SAM Magazine-Vail, Nov. 27, 2007-When Vail Resorts delayed Vail's opening by a few days earlier this month, the resort sent idle workers out on the town for a city-wide cleanup effort. A group of approximately 70 employees, ranging from mountain safety staff to ski patrollers, cat drivers and lift ops, roamed the Vail streets collecting rubbish. ...

SAM Magazine-Rossland B.C., Nov. 27, 2007-While terrain parks are common in resorts across the globe, dedicated skier and boarder cross courses are few and far between. But the Olympics could change that. Snowboardcross was one of the most popular disciplines at the Torino Olympics, and skier cross is slated to debut at Vancouver in 2010. To suppor...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Nov. 23, 2007-After a warm November in many parts of North America, resorts from coast to coast are swinging into action, thanks to the belated arrival of both natural snow and colder snowmaking temperatures. Delayed openings in the Rockies have been a major departure from prior seasons, when ample natural snowfall allowed resort...

SAM Magazine - Mt. Crested Butte, Colo., November 19, 2007- Crested Butte sees an opportunity in November's Rocky Mountain dry spell. With many Colorado and Utah ski areas postponing opening days and limited terrain at many of the resorts which are open, the 'Butte,--which opened as scheduled on November 17--is offering half price tickets to the co...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., November 15, 2007 - It's hot! Too hot, actually. In a mirror image of last year's slow start for Eastern ski resorts, Rocky Mountain ski areas are struggling to make snow and open on time. While both Loveland and Arapahoe Basin opened in October, November has been unseasonably warm. Some resorts have been able to make due....

SAM Magazine-Calgary, Alberta, Nov. 12, 2007-Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), is giving big air a big kiss-off. "All man-made snow jumps will be eliminated from RCR terrain parks this season," Matt Mosteller, senior director of business development for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, has announced. The six-area company cited its core valu...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Mountain, Calif., Nov. 9, 2007-More ski resorts are announcing openings by the day, if not the hour. In the Midwest, Ski Brule started winter operations Nov. 7. Another notable addition to the up-and-running club is Mammoth Mountain, which fired up the lifts on Nov. 8 and offers skiers one run with an 8- to 14-inch base of man-...

SAM Magazine-Breckenridge, Colo., Nov. 7, 200 -Skiers will have plenty to celebrate this weekend as the ski season kicks off in earnest, with resorts opening across North America. In Colorado, Arapahoe, Loveland and Copper Mountain have already been hosting skiers and snowboarders for the past few weeks, with Arapahoe Basin leading the early season...

SAM Magazine-Driggs, Id., Nov. 7, 2007-Grand Targhee Resort has purchased new employee housing just north of town here, in the Buffalo Valley Condominiums. The 16 three-bedroom, two-bath units are fully furnished and contain a washer/dryer and central vac system. Monthly rents start at $300 per employee and include Wi-Fi Internet service. Both sin...

SAM Magazine-North Vancouver, B.C., Nov. 7, 2007-Grouse Mountain is launching a groundbreaking-or at least snow-moving-program called Build Your Own Park. This gives passholders and park locals the opportunity to design the parks through a series of season-long surveys. Riders will vote on what features should be built next and provide feedback on ...

SAM Magazine-Windham, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2007-A mere eight miles apart, Hunter Mountain and Windham are offering visitors an inexpensive way to sample the disparate vibe of both with a single ticket package. The resorts are offering guests The Winter Card ($119), which gives skiers two days of skiing and riding at Hunter and two days at Windham. The dea...

SAM Magazine-Keystone, Colo., Nov. 2, 2007-Keystone's 2007-2008 season started today at 9 a.m., a week earlier than planned, thanks to more than two feet of natural snow and efficient snowmaking. Terrain park. Photo by Leisa Gibson.  The mountain is operating from the River Run Village base area for the intermediate run of Spring Dipper, ...

SAM Magazine-Canmore, Alberta, Nov. 1, 2007-Colorado-based East West Partners and Morgan Stanley Real Estate have acquired Three Sisters Mountain Village, a 1,800-acre partially completed Canadian Rockies resort community near Banff, adjacent to the historic mining town of Canmore (site of Nordic events at the 1988 Olympics). East West Partners wil...

SAM Magazine-Sunday River, Me., Oct. 31, 2007-What a difference a year makes. Unlike last fall, when snowmaking across the East was stymied by unseasonably warm temperatures, this year seems to be on track. At Sunday River, where consistently cold nights have allowed the mountain to pump out the white stuff, the area is open for one day, making it ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Oct. 30, 2007-Snowsports Industries America is moving its annual trade show to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver in 2010, ending more than three decades in Las Vegas. For SIA, the new location offers more space and a closer connection with the mountains-not to mention the higher visibility that comes with being one of t...