SAM Magazine--New York, February 1, 2007--With state-owned ski areas already exempt from sales taxes on equipment and energy purchases, the time may have come for private ski areas in New York to reap some tax benefits of their own. Under a bill proposed by State Senator Elizabeth Little, private resorts could see tax relief from sales and use taxe...

SAM Magazine-Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Jan. 30, 2007-With one of the strangest winters on record making things tough for resort operators on both the west and east coasts, June Mountain shuttered its doors for the season on Jan. 29 due to a lack of snow. The mountain currently has a mere 3-18 inch base, and a reopening is unlikely even if the Sierra M...

SAM Magazine-New York, Jan. 26, 2007-Bonnier Magazine Group and its U.S. partner, World Publications, are buying the 18 magazines Time Inc. put up for sale last September. The group includes Ski, Skiing, TransWorld Snowboarding, and the rest of the TransWorld stable. Estimated sale price is $220 million to $230 million. Bonnier said the acquisit...

SAM Magazine - Les Arcs, France, January 25, 2007 - Intrawest is committing to a second project in the French resort of Les Arcs. The company, which is close to finishing its first project at the resort, Arc 1950 Le Village, has announced that the new project will be located at Arc 1800 and will be called Edenarc 1800. Edenarc will be a four-st...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., January 22, 2007--Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc. (Booth Creek), owner of six mountain resort properties and select real estate holdings, announced today that it has been purchased by three principals of the company: George Gillett, chairman; Chris Ryman, president; Elizabeth Cole, chief financial officer. Jeff Joyce, a lo...

SAM Magazine--January, 22, 2007, Flagstaff, AZ--A storm this past weekend brought the Arizona Snowbowl 12 to 18 inches of new and wind-driven snow to the slopes. The optimism is high that the resort will be able to open limited terrain this week. "We did experience a lot of wind last night into today and conditions on the slopes are looking ...

SAM Magazine - Brighton, UT., January 20, 2007 - Utah's Brighton ski area has been purchased from Boyne USA by Orlando, Florida-based CNL Income Properties. The purchase includes the 850-acre ski and snowboard resort with its 66 marked runs and seven chairlifts, two restaurants, 20-room lodge, ski rental operation and retail space at the ski area's...

SAM Magazine-Revelstoke, B.C., Jan. 17, 2007-Revelstoke Mountain Resort, located on Mt. MacKenzie and in the process of being developed by Canada's Simpson Property Group, will soon feature a C$22 million gondola and high speed quad chairlift built by Leitner Poma Canada Inc. The signature lifts are scheduled for summer 2007 installation, in time t...

SAM Magazine--Lakewood, Colo., January 16, 2007--Recent cold temperatures and reports of snowfall at several resorts in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast regions are welcomed news to the entire ski industry. Nevertheless, the 2006/07 season will be recorded as one of the most challenging for some ski area operators. Recognizing this, NSAA has re...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Jan. 17, 2007-In an effort to bring the mountains to the people, Winter Park has started to make snow and install terrain-park features on Denver's unique Ruby Park. Located just outside of downtown Denver, the Ruby Hill Rail Yard is the first resort-built city terrain park for riders and skiers. The resort expects to make more...

SAM Magazine-Alta, Ut., Jan. 17, 2007-With adult single-day tickets at Aspen and Vail rising to more than $80, it may come as a surprise that Alta has been offering free lift-served skiing and riding for years. The area's Sunnyside chairlift provides free lift access for the last 90 minutes of the ski day. The deal is designed to give lower inte...

SAM Magazine-Denver, Jan. 16, 2007-Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts posted record-setting skier visitation for the season through Dec. 31, 2006. Collectively, the 26 resorts hosted 3,285,649 skiers and snowboarders, an increase of 6.74 percent, or 207,533 visits, over last season's record. "To see such a positive increase over wh...

SAM Magazine-Wilmington, Vt., Jan. 15, 2006-The Haystack Mountain Club, an exclusive private ski area, golf and equestrian resort being built on the bones of the old Haystack ski area, has suspended operations and laid off all but a few employees, according to a report in the local Deerfield Valley News. Contractors working at the site have receive...

SAM Magazine - Steamboat Springs, Colo., January 13, 2007 - Observers of the industry will remember Colorado's Stagecoach ski area. The resort, outside of Steamboat, never got off the ground, although a cat skiing operation did find modest success on the resort's trails in the 1990s. Today, however, the resort is booming, with three times as many h...

SAM Magazine - Pinkham Notch, NH, January 8, 2007 - While common in Europe, zip lines are just starting to make inroads in North America. The latest resort that has announced plans to install zip lines is New Hampshire's Wildcat Mountain. Wildcat's zip line , which should be operational by June, will feature two cables, allowing for side-by-side...

