SAM Magazine--Cheyenne, Wyo., May 10, 2014--A Wyoming Federal Court jury took less than 30 minutes to decide that Snow King Ski Area and Mountain Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was not liable for a minor’s fall from a chairlift in December of 2009. Texas residents Leya and Glenn Oswald, the child’s parents, sued Snow King Ski Area and Mountain Resort along with the Jackson Hole Ski Club in Federal Court after the accident, alleging that the fall from the lift was the fault of both Snow King and the Ski Club. The Ski Club resolved its claims with the Oswalds prior to trial.

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., May 9, 2014—In a sign of the underlying strength of the winter sports market, snowsports retail sales rose 7 percent this past season, to $3.6 billion, compared to the prior year, according to the RetailTRAK report from Leisure Trends and Snowsports Industries America (SIA).

SAM Magazine--North Woodstock, N.H., May 9, 2014--Jessyca Keeler has been selected by Ski New Hampshire's board of directors to serve as executive director of the state association, which represents 33 Alpine and cross-country resorts. Keeler is an avid skier and snowboarder and has been involved in the winter sports travel and tourism industry since 1995—at Whiteface/ORDA and American Skiing Company. She also owned a company called Align Partnerships, a marketing consulting firm. Keeler replaces Alice Pearce and will assume her new position on Monday, May 14.

SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 5, 2014—Resorts nationwide tallied 56.2 million visits for the 2013-14 season, making a strong rebound in the latter stages after a weather-challenged start. The total represented a mere 1.3 percent drop from the previous season, according to preliminary results from the most recent Kottke National End of Season Survey.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, May 1, 2014—Powdr Corp and Vail Resorts have continued to address one another through the media and public forums, including a series of public letters between the two companies’ CEOs and the Mountain Travel Symposium, as they await a judge’s ruling on the status of Park City Mountain Resort’s lease for much of its terrain.

SAM Magazine--April 28, 2014--Several resorts announced record-breaking seasons today. First up, Stevens Pass, Wash., hosted more than 406,000 visits this winter making 2013/14 its largest season since visits have been electronically tracked. While much of the West Coast saw below average snowfall, Stevens Pass surpassed its 450-inch average with a seasonal total of 463 inches.

SAM Magazine--Broomfield, Colo., April 24, 2014--Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR) reported certain season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the season through April 20, 2014 and were adjusted as if Canyons was owned in both periods (but they do not include Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton). In short, visits were up 2.3% and lift revenue was up 7.6% compared to last season. Dining revenue was up 3.1%, retail/rental up 5.1% and ski school up 7.5%. "Our spring results were stronger than we expected," said CEO Rob Katz.

SAM Magazine—Vail, Colo., April 22, 2014—SAM's fifth annual Summer Ops Camp, a hands-on educational and networking event, will head to Vail, Colo., Sept. 3-5. The Camp gathers resort managers and operators from around North America to explore the exciting opportunities in four-season attractions.

SAM Magazine—East Stroudsburg, Pa., April 23, 2014—A father and son team, Kevin Fabiano and Kevin Jr., has bought Alpine Mountain Ski Resort and launched a multi-million dollar renovation of the area, estimated to reach $3 million in improvements by December 2014.

The Fabianos purchased the area from Appletree Resource Group, which had owned the area for about five years. Previously, it had been owned by the Poalillo family for a quarter century. The area has operated for 58 years in all.

SAM Magazine—Houghton, Mich., April 17, 2014—Vern Barber, manager of Marquette Mountain, Mich., for the past 32 years, is joining Mount Bohemia as general manager. He starts his new job May 5.

Mount Bohemia president Lonie Glieberman said that Barber will be charged with managing the resort’s growing lodging facilities and year-round operations. Bohemia has room for 140, up from 48 five years ago. The area has also added summer adventure options, a restaurant and bar, and that this growth will continue. A permanent base lodge is part of the plan.

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., April 16, 2014—The U.S. Forest Service has finalized policy guidelines that will open opportunities for ski areas to develop and offer a variety of year-round recreation activities on the National Forests. The revised directives stem from the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011.

