SAM Magazine-Toronto, Ont., Sept. 1, 2009-Peter Cowley is the new general manager and executive vice president of Horseshoe Resort in Barrie, Ont. With more than 23 years experience with Intrawest, Cowley has worked in almost all areas of the hospitality industry. Most recently, Cowley worked as a consultant for various resort and real estate...

SAM Magazine-Thombery, Ontario, Sept. 1, 2009-On the afternoon of Aug. 20, an F2 tornado blew through this ski and snowboard clubon Georgian Bay, carving a path of destruction from the area down to and including the area's remote pumphouse on the bay. The tornado passed through three of the area's chairlits, grazed a fourth, and removed the roof an...

SAM Magazine-Cody, Wyo., Aug. 31, 2009-After several years of dormancy and two years of renovation and expansion, Sleeping Giant Ski Area will reopen for the 2009-10 season. The community-oriented, 180-acre area, closed since 2004, is located just outside the East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It is owned and operated by the non-profit Yel...

SAM Magazine-Breckenridge, Colo., Aug. 31, 2009-A petition seeking to effectively legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults in the town of Breckenridge received enough support to place the issue before voters on Nov. 3. The measure would repeal local penalties in the Breckenridge Town Code for the possession of up to one ounce...

SAM Magazine-Durango, Colo., Aug. 31, 2009-In a move that reflects the growing popularity of "sidecountry" terrain-inbounds, ungroomed, off-piste acreage-Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort is adding 125 acres and 1,200 vertical feet of expert tree-skiing terrain. This expands the resort's total skiable terrain by 10 percent, to 1,325 acres, and i...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., Aug. 31, 2009-With the economy weak and destination travel down, major resorts are rolling back season's pass prices, to levels not seen in up to a decade. And resorts everywhere are touting the value of their pass prices. Many of the deals require an early purchase in return for the deals and perks. At Aspen/Snowmass,...

SAM Magazine--August 27, 2009--The Olympic Regional Development Authority has named Bruce McCulley the new general manager for Whiteface Ski Center. McCulley is replacing Jay Rand, who will become the new executive director of the N.Y. Ski Educational Foundation. McCulley has worked at Whiteface since 1981, starting as a lift operator and snowma...

SAM Magazine--August 27, 2009--According to published reports, and Idaho judge dismissed Bank of America's bid to take possession of two lifts, a snow plow, a shuttle bus and a Mack truck (all estimated to be worth $4.3 million) from Tamarack Resort. The judge ruled that the request should be part of a separate litigation by another bank. The be...

SAM Magazine-Reno, Nev., Aug. 19, 2009-After more than 30 years of stimulating snowfall in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Nevada Cloud Seeding Program closed for good this month as a result of budget cuts. The program needed $550,000 to keep it going. "It's not really good for the ski resorts or anyone worried about water supplies in Lake ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo., Aug.19, 2009-Although the Federal Reserve recently reported that the "economy is leveling off," data gathered and analyzed by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) shows that destination travel continues to struggle. July's lodging business followed the winter pattern: occupancy was down 13.3 percent compared t...

In every issue of SAM we run a section called "SAM on the Road"-- a photo wrap up of happenings in the industry. Now, with the help of a helmet cam, SAM on the Road will be... in Action. This video is second in a series of resort profiles featuring summer attractions across the country. These profiles will also be covered more in-depth in our Summe...

SAM Magazine--August 17, 2009--Big Sky, Mont.--The Big Sky sales team received a phone call from the White House a few weeks ago to find out if it was available to host a special unnamed guest the evening of August 14. And so it was that the Summit Hotel at Big Sky hosted the President of the United States and the First Family for a night's rest be...

SAM Magazine--August 12, 2009--The operators of Ski Denton, Pa., and owners of Swain Recreation Center, LLC reached an agreement to lease Swain Resort, N.Y., with the intention of completing an acquisition of the resort as soon as feasibly possible. Ski Denton owners Scott and Jodi Carts and Shawn and Celeste Schoonover will continue ski operati...

SAM Magazine-Portland, Maine, Aug. 5, 2009-Maine ski areas posted their second-best season on record in 2008-09, with 1,366,752 ski/snowboard visits. The previous 2007-08 season set an all-time record with 1,401,043 visits recorded. Early season snowfall and extensive snowmaking systems allowed Maine to maintain strong numbers in spite of the ti...

SAM Magazine-Olympic Valley, Calif., Aug. 4, 2009-Squaw Valley USA has named Mike Livak as senior vice president and general manager, starting in early September. He will report to chairwoman and CEO Nancy W. Cushing. Livak succeeds Ernst Hager, who is retiring after working at Squaw Valley on and off since the early 1970s. Hager will continue to a...

