SAM Magazine-Wilmington, Vt., Jan. 15, 2006-The Haystack Mountain Club, an exclusive private ski area, golf and equestrian resort being built on the bones of the old Haystack ski area, has suspended operations and laid off all but a few employees, according to a report in the local Deerfield Valley News. Contractors working at the site have receive...

SAM Magazine - Steamboat Springs, Colo., January 13, 2007 - Observers of the industry will remember Colorado's Stagecoach ski area. The resort, outside of Steamboat, never got off the ground, although a cat skiing operation did find modest success on the resort's trails in the 1990s. Today, however, the resort is booming, with three times as many h...

SAM Magazine - Pinkham Notch, NH, January 8, 2007 - While common in Europe, zip lines are just starting to make inroads in North America. The latest resort that has announced plans to install zip lines is New Hampshire's Wildcat Mountain. Wildcat's zip line , which should be operational by June, will feature two cables, allowing for side-by-side...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., January 13, 2007--Vail Resorts' CEO Robert Katz has told the Vail Daily newspaper that the company is shopping. According the the Daily, Katz has said that acquisitions remain, "very much a priority." However, Katz isn't letting slip any hints as to who or what Vail Resorts is interested in purchasing, hinting only that t...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co, January 5, 2007 - The worst on record? That's the question that eastern resort operators are asking themselves as warm temperatures continue to plague ski resorts across the region. With temperatures lingering in the 50's snowmakers are ripping out their hair as Mother Nature continues to stymie their efforts. The latest vi...

SAM Magazine-Paris, France, Jan. 4, 2007-Consolidation in the resort world is a global phenomenon. In the most recent chapter in Europe, ski resort operator Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) is holding talks with Groupe Sofival and its main shareholders in an attempt to merge the ski area management activities of the two groups. Groupe Sofival is a majo...

SAM Magazine-Golden, B.C., Jan. 4, 2007-Steve Paccagnan will replace Arijann van Vuure as president and general manager of Kicking Horse. Paccagnan, an experienced industry veteran, started his career in 1986 at Panorama Mountain Resort. In 1999, he became GM of Mont Ste. Marie in Quebec. When Intrawest sold Mont Ste. Marie in 2002, Paccagnan re...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., December 30, 2006 - Forget the traditional ski school model. This year more resorts than ever are looking to expand the offerings available through their ski schools, tapping into new customers, some of whom would never consider lessons. While many North American resorts are already beefing up their pipe and park progr...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., December 30, 2006 - Former President Ford, a fixture at Vail and Beaver Creek resorts, will be honored by having runs named after him at each ski area. Ford, who until his death owned a Beaver Creek residence, was an active skier whose mere presence at Vail and Beaver Creek during his tenure as president did more to market...

SAM Magazine - The Canyons, Utah, December 27, 2006 - The only unionized ski patrol in Utah has come to a tentative agreement with their employers, thus averting a strike over the holiday season. The Canyon's ski patrol, which is represented by the Communications Workers of America, had been working since the resort opened for the 2006-2007 winter ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 20, 2006-Vail Resorts, for whom snow is the raison d'etre, has postponed its annual meeting due to a major winter storm moving across Colorado. The meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 21, but by Wednesday afternoon, heavy snow and wind had brought travel to a standstill. More than a foot of snow ...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., Dec. 19, 2006-Backed by its new owner, Fortress Investment Group, Intrawest is purchasing the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation from American Skiing Company (ASC) for $265 million. The eighth most-visited resort in the U.S. in 2006, Steamboat will become the eleventh member of the Intrawest empire if the deal...

SAM Magazine-Keystone, Colo., Dec. 18, 2006-Keystone resort has become the first ski area to offer "geocaching." This high-tech treasure hunt challenges players to find hidden "geocaches" that are located via GPS units. "It's a cool way to introduce people to Keystone, as well as a fun kind of adventure for families," resort spokesperson Amy Kemp t...

SAM Magazine-Corvara, Italy, Dec. 18, 2006-Listed as "Number 1" in the Italian Registry of Lifts, Corvara's Col Alto chairlift has finally undergone the transformation to a gondola. Installed in 1947, the venerable lift was Italy's first chairlift. It debuted with a capacity of 163 passengers per hour. As time passed, the lift was upgraded, first t...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Dec. 18, 2006-Call it war, a rip-off or just a good way to pad the bottom line. But whatever you call it, there is no mistaking that for skiers, the two most expensive resorts in Colorado just got a bit pricier. Last week Aspen raised its single-day lift ticket price to $82. This week Vail upped the ante, raising its singl...