Category: Ski Americas

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Breckenridge Ski Resort Announces Plans to Regularly Extend Winter Seasons through Memorial Day, Beginning this Spring

Breckenridge - Peaks 6 to 10- Wideview. Photo by Brent Clark- Breckenridge Ski Resort. Vail Resorts. Breckenridge Ski Resort Announces Plans to Regularly Extend Winter Seasons through Memorial Day, Beginning this Spring.

Breckenridge Ski Resort Announces Plans to Regularly Extend Winter Seasons through Memorial Day, Beginning this Spring 

Combined with Keystone’s recently announced capital improvement proposal to upgrade snowmaking and position the resort to be the first to open in Colorado, the two Summit County resorts will offer one of the longest ski and snowboard seasons in the country.

After a record-breaking start to the winter season, Breckenridge Ski Resort announced today plans to extend the 2018-19 ski and snowboard season into May, for the first time since the mid-‘90s. The resort will aim to remain open through Memorial Day this season as well as for future seasons, weather and conditions permitting. Paired with Keystone’s recently announced capital improvement proposal—subject to U.S. Forest Service approval—to upgrade snowmaking and help position the resort to be the first to open in Colorado, together Breck and Keystone will offer one of the longest ski and snowboard seasons in the country moving forward.

Never Nesters drink at apres in Breckenridge, CO. Photo Andrew Maguire. Vail Resorts. Breckenridge Ski Resort Announces Plans to Regularly Extend Winter Seasons through Memorial Day, Beginning this Spring.
Never Nesters drink at apres in Breckenridge, CO. Photo Andrew Maguire. Vail Resorts. Breckenridge Ski Resort Announces Plans to Regularly Extend Winter Seasons through Memorial Day, Beginning this Spring.

“Spring is an incredible time to ski Breck’s High Alpine and we are thrilled to extend our season this year, and beyond, and offer that terrain as long as the snow lasts,” said John Buhler, vice president and chief operating officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort. “With Breck’s notably high elevation and annual snowfall we are well-positioned to provide our passholders and other guests great spring skiing and snowboarding well into May.”

During the extended portion of the season this spring the resort plans to offer skiing and riding out of Peak 7, with access to primarily advanced- and expert-level terrain on Peak 8 in Imperial, Horseshoe and North Bowls, accessed by the Independence SuperChair, Imperial Express SuperChair and the TBar Lift while conditions allow.
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Snowpine Lodge Set to Open January 30, 2019

Snowpine Lodge Final Render. Credit: Snowpine Lodge. Snowpine Lodge Set to Open January 30, 2019.

Snowpine Lodge Set to Open January 30, 2019.

This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

A major overhaul comes to Alta with the opening of the Snowpine Lodge, the first ski-in/ski-out Luxury Resort in this famous ski area in Utah.

The long-awaited opening of Snowpine Lodge in Alta, Utah is slated for January 30, 2019. The new resort, timed with the simultaneous opening of the adjacent Snowpine ski lift, will up the ante as the first ski-in/ski-out luxury resort in the historic town, known for its laid-back style, rugged terrain and abundant supply of annual powder snow.

Swen's Rendering. Credit: Snowpine Lodge. Snowpine Lodge Set to Open January 30, 2019.
Swen’s Rendering. Credit: Snowpine Lodge. Snowpine Lodge Set to Open January 30, 2019.

Alta is set within the Wasatch Mountain Range, less than 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah. It is known for its backcountry landscape, two mountain resorts including Alta Ski Area and Snowbird, as well as a bountiful supply of annual powder snow. Although the city was incorporated in 1970, it has lured visitors since the Silver rush in the 1800’s. Alta become a ski destination in 1938 when its first lift opened. Today, Alta remains an important piece in the development of skiing in Utah. Come the summer months, Alta’s fields flourish with wildflowers and bright blue skies. Visitors can fly-fish, mountain bike, hike and more while enjoying the scenic and diverse terrain.

Snowpine Lodge will be resurrected at the site of the original 1941 Snowpine Lodge and the site of the oldest building in Little Cottonwood Canyon dating back to the Silver rush of the 1800’s. Completely restored from the ground up, the new resort will boast 77 total accommodations including 58 rooms and suites and 19 traditional dorm-style bunk rooms. Premium Rooms include balconies with breathtaking views of the surrounding canyon, while all rooms feature premium bedding, flat-screen TVs, complimentary Wi-Fi, slippers and robes, mini-bar, safe and more.

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Avalanche buries two near Kachina Peak in Taos

Photo: Taos Ski Resort. Avalanche buries two near Kachina Peak.

Avalanche buries two near Kachina Peak in Taos

TSV: Two skiers extracted, ‘no additional victims’

From Taos News

Two skiers were critically injured in an avalanche on Thursday (Jan. 17) near Kachina Peak, the highest point at Taos Ski Valley ski resort.

According to a press release from the resort, an “inbounds avalanche” occurred in chute three on Kachina Peak just before noon, burying two men, who have not yet been identified.

Rescuers searching the snow extracted the men just before 1 p.m. and performed CPR on them before rushing them to the base of the resort.