In every issue of SAM we run a section called "SAM on the Road"-- a photo wrap up of happenings in the industry. Now, with the help of a helmet cam, SAM on the Road will be... in Action. This video is second in a series of resort profiles featuring summer attractions across the country. These profiles will also be covered more in-depth in our Summe...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Aug. 2, 2009-The Ministry of Forests & Range and the Whistler Fire Department have declared Blackcomb Mountain safe to re-open to guests. The Crystal Ridge fire, located on Blackcomb Mountain, was 85 percent contained by this morning. It is in an isolated area that does not interfere with the summer operating area on Bl...

SAM Magazine-Cody, Wyo., July 31, 2009-Sleeping Giant Ski Area, which plans to reopen by Thanksgiving after several years in mothballs, has hired Hamilton Bryan as executive director. Bryan's duties will include overall management of Sleeping Giant as well as fundraising, marketing and strategic planning. Bryan was owner-operator of the UXU Dude...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., July 31, 2009-A wildfire started by a lightning strike Thursday afternoon at Blackcomb Mountain led to the evacuation of mountain. The fire, which covered about 75 acres as of Friday afternoon, has been burning since approximately 3 p.m. local time Thursday near the Crystal Chair, according to a Whistler Blackcomb spoke...

SAM Magazine--July 28, 2009--American Eagle announced that it will add a second daily flight between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Santa Fe Municipal Airport in New Mexico. This is good news for Ski Santa Fe, Taos Ski Valley, Angel Fire and Red River Resorts, as the new service will kick in before the ski season starts. In addit...

SAM Magazine--Snow24--July 28, 2009--The Compagnie Des Alpes (CDA), the world's largest ski lift operator with more than a dozen leading French ski areas, has released its third quarter results, which include the last month of the 2008-09 ski season--April 2009. The group reported record business with ski-lift ticket sales up 38 percent, thanks ...

In every issue of SAM we run a section called "SAM on the Road"-- a photo wrap up of happenings in the industry. Now, with the help of a helmet cam, SAM on the Road will be... in Action. This video kicks off a series of resort profiles featuring summer attractions across the country. These profiles will also be covered more in-depth in our Summe...

SAM Magazine--July 21, 2009--The purchase of the Yellowstone Club by Cross Harbor Capital Partners, LLC, was completed on July 17. Boston-based CrossHarbor, which includes several members of the private ski and golf club in Montana, will manage the property with Discovery Land Company. "Today the Club emerges from Chapter 11 as a well capitaliz...

SAM Magazine-Telluride, Colo., July 14, 2009-While Telluride Ski Resort is keeping its base 2009-2010 season pass pricing the same as last season, those who buy early can receive substantial discounts. For example, if four adults purchase season passes (the 4Pass) together during the annual Pass Sale Aug. 3 to Oct. 30, the price drops to the 2007 r...

SAM Magazine-Bariloche, Argentina, July 13, 2009-Catedral ski area in Bariloche, Argentina, the biggest ski area in South America, is selling an online ski pass this winter enabling guests to purchase ski passes wherever they are with a credit card. The online ski pass then automatically downloads to a KeyCard or Proximity Card electronic lift tick...

SAM Magazine-Mount Prospect, Ill., July 13, 2009-According to data in the NSGA Sports Participation survey, there were 6.5 million Americans age 7 or older who skied more than once in 2008, along with 5.9 million snowboarders. Those figures represented increases of 1.9 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, from 2007. Snowboarding was one of six s...

SAM Magazine-London, England, July 13, 2009-The Snow Train, which operated an overnight sleeper service between London and the French Alps, has been discontinued by operator Rail Europe for the coming winter. In operation for 20 years, the service was famous for its high quality staff and low quality rolling stock. It had been reported to be doing ...

SAM Magazine-Bend, Ore., July 9, 2009-Mt. Bachelor has introduced innovative, season-long, conditions-based pricing for single day tickets for 2009-10. The area has also released its season pass programs, including a payment plan to spread payments over several months, along with a guide that points out the most appropriate pass and day-ticket choi...

SAM Magazine-North Woodstock, N.H., July 7, 2009-New Hampshire ski resorts hosted 2,289,426 alpine skier and snowboarder visits in 2008-09, a slight decline of 3 percent from the record winter of 2007-08, as consistent snowfall and cold temperatures trumped a weak economy. The 2008/09 season was the third-best year since statewide skier visits were...

SAM Magazine--July 1, 2009--www.Skiinfo.com reports that summer ski and southern hemisphere resort openings takes the world tally past 60 choices in a dozen countries www.skiinfo.com reports that all three of the glacier ski areas that are still opening each year for summer skiing in France are now open, following Val d'Isere's summer snow o...

