SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Feb. 23, 2010-Winter Trails on Jan. 9 attracted approximately 10,700 participants, nearly all of them new to winter sports, according to program director Mary Jo Tarallo. The free learn to snowshoe and cross country ski program was a chief Nordic component of Learn a Snow Sport Month. Some of the largest events took pla...

SAM Magazine--February 23, 2010--The Ski Maine Association reports that Maine ski and snowboard areas posted good numbers over the February school vacation week. Snowmaking was the hero, sustainibng the industry as snow storms tracked south, through the mid Atlantic states. According to Shawnee Peak's owner, Chet Homer, "with our conversion to h...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 18, 2010-The lenders who have threatened to auction Intrawest's debt have postponed any such action for a week, according to Reuters. The auction, originally set for Feb. 19, has been rescheduled on Feb. 26. Intrawest and its parent company, Fortress Investment Group, have been negotiating with creditors for month...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo., Feb. 17, 2010- Reservations and occupancy in mountain resorts continued to edge up in January, though they remain slightly behind last year's low figures, according to the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). The report is based on reports from more than 200 resort properties in 15 resorts across Western North Ameri...

SAM Magazine-Aviemore, Scotland, Feb. 17, 2010-Despite the fluctuating weather conditions in Vancouver for the Olympic Games, most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is reporting great ski conditions, according to www.Skiinfo.co.uk. Mt. Washington, B.C., not far from the Games sites, currently reports the greatest reported snow depths (15...

SAM Magazine-Truckee, Calif., Feb. 17, 2010-East West Resort Development, an affiliate of East West Partners which has built luxury resorts in the Tahoe area, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. The filing primarily affects three Tahoe-area properties: Old Greenwood, Gray's Crossing and the Northstar Highlands, along with Tahoe Mountain Club. It doe...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 9, 2010-Intrawest today announced a definitive purchase agreement to sell its interests in Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to the Becnel family of Destin, Florida. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed; the transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2010. The purchase agreement inc...

SAM Magazine-Louisville, Colo., Feb. 8, 2010-Olympic bronze medalist Jimmie Heuga, a star of the 1964 Olympic Winter Games and one of the U.S. Ski Team's greatest ski racers, died today, on the eve of the Olympics in Vancouver and 46 years to the day after he won his medal. Heuga was 66. "Jimmie Heuga was a champion in every sense of the word," ...

SAM Magazine--Squaw Valley, Calif., February 2, 2010--Late last week, Squaw Valley USA announced that it has completed the acquisition of The Village at Squaw Valley, a four-season mountain resort village at the base of the ski resort, from Intrawest. The Village was started in 2002 and was developed by Intrawest. Last week's transaction include...

SAM Magazine--Vancouver, B.C., January 28, 2010--Intrawest and a newly formed company, Panorama Mountain Village Inc. (Panorama Inc.) announced today that they have entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement that will enable Panorama Inc. to purchase Intrawest's interests in Panorama Mountain Village. Panorama Inc. is made up of area homeow...

SAM Magazine--Golden, B.C., January 26, 2010--Canadian Premier Gordon Campbell announced the approval of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's New Master Plan. The 40-year plan includes 20,000 bed units, an 18-hole golf course, a multi-use trail system with 11 proposed lifts and 4,188 acres of skiable terrain. "At the Provincial level we have now appr...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., January 26, 2010--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) reported that its 22 member resorts saw a one-percent increase in skier visitation for the first portion of the 2009-2010 winter season over the same period last year. The period, which runs from October 7, 2009 through December 31, 2009, saw some early snowstorms in t...

SAM Magazine-Boyne Falls, Mich., Jan. 22, 2010-After the devastating earthquake in Haiti last week, winter resorts joined the worldwide response by staging a variety of charitable fundraising events over the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend. More than 15 resorts across North America set up donation funds to help aid the people of Haiti. Boyne ...

SAM Magazine-Granby, Québec, Jan. 22, 2010-Prinoth is taking over direct distribution of its Alpine products in the Midwest, assuming responsibility that was previously handled by Track Inc. Prinoth will open its own facilities to manage Midwest sales, service and parts distribution for all Alpine groomers, and incorporate this new site into its...

SAM Magazine-Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan. 22, 2010-The U.S. Olympic Committee has bestowed its highest honors on three U.S. Ski Team athletes on the eve of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn was named 2009 USOC SportsWoman of the Year, Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick was honored as SportsMan of the Year, an...