Avalanche buries two near Kachina Peak.
Avalanche buries two near Kachina Peak.

According to a report heard on Taos Central Dispatch before 3 p.m., a medic transporting one of the men in an ambulance to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos said she had “one male trauma patient,” for whom she had established an IV and an intubator, a medical device that helps a person breath when they are unconscious.

Taos County Emergency Services Chief Chris Medina said the other man was also in critical condition and was being flown by helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

According to a press release from the ski resort, the search for others who might have been buried was called off after 2 p.m., when rescuers determined there to be “no additional victims.”

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Jay Peak is officially for sale.

Jay Peak is officially for sale – will it be able to get the $250M to pay back investors?

Jay Peak is officially for sale – will it be able to get the $250M to pay back investors?

News from Burlington Free Press and WCAX

After years of turmoil due to one of the biggest frauds to ever have hit the federal EB-5 program, Jay Peak Resort is now for sale.

Ariel Quiros, former owner of the resort and his partner Bill Stenger, allegedly as per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission misused $200 million in foreign investor funds, with Quiros pocketing personally some $50 million.

The investors have put down $500,000 each in order to receive a green card for themselves and their families. The Miami-based federal receiver Michael Goldberg said that of the 540 investors in Jay Peak, only six have received conditional residency and moved to the United States. About 160 are waiting for their permanent residencies to be approved.

Investors have not received their money back but will they? The answer depends on whether Jay Peak could be sold for $250 million.

Michael Goldberg pointed out that investors from China and other Asian countries, Latin America and Europe were never guaranteed their money back, but the 35 investors in Jay Peak’s Tram Haus Lodge have been repaid in full.

Goldberg said “This was not a loan, it was an investment, and it’s quite possible that these individuals made a bad investment. Basically, the resort will be worth what it’s worth. The fact is, even if there was no fraud, they may not have gotten their whole money back.”

New York’s investment banker Jeffrey Altman of Houlihan Lokey was hired by Goldberg to help sell Jay Peak. Altmann declined to comment the price in which he things the resort can be sold. He was involved in the recent sale of Stowe to Vail Resorts, advising the seller which was the insurance giant AIG.

Mike Krongel of Mirus Resort Advisors, located in Burlington, Massachusetts, explained that a ski resort’s value is estimated as some multiple of its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation).

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Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift

Killington ski map. Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.

Killington will replace its North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift. They have filed paperwork with the state to replace the vintage upper mountain lift.

News from New England Ski Industry.

Killington will continue its activity of lift projects this summer, as the resort has filed with the State of Vermont a project to replace the North Ridge Triple Chairlift. This will result as per the Act 250 filed made public this week, in a Leitner Poma fixed grip quad chairlift installed along the existing line. A draft permit has been generated by the state.

Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.
Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.

The Triple North Ridge Chair was installed by Heron-Poma in 1972, with 587 feet climb in vertical drop over a run of 2,290 feet. The oldest lift in Killington, the North Ridge, is typically the first chair to open in New England’s ski season each year. But because of its high elevation, the lift construction season may be limited due to environmental issues.

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ASPEN SKIING COMPANY RELEASES 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT In the style of Stan Lee

Snowmaking. Photo: Aspen Skiing Company. ASPEN SKIING COMPANY RELEASES 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT In the style of Stan Lee.

 

ASPEN SKIING COMPANY RELEASES 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT in the style of Stan Lee

Departing from its usual format, Aspen Skiing Company’s (ASC) twelfth Sustainability Report is a graphic novel. The report highlights Aspen’s history and details the company’s story of how sustainability became one of ASC’s principal efforts.

Photo: Aspen Skiing Company. ASPEN SKIING COMPANY RELEASES 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT In the style of Stan Lee.
Photo: Aspen Skiing Company. ASPEN SKIING COMPANY RELEASES 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT In the style of Stan Lee.

The report follows ASC’s founding, its journey to find a mission beyond skiing, and the impact of the 2016 election on the company’s renewed commitment to community and the environment. It concludes with ASC’s very public stance in support of tolerance and climate action, and the resulting Give a Flake campaign, which evokes Elie Wiesel’s advice that: “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”

More benignly, in true Sustainability Report form, the 2018 version includes data on ASC’s carbon emissions and philanthropic contributions.

“Nobody reads corporate sustainability reports – they’re too boring,” says Auden Schendler, senior vice president of sustainability and one of the report authors. “We decided it’s less important to deliver every detail. Instead, we try to tell the story of our strategic and philosophical evolution, with Batman-style graphics.”

