SAM Magazine-Corvara, Italy, March 26, 2009-World-renowned big-mountain freeskier Shane McConkey died today while ski-BASE jumping in the Dolomites. He was working on a new film with JT Holmes and a crew from Matchstick Productions. Details of the accident are not clear; McConkey had planned to do a double backflip off the Val Scura couloir on Sass...

SAM Magazine-Tannersville, Pa., March 23, 2009-Camelback Mountain Resort, in its 46th year, will set a new mark for length of season on Wednesday, its 124th day of operation. The old record was set in 1992-93. To celebrate the milestone, Camelback will offer a special $12.40 lift ticket on Wednesday. Camelback anticipates it will close temporari...

SAM Magazine-Squaw Valley, Calif., March 19, 2009- Squaw Valley is cutting season pass prices for the 2009-10 ski and snowboard season by up to $1,000 in honor of the 60th Anniversary of the ski area's founding and the 50th Anniversary of Squaw Valley hosting the 1960 Winter Olympics. Coined the "50/60 Pass," the restructured season passes go o...

SAM Magazine-Telluride, Colo., March 19, 2009-In the wake of additional spring snowfall, several resorts, among them Telluride, Mount Washington, B.C., and Belleayre, N.Y., are extending their seasons. Telluride will keep the Coonskin and Plunge lifts open for an additional week after the scheduled resort close, April 5. Only terrain off the Plu...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo., March 18, 2009-Western destination lodging reservations were down 16.3 percent through February, according to the latest data from the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). In addition, average daily room rates were down 7.6 percent. MTRiP data cover 216 properties in 15 destination resorts in Colorado, Utah, Califor...

SAM Magazine-Kiltarlity, Ireland, March 17, 2009-Recession, what recession? U.S. ski areas are selling 19 of the 20 most expensive six-day lift tickets on the planet, according to the World Ski Lift Ticket Price Report (2009). This annual study compares six-day, peak-season prices from more than 600 ski areas in 40 countries worldwide. The repor...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo., March 12, 2009-Skier visits at Colorado Ski Country USA's 22 member resorts in January and February were off by 5.8 percent compared to the same period last year. As such, visitation is up slightly compared to the five-year average for the period, and those five years include three years that were the highest on record. ...

SAM Magazine-Are, Sweden, March 11, 2009-Lindsey Vonn added yet another landmark to an already historic season for U.S. ski and snowboard competitors as she took her 21st career win in the downhill at the Audi FIS World Cup Finals. She then won her fifth super G in a row to extend her dominance of the women's tour. Her victories were the latest in ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., March 11, 2009-Vail Resorts second quarter results for fiscal 2009, ended Jan. 31, show resort revenue (mountain operations and lodging) of $299.6 million compared to $314.5 million a year earlier, a decrease of 4.7 percent. Lodging bookings were down 14.9 percent. But total revenue, including real estate sales, came...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., March 11, 2009-Vail Resorts will adopt a companywide wage reduction plan to reduce labor costs while preserving as many jobs as possible. Employee salaries will be reduced on a sliding scale, from 2.5 percent for seasonal employees to 10 percent for executives. This wage reduction plan, combined with certain other ad...

SAM Magazine-Gilford, N.H., March 11, 2009-More and more resorts are selling next year's passes at this year's prices. Gunstock, N.H., is one of the latest to make this offer. In addition, seniors will be given a break, with pricing the same as children. Unlimited season passes are $329 for adults and teens (13-64); seniors (65+) and children (6...

SAM Magazine-Reno, Nev., Mar. 6, 2009-A ski patroller working avalanche control routes at Squaw Valley was killed due to trauma sustained after being caught in an slide last Tuesday. Andrew Entin was partially buried by the avalanche, but injuries sustained during the incident were severe enough to kill him, according to Squaw officials. Entin was ...

SAM Magazine-Snowbird, Utah, Mar. 6, 2009-High winds derailed the Peruvian Express chairlift at Snowbird on Wednesday, when wind gusts topped 70 mph. According to the resort, wind caused a misalignment in the way one of the chair grips attached to the haul rope, shutting the lift down after the misalignment was detected by one of the tower sheave s...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Mar. 6, 2009-Resorts are looking to lock in customers for next winter as well as get new customers this season with a variety of season pass deals, including discounted rates on next year's offerings and affordable spring passes. Both Massachusetts' Jiminy Peak and Minnesota's Wild Mountain are pushing season pass of...

SAM Magazine-Donnelly, Idaho, Mar. 2, 2009-Tamarack Resort, which has been in receivership since last fall, is shutting down after the close of business on Mar. 4. The area has been operating on funds provided by the lender group that has been attempting to foreclose on the resort, and that group has agreed to provide only limited funding for the n...

SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Mar. 2, 2009-Hugh Smythe, Intrawest's senior vice president of mountain resorts, is retiring on Mar. 12. He will remain an advisor to the company. Smythe, a 43 year veteran of the ski industry,has been with Intrawest since 1986, including 20 years as president of resort operations. Currently, he oversees the managem...

SAM Magazine-Whitefish, Mont., Feb. 27, 2009-On Feb. 24, the nearly 8,000 season pass holders at Whitefish Mountain Resort surpassed 1 billion vertical feet of skiing and snowboarding, as tracked by the resort's "Big Vertical" program. Resort officials were ecstatic to have an unfathomably large number to talk about-and a positive one at that. "...

SAM Magazine-McCall, Idaho, Feb. 27, 2009-Yes, even before many areas begin to sell next year's passes, Brundage is ending the first phase of its advance sales. This is the last week for customers to save up to $160 on the purchase of a 2009-10 season's pass. Prices currently range from $79 (ages 7 to 11) to $289 (adults ages 18 to 69); they rise i...

SAM Magazine-Bend, Ore., Feb. 27, 2009-Mt. Bachelor is one of the most recent resorts to partner with SOS Outreach, the Colorado-based organization that builds character and confidence for underserved youth through snowsports. The five-day program emphasizes core values and positive adult interaction. Clothing, equipment and lift tickets are provid...

SAM Magazine-West Lebanon, N.H., Feb. 24, 2009-Nordica has issued a recall for approximately 4,500 pairs of the company's XBi ALU skis. The skis were produced and sold between August 2006 and December 2008. There are concerns that the binding plates could fail, causing a loss of control. The recall involves the XBi binding component, which was used...

SAM Magazine-Krippenstein, Austria, Feb. 24, 2009-The snow just keeps falling across Europe as some areas are seeing record snowfall. In Austria, storms have been pounding most parts of the country with an additional meter expected for the week. "It's been amazing, says Kästle Skis president Siegfried "Sigi" Rumpfhuber. "One of the best seasons ...

SAM Magazine-Woodbury, Conn., Feb. 24, 2009-Cutter's Camp has opened registration for both of this year's sessions, at Mount Snow, Vt., and Timberline, Mt. Hood, Ore. Space will be filled on a first-come basis. Registration is processed on the SAM website at www.saminfo.com/events/register.php. For the past six years, Cutters Camp has hosted ter...

World Snow Resort News--February 12, 2009--Recent snow in urban areas has led to ski instructors working indoors year-round in the growing number of indoor snow centers in Europe to come outdoors to see the recent snowfall in parking lots and ride them as well. Britian's SNOzone! staff enjoy their lunch break from indoor snow.  Back on Eur...

SAM Magazine-Wellington, N.Z., Feb. 9, 2009-With travelers worldwide staying closer to home, Tourism New Zealand is mounting an early run of TV commercials in Australia to promote New Zealand's ski resorts. The move is aimed at promoting early bookings, and marks the first time that New Zealand has gone into Australia with ski ads this early. The c...

SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Feb. 9, 2009-Woodward at Copper, a year-round training center that focuses on terrain park and pipe progression for skiers and snowboarders, will open Feb.28. The center's main facility, The Barn, is an evolution of Pennsylvania's highly successful Camp Woodward. The 20,000 square foot indoor complex houses Snow...

World Snow Resort News--February 6, 2009--Although the snow arrived a few days later in Scotland than the south of England, domestic resorts have received up to two feet of fresh snow over the past 36 hours, which falling on top of an established base has led to extremely good powder and what Nevis Range describes as, "Near alpine conditions." C...

World Snow News--February 6, 2009--Statistics published by tour operators, ski resorts and even airlines continue to reflect increased sales this winter, contrary to mainstream media reports. Figures released by easyJet indicate a 17 percent increase in customer bookings in a bid to escape the UK for destinations across Europe in December 2008, ...

SAM Magazine-Duluth, Minn., Feb. 5, 2009-A move by Duluth to obtain $6 million as part of the economic stimulus package being debated in Congress to improve the city's water supply is drawing fire from privately-held resorts in the region, as the money would pay for a new source of water for city-owned Spirit Mountain's snowmaking system. The new s...

SAM Magazine--Grand Junction, Colo., February 2, 2009--On January 26, Leitner-Poma of America and Prinoth held the grand opening ceremony for their new 90,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the Grand Junction Regional Airport. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter attended the opening and said a few words to the crowd, praising Leitner Technologies for b...

