SAM Magazine-Mt. Crested Butte, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-Crested Butte Mountain Resort is teaming up with Crested Butte Mountain Guides to offer a new "Adventure Guide Program" this winter. The program will combine backcountry ski skills and education with guided in-bounds and out-of-bounds skiing. "This is the perfect addition to our programs," says...

SAM Magazine-Princeton, Mass., Nov. 7, 2008-Despite the flurry of recent negative economic news, Wachusett Mountain Ski Area has seen several positive indicators this fall. Among them: attendance at the resort's several fall festivals was up more than 20 percent, including record attendance at some events. Sales during the annual Columbus Day eq...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-The North American ski season has kicked off in earnest, with resorts opening across the continent. Early openings include Snowbird, which is taking advantage of more than 40 inches of snow this month to chalk up the second earliest opening in the ski area's history to open today. Colorado ski ar...

SAM Magazine-Snowmass, Colo., Nov. 3, 2008-The snow blanket experiment at Snowmass ski area was a success. The resort utilized the blanket, called Ice Protector Optiforce and produced by the Swiss flooring firm Landolt, over the summer to preserve snow in the ski area's terrain park. According to Rich Burkley, Aspen's general manager of mountain...

SAM Magazine-Franconia Notch, N.H., Nov. 3, 2008-SE Group received the New England Ski Museum's Spirit of Skiing Award at the Museum's 31st annual meeting Oct. 25 at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. The 50-year-old SE Group, originally named Sno-engineering, was founded in Franconia, N.H, home of the Ski Museum. But there's more to the...

SAM Magazine -Windham, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2008-Eastern ski resorts got a jump on the ski season after an October storm brought snow and colder temperatures to the region. The storm dropped more than two feet of snow in parts of the region. Windham Mountain in the northern Catskill Mountains reported 27 inches of snow on the ski area's upper elevation...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Mountain, Calif., Nov. 3, 2008-Skiers and snowboarders took the slopes Monday morning as Mammoth Mountain officially kicked off the 2008-09 winter season, 10 days prior to its scheduled opening. A powerful storm hit the area over the weekend, dropping up to 18 inches of snow. On Monday morning hundreds of skiers and riders ...

SAM Magazine-Ludlow, Vt., Oct. 30, 2008-Not all the economic news is bad. At the Oct. 13 close of the resort's early savings cutoff date, Vermont's Okemo recorded a 12 percent increase in season pass units sold and a 16 percent increase in revenue. In addition, destination bookings at the resort are holding steady, while group sales are 40 percent ...

SAM Magazine-Crested Butte, Colo., Oct. 30, 2008-In the wake of economic headlines, resorts are stepping step up efforts to woo winter visitors with aggressive promotions, including free airfare. Crested Butte's Vacation Stimulus Package rewards vacationers with free airline tickets when booking additional activities such as lift tickets, spa tr...

SAM Magazine-Newry, Maine, Oct. 29, 2008-Sunday River will open for the Halloween weekend. It's the second year for the resort to drop the ropes for Halloween, and the second year that anyone who shows up in a costume on Halloween will ski for free. The opening has been bolstered by recent cold temperatures ideal for snowmaking. "We have been ad...

SAM Magazine-Strandafjellet, Norway, Oct. 28, 2008-Five Norwegian ski areas are launching a new joint pass, giving access to a combined 25 lifts and 53 slopes in the Sunnmore region. The "Alpepass" will be available this season, and includes the ski resorts of Strandafjellet Skisenter, Sunnmørsalpane Skiarena Fjellseter, Stordal Alpinsenter, ...

SAM Magazine-London, England, Oct. 28, 2008-The United Kingdom ski and snowboard market has grown over the past year by three percent, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain's annual Snowsports Analysis, with more than 1.35 million people taking ski and snowboard holidays from the UK. The research report, published for the eighth year, showe...

SAM Magazine-Taylor's Falls, Minn., Oct. 28, 2008-With colder temperatures across the nation, resorts are starting to drop the ropes and fire up the lifts. The latest is Minnesota's Wild Mountain, which opens today at 1 p.m. The resort usually leads the pack when it comes to early openings in the region, and this week's opening date is no exception...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Oct. 28, 2008-Several resorts are banning employees from using the Primo and Love series of Burton snowboards while on the job. The Primo series features gory images of self-mutilation, while the Love series features images of Playboy models. While there is no graphic (only suggestive) nudity in the Love series of board...

SAM Magazine-Maggie Valley, N.C., Oct. 27, 2008-Colder temperatures in the Southeast have sparked snowmaking at both Snowshoe and Cataloochee ski areas, with the latter announcing an Oct. 28 opening day. That will make Cataloochee Ski Area, located in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, the first ski resort in the Mid-Atlantic regi...