SAM Magazine—Billings, Mont., Jan. 23, 2013—Bridger Bowl ski area plans to invest $4.1 million in two new Skytrac triple chairs next summer. That’s a significant development, considering that the area has put a total of $11 million into improvements during the past 17 years. The lifts will be ready for next winter and will rep...

SAM Magazine—Boyne Falls, Mich., Jan. 23, 2013—At around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, a snowmaking pipe failed at Boyne Mountain. Water flooded the lower portion of the Superbowl trail, causing significant erosion and toppling a lift tower for the Superbowl lift. The chair lift was not operating at the time of the collapse, and there were...

SAM Magazine—Whistler, B.C., Jan. 21, 2013—Whistler Blackcomb has unveiled capital plans for an $18 million lift expansion. Whistler Mountain’s Harmony detachable quad chairlift will be replaced with a new Doppelmayr detachable six-pack. Blackcomb will replace a fixed-grip triple in the Crystal Zone with a high-speed quad. &ldq...

SAM Magazine—Boulder, Colo., Jan. 21, 2013—Unit sales of outdoor equipment and apparel nudged up 1 percent over December 2011's disappointing snow-deprived results, and the average price rose 5 percent, lifting December sales above $1.1 billion for the first time ever, Leisure Trends Outdoor RetailTRAK data show. But winter equipmen...

SAM Magazine--January 20, 2013--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) reported Friday that total skier/snowboarder visits at its 21 member resorts decreased 11.5 percent during the first period of the 2012/13 ski season, defined as opening day through December 31, 2012, compared to the same period last year. Vail Resorts' holdings are not included ...

SAM Magazine--January 20, 2013--ESPN has announced that it is entertaining new venues for the coveted X Games with a final announcement due in April 2013. For 2013 and 2014, the X Games will be held in Aspen, Colo., where they have been held since 2002. After that, ESPN has announced a list of eligible winter destinations that include Lake Tahoe, C...

SAM Magazine-Woodbury, Conn., Jan. 18, 2013--Cutter's Camp has opened registration for both of this year's sessions, at Mount Snow, Vt., April 1-3, and Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore., May 13-17. Space will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is processed on SAM's website at www.cutterscamp.com.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 17, 2013—Powdr Corp. is building out its new Powdr Enterprises staff quickly: Park City marketing director Krista Parry will become senior vice president and chief innovation officer when Enterprises launches this coming spring. Powdr Enterprises will focus on events, sponsorships and media opportun...

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 16, 2013—Vail Resorts has reported the early-season performance of its seven destination resorts, and the news reflects the up-and-down season endured by its Colorado contingent. Overall, though, VR shows a slight uptick from last year, and projects net revenues to double from last year’s reduc...

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 16, 2013—Mid- to late-December snowstorms fueled a partial rebound in occupancy during the month, and boosted advance reservations for the remainder of the season, according to the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). Despite the snow, lodging properties in the 16 participating mountain resorts in Colorado...

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 15, 2013)—Powdr Corp. has created a new business, Powdr Enterprises, to focus on events, sponsorships and media opportunities. The aim is to help leverage the Powdr family of brands, including Powdr Resorts, Woodward Camps and Outside Television. Industry veteran Wade Martin will serve as president of ...

SAM Magazine--January 11, 2013--Squaw Mountain, Maine, is hoping to reopen over the Martin Luther King weekend after two years of being closed. The small ski area boasted an impressive 1,700-foot vertical when its summit lift was in operation, but an accident in 2004 that injured four skiers put the lift out of action and it has not operated since....

SAM Magazine—McLean, Va., Jan. 10, 2013—November 2012 was another difficult month for snow sports retailers, with double-digit declines in dollars sold compared to sales in November 2011, according to the SIA RetailTRAK. Specialty-store sales in the Midwest declined the least, about 9 percent; in the West, sales were off 27 percent from...

SAM Magazine--Girdwood, Alaska, January 10, 2013--On New Year's Eve, a powerful wind gust hit Alyeska's tram just as it was passing a tower, causing a collision. Thankfully, there were no major injuries. As a result, however, extensive repairs are required making the tram inoperable for several weeks. On top of the collision, unstable sn...

SAM Magazine—Homewood, Calif., Jan. 8, 2013—Homewood Mountain Resort’s expansion plan has been put on hold temporarily. U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb ruled that Placer County and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approved the Homewood plan without considering whether a smaller (and less environmentally impactful) project w...