SAM Magazine-McLean Va., April 25, 2008-Snow Sports product sales are closing in on $3 billion by season's end, according to Kelly Davis, director of research for SnowSports Industries America (SIA). Sales figures are from the SIA Retail Audit, conducted by Leisure Trends Group of Boulder, Colo. Through February, apparel and accessories showed g...

SAM Magazine-Ludlow, Vt. April 22, 2008-Okemo, Vt., Whiteface, N.Y., and Jiminy Peak, Mass., are reporting their best seasons in history, demonstrating that the rebound in visits in the northeast was widespread this winter. Okemo reported skier days up nearly 25 percent over the late-starting 2006-07 season, and up six percent over the resort's ...

SAM Magazine-Salt Lake City, April 22, 2008-Despite a slow start in November, Utah resorts had a very strong season, benefiting from excellent snow conditions from December through February. Final attendance figures at Utah's 13 ski and snowboard resorts should fall somewhere near last season's record-setting 4,082,094 skier days, said Ski Utah pre...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, April 16, 2008-Park City Mountain Resort plans $10.5 million in improvements for the 2008-09 winter season, including a new Doppelmayr CTEC high-speed chair lift, terrain enhancements and renovation of the Mid-Mountain Lodge. "Our goal is to have more of our guests explore the diverse terrain that our mountain ha...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., April 16, 2008-The Aspen Skiing Company is replacing the Sheer Bliss double at Snowmass with a new Leitner-Poma high speed quad, to the tune of $7 million. The new lift will be realigned to provide easy access to the entire Big Burn and Sheer Bliss areas. This region of Snowmass encompasses nearly 700 acres of terrain and...

SAM Magazine-Lyndonville, Vt., Apr. 14, 2008-How's your succession planning going? If it needs a boost, the second annual Resort Industry Leadership Institute (RILI) June 3-5 at Lyndon State College can help. It provides middle and upper level managers an opportunity to improve their leadership ability through a combination of workshops, keynotes, ...

SAM Magazine-Winter Park, Colo., April 14, 2008-With many ski resorts wrapping up their seasons, two of Clorado's biggest players are looking to lock in passholders for next year with a variety of discounted season pass offers. Following on the heels of Vail Resorts' various offers, Intrawest is courting skiers with a $399 Rocky Mountain Super P...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., April 14, 2008-Vail Resorts will utilize a new state-of-the-art radio frequency technology with all of its season passes for next season-the Epic, Colorado, Summit and Heavenly season passes-to provide "easy scan" lift access. The technology makes it possible for skiers and snowboarders to keep their pass zipped insi...

SAM Magazine - Carrabassett Valley, Maine, April 9, 2008 - Sugarloaf has announced a $5 Million investment package at the resort this summer. The initiative will focus on improving snowmaking and the base area. According to the resort, a significant portion of the $5 million will go directly toward the snowmaking system, including upgrading water i...

SAM Magazine-April 9, 2008--With many resorts across the nation shuttering for the season, some ski area operators just can't quit. Idaho's Brundage Mountain Resort has announced that they will extend their winter with weekend operations on April 19-20 and April 26-27. With the news, the resort joins Colorado's Monarch Mountain and Okemo, Vermont, ...

Sam Magazine - Donner Summit, CA, April 9, 2008 - A Doppelmayr quad chair will highlight $2.6 million in improvements at California's Boreal. The new Castle Peak Quad will replace the existing Gunnar's double chair, increasing base area capacity on beginner/novice runs and evolution terrain parks. The new lift will take skiers and riders to a slig...

SAM Magazine, Carrabasett Valley, ME, April 8, 2008 -A series of avalanches in Sugarloaf's backside area on March 31 ran up to 200 feet wide and 200 feet long. The incidences were closed to the public, and the patrol was doing control work at the time. "They were small slides, which we have seen before in this area when base depths are large...

SAM Magazine-Ludlow, Vt., Mar. 31, 2008-Okemo Mountain Resort revealed today that it has been a recent target of criminal efforts to gain access to credit data by infiltration of its computer network. Okemo believes the intruder gained potential access to credit card data, including cardholder names, account numbers and expiration dates. An e...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Mar. 27, 2008-In a series of staff changes at Mountain Sports Media, Ski magazine has named Greg Ditrinco editor, and Jake Bogoch has become editor of Skiing. Former Ski editor Kendall Hamilton becomes development editor for parent company Bonnier Corp.'s lifestyle and travel magazines. Ditrinco has been a key figure...

SAM Magazine--Newry, Maine, March 26, 2008--Sunday River announced that the first chondola in the Northeastern U.S. will be installed at the resort and will be up and running for the 2008-2009 season. The chondola will transport winter and summer guests from the South Ridge Base Area to the summit of North Peak, a trip that took two lift rides. Dop...