SAM Magazine-Red Lodge, Mont., June 30, 2009-Red Lodge Mountain Resort has named Jeff Schmidt as its new general manager. Schmidt joined Red Lodge in 2008 as director of mountain operations and has 24 years experience in the ski industry. Having grown up in Billings, Mont., Schmidt spent much of his youth skiing at Red Lodge and is familiar with...

SAM Magazine-Londonderry, Vt., June 29, 2009-Magic Mountain is selling shares of the mountain, offering ownership opportunities to the resort's skiers, snowboarders and enthusiasts. Modeled after the Mad River Glen ski area co-op, the move aims to increase customer loyalty and fund significant upgrades to the resort. The resort is establishing a...

SAM Magazine-New York, June 23, 2009-New York State surpassed four million skier visits over the 2008-09 season, a record-breaking number for the state that made it the fourth most popular ski state last winter, behind Colorado, California, and Vermont. To support the state's resorts last winter, New York State's Division of Tourism partnered wi...

SAM Magazine-Telluride, Colo., June 18, 2009-Telluride Resort will be the sole U.S. stop of the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup and will feature an SBX and PGS competition during what will be the second in a series of five Olympic qualification events for the two sports. "We're thrilled to bring the World Cup to Telluride," said Telluride Ski & Golf ...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, June 18, 2009-Rossignol has named Tim Petrick vice president of global sales and marketing, effective July 1. Petrick will oversee the worldwide strategic direction of the Dynastar, Lange, Look and Rossignol ski and snowboard brands, working from Rossignol's global headquarters in France. Petrick had been vice presiden...

Snow Hunter--Massachusetts. June 16, 2009--Massachusetts' Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort was the first ski area to erect a wind turbine, one of the largest ever built by a private company, but now a second New England ski resort will construct a big turbine to generate power itself. The smaller Berkshire East ski area will build a smaller windmill g...

Snow Hunter, June 17, 2009--The International Ski Federation has launched a campaign to help get more children around the world in to snow sports. Their 'Bring Children to the Snow' - SnowKidz - is aimed at children aged 4-14, and their parents. The campaign uses some 'approachable super heroes' figures who take care of children and youngsters a...

Snow Hunter, Whistler, B.C., June 16, 2009--A report in Canada's Globe & Mail newspaper says that the 7,000-year-old Horstman Glacier has lost half its volume in the past century, and that the rate of melt has accelerated in the past decade with more than 10 per cent lost since 1999. The glacier which re-opens for summer ski and boarding later...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., June 17, 2009-Several former members of Bonnier Publications' Mountain Sports Media have formed a new company, High Country Media, which will unveil a suite of print, digital, membership, and radio properties in September 2009. These include a relaunched Mountain Sports + Living magazine, a direct-to-consumer membership...

SAM Magazine-Salt Lake City, June 17, 2009-The Utah ski and snowboard industry closed the 2008-09 winter season with a total of 3,972,984 skier days, down 6.5 percent from the previous year's record total of 4,249,190. The showing for Utah was typical for the Rocky Mountain region, according to NSAA's national tally. The region as a whole exper...

SAM Magazine--Killington, Vt., June 11, 2009--At the Vermont Ski Areas Association's annual meeting, the industry trade group announced that Vermont's ski resorts recorded 4,068,696 skier visits for the 2008-09 season. Last year the state hosted just over 4.35 million, but this season's number is on par with the five-year average....

Snow Hunter--June 10, 2009--A new international ski body, the European Ski Federation, has been established by the Austrian, French, Italian, and Swiss ski federations. They say they do not intend to compete with the International Ski Federation, but that the Alpine nations of central Europe planned to stand together in the face of the current eco...

Snow Hunter--Austrialia, June 10, 2009--More of New Zealand's ski areas opened at the weekend, joining Mt Hutt in enjoying a great start to the winter after a snowy May. In Australia, the country's major ski areas opened although with scant snow cover on Saturday, June 6th - the traditional opening weekend. After the unexpected large pre-season...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo, June 11, 2009-Colorado resorts tallied 11.85 million visits in 2008-09, a 5.5 percent decline from the previous year, Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) said today at its 46th annual meeting. The group's 22 member resorts, which include all major areas except those owned by Vail Resorts, hosted an estimated 6.79 million s...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., June 8, 2009-Vail Resorts' revenue fell by 21 percent and earnings declined by 29 percent in the fiscal third quarter, as destination visits remained down from the previous year. The quarter, which ended April 30, includes a major portion of the resorts' ski and ride season. Earnings came to $61.6 million, down from...

