Monday, December 19, 2005

Popular Ski Resort Faces Shut Down
Stellar, CO - Close to 1,500 workers at the Mont Tremblant Resort, run by Vancouver-based Intrawest, walked off the job Saturday morning after accusing their employer of negotiating in bad faith. Mont Tremblant Resort spokesperson, Lyne Lortie says of the strike.

Sierra Nevada range gets three feet of snow
Contra Costa Times, CA - RENO, Nev. - The strongest storm of the season so far in the Sierra Nevada dropped as much as 3 feet of snow, snarling travel through the mountain range but improving ski resort conditions. Controls were lifted Monday morning...

Snowboarder suffers critical head injury
Seattle Times, United States - A man in his early 20s suffered a critical head injury Sunday afternoon after snowboarding off a 150-foot drop known as International Cliff, a spot at the Alpental Ski Area that's permanently closed to skiers and boarders.

Ski areas geared up for holiday push
Concord Monitor, NH - The ski and snowboard season is off to a tremendous start. Snow everywhere. I think Ski Sundown in Connecticut was, perhaps, the first area in New England to open 100 percent of its terrain thanks to the blizzard on Dec. 9. Jay Peak...

Park City housing shortage leaves workers out in cold
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - PARK CITY - Australian Anne Halliday landed a winter job at The Canyons ski resort over the Internet. But what she didn't score in advance of her arrival in Park City was a place to live. "I never saw snow before - until last night,"...

What people are talking about in the Olympic world
CNN/SI - The X-Games star won back-to-back halfpipe events to all but wrap up a U.S. Olympic berth in the first week of qualifying. The 19-year-old White (dubbed "the Flying Tomato" for his long, red hair) is both a snowboarder and a skateboarder...

SnoCountry Reports Latest Skiing Conditions Information
PR Newswire (press release), NY - LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Following are the latest skiing conditions information as supplied by SnoCountry Mountain Reports as of Monday, Dec. 19, 2005, 6:02:44 AM EST.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Revamped resorts give boot to ski snobs
USA Today - SQUAW PASS, Colo. — A construction site perched on a steep hill here with a magnificent view of the Continental Divide is part of the future of winter snow sports. When Echo Mountain Snowboard and Ski Park opens in January...

Ski Butternut joins New England "Go Ski Card"
iBerkshires.com, MA - Great Barrington's Ski Butternut is participating in a new "Go Ski Card" promotion that lets skiers experience a number of New England mountains. Smart Destinations, creators of the all-inclusive Go Card attraction products have launched...

Lake Tahoe ski resorts plan stings to catch ski thieves
Sacramento Bee,  USA - SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) - Citing an ongoing problem of theft, at least two Lake Tahoe ski resorts plan to conduct undercover sting operations to nab ski and snowboard thieves. Heavenly and Sierra-at-Tahoe security personnel said...

Vail is proud of expensive tickets for jet-set skiers
Houston Chronicle, United States - DENVER - Businesses usually don't trumpet having the highest price around, but in the ski business it's become something to brag about. Vail Resorts, one of the jet set's favorite winter playgrounds, announced this month...

Pros Have Extra Motivation To Build Halfpipe
cbs4denver.com, CO - (AP) ASPEN, Colo. The guys who build the legendary superpipe used for the X Games at Buttermilk are such pros they really don't need additional motivation to do the job right. But they received some extra motivation this year...

Colorado eyes 2018 Winter Games
Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, WY - When the opening ceremony pageantry ignites the Torino Winter Olympics in Italy come February, five Denver sports boosters will be there plotting how to bring the gold -- the 2018 Winter Games -- home to Colorado.

Arizona man named suspect in Vail, Colo., arson
Arizona Daily Sun, AZ - EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- An Arizona bookstore owner charged with eco-sabotage in Washington helped the Earth Liberation Front plan the 1998 firebombing of a Vail, Colo., ski resort, according to information in an affidavit unsealed in federal court here.

