SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, Jan. 12, 2011-Judge Terry Myers has removed Tamarack Resort from federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and sent the dispute over the resort's future back to state court. What this means for the area's long-term future is not immediately clear. A potential buyer has bid $40 million for the resort. But Credit Suisse, ...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Jan. 12, 2011-Winter Trails, a series of free, learn-to events for snowshoe and cross-country organized by Snowsports Industries America (SIA), drew good crowds to more than 80 local events across the country on Saturday, Jan. 8. Favorable weather in almost every part of the country helped boost attendance at comparable ev...

SAM Magazine-Albany, N.Y., Jan. 11, 2011-Three privately-owned neighbors of state-owned Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills are crying foul over the number of free lift tickets Belleayre makes available to gain visits, often at the expense of the private areas. Hunter Mountain and Windham Mountain used the state Freedom of Information Law to unc...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 10, 2011-Vail Resorts (VR) reported increases in visits and revenues from several departments for the season through Jan. 6, 2011, compared to the prior year through Jan. 7, 2010, which was an historically weak period hampered by poor early-season snow. Total skier visits for VR's six mountain resort properti...

SAM Magazine-Grangeville, Idaho, Jan. 10, 2011-Idaho Sewing for Sports has chosen "to be part of the solution in our nation's, and the world's, current economic situation" by keeping its staff fully employed and performing community service, rather than laying off employees and contributing to unemployment when business is soft, said company CEO Gu...

SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, Jan. 4, 2011-U.S. bankruptcy judge Terry Myers has lifted a stay on two lifts at Tamarack Resort, allowing Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to repossess them. It's likely that BAC will try to sell the lifts to Tamarack's eventual buyer, or to another resort for reinstallation elsewhere. BAC now owns a mile-long detachable q...

SAM Magazine--January 3, 2011--Across the state of Maine, ski areas reported a fast start to the 2010/11 winter season following a timely blizzard, which dumped up to two feet of snow on December 27. According to Melissa Rock at Shawnee Peak and Kevin Rosenberg at Mt. Abram, "the new snow was followed by three days of beautiful weather, which resul...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Dec. 31, 2010-Slopestyle skiing has been added to the International Ski Federation's (FIS) Freestyle World Ski Championships this February at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resorts. The slopestyle event, one of three new sports being considered for inclusion in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, will be held at Park Ci...

SAM Magazine-Hancock, Mass., Dec. 31, 2010-In what could be a harbinger of holiday visits nationwide, Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort set a single-day skier visit record on Dec. 30, topping the previous record by 15 percent. A 20-inch snowfall just prior to Christmas has brought out the crowds. With 7,874 total visits, Jiminy set records for both da...

SAM Magazine-Franconia Notch, N.H., Dec. 31, 2010-It's been 26 years since a lift turned at Mittersill, N.H., but that changes Jan. 1 when Cannon Mountain opens the new Mittersill Double Chair. Mittersill has become a popular sidecountry destination for Cannon skiers, but the last time there was an operating lift at Mittersill was in 1984, when the...

SAM Magazine-Carraabasett Valley, Maine, Dec. 30, 2010-Investigators from the Maine board of elevator and tramway safety said that high wind was a contributing factor in the chairlift derailment Tuesday during their preliminary findings. The investigation itself is ongoing, according to Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin. Doug Dunbar, a spokesman ...

SAM Magazine-Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Dec. 28, 2010-The Spillway East Chairlift at Sugarloaf, Maine, experienced a rope derailment Tuesday morning, with seven people reported injured. The injured persons, including three children, were treated and transported to local hospitals. None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening. The rema...

SAM Magazine-Meadowlands, N.J., Dec. 24, 2010-Lenders for New Jersey's star-crossed and stalled Meadowlands Xanadu shopping complex say that mall king Triple Five, which owns the Mall of America, will take over the planned entertainment and retail mecca. Xanadu includes what could be the first indoor ski slope in the U.S. Triple Five expects to ...

SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, Dec. 24, 2010-Tamarack Resort owner Jean-Pierre Boespflug has proposed Green Valley Holdings as buyer of Tamarack. The Idaho-based investor group has bid $40 million for the resort. Green Valley is headed Larry Givens, an Idaho construction company owner, Matthew Hutcheson, a pension fund consultant. Other bidders,...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Dec. 24, 2010-In November, snowsports retail sales grew by a remarkable 33 percent in dollars. Specialty store sales leapt 36 percent, chain chain stores grew by 31 percent, and Internet sales were up 27 percent. While the sales growth is somewhat misleading-November 2009 sales were very soft due to warm weather and ...

