SAM Magazine--Oliver, B.C., Aug. 9, 2004--Mount Baldy ski area is on a fast track for modernization, thanks to new owners and the pro-resort efforts of the B.C. government and the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB). The B.C. government is encouraging new investment in the resort industry and was "instrumental, if not indispensable" in supporting new owne...

August 9 (SnowHunter)--The Mills Corporation, leading developer of innovative retail and entertainment destinations, today announced a September 29, 2004 groundbreaking for Meadowlands Xanadu in New Jersey, USA. Following on from the company's completion of the Madrid Xanadu last year, it is hoped that this new development will house the first U...

Dear Jennifer: I am writing in response to your open letter in the July 2004 SAM. As always, I respect SAM's role as an independent voice in the industry and I appreciate your willingness to voice your concerns on the future of NSAA and the industry. At the same time, I respectfully disagree with your opinion that the leaders of the industry hav...

SAM Magazine--Crested Butte, Colorado, August 5, 2004--John Norton, president and CEO at Crested Butte, announced that he will step down from that position to pursue a career in consulting. Norton will continue to work on projects for the ski resort as the point person for planning and approvals of expansion projects. Tim Mueller, the new owner ...

SAM Magazine--Silverton, Colorado, August 5, 2004--The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has given the OK to Silverton to host unguided skiers, up to 475 a day. The Bureau conducted a survey of the area, concentrating on avalanche safety, for three years before it rendered its recommendation. The fly in the ointment, however, is the recommendation...

SAM Magazine--North Conway, N.H., Aug. 4, 2004--The Threedom Pass, good at Booth Creek areas Cranmore, Loon, and Waterville Valley, offers increased benefits and options for the coming season. Unrestricted passes include college and youth passes ($199), teen passes ($249) and adult passes ($459). An adult pass with holiday blackout dates costs $319...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., August 4, 2004--Vail Resorts' quest to find a buyer has been put on hold, according to a story in the Denver Post and other sources. According to reports, the investment firm of KKR withdrew its bid, and the offer from Texas Pacific Group was well below VR's asking price. Nobody from the companies involved has commente...

SAM Magazine--Sherbrooke, Que., Aug. 3, 2004--Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. is selling its industrial vehicle division, including snow groomers, to Quebec component-maker Camoplast Inc., which produces rubber tracks and components for groomers and other heavy-duty tracked vehicles. Terms of the transaction were not released. The sale is exp...

Vail, Colo., July 30, 2004--Two large buyout firms are finalists in the possible sale of Vail Resorts, according to a report in the Denver Post. Sources have told the paper that Texas Pacific Group and Henry Kravis, a principal in New York investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), both submitted proposals this week. Sources said that VR's b...

SAM Magazine--McLean, Va., July 27, 2004--SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has joined the VERB campaign, a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focused on motivating kids ages 9 to 13 to get more physically active. VERB is a comprehensive, multicultural campaign that reaches out via kid-cool advertising, promotion a...

July 29, New Jersey (SnowHunter)--The joint developers of the $1.3 billion Xanadu project in New Jersey, Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali, have launched a website atYÂ¥ www.meadowlandsxanadu.com to showcase their plans. Xanadu would comprise five themed 'districts' over the 104-acre Continental Arena site.YÂ¥ The entertainment district will be the ...

SAM Magazine--Park City, Utah, July 21, 2004--OLN will broadcast 22 hours of original ski and snowboard event programming annually, with multiple re-airings, according to terms of a multi-year agreement between the sports channel and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). OLN is in 59 million homes and televises events such as the Tour de F...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., July 21, 2004--Vail Resorts has committed approximately $600,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to the Alpino 10,000 Project, which aims to introduce 10,000 Denver-area youth to snowsports in Colorado over the next two years. For each of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, Vail will contribute $5,000 a year to the Alpi...

SAM Magazine--Lakewood, Colo., July 15, 2004--The ski industry has made substantial progress in its efforts to reduce environmental impacts, according to the Sustainable Slopes Annual Report prepared by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). The report is based on information from 62 resorts representing 19 states and three Canadian provinces. ...

SAM Magazine--Copper Mountain, Colo., July 13, 2004--Summit County Commissioners have denied Intrawest's long-term development plan for doubling the size of Copper Mountain after a three-year planning process. Intrawest was seeking land-use approval for 1,155 additional residential units at Copper, beyond the 500 remaining units in its current p...