Skier Caught Between Two Countries
Brocktown News,  USA - CANMORE, Alberta - Russian cross-country skier Ivan Babikov stood near the podium, waving to the ecstatic Canadian fans who already consider him one of their own. "I hope it will work out," he said Saturday after an 18th-place World Cup finish in the 30-kilometer classic race.

Basque skier killed in Spain's Baqueira-Beret
EiTB, Spain - A Basque skier was killed Sunday afternoon in Baqueira-Beret in northeastern Spain after he went over a sheer drop when he was skiing freeride, Catalonian Police confirmed. A person who was skiing with the victim reported the accident...

Dorfmeister Acts Age to Win Super-G
New York Times, United States - VAL D'ISÈRE, France, Dec. 18 - If the talented young women of the United States ski team want to earn medals at the Winter Olympics in February, they are going to have to wrench them from the fingers of Austrian skiers... 

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Utah offers power skiers a six-pack sampler
San Antonio Express (subscription), TX - PARK CITY, Utah — Midway on a tour of six Utah resorts in one day, a backcountry guide bounds across the Highway to Heaven, a 500-yard ski traverse, followed by the group of skiers he is leading.

Former ski area home to 114 over-55 units
Milford Daily News, MA - FRANKLIN -- The 114 units at the over-55 active adult community in the Villages at Oak Hill are quite impressive all by themselves, but the setting alone is dazzling. The 2,100-plus square-foot villas are being built at the former ...

Scott wins another gold for Canadian women
San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA - CANMORE, Alberta - Skiing before cowbell-clanging home fans, cross-country star Beckie Scott led the entire way Saturday and held off Russia's Julija Tchepalova to win a 15-kilometer classic World Cup race. Scott, Canada's 2002...

Kildow has a cow after winning downhill
Aberdeen American News, SD - VAL D'ISERE, France - She has won money, medals and trophies. Now Lindsey Kildow is the proud owner of a cow - courtesy of the local cheese farmers. Appropriately named Olympe, the toffee-brown cow was awarded to Kildow after the American won Saturday's World Cup downhill in this French resort

Buechel wins men's shortened downhill
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - VAL GARDENA, Italy - Bode Miller is in good company. He and a lot of other top skiers are not ruling the mountains the way they did last season. On Saturday, Miller finished eighth in a World Cup downhill...

Russia’s ski slum bids to be next Chamonix
The Sunday Times, UK - ASPEN is famed for the quality of its snow, Chamonix for its spectacular peaks and St Moritz for its glitzy après-ski. If President Vladimir Putin has his way, however, skiers from around the world could soon be flocking to Krasnaya Polyana...

Thursday, December 15, 2005

State's last ski areas to open
Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, WY - A fresh blast of winter weather this week that put Wyoming back in the deep freeze is good news for skiers. The cold and snow promises two of the state's ski areas will finally open some slopes to skiers and snowboarders. 

Online planning for a Utah ski trip
Seattle Times, United States - The snow is deep and the season is well underway at the ski resorts in the high mountains of Utah, and if you haven't made your reservations yet, it's time to study the possibilities and make a choice. Consider heading a little north...

Recklessness can't be avoided
Boston Globe, United States - SNOWMASS, Colo. -- He was out on the trail early, the lone rider on the first quad up the mountain. First runs are chilly and his muscles were stiff, so he chose an easy groomer to warm up. A perfect morning. The first few turns came...

Extension granted to Hemlock resort operators
Agassiz Harrison Observer, Canada - The provincial government has granted a four-day extension on their termination deadline to give Hemlock Valley Resorts Inc. owner Joe Peters a chance to close a deal to sell the ski area’s assets to an interested investor.

American Skiing Company Announces Fiscal ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY - PARK CITY, Utah, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Skiing Company (OTC: AESK) (BULLETIN BOARD: AESK) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2006. The Company also reported stronger...

American Kearney Wins Moguls Event
Washington Post, United States - World champion Hannah Kearney of the United States won a World Cup moguls event yesterday in Tignes, France, while reigning champion Jeremy Bloom was fourth in his event. Kearney had 25.75 points while runner-up...