SAM Magazine—Breckenridge, Colo., April 16, 2014—Occupancy and revenue remained on an upward trend at destination resorts through March, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics. Results varied with the weather for the three major regions covered in the firm’s monthly report. But strong summer reservations across all three regions foretell another record summer for mountain resort destinations.

SAM Magazine--Queensbury, N.Y., April 3, 2014--April Fool's Day was no joke for West Mountain--the area has exited bankruptcy. According to the Post Star, the final decree was made public this past Tuesday. Apex Capital, which has been operating the area since last summer and who bought the first mortgage on the property in November of last year, is now the official owner.

SAM Magazine—Woodbury, Conn., April 3, 2014—SAM Magazine is proud to announce the 2014 SAMMY Leadership Award winners: Patricia Campbell, Kevin Stickelman, and Laura and Matt O’Brien. The awards, given annually to individuals who will shape the future of the mountain resort industry, are in their 17th year.

SAM Magazine--Orlando, Fla., March 31, 2014--CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (or REIT), today announced its operating results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013. As of March 14, 2014, CNL owned a portfolio of 145 lifestyle properties, 73 of which are wholly-owned and run by operators under long-term, triple-net leases with a weighted average, straight-line lease rate of 8.6 percent, 63 of which are managed by independent operators, one of which is an unimproved land parcel and eight of which are owned through unconsolidated joint ventures.

SAM Magazine--Boise, Idaho, March 28, 2014--In an effort to reflect the changing landscape of the mountain resort, Idaho is the latest state to update its bill that oversees ski areas. The governor signed Bill 462 on March 26 and the new Bill goes into effect on July 1, 2014. The update expanded the skiing language to include snowboarding and other sliding devices. It also expanded uphill transportation to include wire ropes and conveyors. The bill also expands its definition of terrain to include freestyle terrain.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Mar. 26, 2014—As the Talisker-Vail-Park City Mountain Resorts’ (PCMR) lease lawsuits head toward two crucial court dates in April, action has been heating up. The latest move: Vail Resorts (VR) has said it is willing to buy PCMR’s base facilities.

SAM Magazine—Denver, Mar. 21, 2014—Intrawest saw increased visits at its resorts in the early season, and that fueled revenue growth for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, Intrawest Resort Holdings reported earlier this week. The report and subsequent call with analysts also indicated that Intrawest sees potential for growth in the future via increased capital investment at its existing resorts, acquisitions, and eventually, through base area real estate development.

SAM Magazine--Salt Lake City, Utah, March 19, 2014--Ski Utah and representatives from Alta, Brighton, Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), Snowbird, and Solitude held a news conference today at Ski Utah’s headquarters to announce their support for an over-the-snow connection between all seven resorts via chairlift and ski run called ONE Wasatch.

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Mar. 17, 2014—Reflecting its diversified holdings across Colorado, Utah, and California, where this winter’s weather has been both favorable and not, Vail Resorts saw net income decline 2.1 percent, to $59.1 million, for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 ended Jan. 31, 2014. Visit growth of 11.9 percent at its Colorado resorts was offset by a 27.7 percent decline at its Tahoe resorts during the period.

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., March 17, 2014--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today that its 21 member resorts reported an increase in skier and snowboarder visitation in January and February. Visits at CSCUSA resorts, which do not include any resorts owned by Vail Resorts, were up by 8.6 percent during the second period of the 2013/14 season, defined as January 1, 2014 through February 28, 2014, compared to the same period of the prior year.

SAM Magazine—Denver, March 13, 2014—Advance reservations at mountain resorts in both the Rockies and the Northeast were strong in February. As of Feb. 28, with nearly 95 percent of all winter lodging business either completed or on the books, lodging visits showed a 4.6 percent increase for the 2013-14 season (November through April) compared to last year, and a 10.4 percent increase in revenue, according to the most recent data released by DestiMetrics.

