SAM Magazine-Krippenstein, Austria, Feb. 24, 2009-The snow just keeps falling across Europe as some areas are seeing record snowfall. In Austria, storms have been pounding most parts of the country with an additional meter expected for the week. "It's been amazing, says Kästle Skis president Siegfried "Sigi" Rumpfhuber. "One of the best seasons ...

SAM Magazine-West Lebanon, N.H., Feb. 24, 2009-Nordica has issued a recall for approximately 4,500 pairs of the company's XBi ALU skis. The skis were produced and sold between August 2006 and December 2008. There are concerns that the binding plates could fail, causing a loss of control. The recall involves the XBi binding component, which was used...

World Snow Resort News--February 12, 2009--Recent snow in urban areas has led to ski instructors working indoors year-round in the growing number of indoor snow centers in Europe to come outdoors to see the recent snowfall in parking lots and ride them as well. Britian's SNOzone! staff enjoy their lunch break from indoor snow.  Back on Eur...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Feb. 9, 2009-Woodward at Copper, a year-round training center that focuses on terrain park and pipe progression for skiers and snowboarders, will open Feb.28. The center's main facility, The Barn, is an evolution of Pennsylvania's highly successful Camp Woodward. The 20,000 square foot indoor complex houses Snow...

SAM Magazine-Wellington, N.Z., Feb. 9, 2009-With travelers worldwide staying closer to home, Tourism New Zealand is mounting an early run of TV commercials in Australia to promote New Zealand's ski resorts. The move is aimed at promoting early bookings, and marks the first time that New Zealand has gone into Australia with ski ads this early. The c...

World Snow News--February 6, 2009--Statistics published by tour operators, ski resorts and even airlines continue to reflect increased sales this winter, contrary to mainstream media reports. Figures released by easyJet indicate a 17 percent increase in customer bookings in a bid to escape the UK for destinations across Europe in December 2008, ...

World Snow Resort News--February 6, 2009--Although the snow arrived a few days later in Scotland than the south of England, domestic resorts have received up to two feet of fresh snow over the past 36 hours, which falling on top of an established base has led to extremely good powder and what Nevis Range describes as, "Near alpine conditions." C...

SAM Magazine-Duluth, Minn., Feb. 5, 2009-A move by Duluth to obtain $6 million as part of the economic stimulus package being debated in Congress to improve the city's water supply is drawing fire from privately-held resorts in the region, as the money would pay for a new source of water for city-owned Spirit Mountain's snowmaking system. The new s...

SAM Magazine - Incline Village, NV., February 3, 2009 - The snow is falling and jobs in the ski industry are hot. At least that's the experience of educators at Nevada's Sierra Nevada College. The private, four-year residential college on the shores of Lake Tahoe has seen a huge increase in enrollment in its Ski Business and Resort Management (SBRM...

SAM Magazine--Grand Junction, Colo., February 2, 2009--On January 26, Leitner-Poma of America and Prinoth held the grand opening ceremony for their new 90,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the Grand Junction Regional Airport. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter attended the opening and said a few words to the crowd, praising Leitner Technologies for b...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Colo., January 29, 2009 - A suspect in the 1998 arsons on Vail Mountain has been seen in Canada. Rebecca Rubin, who participated in the fiery eco-terrorism attacks on the Colorado ski area that burned the Two Elk Lodge and other structures including lift shacks and ski patrol rooms, has been seen near Vancouver, British Columbi...

SAM Magazine--January 27, 2009--Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort has entered into a long-term capital partnership with CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on lifestyle properties. Through a sale leaseback agreement, CNL Lifestyle Properties has acquired all of the resort's fixed assets for a total of $27 millio...

SAM Magazine - Denver, Colo., January 23, 2009 - Colorado skier visits dipped slightly says Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA). The industry organization, which represents 22 resorts in Colorado, reports total skier visits down 7.7 percent during the first period of the 2008-2009 ski season, defined as October 15, 2008 through December 31, 2008. How...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Jan. 23, 2009-In a report that has long-term implications for western resorts already battling a plague of beetles and beetle-killed trees, a Colorado University scientist says that there is a trend of increasing tree deaths across the west. The deaths encompass a variety of species-not just the lodgepole beetle-killed ...

Denver, Colorado, Jan. 22, 2009-A combination of factors including timely snowfall, discounted lodging, incentive packages, and aggressive marketing campaigns helped destination resort minimize their losses over the holidays, according Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) data. As a result, "While the results are not as good as previous years, ...