SAM Magazine-Princeton, Mass., Sept. 26, 2006-Wachusett Mountain, the most accessible ski area in the eastern USA according to SKI Magazine, is becoming more so. For the 2006-2007 season, the area is teaming with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Company (MBCR) to operate commuter rail service to...

SAM Magazine-Turin, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2006-Pennsylvanian Russell Horn is purchasing Snow Ridge ski area from Peter Harris, who also owns Song Mountain Resort in Tully. Horn is consolidating his position at Snow Ridge; he purchased the Towpath Inn at the base of Snow Ridge in 2005. Horn will put Snow Ridge under the management of his son Keith and ...

SAM Magazine-Keystone, Colo., Sept. 26, 2006-Keystone will open Independence Bowl, almost 300 acres of expert-only hiking and snowcat terrain south of the summit of Dercum Mountain, for the 2006-07 season. The U.S. Forest Service issued the final approval Sept. 21, just before early-season storms dropped more than a foot of snow on the resort. The ...

SAM Magazine-Hemlock Valley, B.C., Sept. 25, 2006-Ice hockey entrepreneur Ralf Berezan, owner of the Junior A Surrey Eagles ice hockey team, has purchased British Columbia's Hemlock Valley Resort and expects to have the mountain open this season. Berezan, who also owns a variety of pubs in British Columbia, purchased the resort out of receivership....

SAM Magazine-Alta, Utah, Sept. 25, 2006-It is one of the very few areas in the U.S. that don't allow snowboarding, and, it appears, doesn't need a terrain park, either. While most resorts have been pumping investment dollars into their parks, contrarian resort Alta has decided to ax its park altogether. "We found that our skiers were curious abo...

SAM Magazine-Silverton, Colo., Sept. 23, 2006-Silverton Mountain Ski Area hosted the first skiers of the year yesterday after receiving two major storms Thursday and Friday. Skiers and snowboarders were waiting and ready to ride Friday when they woke up to what looked like February storm conditions. After two days of heavy snow, Silverton Mountain'...

SAM Magazine-September 22, 2006--Powder Ridge, located in Middlefield, Connecticut, will remain closed this winter pending sale of the ski resort. The 500-vertical-foot mountain featured 18 trails spread over 75 skiable acres served by six lifts, including two triple chairs and two double chairs. The announcement that the resort is ceasing o...

SAM Magazine-Georgetown, Colo., Sept. 21, 2006-Over the past twenty-four hours, a cold front has moved through Colorado, dropping snow across the state and allowing Loveland to start snowmaking operations. Loveland, which has been the first resort to open on an ongoing basis for the past seven seasons, is aiming to extend that record. Last year, th...

SAM Magazine-Pagosa Springs, Colo., Sept. 21, 2006-Wolf Creek is replacing its venerable 34-year old Dickey lift with a Doppelmayr-CTEC detachable quad. The new "Raven" lift will have an initial capacity of 1,200 skiers per hour and should be operational by the start of the the coming season. The lift, which will serve approximately the same terra...

SAM Magazine-Truckee, Calif., Sept. 20, 2006-In an innovative program designed to allieviate some of the problems its employees face when looking for seasonal housing, Northstar has developed the "Rental Rewards Program," which offers free lift tickets or season's passes to homeowners who rent to the resort's employees for the season. The program r...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Sept. 18, 2006-NSAA is introducing SmartStyle 2.0 this fall, sporting new information, a new logo, and an updated video. The program builds on SmartStyle's three main messages with new information added to each. The video also includes new rider interviews, to update the athletes and keep the message fresh. The new log...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Sept. 18, 2006-Vail has returned to the number-one spot in Ski Magazine's annual "Top 50 Resort Guide." Vail has taken the top spot in 14 of the survey's 19 years. Perennial Eastern favorite Tremblant, Que., is ranked No. 1 on the East Coast for a record-setting tenth consecutive year. Results of the highly influential ...

SAM Magazine-Sandpoint, Ida., Sept. 14, 2006-Add Schweitzer Mountain to the growing list of areas whose summer operations are growing. Labor Day Weekend marked the grand finale of the area's summer season. Measured by chairlift rides and hotel occupancy, Schweitzer had record-setting summer traffic. Fall Fest, held on Labor Day Weekend, was the big...

SAM Magazine-Bridgton, Me., Sept. 14, 2006-Shawnee Peak has joined the growing ranks of wind-powered ski areas. The electricity consumption of Shawnee's lifts, snowmaking equipment, lights, lodges and administrative offices will be supplied entirely from zero-emission wind power through an agreement with Community Energy, Inc., a wind energy market...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, Sept. 13, 2006-Intrawest Corporation reported its full-year profit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006 rose to $115.2 million from last year's $32.8 million, largely on gains from the sale of Mammoth Mountain. Income from continuing operations totalled $55.3 million, compared with $24.1 million in 2005. Total company EBI...