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., January 13, 2007--Vail Resorts' CEO Robert Katz has told the Vail Daily newspaper that the company is shopping. According the the Daily, Katz has said that acquisitions remain, "very much a priority." However, Katz isn't letting slip any hints as to who or what Vail Resorts is interested in purchasing, hinting only that t...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co, January 5, 2007 - The worst on record? That's the question that eastern resort operators are asking themselves as warm temperatures continue to plague ski resorts across the region. With temperatures lingering in the 50's snowmakers are ripping out their hair as Mother Nature continues to stymie their efforts. The latest vi...

SAM Magazine-Paris, France, Jan. 4, 2007-Consolidation in the resort world is a global phenomenon. In the most recent chapter in Europe, ski resort operator Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) is holding talks with Groupe Sofival and its main shareholders in an attempt to merge the ski area management activities of the two groups. Groupe Sofival is a majo...

SAM Magazine-Golden, B.C., Jan. 4, 2007-Steve Paccagnan will replace Arijann van Vuure as president and general manager of Kicking Horse. Paccagnan, an experienced industry veteran, started his career in 1986 at Panorama Mountain Resort. In 1999, he became GM of Mont Ste. Marie in Quebec. When Intrawest sold Mont Ste. Marie in 2002, Paccagnan re...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., December 30, 2006 - Forget the traditional ski school model. This year more resorts than ever are looking to expand the offerings available through their ski schools, tapping into new customers, some of whom would never consider lessons. While many North American resorts are already beefing up their pipe and park progr...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co., December 30, 2006 - Former President Ford, a fixture at Vail and Beaver Creek resorts, will be honored by having runs named after him at each ski area. Ford, who until his death owned a Beaver Creek residence, was an active skier whose mere presence at Vail and Beaver Creek during his tenure as president did more to market...

SAM Magazine - The Canyons, Utah, December 27, 2006 - The only unionized ski patrol in Utah has come to a tentative agreement with their employers, thus averting a strike over the holiday season. The Canyon's ski patrol, which is represented by the Communications Workers of America, had been working since the resort opened for the 2006-2007 winter ...

SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Dec. 20, 2006-Vail Resorts, for whom snow is the raison d'etre, has postponed its annual meeting due to a major winter storm moving across Colorado. The meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 21, but by Wednesday afternoon, heavy snow and wind had brought travel to a standstill. More than a foot of snow ...

SAM Magazine-Steamboat Springs, Colo., Dec. 19, 2006-Backed by its new owner, Fortress Investment Group, Intrawest is purchasing the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation from American Skiing Company (ASC) for $265 million. The eighth most-visited resort in the U.S. in 2006, Steamboat will become the eleventh member of the Intrawest empire if the deal...

SAM Magazine-Keystone, Colo., Dec. 18, 2006-Keystone resort has become the first ski area to offer "geocaching." This high-tech treasure hunt challenges players to find hidden "geocaches" that are located via GPS units. "It's a cool way to introduce people to Keystone, as well as a fun kind of adventure for families," resort spokesperson Amy Kemp t...

SAM Magazine-Corvara, Italy, Dec. 18, 2006-Listed as "Number 1" in the Italian Registry of Lifts, Corvara's Col Alto chairlift has finally undergone the transformation to a gondola. Installed in 1947, the venerable lift was Italy's first chairlift. It debuted with a capacity of 163 passengers per hour. As time passed, the lift was upgraded, first t...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Dec. 18, 2006-Call it war, a rip-off or just a good way to pad the bottom line. But whatever you call it, there is no mistaking that for skiers, the two most expensive resorts in Colorado just got a bit pricier. Last week Aspen raised its single-day lift ticket price to $82. This week Vail upped the ante, raising its singl...

SAM Magazine-Portland, Me., Dec. 12, 2006-John Cumming, the CEO of Powdr Corp, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, Alpine Meadows, Mt. Bachelor and Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, is part of a group which has purchased Resort Sports Network (RSN), the television network dedicated to the creation and distribution of outdoor content in ski resort...

SAM Magazine - Boulder, Colo., December 8, 2006 - The Outdoor Industry Association is currently accepting nominations for the organization's Industry Awards. The Industry Awards recognize individuals who have implemented exceptional programs, demonstrated superior innovation or have gone that extra step to advance the outdoor industry as a whole. O...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co, December 10, 2006 - If you want a piece of the growing international market, you could do worse than learn German. Austrians are leading the charge when it comes to international visitors to North American ski areas. Aspen's international guests account for 20 percent of the Aspen ski company's on-hill business and at J...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Dec. 11, 2006-Vail Resorts reported quarterly revenues up nearly 33 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, primarily on increased real estate revenues, but expenses largely offset the gain. However, the resort cited increases in season's pass sales (21 percent in dollars) and advance bookings (24 percent in dollars...