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Crested Butte Mountain Resort Announces Plans to Replace the Teocalli Lift for the 2019-20 Winter Season

Crested Butte Mountain Resort- Vanderlinden. Crested Butte Mountain Resort Announces Plans to Replace the Teocalli Lift for the 2019-20 Winter Season.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort Announces Plans to Replace the Teocalli Lift for the 2019-20 Winter Season

  • Pending U.S. Forest Service approvals, the Teocalli Lift realignment and replacement will include a new fixed-grip quad chairlift increasing uphill capacity by 50 percent.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) is excited to announce plans to replace the Teocalli Lift – a 1979 Riblet fixed-grip double chairlift – for the 2019-20 winter season, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service. If approved, the new Teocalli Lift would be upgraded to a fixed-grip quad chairlift, increasing uphill capacity by 50 percent.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Photo: Trent Bona. Crested Butte Mountain Resort Announces Plans to Replace the Teocalli Lift for the 2019-20 Winter Season.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Photo: Trent Bona. Crested Butte Mountain Resort Announces Plans to Replace the Teocalli Lift for the 2019-20 Winter Season.

The proposed realignment and installation of the new lift would take place following the close of the 2018-19 winter season. Plans to realign the Teocalli Lift would shift the upper terminal closer to the top of the Red Lady Express; the lower terminal would remain in the existing location at the intersection of the Bushwacker, Gunsight Pass and Upper Conundrum trails.

The Teocalli Lift replacement would improve the on-mountain guest experience at CBMR by providing increased uphill capacity, a secondary egress to the base area from the Paradise Warming House and quick access to beginner and intermediate terrain.

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Skeetawk ski area gets funding for first ski lift

Hatcher Pass in Winter, where Skeetawk resort will be developed. Skeetawk ski area gets funding for first ski lift.

The Skeetawk ski area located in the Hatcher Pass will get funding for its first ski lift. The Skeetawk is a great area now for sledding but by Christmas next year it will have a downhill slope served by a lift.

The name Skeetawek is a phonetic spel of a Dena’ina word – Shk’ituk’t that means ‘where we slide down’ as per Louisa Branchflower, board president for Hatcher Alpine Xperience (HAX).

Amy O’Connor, the Executive Director of the non-profit group HAX in charge of building the Valley’s first downhill resort in the Mat-Su said that it will be a 1,200-foot triple chairlift with a 300+ foot of vertical drop.

Partnering with groups such as Rasmuson Foundation and the Mat-Su Health Foundation and thanks to also some private donations, HAX has got the $1.2 million it needs to purchase its first ski lift that will be put up in the next summer. The group will need $750,000 to cover installation costs.

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Whitefish Mountain Resort got 140 people evacuated from chairlift.

Whitefish - Basin Inversion. Photo: Whitefish Mountain Resort. Whitefish Mountain Resort got 140 people evacuated from chairlift.

140 people evacuated from chairlift at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Whitefish Mountain Resort Photo. The Ski Patrol Dog "Jett" found his toy - training for avalanche rescue by ski patrols. Whitefish Mountain Resort got 140 people evacuated from chairlift.
Whitefish Mountain Resort Photo. The Ski Patrol Dog “Jett” found his toy – training for avalanche rescue by ski patrols. Whitefish Mountain Resort got 140 people evacuated from chairlift.

On Saturday a Montana Ski Resort representative said that 140 people had to be evacuated from a chairlift due to a mechanical problem that made the operators to stop the lift.

It took 2 ½ hours to remove all people from Chair 5 in Whitefish Mountain Resort on Saturday. The officials decided to evacuate the passengers because it would take time to repair the chairlift. Some of the passengers were lowered from the lift with cables and harnesses. Temperatures were in the high teens and the winds were of about 10 mph (16 km/hour) at the moment.

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Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz Gives $2 Million in Grants to Support Mental & Behavioral Health Programs in Mountain Resort Communities across North America

Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts and his wife Elana Amsterdam. Photo: Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts Ceo Rob Katz Gives $2 Million in Grants to Support Mental & Behavioral Health Programs in Mountain Resort Communities across North America.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz Gives $2 Million in Grants to Support Mental & Behavioral Health Programs in Mountain Resort Communities across North America

On 13th December, Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) announced that Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, have made significant contributions totalling more than $2 million to support emotional wellness programs in nearly every mountain resort community in which Vail Resorts operates. The 30 grants were issued by the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust and will impact thousands of people seeking mental and behavioral health support across North America.

“It is our hope that these grants will help improve access to much-needed services around mental health and substance abuse and reduce the stigma and misunderstanding around these issues to encourage more people to get the help they need,” said Katz. “It is our privilege to be able to support so many outstanding organizations and meaningful programs already in place across our local communities in Colorado, Utah, Tahoe, British Columbia, Vermont and New Hampshire.”

Stowe Mountain Resort Gondola. Photo: Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts Ceo Rob Katz Gives $2 Million in Grants to Support Mental & Behavioral Health Programs in Mountain Resort Communities across North America.
Stowe Mountain Resort Gondola. Photo: Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz Gives $2 Million in Grants to Support Mental & Behavioral Health Programs in Mountain Resort Communities across North America.

Katz and Amsterdam have donated nearly $100 million dollars in recent years to the family’s charitable trust and foundation and named Beth Ganz executive director of the foundation in October to facilitate community engagement, sponsor research and collaboration and to work with non-profit partners to drive towards improved mental health outcomes in mountain resort communities. Ganz joined the Katz Amsterdam Foundation after 11 years as vice president of public affairs and sustainability for Vail Resorts.

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