SAM Magazine-Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 17, 2009-Favorable weather on weekends and holidays trumped the economic slowdown in Europe for Swiss resorts last season, as they reported a 2.2 percent gain in visits from the year prior, and 7.3 percent compared to the previous four seasons. Total skier visits reached 29.3 million. Visitation was up primar...

SAM Magazine--Augusta, Maine, September 11, 2009--On September 9, Governor John Baldacci joined Saddleback Maine to announce Saddleback's new PEAK (Promoting Education and Activity for Kids) Program that rewards Maine's honor roll students with a $49 season pass to the ski area. The program is designed to encourage Maine students to perform well in...

SAM Magazine--St. Louis, Missouri, September 11, 2009--Peak Resorts announced that Matt Grenier has been named general manager of Paoli Peaks Resort in Paoli, Indiana. Grenier replaces Sean Burton who has left to pursue other interests. Grenier was formally the human resources manager at Snow Creek Resort....

SAM Magazine--Sundance, Utah, September 11, 2009--Beginning December 21, 2009 (weather permitting), Sundance will offer night skiing on the majority of the resort's front mountain for night skiing each Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday throughout the season....

SAM Magazine--Bretton Woods, N.H., September 11, 2009--Organizers of Learn a Snow Sport Month (LASSM) announced that extreme skier and snow sports ambassador Glen Plake will be the official national spokesperson for the initiative that takes place in January 2010. Learn a Snow Sport Month is a public awareness program organized by numerous snow sp...

SAM Magazine--Bolton Valley, Vt., September 11, 2009--Bolton Valley Resort announced the construction of a wind turbine that will be operational in late autumn. This will be the first wind turbine at a Vermont ski area. The 121-foot turbine will be located near the top of the resort's Vista Quad lift in an existing clearing adjacent to the ski p...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo. - Sept. 4, 2009-Vail CEO Rob Katz introduced a variety of value-oriented moves to be unveiled at the company's five areas this winter. Katz appeared at headquarters of Specialty Sports Ventures (SSV) for the kick-off media event for the annual blockbuster Labor Day retail sales events, held by SSV, co-owned by Vail, and r...

SAM Magazine-Lynchburg, Va., Sept. 2, 2009-The 40,000 square-foot slope at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre here opened Aug. 29, with 3,000 people attending the grand opening. The Centre, part of the sports facilities of Liberty University, itself founded by noted religious leader Jerry Falwell, provides a year-round arena for skiing and riding...

SAM Magazine-South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Sept. 2, 2009-A 51-year old man died yesterday after he fell from a chairlift. A zipline cable below the chairlift apparently snapped up toward the chair, hit the man and knocked him to the ground 50 feet below. It is not known whether the cable or the fall caused his death. The man was on his honeymoon at ...

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,...