SAM Magazine-Boise, Idaho, July 5, 2011-Bank of America (BoA) is proceeding with its plan to remove and sell two Tamarack Resort lifts. The move could make it more difficult to find a buyer for the bankrupt resort. One lift provides access for homeowners, the second serves terrain on the resort's northern boundary. BoA is filing the necessary pa...

SAM Magazine--July 5, 2011--The Utah Ski & Snowboard Association closed its 202-day 2010-11 winter season July 4 at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. Utah's 14 ski and snowboard resorts recorded 4,223,064 skier/snowboarder day visits during the season. This marks a 4.23 percent increase over last year's 4,048,153 and is less than a percentage point (...

SAM Magazine-Truckee, Calif., July 1, 2011-A grand total of 12 North American ski areas will be open this weekend for the 4th of July and Canada Day holidays, following what was for many a record-setting winter and spring snowfall. California will have the most ski areas open-a total of six. Mammoth has been open daily, as it has been since last...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., July 1, 2011-SnowSports Industries America (SIA) reports that a total of 31 million Americans say they are winter sports participants. Of that total, 21 million were active winter sports participants in the 2009-10 season, including approximately 18.3 million skiers and snowboarders who visited alpine resorts, according to...

SAM Magazine--June 30, 2011--The stalled multi-billion-dollar shopping complex and entertainment complex that includes an indoor ski slope in the Meadowlands in N.J., is back on. The state's Legislature voted yesterday to make the Meadowlands eligible for the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant program, clearing the way for up to $200 million ...

SAM Magazine--June 30, 2011--For the second consecutive season, the seven Ski Lake Tahoe resorts are reporting an increase in skier visitation numbers to 3.6 million, the second best season to date (2004-05 remains the best). The near-record snowfall both early and late in the season, led to one of the longest seasons on the books--in fact, Alpine ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, June 23, 2011-Advanced reservations for the summer season are up at many Western mountain destinations, according to the most recent data released by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). For the month of May, occupancy was up 5.6 percent, with the average daily rate (ADR) up 3.2 percent compared to May 2010. The bookin...

SAM Magazine-Bariloche, Argentina, June 21, 2011-A volcano in Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle chain erupted on June 4 after being dormant for decades, sending a cloud of ash into the air and blanketing the ski resorts above Bariloche in several inches of ash. The volcano and its aftermath have postponed the start of the ski season until the coming we...

SAM Magazine-Whitefish, Mont., June 21, 2011-Whitefish Mountain's Chair One, the main lift from the base area used for scenic lift rides and carrying mountain bikes in summer, has been closed indefinitely after a slump caused a tower to move. On Saturday, opening day for summer activities, Whitefish Mountain Resort's lift maintenance crew notice...

SAM Magazine-Jindabyne, Australia, June 21, 2011-The Southern Hemisphere's ski season is off to a slow start: the majority of Australian resorts are open and have just received 10-20 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, while resorts in New Zealand and South America have postponed their openings due to a widespread lack of snow. Australia ha...

SAM Magazine--June 20, 2011--Two of Mount Snow, Vermont's senior employees have been tapped to manage two other ski areas under the Peak Resorts umbrella. Greg Fisher, formerly marketing and event operations director, will take over the GM position at Mad River Mountain, Ohio. John Lowell, former director of lodging at Mount Snow and Attitash, will...

SAM Magazine--June 16, 2011--Recent plans to lease ski area operations at Cannon Mountain, N.H., will be put on hold for at least a year. Cannon is owned by the State of New Hampshire and many in the state's Senate were pushing to lease the area under a similar model to Mount Sunapee, which is owned by N.H., but the long-term lease is owned by the ...

SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, June 15, 2011-The USSA has named the first official U.S. Freeskiing national team roster following the recent news that skiing halfpipe will be included in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The Freeskiiing Pro Halfpipe Team for the 2011-12 season includes X Games champions Jen Hudak (Salt Lake City, Utah and Simon ...

SAM Magazine-Bend, Ore. June 16, 2011-The July 4 weekend will see several areas open this year, and some are planning to take the novelty up a notch. Mt. Bachelor will open for skiing and snowboarding July 2-4, and present mid-day live music at the Pine Marten lodge on Saturday and Sunday. And Squaw, which had already planned a full plate of action...

SAM Magazine-Warren, Vt., June 15, 2011-Vermont and New Hampshire resorts posted strong visit totals for the 2010-11 season, according to data released today. Vermont's ski resorts recorded 4,365,906 skier visits for the season, while New Hampshire resorts tallied 2,355,100 skier visits. The season in Vermont was the best since 2004-05 and maint...