Bolton Valley, Vt., Dec. 17, 2010-The owners of Bolton Valley, Doug Nedde and Larry Williams, are seeking an equity partner or outright sale of the resort. The resort encompasses 700 acres, including six chairlifts and some commercial space-the administrative offices, retail and rental shops, and ski school. The resort leases a sports center and...

SAM Magazine-Olympic Valley, Calif., Dec. 6, 2010-As expected, KSL Capital Partners, LLC has closed its previously announced acquisition of substantially all of the shares of The Squaw Valley Development Company. The acquisition includes all facets of Squaw Valley USA ski operations, as well as the Village at Squaw Valley and related real estate ho...

SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, Dec. 6, 2010-Idaho bankruptcy court judge Terry Myers today approved a ski and snowboard season at Tamarack Resort, even as bankruptcy proceedings continue and lender Credit Suisse seeks to turn the bankruptcy proceedings into a liquidation. Hearings on that request continue in court tomorrow. Nonetheless, the Tamar...

SAM Magazine-East Burke, Vt., Dec. 3, 2010-In the first of what could be a wave of online deals this season, Burke Mountain sold 600 day tickets on Tuesday, Nov. 30, through discount coupon e-tailer Groupon as the "daily deal" in the Boston area. The Burke offer was a $26 discount off the full day ticket of $66, or $24 discount off the half-day ...

SAM Magazine-Salt Lake City, Dec. 2, 2010-Skytrac, Inc., which has started manufacturing lifts in the U.S., is the first new North American aerial ropeway manufacturer to be created in almost 30 years. It is headed by longtime lift builder Jan Leonard, and includes several lift industry veterans, among them Alan Hepner, John Pentesco, David Metivie...

SAM Magazine-Flagstaff, Ariz., Dec. 2, 2010-Arizona Snowbowl has won the latest round in its fight to install snowmaking, as the courts-this time a Federal District Court-have once again upheld Snowbowl's right to make snow with reclaimed water. In a statement, Snowbowl said it looks forward to starting construction of the snowmaking system, and...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Nov. 29, 2010-In an effort to keep winter resorts focused on the need to attract and retain newcomers to skiing and riding, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has launched the Conversion Cup Challenge, which recognizes resorts' efforts to create lifelong skiers and riders. NSAA has been calling on member ski ...

SAM Magazine-Olympic Valley, Calif., Nov. 23, 2010-KSL Capital Partners, LLC has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the shares of The Squaw Valley Development Company, which includes all facets of Squaw Valley USA ski operations, the Village at Squaw Valley and related real estate holdings. The transaction is expected to clos...

SAM Magazine--November 18, 2010--Vail Resorts, Inc., announced the appointment of Bill Rock as the new COO of Northstar-at-Tahoe, Calif. Rock will assume responsibility for all mountain and village operations associated with the resort and report directly to Blaise Carrig, co-president of Vail Resorts' mountain division. Rock was most recently p...

SAM Magazine--November 17, 2010--The Idaho Land Board approved a deal between the Tamarack Municipal Association and primary creditor Credit Suisse to continue the resort's state lease deal through June 2011. According to the Idaho Statesman, a bankruptcy court still must approve the deal that would allow Tamarack to open for a 15-week season. ...

SAM Magazine--November 17, 2010--Tenney Mountain, N.H., will go to auction on December 15. The area owes $170,000 in back taxes dating back to 2008. According to the auction company (www.jospehfinn.com), not only is the ski area land up for grabs, which consists of 445 acres, but two other lots will be auctioned at the same time--a 39.48-acre undev...

SAM Magazine--November 16, 2010--During a visit to the Vatican by a group of ski instructors, Pope Benedict XVI praised skiing as one way that, "man recognizes the greatness of God." According to published reports, the Pope said that the sport of skiing teaches, "constancy in reaching objectives, respecting the rules, and tenacity in facing up t...

SAM Magazine--November 16, 2010-- Olympic Gold Medal skier will join Glen Plake as Ambassador for Learn to Ski and Snowboard month (LSSM). With five Olympic medals, two overall World Cup titles and four Discipline titles, Miller will provide a recognizable face to the campaign. LSSM will take place during January and is a national initiative to...

SAM Magazine-Wrightwood, Calif., Nov. 15, 2010-Karl Kapuscinski, president and CEO of Mountain High Resort Associates LLC, has purchased all remaining shares in the Mountain High Resort tenant-operator firm, making him the sole owner of the company that leases the resort from CNL Lifestyle Properties. Kapuscinski is entering his fifteenth season as...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Nov. 11, 2010-SnowSports Industries America (SIA) said today it has out its exhibit booth space for the upcoming 2011 SIA Snow Show, Jan. 27-30 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The show is expected to draw more than 18,000 attendees including snow sports suppliers, retailers, reps, athletes and professionals. M...