Miller Rants Again About Drug Testing
Bay News 9, FL - It wasn't a good day for Bode Miller. First, he finished 17th during downhill training Wednesday. Then, the overall World Cup champion was ordered to walk the long way around the finish area to reach his motor home. That was all he needed...

SnoCountry Reports Latest Skiing Conditions
PR Newswire (press release), NY - LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Following are the latest skiing conditions information as supplied by SnoCountry Mountain Reports as of Thursday, Dec 15 2005, 6:07:08 AM EST.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Suspect in $12 Million Vail Mountain Fire Arrested
TheDenverChannel.com, CO - DENVER -- Federal prosecutors have named a suspect in the $12 million 1998 fires that hit Vail Mountain. The fires were the nation's costliest ecoterrorism attacks. The stunning news was welcomed in the resort town. 

Ski resort changing hands
Mid-Hudson News, NY - The Windham Mountain ski resort in Greene County was scheduled to be sold today to a group of local investors. Windham Mountain Partners will be purchasing the facility from Snow Time of Pennsylvania. 

Developer has big plans for Plymouth
Boston Globe, United States - PLYMOUTH, N.H. --A developer has big plans for Plymouth. Resort developer SE Group plans major changes at Tenney Mountain ski area, including a hotel, golf course, recreation center, 60-unit retirement community, water park and...

First Ski Resort for Hilton Worldwide Resorts ...
Travel Daily News International, Greece - Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced the opening of the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa, the  area’s premier new ski resort and the first ski resort for Hilton Worldwide Resorts.

Adaptive skiing: Seeing the possibilities
USA Today - WINTERGREEN, Va. — Ski season is here, and with it comes the prickly touch of wind-blown snow, the swoosh of skis and the pounding surge of adrenaline. It happens every year at about this time, not only for millions of able-bodied skiers...

Selling the steep and the deep
Grand Junction Sentinel, CO - ASPEN — The top of Highlands Bowl is hidden in feathery clouds, announcing the leading edge of a cold front bringing yet more snow to Colorado ski resorts already enjoying one of the best opening months ever. 

SnoCountry Reports Latest Skiing Conditions
PR Newswire (press release), NY - LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Following are the latest skiing conditions information as supplied by SnoCountry Mountain Reports as of Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005, 6:07:57 AM EST.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Among elite ski resorts, higher prices touted, not hidden
CNN International - DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Businesses usually don't trumpet having the highest price around, but in the ski business it's become something to brag about. Vail Resorts, one of the jet set's favorite winter playgrounds, announced last week that...

Sun Valley named 'Most Chilled Resort'
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, ID - One of the Britain's leading guidebooks on skiing and snowboarding has awarded Sun Valley its 2006 "Most Chilled Resort, North America" award. The recognition—which applies "chilled" in a positive sense—is being touted...

Pico Mountain Opens for the 2005-06 Ski ...
AlpineZone News, CT - KILLINGTON, Vermont — Pico Mountain opens for the 2005-06 Ski and Snowboard Season on Friday, December 16th with five trails served by two lifts. "We are looking forward to welcoming back our loyal Pico skiers and riders...

Colorado Snowpack Declines To Average
TheDenverChannel.com, CO - DENVER -- A week after heavy mountain snow boosted bases at ski areas and raised the snowpack to 104 percent of the 30-year average, levels now trail last year's figures. The snowpack is now listed at 100 percent of average.

New quad has Bolton on comeback trail
Boston Herald, United States - This week, Bolton Valley is the comeback kid. The Vermont-based ski resort is set to debut its sleek, high-speed quad, another step in its $10 million renovation/updating that will bring more trails, a spiffier base area and...

Father sues school, ski area over son's death
WCAX, VT - SPRINGFIELD, Vt. -- The father of a 10-year-old boy who died as a result of a ski accident while on a school-sponsored outing is suing the school district and the Okemo Mountain Resort. Trevor Suong died on Feb. 7 when he hit a snowmaking machine...

American Skiing Company Announces Appointment ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY - PARK CITY, Utah, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Skiing Company today named long time employee Kelly Pawlak Managing Director of its Mount Snow resort in Vermont. Ms. Pawlak brings 20 years of ski resort...