SAM Magazine--June 13, 2011--After failing to appear in court for the second time, majority owner of Tamarack, Jean-Pierre Boespflug, was found in contempt by an Idaho judge. According to cnbc.com, Boespflug was ordered to appear in state court after missing a hearing in May and as a result of his second no-show, the judge ordered his arrest and st...

SAM Magazine-Breckenridge, Colo., June 12, 2011-The U.S. Forest Service has approved Breckenridge Ski Resort's Peak 6 expansion plan despite opposition from some environmental groups. The draft EIS, released on Friday, would allow the area to add 550 acres of lift-served and hike-to terrain, a six-pack detachable chairlift, and a 150-seat lodge at ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., June 12, 2011-According to initial tallies by Vail Resorts (VR), Vail Mountain set a new record for season visits during the 2010-11 season. The ski area saw 1.75 million skier visits, up 9.2 percent from the previous winter. Third quarter profitability also increased, by 5.6 percent, over the prior season, totaling...

SAM Magazine--June 12, 2011--The state of Maine has released a report on the chairlift accident at Sugarloaf citing several factors. The accident, a deropement, occurred at 10:30 a.m. on December 28, 2010 with the lift fully loaded. Eight people sought medical attention as a result. The report stated that while the exact cause of the incident ca...

SAM Magazine-June 7, 2011-The operating partners of Jiminy Peak, Mass., and Cranmore Mountain Resort, N.H., Brian and Tyler Fairbank, have been tapped to run Bromley Mountain in Vermont. The Fairbanks and Bromley owner Joseph O'Donnell have signed a management agreement that places the Fairbanks in charge of all aspects of Bromley resort operations...

SAM Magazine-Hancock, Mass., June 6, 2011-The 2nd Annual SAM Summer Ops Camp, which affords managers and operators a chance to uncover the benefits and pitfalls of other-season activities, will move its dates from September to October 3-5 at Jiminy Peak, Mass. The move to October is to avoid any conflict with the Fall trade shows in September at Su...

SAM Magazine-Windham, N.Y., June 7, 2011-Yes, you can go home again. Windham Mountain president and general manager Tim Woods will assume ownership of the Woods Valley Ski Area in Westernville, NY, about 15 miles northwest of Utica, in early fall 2011. Woods will continue to serve as president and GM at Windham Mountain through the end of the 2011-...

SAM Magazine-Taos, N.M., June 6, 2011-Spiking temperatures over the past week have kicked off the western wildfire season, and ski areas are starting to feel the heat. Last week, the Osha wildfire in northern New Mexico threatened the Sipapu Ski Area, forcing residents to evacuate the area. The fire is blamed on downed power lines from a fallen ...

SAM Magazine-Edwards, Colo., June 6, 2011-Colorado Mountain Express (CME), owned by Vail Resorts, will offer daily shared-ride shuttle service from downtown Denver to both Summit County and Vail.
 Denver visitors and residents can enjoy a daytrip or overnight getaway to the mountains without hassling with I-70 traffic. And residents of Summit...

SAM Magazine-Grand Junction, Colo., June 1, 2011-Western Colorado's Powderhorn Ski Resort will be offered for sale at auction on Aug. 4. The resort, which consists of 44 trails and four lifts on 1,600 acres, is located on the Grand Mesas outside of Grand Junction. The sale is being conducted by J.P. King, a brokerage that specializes in high val...

SAM Magazine-Sandy, Utah, June 1, 2011-It's official, this year is one for the record books. With Snowbird still open, Utah resorts have chalked up a near-record number of approximately 4.2 million skier day visits during the 2010-11 winter season. The number represents four-percent growth over the prior year, making this winter the second best in ...

SAM Magazine-La Parva, Chile, May 26, 2011-La Parva, located 50 kilometers outside of Santiago, Chile has unveiled a comprehensive plan designed to develop the freeride and freeski potential of the resort intended to make it a world-class freeride and freeski destination. Now that men's and women's ski halfpipe are in the 2014 Olympics, "We knew...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., May 26, 2011-SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has retained Reese Brown and his company, RDB Marketing & Event Services, as Nordic program director. Under the agreement, Brown will manage SIA's Winter Trails program and the SIA Snow Show's Nordic On-Snow Demo. The relationship is not a new one. For the past nine years...

SAM Magazine-Girdwood, Alaska, May 26, 2011-The Mountain Rider's Alliance (MRA) and its Manitoba Mountain Ski Area Restoration Project, which aims to restore lift access to a ski area that last operated in 1960, continue to move forward. The plan for the area, located on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, was introduced at a mid-February public forum i...