SAM Magazine - Incline Village, NV., February 3, 2009 - The snow is falling and jobs in the ski industry are hot. At least that's the experience of educators at Nevada's Sierra Nevada College. The private, four-year residential college on the shores of Lake Tahoe has seen a huge increase in enrollment in its Ski Business and Resort Management (SBRM...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Colo., January 29, 2009 - A suspect in the 1998 arsons on Vail Mountain has been seen in Canada. Rebecca Rubin, who participated in the fiery eco-terrorism attacks on the Colorado ski area that burned the Two Elk Lodge and other structures including lift shacks and ski patrol rooms, has been seen near Vancouver, British Columbi...

SAM Magazine--January 27, 2009--Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort has entered into a long-term capital partnership with CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on lifestyle properties. Through a sale leaseback agreement, CNL Lifestyle Properties has acquired all of the resort's fixed assets for a total of $27 millio...

SAM Magazine - Denver, Colo., January 23, 2009 - Colorado skier visits dipped slightly says Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA). The industry organization, which represents 22 resorts in Colorado, reports total skier visits down 7.7 percent during the first period of the 2008-2009 ski season, defined as October 15, 2008 through December 31, 2008. How...

SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Jan. 23, 2009-In a report that has long-term implications for western resorts already battling a plague of beetles and beetle-killed trees, a Colorado University scientist says that there is a trend of increasing tree deaths across the west. The deaths encompass a variety of species-not just the lodgepole beetle-killed ...

SAM Magazine-Crested Butte, Colo., Jan. 22, 2009-The U.S. Geological Survey has made public the agency's Snodgrass report after a lengthy review process by the US Forest Service and provides the basis for Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) to revise its Master Plan. Both CBMR and the US Forest Service conducted in-depth geological hazards inve...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., Jan. 22, 2009-As this year's ESPN Winter X Games ramp up in Aspen, the Aspen Skiing Company has reached an agreement that will keep the Winter X Games in Aspen/Snowmass through 2012. Winter X has been in Aspen since 2002. Winter X began at Snow Summit Mountain Resort, Calif., in 1997 then moved to Crested Butte, Colo....

Denver, Colorado, Jan. 22, 2009-A combination of factors including timely snowfall, discounted lodging, incentive packages, and aggressive marketing campaigns helped destination resort minimize their losses over the holidays, according Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) data. As a result, "While the results are not as good as previous years, ...

SAM Magazine-Avon, Colo., January 21, 2009 -SkiData AG, a provider of RFID access controls, has acquired a 25 percent ownership in Resort Technology Partners, LLC (RTP), a major provider of integrated point-of-sale and Internet software for the resort, recreation, and attractions industries. The investment will strengthen and expand the existing...

SAM Magazine-Vienna, Austria, Jan. 21, 2009-The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has criticized Sochi, the 2014 Olympic site, and other Central and Eastern European ski resorts over their development plans, claming they will irreparably damage some of Europe's last pockets of wilderness. In addition, the WWF claims that many of the resorts are unsustainab...

SAM Magazine-Welch, Minn., Jan. 21, 2009-Welch Village is opening its Back Bowl slopes and new quad chairlift to all guests daily beginning Thursday, Jan. 22, until the end of the season in March. The quad is the first installation of a "cookie cutter" design created by Doppelmayr in conjunction with Welch Village specifically for smaller resorts. ...

SAM Magazine-Killington, Vt., Jan. 19, 2009-Killington Resort and Burton Snowboards joined forces this past summer to break ground on the East Coast's first Stash run, one of only five in the world. The Stash opened to the public in December, with a grand opening on Jan. 15. Celebrating the day were Burton pro riders Dave Downing, Yale Cousino, and...

SAM Magazine-Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 16, 2009-In the wake of a mixed holiday season that saw both slumps and records set, resorts are still seeking ways to drive traffic to the lifts. One of the more recent promotions is Squaw Valley's Sacramento shuttle service. The shuttles leave Sacramento at 7 a.m. every Saturday for Squaw Valley, providing...

SAM Magazine-Helena, Mont., Jan. 16, 2009-The Montana House of Representatives is considering an assumption of risk law to protect a wide range of recreation businesses from liability lawsuits. The bill would shift the burden for managing the inherent risks in many sports to participants, much like ski-related assumption of risk laws in many other ...

SAM Magazine-Granby, Québec, Jan. 16, 2009-The Leitner Technologies Group has acquired the Camoplast Track Machine Group and will integrate the division into Prinoth, Leitner's snow grooming division. Prinoth will manage production and sales of the group's utility and municipal vehicles as well as its existing Alpine machines. Leitner expects th...

SAM Magazine-Cody, Wyo., Jan. 13, 2009-Wyoming's Sleeping Giant ski area, which has been closed since 2004, has just received a $500,000 grant from the state as the resort seeks to remake itself as a non-profit, community venture. The grant was part of $22 million doled out by the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) at its meeting last Thursday ...