SAM Magazine-Flagstaff, Ariz., June 8, 2009-The United States Supreme Court has decided not to review the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the Untied States Forest Service and Arizona Snowbowl, clearing the way for Snowbowl to develop snowmaking using reclaimed water. Snowbowl GM J.R. Murray told SAM that the area will ...

SAM Magazine--Lakewood, Colo., June 3, 2009--According to the 2008-09 NSAA National Demographic Study, helmet usage among skiers and riders in the U.S. increased 12 percent to 48 percent of all skiers and riders interviewed. Other data includes:77 percent of children 9 and under wear helmets; 66 percent of kids between 10 and 14 wear helmets; an...

SAM Magazine--Salt Lake City, Utah, June 3, 2009--Delta Airlines has announced that it is offering a non-stop flight from Salt Lake City to Tokyo. The maiden voyage of this service was made today, among much fanfare between the two destinations. According to published reports, the Governor's Office of Economic Development estimates that the new ...

SAM Magazine--June 3, 2009--A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the $115 million purchase of the Yellowstone Club, Mont., by CrossHarbor Capital Partners. CrossHarbor will pay $35 million in cash and take on $80 million of the $375 million debt owed to Credit Suisse and the holders of loans arranged by Credit Suisse. In previous rulings, Credit Sui...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., June 3, 2009-Steamboat Ski and Resort pulled out of a joint venture that was planning to build a $7 million high-speed people mover gondola connecting the Wildhorse Meadows development and the public Meadow parking lot with the base area. Instead, Resort Ventures West (RVW), the Wildhorse developer, will insta...

SAM Magazine--March 28, 2009--In just two months, Utah's unique liquor laws will change, most notably, the elimination of Utah's private club system, which required patrons to pay a membership fee. Beginning July 1, the state will no longer require patrons to be "members," but will require drinking establishments to scan the IDs of anyone under 35 ...

SAM Magazine--Whistler, B.C., May 28, 2009--Whistler Blackcomb officials announced that the last day for skiing and riding on Whistler Mountain will be Sunday, May 31. Originally slated for June 14, the closing date was moved up because of very warm weather, which has quickly diminished the snowpack and posed avalanche hazards. The mountain will...

SAM Magazine-Stowe, Vt., May 18, 2009-Stowe Mountain Resort, owned by insurance giant and ward of the government AIG, is for sale,
AIG spokesman Peter Tulupman confirmed last week. AIG has received "a surprising number" of unsolicited bids from qualified buyers, Tulupman said, though no bidders have been named or identified, nor has the askin...

SAM Magazine--Lakewood, Colo., May 18, 2009--Based on preliminary estimates, ski areas in the U.S. tallied 57.1 million visits for the 20008/09 season, making it the fifth best season on record. While last year's record of 60.5 million still stands, this year's number, given the circumstances, is still 0.8 percent above the 10-year average of 56.7 ...

SAM Magazine-Butte, Mont., May 18, 2009-CrossHarbor Capital Partners today won ownership of the Yellowstone Club resort after reaching a settlement deal with the club's primary lender, Credit Suisse, according to NewWest.net. The settlement ends a six-month legal battle that began when the Club filed for bankruptcy protection in November. U.S. B...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., May 11, 2009--A ski accident in 2007 at Beaver Creek that involved a 7-year-old boy and an adult skier from Pennsylvania has been highlighted as a good example of a frivolous lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. According to the Vail Daily, the crash is being featured in movie trailers showing in the De...

SAM Magazine-Fairfield, Idaho, May 11, 2009-The managers of Soldier Mountain Ski Resort say the area will rebuild its base lodge and open for the 2009-10 season. The lodge burned to the ground on March 30. Shelly Scott, office manager for Valley Entertainment in Hailey, Ida., says the new lodge will be slightly larger than the old. However, wet ...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., May 8, 2009-Retail sales for the 2008-09 season fell 5 percent, as fear about economic security kept consumers, retailers and suppliers in a cautious mood, according to Snowsports Industries America (SIA). Overall, the season's sales totaled $2.82 billion, compared to last season's $2.95 billion. Unit sales declined three ...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., May 6, 2009-The Vail Valley is pursuing a third World Alpine Ski Championships. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association has selected Beaver Creek/Vail as the American candidate applicant for the 2015 Championships. The Vail Valley hosted the 1989 and 1999 World Championships and has been a part of the FIS Alpine World Cu...

SAM Magazine-Oslo, Norway, May 6, 2009-The Southern hemisphere ski season is beginning five weeks early, even as snowfalls across Europe put a fresh face on the season there and provide a boost to Norway's summer season, according to skiinfo.com. The season in Europe was so strong this past winter, they're still skiing in Spain, at Europe's most so...