SAM Magazine-Mead, Wash., May 24, 2011-The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has approved Mt. Spokane's proposal to add a chairlift and seven runs to the northwest quadrant of the ski area at Mt. Spokane. The decision in favor of the not-for-profit ski area was made last Thursday in Spokane, and included a blended land classificat...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., May 19, 2011-In a sign of the continuing strength of outdoor sports despite a sluggish and perhaps stalling economy, dollar sales in April for outdoor retailers rose 8% compared April 2010, according to prelilminary data from the Leisure Trends Group. Outdoor specialty store sales increased a healthy 6 percent, outdoor ...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., May 19, 2011-The Aspen Skiing Company today became the latest in a long line of areas to extend the season. And as with some other areas, Aspen is reopening after being closed for weeks. Aspen Mountain will reopen for May 28-30, and for additional weekends as conditions permit. The decision comes on the heels of record...

SAM Magazine-Kirkwood, Calif., May 18, 2011-Bud Klien, founder of Kirkwood resort, has died at the age of 83 after a battle with cancer. Klien, a number one draft pick for the Red Sox upon his graduation from Stanford in 1950, choose to return to California and help run his family's agricultural business rather than play ball. He switched to the s...

SAM Magazine-Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia, May 18, 2011-Perisher Blue resort will open this Friday, making it the first resort to open in the Southern Hemisphere. Recent snowfalls coupled with cold temperatures for snowmaking have combined to allow the mountain to open weeks ahead of schedule. The resort will have a mini-terrain park on ta...

SAM Magazine-Wanaka, New Zealand, May 13, 2011-Treble Cone will once again host the most prestigious big-mountain event in New Zealand,The North Face Freeski Open, Sept. 12-16. The event is expected to bring a global field of athletes to Treble Cone and is part of the Freeride World Tour's (FWT) slate of Freeride World Qualifying (FWQ) events. The ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., May 13, 2011-Vail Resorts is extending its discounted prices on 2011-2012 season passes until May 30. The discounts, introduced on Apr. 15, were initially set to expire on May 8. The discounts apply to all of the company's pass products, including the Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, Epic 7-Day, Summit Value Pass and T...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., May 12, 2011-Six resorts have been granted funds from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Sustainable Slopes program. The ski areas, Arapahoe Basin, Colo.; Beaver Valley Ski Club, Ontario; Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore.; Oak Mountain, N.Y.; Stevens Pass Resort, Wash.; and Stratton Mountain Resort, Vt. The resorts will s...

SAM Magazine-Olympic Valley, Calif., May 12, 2011-Squaw Valley USA is winding down a record-breaking winter by offering discounted lift tickets to season passholders from other resorts. The ski area, which racked up more than 730 inches of snow on the year, is running the promotion through closing day, May 30, 2011. The discounted lift tickets cost...

SAM Magazine-Tahoe City, Calif., May 11, 2011-Alpine Meadows Ski Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort are partnering on a new season pass program that will allow access to both mountains. In addition, the new passes will also allow access to Homewood Mountain Resort, Red Lodge Mountain Resort, and Durango Mountain Resort. With the partnership, Al...

SAM Magazine-East Rutherford, N.J., May 5, 2011-Triple Five, operator of the Mall of America and the new owner of the former Meadowlands Xanadu project, plans to expand the plan and rename the project American Dream. When completed, the $2.7 billion megamall is expected to draw even more visitors than Triple Five's current flagship operations, t...

SAM Magazine-Hancock, Mass., May 5, 2011-The 2nd Annual SAM Summer Ops Camp, which affords managers and operators a chance to uncover the benefits and pitfalls of other-season activities, will take place Sept. 7-9 at Jiminy Peak, Mass. In addition to workshops and seminars, the program allows campers to experience the several summer activities a...

SAM Magazine--May 3, 2011--HKD Snowmakers and Turbocristal have announced that the two companies will be merging by June 30, 2011, to be called HKD Turbo and will service the U.S. and Canada and have distribution around the world. HKD Turbo will offer a complete line of air/water and fan snowmaking technology in both manual and automatic configurat...

SAM Magazine--May 3, 2011--According to a release from SIA, the snow sports market brought in a record $3.3 billion over the full 2010/11 season (previous highest sales record was $3 billion, set in 2007/08). Overall, snow sports sales were up 8% in units sold, and 12% in dollars sold. Leaner inventories kept prices strong throughout the season, eq...

SAM Magazine--May 3, 2011--According to published reports, Vail Resorts (VR) announced that 2010/2011 skier visit totals at its six resorts were up 3.9 percent. VR also announced that ski school revenue was up 8.4 percent, dining up 9 percent and retail/rental increased by 8.3 percent over last season. (All of these totals were adjusted as if North...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., April 29, 2011-The board of directors for SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has decided to keep the organization's annual Snow Show in the late January/early February timeframe. The latest move reverses SIA's decision in March to shift the show dates earlier in January. "At the end of the day, the voice of the reta...