SAM Magazine-Plymouth, N.H., Dec. 11, 2006-The ownership of Tenney Mountain Ski Resort has decided not to open the ski operation this winter. Instead, it is focusing on future planning for the entire resort including an outdoor adventure partnership plan with Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS). The decision came as the resort management and staff was in...

SAM Magazine--Tuxedo, N.Y., December 8, 2006--Sterling Forest ski resort, which was shut down during the 2005-06 season, was purchased by a local resident, Glenn Godsey. According to The Journal News, Godsey is hoping to open the 250-acre resort with the first snowfall this season. Sterling Forest has 4 double chairs, a vertical of 400 feet and ...

SAM Magazine-Vail, Colo., Dec. 8, 2006-CNL Income Properties, a Florida-based company, will soon own four of the six resorts currently part of Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc., as part of a complex deal that will net three current Booth Creek principals ownership of two of the resorts, along with a long-term lease for the other four areas. The dea...

SAM Magazine - Boulder, Colo., December 6, 2006 - While the methodology used remains controversial (ski areas are docked points if they have a master plan which could lead to additional terrain being developed, even if the resort has no plans to develop said terrain), the Ski Area Citizens Coalition (SACC) released its annual ranking of how "green"...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Co, December 5, 2006 - With western resorts opening more terrain by the day (the ropes drop on Vail's Back Bowls today and November was a record month for snowfall in Whistler), Eastern resorts are regrouping and European ski areas are wondering when winter will arrive. The guns are hard at work at Seven Springs.  In ...

SAM Magazine - McLean, VA, December 5, 2006 - SnowSports Industries America's (SIA) Winter Feels Good campaign and SnowMonsters are partnering to teach children how to dress for snow sports activities with a new interactive tool on the winterfeelsgood.com website. The tool is also featured on all SnowMonsters sites provided to more than 100 resorts...

SAM Magazine - Wolf Creek, CO, December 5, 2006 - Nordic skiers at Wolf Creek have found their groomed trail options limited as the conflict unfolds between the owners of the resort and a developer behind the Village at Wolf Creek project. The dispute revolves around access across land owned by the developer, Texas businessman B.J. McCombs, and ...

SAM Magazine--December 5, 2006, Mt,. Hood, OR - Mt. Hood Meadows will open for the 2006/07 season this Saturday, December 9, after a glacial outburst washed out the area's public access on November 7. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced today that highway 35 will reopen at 5 a.m. Saturday, allowing access to the resort for the ...

SAM Magazine--December 1, 2006, Korea (SnowHunter)--Korea's newest resort, scheduled to open today, December 1, is Land's High 1 in Gangwon Province. The resort has 18 trails, more than half of them graded black or double black diamond, served by five chairlifts named after Greek gods (Zeus, Apollo, Hera, Athena and the previously unknown Victoria)...

SAM Magazine--December 1, 2006, Snowhunter--The first stone of "Les terrasses d'Eos," the first building within the new Intrawest resort village being built at Flaine in France, has been laid. Les terrasses d'Eos is a four-star tourism residence made up of 91 apartments, the first part of Flaine Montsoleil village, which will ultimately have 2,...

SAM Magazine--December 1, 2006, Snowhunter--"Where to Ski and Snowboard", one of the world's leading guidebooks to ski resorts around the planet, is well known for pulling no punches. In its very first edition, back in 1994, the "skier's bible" labelled the French resort of Les Menuires 'The Ugliest Resort in the Alps'--in contrast to the resort's ...

SAM Magazine - Pennsylvania, December 1, 2006 - Laurel Mountain will not fire up the lifts this winter. The Pennsylvania resort, which has been operated by nearby Seven Springs since 2004 has been plagued by a lack of snow and mediocre weather which has prevented snowmaking. The announcement is the latest in a long string of bad news for the resort...

SAM Magazine - Alyeska, AK, November 29, 2006 - Alaska's Alyeska resort has been sold. The purchaser, John Byrne III, a hardcore skier who regularly tops 100 days each winter, says he'll be a very hands-on owner who will play an active roll in the resort. Byrne, who currently lives in Alta, Ut, purchased the resort from Japanese company Seibu Holdi...

SAM - Magog, QC, November 28, 2006 - An eleventh hour deal struck by Québec Environment Minister Claude Béchard has saved Québec's Mont Orford's season. The resort was in the throes of a labor dispute, and the differences between management and the union which represented ski area workers seemed intractable. In fact, the situation was so ...

SAM Magazine - Wittenburg, Germany, November 28, 2006 - The world's largest indoor halfpipe is slated to open the second week of December in Wittenburg, Germany. The pipe is the prime feature of SnowFunPark, Germany's fifth indoor ski area. The facility is scheduled to open December 8. The indoor skiing facility is one of the largest in the world a...