SAM Magazine-Greenwood, Maine, Nov. 9, 2010-Mt Abram Resort is launching a non-academy race program, Le Club de Sport LaVallee/Parisien. The program will promote high school and middle school ski racing and help those athletes reach their full potential and grow in alpine racing. It will supplement and support the athlete's school program and coach...

SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, Nov. 9, 2010-The Tamarack Municipal Association (TMA) has reached an agreement with creditor Credit Suisse, the Idaho Department of Lands, and the equity holders of the resort to allow payment of a land lease that is a key part of TMA's effort to open the resort to skiing and snowboarding next month. TMA, the associ...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Nov. 9, 2010-Maynard Russell of MRC Services, Greenville, Maine, has been named interim chair of the ANSI ASC B77 Standards Committee for the next 12 to 24 months. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), acting as the Secretariat for the ANSI ASC B77 Standards Committee on Passenger Ropeways, announced the appointme...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Nov. 5, 2010-About one-third of all skiers and riders on the mountain are on rental equipment, according to rental shop operators who took part in the 2010 Rental Equipment Survey conducted by Snowsports Industries America (SIA). Increasingly, those customers are looking for high-end demo equipment. As a result, more than ...

SAM Magazine-Frisco, Colo., Nov. 5, 2010-Keystone Resort and Copper Mountain opened today, adding to the growing list of areas that are now open for the season. In Canada, Lake Louise became the first area to open. Wolf Creek, Colo., opened for the season last Saturday, and Killington joined the group on Nov. 2. The Colorado areas were aided by ...

SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, Nov. 4, 2010-With winter fast approaching, Tamarack Resort's status remains as fluid as ever. In a bankruptcy court filing, Credit Suisse has declared that liquidation of Tamarack Resort is the best way to recoup as much of the $300 million owed to the resort's lender group as possible, and has asked bankruptcy judge Terr...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Nov. 4, 2010-Whistler Blackcomb Holdings, an entity created by Intrawest for the purpose of selling public shares in Whistler Blackcomb, raised C$300 million (US$297 million) after it priced its IPO shares at C$12, a significant cut from the C$15 it hoped for initially. The offering is expected to close Nov. 9. The deal...

SAM Magazine-Brownsville, Vt., Nov. 2, 2010-Ascutney Mountain Resort won't operate this winter, with operations in future years also in doubt unless a buyer can be found. The resort's outlook took a turn for the worse last summer when Steve and Susan Plausteiner, who had bought the resort out of bankruptcy in 1993 and have managed its operation...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Nov. 2, 2010-Glen Plake and Head Ski Company are lending their considerable support to Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month (LSSM) in January, when more than 300 resorts across the U.S. will be promoting learn-to programs. Plake is returning as an ambassador for the initiative, and Head has signed on as a major partner. ...

SAM Magazine-Orlando, Fla., Oct. 29, 2010-In response to an earlier report on saminfo.com, CNL Lifestyle Properties has informed us that some of the statements in that report may be misleading. Here's a more complete description of the change in management at Northstar-at-Tahoe: As with other CNL resort properties, CNL owns the land and all impr...

SAM Magazine-Taylors Falls, Minn, Oct. 29, 2010-Wild Mountain, Minn., and Boreal, Calif., both opened for business today, adding to the flurry of openings in the past week. For Wild Mountain, it marks the 35th year the area has been the first in the Midwest to open. Rates were determined by bow many Facebook fans the area had-the more "likes" t...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Oct. 29, 2010-Lack of interest from investors has led Whistler Blackcomb Holdings, a company formed by Intrawest and owned by Fortress Investment Group, to reduce the price of its IPO shares, according to several news reports. The reduction, from the planned range of C$14 to C$15 per share to the current range of C$12.5...

SAM Magazine-Newry, Maine, Oct. 26, 2010- In the wake of the SANY and NWSS fall workshops, the two groups and NSAA are planning an expanded agenda for 2011 over an eight-day stretch that, for the two events, is one day shorter. In a key and expected change, the NWSS will return to a more conventional trade show format after this year's experimen...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Oct. 27, 2010-After a long, warm fall, areas in the west have received significant snowfall in the past three days. In the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Hood Meadows had recorded 30 inches through Tuesday, with more expected. In Colorado and Utah, snowfalls were in the 18- to 24-inch range. And in western Canada, Fernie reported 15 in...

SAM Magazine-Sugar Mountain, N.C., Oct. 25, 2010-The North Carolina ski industry generated $146 million in economic activity in the 2009-10 winter season, according to a study conducted by RRC Associates for the North Carolina Ski Areas Association (NCSAA). Total direct expenditures on winter sports were $88.5 million. Indirect economic activity wa...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Oct. 25, 2010-Vail Resorts (VR) has acquired the stock of the companies that operate Northstar-at-Tahoe from Booth Creek Resort Properties LLC and other sellers for $63 million. The operations of Northstar-at-Tahoe are conducted on land owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties Inc., which will be leased to Vail Resorts unde...

