West Dover, Vt (november 17, 2008) – With A New Strategy Of Reporting Open Acreage Instead Of Open Trails, Mount Snow Announced Today That It Is Changing Its Snow Reporting Methods To More Accurately Convey Terrain Availability And Snow Conditions.

“The Bottom Line Is That A Trail Count Does Not Tell The Whole Story,” Said Tim Boyd, President Of Mount Snow’s Parent Company, Peak Resorts.   Continue Reading »

(November 18, 2008) – Park City Mountain Resort has pushed back its scheduled opening day, Saturday, November 22, for the 2008-09 season. Unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of recent precipitation has not allowed the Resort to make optimal snowmaking in order to provide guests with the experience they have come to expect from a top-five rated mountain.   Continue Reading »

Sandpoint, ID – Schweitzer Mountain Resort announces several initiatives intended to reduce their impact on the environment. Schweitzer hired an environmental coordinator, signed the National Ski Area Association’s Sustainable Slopes Initiative, purchased wind energy to operate several chairlifts, enlisted an environmental committee to work on improvements resort wide, and implemented a contest to see how much energy the resort could save last summer. While recognizing that any ski resort is going to have an impact on the environment, Schweitzer is committed to minimizing theirs to the extent possible.

“It’s important that we in the ski industry recognize the importance of supporting the environment that supports us,” said Tom Chasse, Schweitzer’s President and CEO. “I am glad that we’ve found ways over the last year to take some significant steps to lighten our impact on the environment.”

By signing the Sustainable Slopes Initiative, Schweitzer committed to improving their environmental performance in all aspects of their operations. One step in that direction was to purchase 1000mwh of “Green Tags” which pay for energy to be purchased from regional wind energy producers through a partnership with Northern Lights, Inc. After an assessment of past energy use it was determined that the wind energy credits could be used to completely power Schweitzer’s Basin Express Quad, Great Escape Quad and Lakeview Triple chairlifts for the entire 08-09 winter season.

“Not only is Schweitzer able to reduce our energy consumption by buying the green tags, but also we reduced our energy consumption in August and September by 27% through a resort wide energy challenge,” said Kerri Kuntz, Schweitzer’s environmental coordinator. “It’s really cool to see people from every department on the mountain come together as an environmental committee and come up with great ideas to implement resort wide.”

The committee is working to improve recycling, reduce energy use, improve land use practices, provide transportation options, and increase guest awareness of ways they can contribute.

About Schweitzer
Schweitzer is nestled in the rugged Selkirk Mountains of the Idaho panhandle and the northwest Rocky Mountains. The resort is well known for its two massive bowls, breathtaking views and amazing gladed terrain. Schweitzer Mountain Resort offers 2900 acres of skiable in bounds terrain. Thousands of additional acres of cat skiing are available off the back of the mountain from the top of The Great Escape Quad. Schweitzer overlooks the town of Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille, which are sought out and recognized as destinations for diverse recreation opportunities year-round.

November 13, 2008 – Sun Peaks, BC – With infrastructure upgrades, new features, new clinics and Monster Energy backing the Sun Peaks Terrain Parks this winter, all of the pieces are in place for an epic season.

Two new dirt decks have been built in the lower section of the park for the two showcase jumps. With less snow required to build the jumps, you can expect to see the advanced terrain park open earlier than normal this winter! More features have also been purchased including a 10’ Flat 12’ Down Rail and a 24’ C Box. The Bluebird Day Fund has also purchased a 40’ Flat Box for this season.

If you’re new to the park, then you will want to register for the Ski and Board Terrain Park Clinics! New this season at Sun Peaks, clinics will take place December 20-21, February 7-8 and March 16-20. Contact the Sports School at 250-578-5505 to register today!

Sun Peaks Film Premiere
To get stoked for the winter season, head to the 2nd annual film premiere at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops on Thursday, November 20. Alterna Films production of Knockout – The Tenth Round stands out from the pack with highlights that include an exotic journey through India to the Himalayas. A fantastic blend of inventive freestyle snowboarding, this film features Matt Belzile, Chris Dufficy and Seb Toots, among others.

For skiers in the audience, the feature film is Claim, The Greatest Ski Movie…EVER from Matchstick Productions. Travel to the far corners of the world with some of the biggest names in skiing today, including Mark Abma, Eric Hjorleifson, Ingrid Backstrom and TJ Schiller.