SAM Magazine--Elk Meadows, Utah, November 28, 2006--The controversial Mount Holly Club planned for the defunct ski area at Elk Meadows, Utah, has received conceptual approval from the Beaver County Planning and Zoning Commission. The resort, which opened in 1971, went into bankruptcy in 2004. It has 420 skiable acres and 1,400 feet of vertical drop...

SAM Magazine - Northstar-At-Tahoe, November 27, 2006 - Northstar-At-Tahoe has teamed up with legendary snowboard icon Jake Burton to design a natural jib run called The Stash. The run, developed by Burton and his team riders, features trees, jibs and road jumps constructed with wood logs and other materials native to the Lake Tahoe region. "I've...

SAM Magazine - Salt Lake City, UT, November 21, 2006 - You've heard of them: Blogs. The web logs that are written by somewhat anonymous personalities about every subject under the sun. The best Blogs have become alternative sources of news and commentary, vaulting their authors into the limelight and providing valued insights. At their worst, Blogs merely waste bandwidth. After all, who really cares about the daily adventures of Aunt Martha's cat? Still, as resorts come to grips with new technology and the power of the Internet, Blogs can provide another weapon in the marketing war. And, if you have a Blog that combines the elusive combination of authenticity and mass appeal, they can become powerful voices for your brand.

SAM Magazine, Boulder, CO, November 20, 2006 - Eastern ski resorts are back on track as cold weather returned to the region over the weekend and resorts have resumed snowmaking operations. Numerous resorts delayed opening dates last week as warm weather stymied snowmaking and Mother Nature failed to cooperate. But with colder temperatures in store...

SAM Magazine - Lake Louise, Alberta, November 17, 2006 - Lake Louise has gotten the go-ahead to host the first men's World Cup Downhill race of the season. The event is scheduled for November 25 and 26. The resort recently passed a hill inspection by the FIS and met the conditions to host the DH. Given the speeds at which World Cup DH racers re...

SAM Magazine--Boston, Mass., November 17, 2006--This year's BEWI Award luncheon had one of its largest crowds ever to honor Bernie Weischel and Philip Gravink. The location was Gillett stadium where they were busy trying to get the field repaired after last Sunday's muddy game. Left to right: Herbert Schneider, Billy Kidd, Bernie Weichsel, Phil ...

SAM Magazine--Burlington, Vt., November 16, 2006--After four years of tracking helmet use among skiers and snowboarders at three Vermont Ski areas, the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team announced it is expanding its project to up to eight additional Vermont resorts, thanks to a collaboration with the Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA). The res...

SAM Magazine--Aspen, Colo., November 16, 2006--Pat O'Donnell, president and CEO of the Aspen Skiing Company, has moved up his retirement, which is effective immediately. O'Donnell joined Aspen in 1993 and became CEO in 1996. During his tenure, O'Donnell brought the environment to the forefront of industry thinking, as well as customer service. "...

SAM Magazine - Vail, Colorado, November 14, 2006 - Resorts have faced a mixed bag of weather over the past week. With snow and cold temperatures in the west and warm eastern temps, the outlook for Thanksgiving openings is mixed. Groomers putting final touches on Winter Park slopes.  The situation is the best in the western region of Nort...

SAM Magazine - Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River, Maine, November 14, 2006 -Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River have become the largest purchasers and consumers of wind power in New England. Both Maine resorts have jointly chosen to offset 100 percent of their resort operations' electricity usage with energy generated from wind. Wind energy exclusively wil...

SAM Magazine-Middlebury, Vt., Nov. 8, 2006-Middlebury College Snow Bowl is raising the bar on carbon dioxide offsets. According to Middlebury College assistant treasurer and director of business services Tom Corbin, "The Middlebury College Snow Bowl may well be the first ski area to take carbon neutrality to this level by offsetting electric, gas, ...

SAM Magazine-Yellowstone, Mont., Nov. 8, 2006-Tim Blixseth, the developer of Montana's Yellowstone Club, is being sued by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. LeMond, an early investor in two of the companies that control the Yellowstone club, claims that Blixseth has cheated him out of millions of dollars. Blixseth has counter-sued L...

SAM Magazine - Denver, Co, November 7, 2006 - It's a gutsy, innovative move that could change the face of skiing and snowboarding. It's also the kind of bold action that you'd expect from Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who made his fortune as an entrepreneur in the restaurant business. Hickenlooper was the most famous face among many city of De...

SAM Magazine - Keystone, CO, November 7, 2006 - Vail Resorts has named Patricia Campbell the new chief operating officer of Keystone Resort. Campbell will report directly to Roger McCarthy, co-president of Vail Resorts' mountain division and chief operating officer of Breckenridge. Patricia Campbell For the past six years, Campbell has been...