SAM Magazine--McLean, Va., Dec.17, 2004--Retail sales for skiing and snowboarding for the August through October period were up 3 percent in dollars to $323.3 million while unit sales declined 3.6 percent, according to the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit. Strength in carve skis, integrated ski-binding systems, Twintips, tele gear, ...

SAM Magazine--Enfield, N.H., December 15, 2004--Whaleback Mountain has seen a lot of tire kickers since it closed in 2001. Many have viewed the small hill, which is tucked in behind Sunapee off of route 89, as a failing prospect given all the competition in Vermont and New Hampshire for snow sliders. Others see the small area as an untapped resourc...

SAM Magazine--Wrightwood, Calif., December 15, 2004--Oaktree Capital Management, owners of southern California's Mountain High ski area, have retained a financial advisor, Houlihan, Lokey, Howard and Zukin, to explore all of their options as it relates to returning invested capital to the original investors. This could include a sale, a merger or a...

SAM Magazine--Park City, Utah, Dec. 2, 2004--American Skiing Company (ASC) has completed its long-sought goal of refinancing its existing resort senior credit facility and its 12 percent Senior Subordinated Notes (both due in 2006). The result is a new $230 million senior secured credit facility co-led by Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and GE Co...

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., Nov. 19, 2004--Despite warm and/or dry conditions across much of the U.S. for the past week, more resorts are opening this weekend, ahead of the Thanksgiving onslaught. Here's a roundup of the upcoming action. Today, Vail joins several other Colorado areas that opened previously. Skiing and riding are underway off th...

SAM Magazine--Bridgton, Me., Nov. 12, 2004--Shawnee Peak Ski Area is offering free 2004-05 family season passes to the spouse and children of deployed soldiers. To encourage new or lapsed skiers and riders to take advantage of the offer, family are also eligible for $10 first-time lessons and $10 rental equipment. Shawnee's program is open to sp...

SAM Magazine--Dillon, Colo., Nov. 12, 2004--Resort openings are beginning to grow at an exponential rate as more areas across the country will join the ranks of the operating by tomorrow. Keystone opened today with 36 hours of continuous skiing and riding, thanks to its lighted slopes. This is the first time Keystone will launch with an all-nigh...

SAM Magazine--Vancouver, Nov. 9, 2004--Intrawest saw revenue decline for the fiscal 2005 first quarter ended September 30, 2004 to $206.5 million from $276.6 million for the same period last year, due to an expected drop in real estate sales. But revenues and profits increased in the resort, travel, and management services divisions. The company in...

SAM Magazine--Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 5, 2004--Copper and Snowbird, Ut., have joined the ranks of open areas in the U.S. today, with Killington, Vt., planning to open early next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday. Copper opened with 2,300 vertical feet of top-to-bottom skiing and riding, nearly 60 acres of terrain and 20 inches of man-made a...

SAM Magazine--Park City, Ut., Nov. 1, 2004--American Skiing Company improved its financial results for the 2004 fiscal year and fourth quarter ended July 25, 2004, compared to year-earlier periods. But the company also acknowledged that its independent accounting firm, KPMG, had not been able to determine "whether substantial doubt exists about the...

SAM Magazine--Oceanside, Calif., Nov. 1, 2004--Freeze Magazine will cease publication with its January 2005 issue, TransWorld Media (TWM) vice president/general manager Brad McDonald told SAM. In addition to the Freeze staff, TWM has cut loose director of marketing and business development Mike Jaquet and vice president of marketing and sales Al...

SAM Magazine--Boulder, Colo., Oct. 27, 2004--Areas have been opening at a record clip across the West as a series of storms and favorable snowmaking weather have cloaked the mountains in the white stuff. Loveland, Colo., was first, on Oct. 15. Loveland had a solid manmade base, plus nearly four feet of natural snow over the previous month. Arapa...

Georgetown, Colo., October 15, 2004 -- Loveland kicked off the 2004-05 US ski season today with record opening-day traffic. "We don't like to talk about specific numbers, but we sold over 1000 tickets," said marketing director Kevin Wright. The previous record opening was about 800 tickets. It was Loveland's fifth consecutive year as the firs...

SAM Magazine--Oceanside, Calif., Oct. 15, 2004--Whistler tops the TransWorld Snowboarding Resort Guide list as the best overall area for snowboarding in North America. The magazine guide includes ratings on 56 areas across the continent on pipes, parks and overall quality. The Resort Guide hits newsstands Oct. 19. Rounding out the top three are ...

SAM Magazine--Pennsylvania, October 14, 2004--Laurel Mountain Ski Area has had its fair share of problems lately. The state-owned ski area, which has lived through several different concessionaires, may have finally found a home with Seven Springs Mountain Resort. The most recent concessionaire, George Mowl, took over operations in 1999. After inve...