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  • Seth Says: Slats Greets the New Millennium
    That infamous curmudgeon, Slats Grabski, pontificates on how nothing's changed, really, in 50 years. A timely read for the start of a new millennium.
  • Industry Reports
    Disabled Athletes Meet with USSA; NASTAR Partners with U.S. Ski Team; Labor Trouble for Goodwill Games; Copper Cleared in Sled Accident; Jury Awards Record Amount to Skier; Olympic Combined Events Are...Combined; Anchorage Ski Club Keeps Alpenglow; Jiminy Owners Buy Brodie; The Canyons Expands; Kirkwood Partners with Purgatory; California Areas Sold; Laurel Mountain Reopens; New Title from TransWorld Media (Stance); Supplier News and People.
  • Pullout Rental Equipment Handbook: Skis, Boots and Bindings
    Iseult's roundup of ski gear for our rental handbook opens this pullout annual section. It has all the info to date on gear available to rental shops with sidebars on bootfitting by Gregg Hoffman and purchasing rental gear by Chris Marso.
  • To the Editor
    Two letters about environment: One about the sound pollution of music blaring from loudspeakers on the slopes (responding to John Fry's Speak-Out in Nov. 99) and the other about how the ski industry has become the next target of "green angst tag."
  • Snowboard Systems Are Simpler than Ever
    This is a roundup of rental snowboard gear for 2000-2001. Appears in a pullout handbook on gear. Sidebar is a generic testing card.
  • Construction Site
    Lifts, snowmaking and construction at Mountain High, Calif., Gunstock, N.H., Sun Valley, Idaho, Cascade Mountain, Wis., Alta, Utah and Belleayre Mountain, N.Y.
  • Cross-Country Skis In-Track and Out; Snowshoes
    A roundup of rental gear appearing in a special pullout handbook for equipment buyers for the 2000-2001 season.
  • SAM Idea Files
    Recycling old wire rope for use in guardrails at Mountain High, Calif; Old chair lift seats and a snowmobile trailer make a parking lot shuttle for guests at Crystal Mountain, Mich; Padding fence posts with swimming pool kid's foam noodles at Boston Mills/Brandywine, Ohio.
  • Cross-Country Skis In-Track and Out; Snowshoes
    A roundup of rental gear appearing in a special pullout handbook for equipment buyers for the 2000-2001 season. A sidebar by Jonathan Wiesel on buying for a nordic shop.
  • Blue Pages
    Weather: El Ninos and Las Ninas spelled Los Awful season; USOC--Humorless in Colorado Springs re: Brighton, Utah's billboard campaign; An "Uphill Battle" Against a Legacy re: Clinton preservation attempts; A Fiscal Catscan for the Big Three re: recreation industry seminar; Seven Springs Family Feud Continues; Victory Bound, But in Time for 2002?; and short turns on Monarch, Lift Engineering, Loon Mountain.
  • Helmets Vie for Position
    Roundup of rental helmets available for 2000-2001 that appears in a special pullout handbook for gear buyers.
  • The End Page
    The most expensive millennium package at Sheraton Tamarron Resort in Durango, Colo.; French lift ingenuity; No liquor on lifts; Brighton Has Fun in Utah, re: Olympic puns and jokes that raised objections from the USOC.
  • A Look into the Future of the Industry
    David Barry, Tom Fortune, Karl Kapuscinski, Stacy Gardner, Rory Strunk and Guy Desrosiers, all former SAMMY Award winners, take a look at the future of snowsports as we move into a new millennium. They've each written predictions of what is in store.
  • Is Racing Coming Back?
    What a variety of resorts have been doing to support a seeming resurgence in the interest in citizen racing, NASTAR, etc.
  • Looking Beyond Our Borders
    This piece explains why the British ski market is showing a growing interest in North American resorts rather than the traditional European destinations. Also includes a brief explanation of the engines behind keeping the phenomenon alive and growing.
  • The Good and the Ugly: Two Sides of the Same Circumstances
    A staff report introduces the flap resulting from poor snow in Utah forcing a change in venue for World Cup opening races from Park City, Utah to Copper Mountain, Colo. Two letters, from Bill Marolt of the U.S. Ski Team and Dave Barry of Copper, show how cooperation and teamwork pulled off a master stroke in moving the venue.
  • 1999 Lifts--A Modest Downturn
    David's annual analysis of lift construction in North America shows a drop in new lifts over the previous year's sizzling pace. Charts accompany the report showing lift capacities by region and comparing growth to previous years.
  • Free Taos; Taos Replies
    Two sides of the Taos snowboarding ban. One from Jack Wilson, a sponsored rider, and the other from Mickey Blake, GM of Taos Ski Valley.
  • Going Automatic
    A case study of Wisp Four Season Resort, Maryland, and the history of their independently developed automated snowmaking system and how it saved money, lengethened the season and made snow crews happy.
  • Learning to Control Our Environmental Destiny
    A fuel oil spill at Whistler/ Blackcomb was a wakeup call to management to institute environmental protections at the resort. By jumping in and creating a comprehensive management plam, Whistler found it could help control its own environmental destiny.
  • Mereg Zones and Base-Area Planning
    This article and a diagram explain the concept of developing merge zones to meet the changing needs of guests. The concept follows the model of beach resorts, where real estate, amenities and recreation are tied together in distinctive zones where transitions between activities takes place.
  • Rental Mania in the Millennium; I Want My SAMMY
    Two pieces: The first introducing our Rental Equipment Roundup and our role at SIA (showcases); the second soliciting SAMMY Award nominations.
  • Restoring Safety and Civility to the Slopes
    Two pieces on separate programs aiming to keep guests safe and inform them about Your Responsibility Code: Stwoe's Triple A Program--awareness, attitude and accountability, and Vail/Beaver Creek's Yellow Jackets enforcing the code on the slopes.
  • Y2K
    Our tongue-in-cheek nod to all the hype about year 2000 computer glitches and technological breakdowns. A non-compliant, blacked-out cover.
  • Getting the Best Out of Your Teen Workers
    Part II of a two-parter on getting and keeping teen workers. Tips on rewarding and incentives for for good job performance. The article goes over training, maintaining good communication with staff and motivational feedback from an expert on youth.
  • Global News
    A roundup of the latest in ski and snowboard news from around the world.
  • Passing the Torch
    First-hand advice from a family business planning strategist on transfering ownership and control of a family-owned business. The article goes over important steps to take and advance planning needed for a smooth transition from one generation to the next. He also offers tips on whether it is even a good idea to keep the business in the family when an owner is getting ready to retire.