SAM Magazine--June 9, 2010--www.skiinfo.co.uk reports that the number of ski areas open worldwide continues to rise despite more areas closing for the season in Austria, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. That's because the southern hemisphere's ski season has kicked off at resorts in Chile and New Zealand and, next week, Australia, Canada and France...

SAM Magazine--Stratton, Vt., June 9, 2010--The Vermont Ski Areas Association announced at its annual meeting that Vermont's ski resorts recorded 4,125,082 skier visits for the 2009-10 season. This marks a 1.4 percent increase over the prior season's tally and tracks with the 5-year average. "With below-average snowfall, below-average days of op...

SAM Magazine-Antalya, Turkey, June 8, 2010-Delegates at the 47th International Ski Congress of the International Ski Federation (FIS) decided to advance ski halfpipe, women's ski jumping, and snowboarding slopestyle and team snowboardcross toward possible inclusion in the 2014 Olympics. The FIS is proposing that ski halfpipe for both men and wom...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., June 3, 2010--Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts were selected by the International Ski Federation (FIS) Council to host the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships. This will be the third FIS World Championships for the resorts, which previously hosted the 1989 and 1999 Championships. "Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts are hono...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., May 28, 2010-Vail Resorts (VR) has acquired Mountain News Corporation (MNC), which operates OnTheSnow.com. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Following the acquisition, Chad Dyer will continue to oversee operations as global managing director. Craig Altschul remains as global editor-in-chief of the site....

SAM Magazine-Beloeil, Quebec, May 27, 2010-After more than 30 years as the driving force behind Ski Press, Jean-Marc Blais has left the company. "The time has come for a new chapter in my life. I am leaving Ski Press today for new and exciting challenges," he told friends via email. Blais got his start in publishing in 1979 when, as a ski club o...

SAM Magazine-Hardyston, N.J., May 27, 2010-Crystal Springs Resort, an upscale resort company based here, has purchased Mountain Creek resort from Intrawest. The acquisition creates a comprehensive four-season resort destination: Spanning five miles through four townships (Vernon, Hardyston, Hamburg, Franklin), the combined resorts encompass 15,000 ...

SAM Magazine-North Woodstock, N.H., May 26, 2010-New Hampshire alpine ski and snowboard resorts recorded a total of 2,228,571 alpine skier and snowboarder visits in 2009-10, a slight decline of 2.6 percent from the winter of 2008-09, which was the third best on record in New Hampshire. The season was 4 percent above the state's 10-year average for ...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., May 25, 2010-Active Interest Media (AIM) and veteran snow sports editor/publisher Andy Bigford will produce the "Snow Show Daily" at the 2011 SIA Snow Show Jan. 27-30, 2011, according to Snow Industries America president David Ingemie. "No other company can match the combination of snow sports experience, relationships,...

SAM Magazine-Shaver Lake, Calif., May 24, 2010-The purchase of Sierra Summit Mountain Resort by ski industry veteran Tim Cohee closed last Friday after a brief delay, due to the issuing of a new 40-year Special Use Permit by the United States Forest Service. As SAM reported earlier, Cohee immediately returned the resort to its former name, China Pe...

SAM Magazine-Los Angeles, May 24, 2010-The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver produced and Universal Sports is taking a unique look at many of the heroes, highlights and human stories from the 2010 Olympics in "Visions of Vancouver," a documentary premiering on Universal Sports network on Monday, May 24, at 7 p.m. ET. The show will feature Olympic medalist...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., May 21, 2010-More than 500 salaried employees at Aspen Skiing Co. will be wearing helmets while working on the slopes next season. The Aspen areas join Vail Resorts and Intrawest areas in requiring helmets for large portions of their labor forces. At the same time, the Aspen resorts expanded their helmet requirement fo...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., May 21, 2010-Vail Resorts plans to spend $75 million to $85 million on resort projects for the 2010-2011 ski season. Major projects include a high-speed quad at Vail to upgrade the area's original Back Bowls Chair 5, currently a triple chair, a new 14,750 square foot restaurant atop the Heavenly Gondola, and continu...

SAM Magazine--May 19, 2010--Bonnier Corp. announced that it is placing five of its brands under a new publishing unit, which will include "Ski," "Skiing," "Snow," "Saveur" and "Garden Design." The unit will be headed up by "Saveur" publisher Merri Lee Kingsly and will establish a stronger position in the luxury and lifestyle market. "All of thes...

SAM Magazine-Sacramento, Calif., May 19, 2010-Over a half million more visitors flocked to California ski and snowboard resorts during the 2009-10 winter, according to the California Travel & Tourism Commission (CTTC). CTTC credited both a long snow season and the California Department of Transportation's (Caltran) proactive plan to keep the roads ...