SAM Magazine-Andover, N.H., Oct 25, 2010-Dalbello and Elan are ending their joint distribution agreement as of Jan. 1, when Alpina Sports Corp. in Lebanon, N.H., will assume responsibility for Elan. The two companies will continue to market the 4Factor rental system, although Dalbello also plans to offer its Vantage system boot for use with other b...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Oct. 24, 2010-Loveland Ski Area opened at 9 a.m. today, one day ahead of the scheduled opening of neighboring Arapahoe Basin on Monday. For both, this is the start of continuous operations for the season.The news brought an energized crowd to Loveland today, demonstrating that people are eager for ski season. Snowmaking eff...

SAM Magazine-Newry, Maine, Oct. 22, 2010-Sunday River Ski Resort became the first resort in the country to open as of 3:30 p.m. EDT today, with skiable terrain on its T2 trail from the top of the mountain down to the midstation of the Locke Mountain triple chair. This marks the first time the resort has been the first to open-that is, aside from...

SAM Magazine-Wildwood, Mo., Oct. 21, 2010-Peak Resorts has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all Wildcat Mountain Ski Area assets and attractions in Pinkham Notch, N.H., from longtime owner Pat Franchi, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service. Adding to its portfolio of resorts located in six U.S. states, including Attitash and Crotc...

SAM Magazine--October 20, 2010--A jury returned a unanimous defense verdict yesterday in the case of James Malaguit v. Ski Sundown, Inc., in the Connecticut Superior Court, Litchfield, Conn. James Malaguit was 15 years old on February 17, 2006, when he went off a terrain feature in Ski Sundown's terrain park. He reverse rotated and landed on the...

SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, Oct. 20, 2010- Federal bankruptcy judge Terry Myers has rejected a $2 million loan intended to allow Tamarack Resort to maintain facilities and reopen this winter while it finds a buyer, saying that the onerous conditions of the loan made it likely the resort would default once again. Whether Tamarack will open or not ...

SAM Magazine-Waterville Valley, N.H., Oct. 19, 2010-Less than a week after taking over, the new owners of Waterville Valley are buying 25 energy-efficient HKD tower guns and a new Prinoth Bison groomer. Total investment in the six weeks leading up to the area's planned Nov. 20 opening will hit $500,000. "We completed the purchase of Waterville V...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Oct. 19, 2010-Despite ongoing economic fluctuations and decreased consumer confidence, western mountain destinations posted a 15.8 percent increase in occupancy in September 2010 compared to September 2009, according to the latest data released by Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). This represents the biggest monthly inc...

In the latest installment of SAM's Summer Ops video series, the SAM CAM visited Nashoba Valley's Sunset Tiki Bar in western Mass., where guests are treated to summer fun on the ski area's snowmaking pond. Nashoba's success with the Sunset Tiki Bar this summer has surprised even its owners, the Fletchers. "The Tiki Bar has more than doubled our s...

SAM Magazine-Ishpeming, Mich., Oct. 14, 2010-World Champion ski racer Daron Rahlves, iconic skiing legend Glen Plake, and the late big-mountain freeskier Shane McConkey are among six skiers and builders named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. They will be joined by Paralympic medalist and World Champion Muffy Davis, Olympi...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Oct. 14, 2010-Fortress Investment Group is planning to sell a significant stake in Whistler Blackcomb within the month, via an IPO expected to net C$300 million, according to filings with Canadian securities commissions. Fortress will keep a stake of unknown size in the resort as well. The group of banks that are con...

SAM Magazine-Tahoe City, Calif., Oct. 13, 2010-Alpine Meadows is the first resort in North America to install the Magnestick chairlift safety system for kids, which will be used on the area's Meadow and Subway chairs during the 2010-11 season. The system uses an electromagnetic seatback and corresponding magnetic vest worn by children riding a c...

SAM Magazine-Waterville Valley, N.H., Oct. 11, 2010-The Sununu family is leading a group of local investors that has purchased Waterville Valley from Booth Creek Resorts. The assets include the Waterville Valley Ski Area, Waterville Valley Nordic Center, Waterville Valley Conference Center and Town Square. Waterville Valley, opened in 1966, was ...

SAM Magazine--October 1, 2010--It's the season for hiring, promoting and moving, so we have compiled the latest resort personnel changes...and will continue to do so throughout the year. Congratulations to everyone below on their new positions! Mt. Rose, Nev., hired sales and marketing director Sean Bakos. Bakos hails from Vermont and spent the ...