SAM Magazine - Crystal Mountain, Wash., January 10, 2009 - With surrounding resorts reopening after warm rains caused havoc to conditions and spiked avalanche danger, Washington's Crystal Mountain remains embattled due to road closures. The Washington Department of Transportation has continued road closures on Highway 410, the only access road to t...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Jan. 9, 2009-Unaudited interim data for Vail Resorts (VR) show season-to-date skier visits for the company's five mountain resorts were down 5.8 percent compared to the prior year. Lift ticket revenues dropped 7.5 percent, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each year. Bookings through VR's central re...

SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., Jan. 9 2008-Following news of declining occupancy rates in Vail, Aspen lodging properties are reporting lower occupancy rates for the holiday season. In Aspen, a soft Christmas week holiday period saw occupancy at just 67 percent compared to last year's 87 percent. Advance reservations are similar reduced. As of the la...

Robert Drake  SAM: You guys had a near miss with a fire this summer, tell us about it. Robert Drake: We did. The Cascade Fire started at the far end of the West Fork Canyon behind the resort and quickly made its way down canyon toward us. It started over the weekend when there are typically not a lot of people on the mountain over the s...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Jan. 8 2009-Ski resorts across the U.S. have been reporting strong holiday visits as December snowfall brought out skiers and snowboarders in droves. In Vermont, Okemo Mountain Resort saw skier rise seven percent above of the same Monday-through-Sunday period over the Christmas holiday last year, and six percent ahead o...

SAM Magazine-Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., Jan. 8, 2009-Heavy rains and high snow levels have taken a toll on Washington ski resorts, with avalanches, mudslides and floods shuttering resorts and making access roads impassible. At Snoqualmie Pass, rain sparked a 300-foot-wide slide that toppled two lift towers on the resort's Keechelus chairlift. The debr...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Jan. 2, 2009-Two separate avalanches-in areas closed due to avalanche danger-have resulted in fatalities at Canada's Whistler/Blackcomb resort. The incidents occurred on separate parts of the resort. In the first case, a 37-year-old Whistler resident died after triggering a Class 2 avalanche with a three-foot crown, ...

SAM Magazine-Nederland, Colo., Dec. 30, 2008-Eldora Mountain Resort general manager Brian Mahon, 49, was the victim of an apparently random shooting this morning at the resort. The suspect, 24-year-old Derick Bonestroo, a lift attendant at Eldora, fled the scene and was pursued by a Boulder County deputy sheriff. After a brief chase, Bonestroo stop...

SAM Magazine-Jackson Hole, Wyo., Dec. 30, 2008-Routine avalanche control work at Jackson Hole on the resort's Headwall area triggered a substantial avalanche, which damaged the resort's Bridger Restaurant and forced the closure of the ski area's upper lifts. The slide, which occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, was triggered by patroller...

SAM Magazine - Squaw Valley, Calif., December 27, 2008 - In the second in-bounds avalanche fatality of the year, 21-year old Randall Davis died on December 21 after getting separated from a friend and caught in a slide in the Red Dog area. The victim was found by ski patrol who determined Davis had been caught by a slide after finding his ski prot...

SAM Magazine - Ludlow, Vt., December 27, 2008 - Vermont Resorts Okemo and Stratton are offering a joint lift ticket product that will enhance the destination visitor experience. The deal allows any purchaser of a three-day lift ticket to use on day at the other resort. The tickets can be purchased separately or as part of each resorts' skiing and l...

SAM Magazine-Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 24, 2008-The recent adoption of the ACL Prevention Program by Arapahoe Basin (see earlier report) is only the most recent case of what has been a broader spread of the program. Several resorts in Colorado and, more recently, California, are using it. So are Mt. Bachelor, Ore., Bogus Basin, Idaho, Red Lodge, Mont.,...

SAM Magazine-Whistler, B.C., Dec. 24, 2008-Blackcomb's Excalibur Gondola reopened today after the BC Safety Authority reinstated the operating permit for the lower line of the lift. The gondola's tower 4 failed Dec. 16, and repair work was completed Monday. Testing and inspection took place throughout Tuesday in accordance with BC Safety Authority ...

SAM Magazine-Ogden, Utah, Dec. 24-Atomic Ski USA, Inc. is carrying out a voluntary precautionary recall of heel components of certain bindings manufactured between 1998 and 2002. This recall applies to the below listed models of the Atomic Race, Xentrix, Device, Centro and Dynamic ski bindings produced between 1998 and 2002. This safety recall i...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Dec. 24, 2008-Consumers are holding off on booking vacations to destination resorts, waiting till the last moment to make sure conditions are good and to get the best possible deal, according to Ralf Garrison of MTRiP, the travel tracking clearinghouse. MTRiP data show that bookings slowed dramatically last month. For the 250...