SAM Magazine-Hamilton, Ga., Apr. 21, 2011-Ralph Walton, who co-owned Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) with Howard "Bo" Callaway for more than three decades, died Apr. 17 at his home in Georgia. He was 80. Walton had been a manager with Westinghouse Electric for nearly 15 years when, in 1970, just months from earning a lifetime pension, he jo...

SAM Magazine-Tabernash, Colo., Apr. 21, 2011-Devil's Thumb Ranch, a 6,000-acre guest ranch and resort with an extensive cross-country network, has named Sean Damery as its new vice president and general manager. A 22-year hospitality industry veteran, Damery has worked in a number of positions in food and beverage, lodging and operations. At Oja...

SAM Magazine--April 18, 2011--Peak Resorts, Inc. announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") relating to a proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined....

SAM Magazine--April 15, 2011--The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found "serious" workplace violations at Wolf Creek Ski Area, Colo., following an investigation of the avalanche death of the area's patrol director. On November 22, 2010, Scott Kay was performing avalanche control work by himself and was not wearing a helmet, ...

SAM Magazine--April 13, 2011--The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced that Dick Kun, CEO of Snow Summit Ski Corporation, has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 NSAA Lifetime Achievement Award. Snow Summit Ski Corp. owns and operates Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski areas in Big Bear Lake, Calif. Snow Summit was started in 1...

SAM Magazine-Jiminy Peak, Mass., Apr. 13, 2011-As America's lift system ages, springtime lift maintenance seminars and attendance are growing. The training season kicks off with the 34th annual Lift Maintenance Seminar (LMS) next week at Jiminy Peak and continues through Doppelmayr's two new Hall-specific training sessions in late May and June. ...

SAM Magazine-Vernon, N.J., Apr. 12, 2011-Gov. Chris Christie signed the New Jersey helmet law on Apr. 8, requiring all youths under age 18 to wear a helmet while skiing or riding in New Jersey. The law, the first statewide requirement for ski/ride helmets, takes effect Nov. 1. Enforcement is left up to parents and guardians. The parent or guardi...

SAM Magazine--The 2011 SAMMY Leadership Award honorees were announced today. This award goes to individuals who, at mid-career, show great promise as the winter sports industry's future leaders. They are: 1) Joe Hession, GM, Mountain Creek-Joe began his career at age 14 as a parking attendant at Vernon Valley Great Gorge, currently known as Mou...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Apr. 11, 2011-Whistler Blackcomb is testing a new app which allows cell phones to serve as lift passes. The app, the Whistler Blackcomb Live Powered by Telus, will also allow users to track their runs using GPS, view trail maps, track the total vertical and distance they've traveled and their maximum speed, share their ...

SAM Magazine-Butler, Ohio, Apr. 11, 2011-Four local residents have acquired the Clear Fork Ski Area here and plan to turn it into a year-round destination. The four, Rick Weemhoff, Brian Johnson, and Ben and Luke Flynn, all grew up near Clear Fork, where they all worked and played. The area closed in 2006 after 40 years of operation. The foursom...

SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Apr. 6, 2011-The snow sports market surpassed the $3 billion mark for the 2010-11 season in February, even as sales slowed significantly. After two months of double-digit sales gains, units sold were down 2 percent in February 2011 compared to 2010, and dollar sales slipped 1.5 percent. Lean inventories contributed to the ...

SAM Magazine-London, Apr. 6, 2011-The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today confirmed the inclusion of ski halfpipe for both men and women and women's ski jumping among six new events on the program of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. The other events are the biathlon mixed relay, figure skating team event and luge team rel...

SAM Magazine--April 3, 2011--The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced that Dan Fuller, president of Bristol Mountain Winter Resort in Canandaigua, N.Y., is the recipient of this year's Sherman Adams Award. The Sherman Adams Award is presented annually to an individual from an Eastern ski area that has significantly influenced the indust...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., April 1, 2011-Whistler Blackcomb has instituted a new height restriction for all skiers and riders due to the area's prodigious, record-breaking snowfall this season. The policy is intended to prevent guests from drowning in the bottomless pow. To that end, the resort is prohibiting guests shorter than 350cm/11.5 ...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Mar. 24, 2011-For the sixth consecutive month, occupancy at western mountain destinations rose. According to the most recent data released by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP), occupancy was up 1.2 percent compared to February 2010. Overall results for September through February are up 7.3 percent compared to the sam...