SAM Magazine-Wellington, New Zealand, May 17, 2007-The New Zealand ski industry is starting to push for a bigger slice of the Aussie pie, targeting Australian skiers with television advertising for the first time. New Zealand already taps into an enthusiastic Aussi market. Last year, more than 101,000 overseas skiers spent an estimated NZ$342 mi...

SAM Magazine-Bonita Springs, Calif., May 17, 2007-Source Interlink Cos., a magazine, CD and DVD distributor controlled by Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle, has agreed to buy the Enthusiast Media division of Primedia, which includes Powder, Snowboarder, Hot Rod, Motor Trend and other special interest publications, for $1.2 billion. Source Inter...

SAM Magazine-Killington, Vt., May 11, 2007-Powdr Corp of Park City, Utah and SP Land Company of Killington have finalized their purchase of Killington and Pico ski areas from American Skiing Company (ASC). SP Land will continue to focus on real estate development, and Powdr will run the mountain resort operations. Final proceeds from the sale were ...

SAM Magazine-Danbury, N.H., May 11, 2007-Ragged Mountain ski resort and its 18-hole golf course are now owned by RMR-Pacific, an affiliate of Utah developer Pacific Group. Sale price was not disclosed, but is believed to be about $10 million. RMR-Pacific bought Ragged from Al and Walter Endriunas, who had been facing foreclosure for months. The two...

SAM Magazine - Hancock, Ma, May 7, 2007 - Massachusetts resort Jiminy Peak has received final approvals to install a $3.9 million GE wind turbine on the ski mountain and construction is expected to commence this summer. The project should be completed by August. The turbine is slated for the western side of the mountain, 350 feet below the summi...

SAM Magazine - Mammoth Mountain, Ca, May 7, 2007 - One of Mammoth's original chairs is finally getting a makeover. Chair 9, a double installed in 1969, is being replaced by a six pack detachable built by Doppelmayr. The lift has the largest vertical rise of any chair at Mammoth, at 1,700 feet. The new Doppelmayr lift will cost $6.5 million, will...

SAM Magazine, Snowmass, Co., May 7, 2007 - Threats written on the walls of a portable toilet at the construction site of the new Snowmass Village have workers and authorities concerned. The threats, which involved shooting Mexican workers and named a time and date (2:15 p.m., Friday, May 4) resulted in increased police presence through the weekend....

SAM Magazine-Glens Falls, N.Y., May 4, 2007-Scott Brandi becomes president and executive director of the Ski Areas of New York (SANY) on June 1, replacing Dirk Gouwens, who resigned to join the Lake Placid Visitors' Bureau as vp of marketing and brand development. "In my new position I will be able to apply the skills and industry knowledge gath...

SAM Magazine-Revelstoke, B.C., May 3, 2007-Revelstoke Mountain Resort has closed on its purchase of Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing, which was announced in January. The deal, worth $6 million, gives Revelstoke Mountain Resort access to 500,000 acres of skiable terrain with annual snowfall that regularly exceeds 40 feet. Combined with the recent acquis...

SAM Magazine-Bolton, Vt., May 3, 2007-Larry Williams and Doug Nedde have acquired Bob Fries' remaining financial interest in Bolton Valley. Williams and Nedde are partners in Redstone, a thriving commercial real estate development firm which purchased the 3,800 acres surrounding the resort in 2004. "In the past couple of years, we've made a lot ...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., May 3, 2007-As part of a massive makeover worth approximately $40 million, Colorado's Steamboat Resort will embark on $16 million worth of projects this summer, a record investment for the resort. Highlighting the investment will be the new Christie Peak Express detachable six-pack chairlift, Headwall slope...

SAM Magazine-Wilmington, Vt., May 3, 2007-With the recent purchase of Mt. Snow and Attitash, Peak Resorts has reassigned some of its top executives to new positions within the company and promoted other key employees to new positions. Kelly Pawlak, who was the managing director of Mt. Snow, will become general manager there. John Lowell, who was...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., May 1, 2007-Sales at specialty ski and snowboard shops were down 1 percent in dollars for the August-February period, from $1.67 billion in 2005-06 to $1.65 billion this past season, according to The SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit conducted by Leisure Trends Group. Unit sales declined 0.5 percent, as incr...

SAM Magazine-Los Angeles, Apr. 30, 2007-Mountain sports are poised to become TV stars. Steve Bellamy, founder and former president of The Tennis Channel, will launch The Ski Channel-a "TV destination for the mountain lifestyle," he told SAM-as early as winter 2008. To help make this a reality, The Ski Channel has entered into a long-term affilia...

SAM Magazine-Bern, Switzerland, Apr. 30, 2007-A study conducted by Bern University's Research Institute for Leisure and Tourism predicts a rocky ride for Swiss ski resorts over the next 25 years as global warming causes a shift to reduced business in winter and increased business in summer. The study, commissioned by resorts in The Bernese Oberl...