SAM Magazine-Breckenridge, Colo., Nov. 12, 2008-Colorado's Breckenridge resort will host the first stop of the 2008-09 Winter Dew Tour on Dec. 18. The tour will also make stops at Vermont's Mount Snow (Jan. 8) and California's Northstar-at-Tahoe (Feb. 19). The tour will feature many of park and pipe's biggest names, including Simon Dumont, Tanner H...

SAM Magazine-Lake Louise, Alberta, Nov. 12, 2008-Charlie Locke, the former owner of Lake Louise, has reacquired a 50 percent share in the resort from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR). As part of the agreement, Locke will assume the role of managing partner for Lake Louise. Locke was instrumental in creating the resort as a primary investor ...

SAM Magazine-San Francisco, Nov. 12, 2008 -Call it a sign of the times: online lift ticket discount retailer Liftopia has doubled the number of resorts that use the service, to more than 80, for the 2008-09 season. The roster includes Park City, Crested Butte, Taos, Snowbird, and Arapahoe Basin. "We hope that we can help get more people on the hill...

SAM Magazine-Jackson, Wyo., Nov. 12, 2008-Tom Fortune has joined Snow King Resort as director of recreation, a new position that includes overall management of the Snow King ski area as well as summer operations and management of the Snow King Center, a year round ice skating arena and conference center which is owned by the city of Jackson and ope...

SAM Magazine-Bozeman, Mont., Nov. 11, 2008-The Yellowstone Club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, with a combined debt of $344 million and assets listed at $1.1 billion. The club is seeking court approval for a $4.5 million loan from Credit Suisse-to which it already owes $307 million-that would allow the resort to remain open a...

SAM Magazine-Mt. Crested Butte, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-Crested Butte Mountain Resort is teaming up with Crested Butte Mountain Guides to offer a new "Adventure Guide Program" this winter. The program will combine backcountry ski skills and education with guided in-bounds and out-of-bounds skiing. "This is the perfect addition to our programs," says...

SAM Magazine-Princeton, Mass., Nov. 7, 2008-Despite the flurry of recent negative economic news, Wachusett Mountain Ski Area has seen several positive indicators this fall. Among them: attendance at the resort's several fall festivals was up more than 20 percent, including record attendance at some events. Sales during the annual Columbus Day eq...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-The North American ski season has kicked off in earnest, with resorts opening across the continent. Early openings include Snowbird, which is taking advantage of more than 40 inches of snow this month to chalk up the second earliest opening in the ski area's history to open today. Colorado ski ar...

SAM Magazine-Snowmass, Colo., Nov. 3, 2008-The snow blanket experiment at Snowmass ski area was a success. The resort utilized the blanket, called Ice Protector Optiforce and produced by the Swiss flooring firm Landolt, over the summer to preserve snow in the ski area's terrain park. According to Rich Burkley, Aspen's general manager of mountain...

SAM Magazine-Franconia Notch, N.H., Nov. 3, 2008-SE Group received the New England Ski Museum's Spirit of Skiing Award at the Museum's 31st annual meeting Oct. 25 at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. The 50-year-old SE Group, originally named Sno-engineering, was founded in Franconia, N.H, home of the Ski Museum. But there's more to the...

SAM Magazine -Windham, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2008-Eastern ski resorts got a jump on the ski season after an October storm brought snow and colder temperatures to the region. The storm dropped more than two feet of snow in parts of the region. Windham Mountain in the northern Catskill Mountains reported 27 inches of snow on the ski area's upper elevation...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Mountain, Calif., Nov. 3, 2008-Skiers and snowboarders took the slopes Monday morning as Mammoth Mountain officially kicked off the 2008-09 winter season, 10 days prior to its scheduled opening. A powerful storm hit the area over the weekend, dropping up to 18 inches of snow. On Monday morning hundreds of skiers and riders ...

SAM Magazine-Ludlow, Vt., Oct. 30, 2008-Not all the economic news is bad. At the Oct. 13 close of the resort's early savings cutoff date, Vermont's Okemo recorded a 12 percent increase in season pass units sold and a 16 percent increase in revenue. In addition, destination bookings at the resort are holding steady, while group sales are 40 percent ...

SAM Magazine-Crested Butte, Colo., Oct. 30, 2008-In the wake of economic headlines, resorts are stepping step up efforts to woo winter visitors with aggressive promotions, including free airfare. Crested Butte's Vacation Stimulus Package rewards vacationers with free airline tickets when booking additional activities such as lift tickets, spa tr...

SAM Magazine-Newry, Maine, Oct. 29, 2008-Sunday River will open for the Halloween weekend. It's the second year for the resort to drop the ropes for Halloween, and the second year that anyone who shows up in a costume on Halloween will ski for free. The opening has been bolstered by recent cold temperatures ideal for snowmaking. "We have been ad...