SAM Magazine - Pennsylvania, December 1, 2006 - Laurel Mountain will not fire up the lifts this winter. The Pennsylvania resort, which has been operated by nearby Seven Springs since 2004 has been plagued by a lack of snow and mediocre weather which has prevented snowmaking. The announcement is the latest in a long string of bad news for the resort...

SAM Magazine - Alyeska, AK, November 29, 2006 - Alaska's Alyeska resort has been sold. The purchaser, John Byrne III, a hardcore skier who regularly tops 100 days each winter, says he'll be a very hands-on owner who will play an active roll in the resort. Byrne, who currently lives in Alta, Ut, purchased the resort from Japanese company Seibu Holdi...

SAM - Magog, QC, November 28, 2006 - An eleventh hour deal struck by Québec Environment Minister Claude Béchard has saved Québec's Mont Orford's season. The resort was in the throes of a labor dispute, and the differences between management and the union which represented ski area workers seemed intractable. In fact, the situation was so ...

SAM Magazine - Wittenburg, Germany, November 28, 2006 - The world's largest indoor halfpipe is slated to open the second week of December in Wittenburg, Germany. The pipe is the prime feature of SnowFunPark, Germany's fifth indoor ski area. The facility is scheduled to open December 8. The indoor skiing facility is one of the largest in the world a...

SAM Magazine--Elk Meadows, Utah, November 28, 2006--The controversial Mount Holly Club planned for the defunct ski area at Elk Meadows, Utah, has received conceptual approval from the Beaver County Planning and Zoning Commission. The resort, which opened in 1971, went into bankruptcy in 2004. It has 420 skiable acres and 1,400 feet of vertical drop...

SAM Magazine - Northstar-At-Tahoe, November 27, 2006 - Northstar-At-Tahoe has teamed up with legendary snowboard icon Jake Burton to design a natural jib run called The Stash. The run, developed by Burton and his team riders, features trees, jibs and road jumps constructed with wood logs and other materials native to the Lake Tahoe region. "I've...

SAM Magazine - Salt Lake City, UT, November 21, 2006 - You've heard of them: Blogs. The web logs that are written by somewhat anonymous personalities about every subject under the sun. The best Blogs have become alternative sources of news and commentary, vaulting their authors into the limelight and providing valued insights. At their worst, Blogs merely waste bandwidth. After all, who really cares about the daily adventures of Aunt Martha's cat? Still, as resorts come to grips with new technology and the power of the Internet, Blogs can provide another weapon in the marketing war. And, if you have a Blog that combines the elusive combination of authenticity and mass appeal, they can become powerful voices for your brand.

SAM Magazine, Boulder, CO, November 20, 2006 - Eastern ski resorts are back on track as cold weather returned to the region over the weekend and resorts have resumed snowmaking operations. Numerous resorts delayed opening dates last week as warm weather stymied snowmaking and Mother Nature failed to cooperate. But with colder temperatures in store...

SAM Magazine - Lake Louise, Alberta, November 17, 2006 - Lake Louise has gotten the go-ahead to host the first men's World Cup Downhill race of the season. The event is scheduled for November 25 and 26. The resort recently passed a hill inspection by the FIS and met the conditions to host the DH. Given the speeds at which World Cup DH racers re...

SAM Magazine--Boston, Mass., November 17, 2006--This year's BEWI Award luncheon had one of its largest crowds ever to honor Bernie Weischel and Philip Gravink. The location was Gillett stadium where they were busy trying to get the field repaired after last Sunday's muddy game. Left to right: Herbert Schneider, Billy Kidd, Bernie Weichsel, Phil ...

SAM Magazine--Burlington, Vt., November 16, 2006--After four years of tracking helmet use among skiers and snowboarders at three Vermont Ski areas, the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team announced it is expanding its project to up to eight additional Vermont resorts, thanks to a collaboration with the Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA). The res...

SAM Magazine--Aspen, Colo., November 16, 2006--Pat O'Donnell, president and CEO of the Aspen Skiing Company, has moved up his retirement, which is effective immediately. O'Donnell joined Aspen in 1993 and became CEO in 1996. During his tenure, O'Donnell brought the environment to the forefront of industry thinking, as well as customer service. "...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Colorado, November 14, 2006 - Resorts have faced a mixed bag of weather over the past week. With snow and cold temperatures in the west and warm eastern temps, the outlook for Thanksgiving openings is mixed. Groomers putting final touches on Winter Park slopes.  The situation is the best in the western region of Nort...

SAM Magazine - Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River, Maine, November 14, 2006 -Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River have become the largest purchasers and consumers of wind power in New England. Both Maine resorts have jointly chosen to offset 100 percent of their resort operations' electricity usage with energy generated from wind. Wind energy exclusively wil...

SAM Magazine-Middlebury, Vt., Nov. 8, 2006-Middlebury College Snow Bowl is raising the bar on carbon dioxide offsets. According to Middlebury College assistant treasurer and director of business services Tom Corbin, "The Middlebury College Snow Bowl may well be the first ski area to take carbon neutrality to this level by offsetting electric, gas, ...