There are thousands of dollars in prizes to give away, including an iTouch! Plus, Sun Peaks Resort will be giving away a 2 for 1 lift voucher to everyone who attends.

Purchase Tickets from Sun Peaks Resort Guest Services, Oronge Board Shop, 378 Board Shop and Simply Computing at TRU and Sahali Mall.

Film Premiere Admission:
18 years and up - $8.00 in advance, $10.00 at the door
17 years and under - $6.00 in advance, $8.00 at the door
All profits from this event go to the Bluebird Day Fund.

About Sun Peaks
Sun Peaks Resort is a four season destination resort located in the interior of British Columbia near Kamloops. In winter, Sun Peaks is British Columbia’s second largest ski area with three mountains surrounding an intimate ski-in, ski-out village. In other seasons, Sun Peaks offers a diverse range of leisure activities including 18 holes of golf as well as numerous events and festivals. Sun Peaks Resort was the first ski resort in North America and is the only resort in Canada to receive the ISO 14001 designation recognizing the resorts environmental policies and practices. Sun Peaks can be accessed by two airport gateways - Kamloops (45 minutes) and Kelowna (2 1/2 hours) and by car, only a 4 ¼ hour drive separates Sun Peaks and Vancouver, B.C.

EDEN, Utah. (Nov. 24, 2008) – Wolf Creek Utah, a private master-planned recreational ski and golf resort community, is partnering with award-winning homebuilder Scott Edmunds of CSE & Associates, to create its most recent development of mountain homes, The Sanctuary at Wolf Creek Utah.

“The Sanctuary at Wolf Creek Utah offers a spectacular setting and affordable price points unlike any of the other surrounding areas such as, Park City and Deer Valley,” said Scott Edmunds, founder and president of CSE & Associates. “These very open floor plans are great for entertaining and relaxing in this beautiful mountainous countryside.”   Continue Reading »

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Nov. 10, 2008 – This winter, Northstar Resort will increase its support of the progression of snowboarding as it welcomes new learning programs in conjunction with Burton Snowboards, hosts the final stop of the inaugural AST Winter Dew Tour, and introduces new terrain and features in its award-winning terrain parks, which were recently ranked third in the country by readers of Transworld Snowboarding.   Continue Reading »

Mother Nature tallied her own election night results Tuesday & Wednesday nights blanketing the Yampa Valley with 10 inches of snow at mid-mountain from our first storm of the season–and it’s still snowing! Cold temperatures and low humidity in the air created the perfect recipe for Steamboat’s snowmaking crews to fire up the guns and begin laying the foundation for this season’s base.   Continue Reading »

That’s right — Sunday River is the first ski resort to open in the Northeast for the 08/09 Winter Season. The Locke Mountain Triple ran this afternoon and T2 opened for skiing and riding.

Come on up tomorrow for our second annual Halloween celebration and first full day of the season. Lift tickets on Halloween will be free for anyone in costume.   Continue Reading »

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. –OCT. 17, 2008–Today, Breckenridge Ski Resort announced the opening day plan for the upcoming winter season. Breckenridge Ski Resort is planning to open Friday, November 7, with terrain, lifts and services on Peak 8. With cold temperatures in the forecast providing optimal snowmaking conditions Breckenridge Ski Resort plans to start up snowmaking operations Sunday, October 19. Skiers and riders can expect to enjoy top to bottom skiing via the Colorado Superchair. The BreckConnect Gondola will be open providing the only resort access with a scenic ride from the skier parking lots in town (there is no parking on Peak 8 due to construction).

“With the opening of Peak 8, we are able to provide a new experience on opening day to all of our guests,” said Rick Sramek, vice-president of mountain operations for Breckenridge. “We will be able to open more ski runs and lifts earlier, allowing skiers and riders more choices in terrain.”   Continue Reading »

This weekend brought our first substantial snow fall covering Echo in 6 inches of the white fluffy stuff. Needless to say an itch needed to be scratched so Echo’s Marc Moline and Steve Cummings tested out some of the Asylum’s new moveable features. Enjoying the first session of the season, it was all about the girls as both noses and tails were pressed onto the ice crusted flat log.   Continue Reading »