SAM Magazine - Glenwood Springs, Colo., September 22, 2008 - Garfield County officials will review a proposal to redevelop the base area of Sunlight Ski Area on Wednesday evening. The proposal, which includes updating the on-mountain facilities and construction of more than 800 residential units, has met opposition from nearby residents, who cited ...

SAM Magazine-Stoneham, Que., Sept. 23, 2008-Canada's Stoneham Mountain Resort is constructing a permanent halfpipe to cut snowmaking costs and facilitate an earlier opening date. The area is resculpting the halfpipe terrain to create an eight foot-deep tank and establish a slope of 18.5 degrees. The resort expects the C$700,000 project, which incl...

SAM Magazine-Whitefish, Mont., Sept. 23, 2008-Whitefish Mountain Resort, in conjunction with Whitefish School District 55 and the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF), is creating the Whitefish Alpine and Freestyle Ski Academy for middle and high school student athletes for the 2008-2009 school year and ski season. The academy will offe...

SAM Magazine-Carrabassett Valley, Me., Sept. 23, 2008-Maine resort Sugarloaf has invested more than $5 million to enhance its snowmaking capacity, redesign terrain parks, and upgrade on-mountain facilities. The investment brings the area's total capital investment to $9 million since Sugarloaf joined the Boyne Resorts family in 2007. In snowmaki...

SAM Magazine-New York, Sept. 23, 2008-Appearing on the CNBC business news channel on Monday, AIG chairman and CEO Edward Liddy declared his intention to focus the company on its core insurance business and to have an asset list of for-sale items within seven to 10 days-and perhaps to begin divesting itself of these items in that time frame as well....

SAM Magazine - Burlington, Vt., September 17, 2008 - Burton Snowboards and Volvo Cars have announced a three-year partnership that expands their relationship in the United States to Europe. The new partnership focuses on Burton's European snowboard events, including the Burton European Open Snowboarding Championships, the Burton AM Tour and the Bur...

SAM Magazine - Queenstown, New Zealand, September 18, 2008- New Zealand's Coronet Peak ski area is set to close on Sunday after a record season. According to the resort, the positive results on the year are due to improvements in both the base facilities as well as snowmaking. "It's been a huge journey through a major redevelopment program to get t...

SAM Magazine - Snowmass, Colo., September 18, 2008 - A turbine tower that was part of an experimental effort to test the viability of wind power on Snowmass ski area was irreparably damaged during installation last Thursday. The tower was damaged when the winch used for installation failed. A new tower is expected to be installed in the same area w...

SAM Magazine - Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand - The New Zealand ski resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa have announced that they will extend their seasons due to exceptional conditions. The closing date for Turoa has now been set for November 16, with Whakapapa expected to close as scheduled on October 27, but is expected to reopen for Christmas skiing from B...

SAM Magazine - Banff, AB., September 17, 2008 - Aspen and Telluride have already cashed in on this niche market, now CMH is poised to do the same. The venerable Canadian heli operation has said that the company will offer its first ever Gay Ski Week in April of 2009. The event is scheduled to run from From April 11 to 18 at CMH's, Gothics Lodge ...

SAM Magazine-North Woodstock, N.H., Sept. 15, 2008-Additional trails, improved snowmaking, more ziplines, new rental fleets and tubing expansions highlight capital improvements at New Hampshire resorts. Here's a recap of the developments. Loon Mountain, as part of its ongoing South Peak expansion, is adding two trails with 14 acres of additional...

SAM Magazine-Laramie, Wyo., Sept. 15, 2008-Snowy Range is up for sale, and the current owners say they won't open the resort this year if no buyers come forward. Rick and Terri Colling, who have owned and operated the resort for 16 years, say the ski area has struggled since the base lodge burned down in 2003. The Colling family has been trying ...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Sept. 15, 2008-Copper Mountain is becoming greener. Existing and upcoming environmental initiatives include the installation of a 4.2 kilowatt photovoltaic system at the Transportation Center, Green Globes certification of the new Woodward at Copper facility, and the creation of an employee-based fund to support...

SAM Magazine-Durango, Colo., Sept. 15, 2008-Durango Mountain Resort (DMR) and Colorado Wild have approved the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a Record of Decision on the resort's Mountain Master Development Plan. Colorado Wild and DMR agreed to encourage the U.S. Forest Service to implement the majority of the planned improvements, while d...

SAM Magazine-LAKEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 15, 2008-A third of all resort visitors in 2007-08 were age 45 or older. Continued gains in visitation by these older skiers and riders is one of the most significant trends revealed in the recently released 2008 NSAA National Demographic Study. Since 1997-98, the percentage of visitors age 45 to 54 has increa...