SAM Magazine--Crystal Mountain, Wash., March 11, 2014--Guests checking out Crystal Mountain's website this morning for the Mountain Report found this:

SAM Magazine--Tamarack, Ida., March 11, 2014--In an auction on Monday, Credit Suisse, the main creditor for Tamarack, was the only bidder for three large sections of Tamarack Resort at a sheriff's sale. According to KTVB news, Credit Suisse now owns most of the physical properties instead of collateral interest, including the mountain assets and property for $65 million, hotel properties fror $10 million and another property.

SAM Magazine--March 11, 2014-- Whistler, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Alta, Snowbird and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, members of the Mountain Collective, which offers purchasers two days at each of the destinations, plus a 50% discount on all additional days, have released an expanded pass product for the 2014/15 season.

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., March 10, 2014—The snow sports retail market finished January up 4 percent in units sold and up 7 percent in dollars, reaching $2.8 billion for the season to date (August through January), according to the SIA RetailTRAK. The report is prepared by Leisure Trends for SnowSports Industries America (SIA). Total market projections are based on point of sale data collected from more than 1,200 snow sports retailers.

SAM Magazine--Olympic Valley, Calif., March 10, 2014--Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are teaming up with Sugar Bowl next season to offer passholders sliding privileges at all three resorts, plus Royal Gorge Cross Country. Holders of Squaw/Alpines's Gold pass are allowed four free days at Sugar Bowl and Royal Gorge. Sugar Bowl's unrestricted season passholders will receive four free tickets to Squaw or Alpine Meadows. Sugar Bowl also has similar arrangements with Sun Valley and Grand Targhee. The tickets at the Tahoe resorts are good for any day except Saturdays and holiday periods.

SAM Magazine--Albany, N.Y., March 10, 2014--New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of the ‘I Ski NY’ Bus, a new, dedicated bus line to 13 upstate ski mountains from New York City and Toronto to begin service for the 2014-2015 winter ski season.

SAM Magazine—Pagosa Springs, Colo., Mar. 7, 2014—On Tuesday, Mar. 4, Wolf Creek Ski Area avalanche technician and senior patroller Colin Sutton was caught in an avalanche while conducting an exploration and research mission via helicopter on Conejos Peak. The avalanche occurred at about 1:30 p.m. He was immediately dug out by his partner and two other emergency personnel, then airlifted by a Medevac helicopter to the emergency room at Mercy Regional Hospital in Durango, Colo., where he was pronounced deceased at 4:30 p.m.

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Mar. 7, 2014—Some of the world’s best snowboarders will descend on Aspen March 19-23 to try their hand on a halfpipe—or two—that is unlike anything done before. For this Red Bull Signature Series event, two competition-spec halfpipes will be constructed side-by-side, complete with rails, wallrides, channels and other unique features.

SAM Magazine--Richmond, Utah, March 6, 2014--A new resort in Cache County, Utah, (close to Logan) is set to open its doors next season, bringing the state's total to 15 mountain resorts. Called Cherry Peak Ski Resort, the small 200-acre resort will postion itself as a teaching mountain. According to Utah Public Radio, the resort will feature three lifts, a small lodge and a parking lot for 300 cars. Cherry Peak is on private land owned by John Chadwick and was set to open this year, but a lawsuit brought on by a neighbor hampered opening efforts.

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., March 6, 2014--Like cell phone companies, Intrawest has roled out a new pass product designed for the "modern" family. Called the Intrawest Passport, the pass will offer children 12 and under free skiing and riding, as well as redefine who can be included in the product. The season pass includes six days of skiing at each of six participating North American ski resorts during the 2014-15 season--Steamboat Springs and Winter Park, Colo.; Blue Mountain, Ont.; Mont Tremblant, Que.; Stratton Mountain, Vt.; and Snowshoe, W.V.

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 28, 2014—With many resorts already selling season passes for the 2014-15 season, Vail Resorts (VR) is adding one of the snowiest powder skiing resorts in the world—Niseko, Japan—to its Epic Pass program. Epic Passholders will receive five complimentary consecutive days at Niseko, Japan, for the 2014-2015 winter season. The five free consecutive days of skiing and riding will be reciprocated for Niseko All-Mountain Season Pass holders.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Feb. 28, 2014—Olympian Tiger Shaw will take over as president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) effective Mar. 3 as part of a planned transition, replacing longtime USSA chief Bill Marolt.

SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Feb. 26, 2014—Despite the legalization of private use of marijuana in Colorado, public use of pot remains illegal. And so, over the past several weeks, Vail Resorts (VR) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have destroyed a number of structures associated with prohibited marijuana use. The structures had been constructed illegally on USFS lands within the permitted boundaries of the company’s four Colorado resorts—Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 24, 2014—A record-matching 17 Team USA skiers and snowboarders left the Sochi Olympic Winter Games with medals, including a record eight gold in on-snow events. Of course, it helped that there were more events for skiers and snowboarders—a total of 30 in all, including new slopestyle and ski halfpipe competitions.

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 24, 2014—Canadian skiers and snowboarders racked up a dozen medals during the Sochi Games, nearly half of the 25 medals won by Canadian athletes. They also took home four of Canada’s 10 gold medals. All that helped Canada rank fourth in the overall medal count, and third in the gold-medal count, just ahead of the U.S.

SAM Magazine—North Woodstock, N.H., Feb. 21, 2014—Winter resorts in New Hampshire generated $1.15 billion in direct and secondary sales for the 2012-13 season, according to Ski NH’s most recent economic study. That impact stemmed from visits by 3.26 million winter and summer guests at the group’s 33 member areas and more than 200 lodging properties.

SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 19, 2014—Buffeted by the weather, destination lodging occupancy in the East and West was up 4.7 percent for the November-January period compared to a year ago, according to research firm DestiMetrics. With 85 percent of visits either completed or on the books, lodging properties surveyed by DestiMetrics appear headed for a 10 percent increase in revenue on the season.

SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Feb. 18, 2014—Heavenly Mountain Resort has formally objected to the U.S. Forest Service's 15-year land management plan for Lake Tahoe. In a letter, the resort said that the Forest Service plan would limit future expansion of the four resorts in the Tahoe Basin to just 200 acres in total and ignite a “development race.”

The four resorts that would be subject to the limit are Heavenly, Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, and Homewood.

SAM Magazine--Hillsdale, N.Y., February 13, 2014--Catamount announced a 10-year master plan that includes a luxury ski in/ski out condominium complex called The Berkshire Mountain Club. The 66 fully furnished suites will have full kitchens and be available in studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom unit configurations with amenities, such as a restaurant/lounge, spa, fitness center, pool, hot tubs, lockers, game room, front desk, valet parking and more.

SAM Magazine--Stowe, Vt., February 13, 2014--Spruce Peak Realty, LLC and Stowe Mountain Lodge, LLC, affiliates of Stowe Mountain Resort, along with a group of owners of 40 condominium units at Stowe Mountain Lodge, announced that they have reached an agreement in principle as to the terms of a settlement resolving a putative class action lawsuit alleging that condominium and hotel service fees are much higher than anticipated by owners at the time of purchase at Stowe Mountain Lodge.

SAM Magazine--Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois, February 12, 2014--Employees at Le Massif de Charlevoix voted yesterday for the right to strike. Management has been in negotiations with the union, which only includes mountain employees and not hotel or train employees, but were unable to come to an agreement. In the meantime, the resort said that it will remain open and that all services will be up and running. Le Massif officials also said that they will continue to work with the union to come up with a solution that will satisfy both parties.

SAM Magazine—Dixville Notch, N.H., Feb. 12, 2014—The owners of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel and the Balsams Wilderness Ski Area have engaged American Skiing Company founder Les Otten to help redevelop the hotel and resort, which have been closed for the past three years.

SAM Magazine—Sochi, Russia, Feb. 8, 2014—Acting on an idea first promoted by SAM five years ago, NBC Olympics, in partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee and national governing bodies including the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), has created the Olympic Gold Map to help newcomers take up Olympic sports and existing participants find competitive programs.

