. 9, 2010-Snow Sports market sales reached $2.26 billion in January, eking out a .4 percent gain in dollars sold compared with the dismal August through January period a year ago, according to the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit Report released today. Fewer carryover sales, coupled with more purchases o...

SAM Magazine-Boston, Mar. 5, 2010-The Boston Globe Ski & Snowboard Expo, staged by BEWI Productions, moves to the Seaport World Trade Center, close to downtown Boston, Nov. 11-14. The new site replaces the Bayside Expo Center, which had been the show's home for 26 years. The Center was recently bought by the University of Massachusetts. Which re...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 5, 2010-Despite a sluggish ski season hampered by the ongoing U.S. recession, mountain resort communities from around the U.S and Canada are sending hundreds of sales representatives to Banff, Alberta for the 35th annual Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS) Week Apr. 11-17. The Symposium's two trade shows allow marketers and tr...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Mar. 4, 2010-American Olympians are auctioning a variety of gear to benefit causes ranging from earthquake victims in Haiti to a cancer victim at Lake Tahoe. Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has teamed with TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres to continue the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti by auctioning a sign...

SAM Magazine-Seven Springs, Pa., Mar. 5, 2010-With skiers and riders till feeling the pinch of the recession, areas are ramping up efforts to lock in passholders for next season. Seven Springs Mountain Resort is offering season passes for the 2010-2011 ski/board season starting at $399 if purchased by June 1, 2010. New skiers and snowboards who ...

SAM Magazine-Lake Placid, N.Y., Mar. 4, 2010-Winter resorts across America are celebrating Winter Olympians for representing the U.S. and often winning medals at the Vancouver Games. Local officials in Lake Placid declared Feb. 26 "Andrew Weibrecht Day" and held a parade in his honor. Weibrecht, who earned a bronze medal in the super G, rode ato...

SAM Magazine-Hancock, Mass., Mar. 4, 2010-The Presidents' Week holiday period drew 48,924 skier visits to Jiminy Peak, the highest visitation for the week in the history of the resort. In addition, the resort's SKIWee and Explorers Children's Programs taught a record 2,575 kids during the nine-day holiday period. "It was a great holiday week for...

SAM Magazine-Santiago, Chile, Mar. 4, 2010-The earthquake that hit Chile earlier this week did little if any damage to resorts north and east of Santiago, from what SAM has been able to learn, but nothing is known about the situation at Nevados de Chillan, formerly called Termas de Chillan, and other resorts to the south. The quake's epicenter w...

SAM Magazine--March 2, 2010--Woodbury, CT--Time is running out to send in nominations for the SAMMY Leadership Awards. Nominations close on March 15, 2010. Nominees for the SAMMY Leadership Award can come from both the resort side of the industry and the supplier side. The SAMMYs honor people who, at mid-career, demonstrate the innovation, leade...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 27, 2010-Fortress Investment Group and its lenders have agreed to a framework for restructuring $1.2 billion in debt for Intrawest, Bloomberg News is reporting. The new plan is said to call for $1.2 billion of debt to be split into a senior tranche of $800 million and a mezzanine tranche of $400 million. The le...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 26, 2010-Nordic combined gold medalist Billy Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.) will be the flag bearer for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team at the Closing Ceremony. Demong, who earned the first-ever gold medal for a U.S. skier in Nordic combined, was selected for this honor by his Olympic teammates. Demong becomes the four...

SAM Magazine-Squaw Valley, Calif., Feb. 25, 2010-C.R. Johnson, 26, died yesterday while skiing at his home mountain, Squaw Valley, after he fell several hundred yards through exposed rocks. Ski Patrol were on the scene within minutes, but efforts to revive Johnson failed. He was reportedly wearing a helmet. Johnson was a pipe and park legend. He...

SAM Magazine-Whitefish, Mont., Feb. 24, 2010-In response to a large increase in after-hours uphill traffic, Whitefish Mountain Resort will restrict uphill traffic within the resort's Special Use Permit boundary to a single route on the mountain, as well as limit the hours when the activity is allowed, starting Mar. 1. As traffic has increased, r...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 24, 2010-For the first time, TV audience measurer The Nielsen Co. has been tracking audience ratings for individual Olympics events, and skiing came out on top during the first few days of the Games. Freestyle skiing, in particular the moguls events, achieved an average of 26.9 million viewers during prime time...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Feb. 23, 2010-Winter Trails on Jan. 9 attracted approximately 10,700 participants, nearly all of them new to winter sports, according to program director Mary Jo Tarallo. The free learn to snowshoe and cross country ski program was a chief Nordic component of Learn a Snow Sport Month. Some of the largest events took pla...