SAM Magazine—Woodbury Conn., Feb. 7, 2014—After years of circling around the conversion question, resorts across North America are deploying new and innovative approaches to the learning experience. Novel programs aimed at increasing trial and conversion are seeing big success at several resorts, and were all the rage at the NSAA East and West winter fairs. Conversion will also be the focus of the upcoming Conversion Camp at Jiminy Peak March 4-6.

SAM Magazine—Martinsville, N.J., Feb. 4, 2014—As the wintersport season nears its midpoint, several sources are weighing in with their projections for the season. RRC estimates resort visit totals will range between 51 and 53 million, depending on weather and other factors over the season’s second half, while destination lodging visits appear to be on the upswing, according to researcher DestiMetrics.

SAM Magazine--Denver, Colo., January 31, 2014-- Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc., which counts Winter Park, Stratton, Steamboat, Mont Tremblant, Blue Mountain and Snowshoe among its holdings, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 15,625,000 shares of its common stock at $12 per share yesterday. The Company priced 3,125,000 shares of its common stock and an entity controlled by certain private equity funds managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC priced an additional 12,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 30, 2014—Bolstered by strong retail sales this season, the annual Snowsports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show kicked off this morning with a "Sendoff to Sochi" opening ceremony. The event showcased the various official uniforms of the U.S. alpine, freestyle, snowboard, and freeskiing teams. With 94 snowsports athletes representing the U.S. at Sochi, the largest contingent ever, the sendoff was a fitting way to mark the upcoming Games as well as the start of the 2014 Snow Show.

SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014—Another local's area is getting a new lease on life: Skyline Mountain Base, an investment group comprised of local and European investors, has acquired the Wolf Mountain ski resort here from America First Credit Union. No terms of the deal were disclosed.

Wolf Mountain fell into bankruptcy in 2010, and parts of the property were sold at auction. The resort itself did not sell, but eventually emerged from bankruptcy thanks to America First.

SAM Magazine--West Dover, Vt., January 24, 2014--A 120-million-gallon water storage pond for snowmaking and a new 36,000-square-foot base lodge for guest services are two of the projects Mount Snow will fund through EB-5, an immigrant investor program. The projects, newly approved under the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center, total $52 million in investments.

SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Jan. 23, 2014—Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) and ESPN have reached an agreement that will have the X Games calling Aspen/Snowmass its home until 2019. Now in its 13th year, ESPN chose to continue its long-term partnership with ASC, already the longest-tenured X Games host. And by 2019, Aspen/Snowmass will have hosted the premier winter action sports event for 18 years.

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 16, 2014—Favorable snowfall in December in most mountain regions in the U.S. helped boost lodging occupancy and revenues for the month, according to DestiMetrics (formerly the Mountain Travel Research Program, aka MTRiP). The upward trend in both occupancy and revenue is carrying into the remainder of the season, DestiMetrics added.

SAM Magazine--Salt Lake City, Utah, January 15, 2014--Wasatch Equality announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Alta and The U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to open the ski area up to snowboarders. The non-profit group was formed solely for this purpose. The following is a portion of the group's release:

SAM Magazine--January 14, 2014--Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today that its 21 member resorts reported an increase in skier visitation for the beginning of the 2013/14 ski season. Skier visits at CSCUSA resorts were up by 22 percent during the first period of the 2013/14 season, defined this year as opening day of the season (October 13, 2013) through December 31, 2013, compared to the same period of the prior year. Significantly, this season’s first period skier visits also exceeded the five-year first period average by approximately 6.7 percent.

SAM Magazine—Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2014—Snow sports retail sales soared 14 percent in November from year-ago levels as the season began in earnest, the latest data from the SIA RetailTRAK show. The survey is based on point-of-sale data from more than 1,200 snow sports retailers.

For the year through November, sales totaled $1.2 billion, up about 7.4 percent from the same period in 2012. Equipment and apparel sales both rose 6 percent, while accessories were up 13 percent.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 7, 2014—Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn will not participate in the upcoming Sochi Olympics due to instability in her surgically repaired right knee, and will undergo another surgery soon so that she has time to recover for the 2015 World Alpine Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek.

The decision means Vonn won’t defend the gold medal she won in downhill at the Vancouver Olympics, where she also took the bronze in super-G.