Park City, UT -Audi FIS World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn was honored by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association with the Beck International Award, the organization’s highest athlete honor. The USSA also recognized longtime race official John Garnsey of Vail/Beaver Creek, Colo., with its Julius Blegen Award for three decades of service to the sport. The awards were presented in Park City at the annual USSA Congress held last week at the Park City Marriott. USSA GOLD AWARDS Julius Blegen...

Banff (AB), Canada - In March 1928, two young men skied up Healy Creek outside of Banff to what is now Sunshine Village ski resort. They headed for a cabin built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The two planned to use this as a break during their journey across the Great Divide. The snow was deep and the two men, Cliff Whyte and Cyril Paris, missed the cabin and slept in a hollow they dug in the snow. They awoke the next day and in poor weather broke a trail over Citadel Pass. They were the...

Snowbird, UT - With its venerable Little Cloud double chair scheduled for replacement this summer by a new high-speed detachable quad chairlift, Snowbird skiers and riders threw a party on Sunday to mark the lift's -- and the resort's -- final day of the 2011-12 winter season. After nearly 32 feet of snowfall this season, skiers and snowboarders clad in bikinis and costumes flocked to the resort to get one last day on the slopes of Utah's Wasatch Mountains this...

Wanaka, New Zealand - New Zealand's ski and snowboard season is rapidly approaching, and a potent early winter storm has started to build bases on both North and South Island slopes. "A decent snow storm in May is not unexpected and certainly what we hope for at this time of year," said Nadia Ellis, Cardrona Sales & Marketing Manager at Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wanaka. "Early snow helps cool the ground temperature which will help a good winter base to form as winter...

Mammoth Lakes, CA -A late ski season and lower than normal snowpack have combined to create a unique opportunity in the Eastern Sierra over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. Mammoth Mountain will be serving up the best of both summer and winter with skiing and riding on soft spring snow, mountain biking and golf. The final ski and snowboard lifts of Mammoth Mountain's winter season will take place on Monday, May 28, while the Mammoth Bike Park will open for the summer on Saturday,...

Winter Park, CO - The family of a man killed an an in-bounds avalanche in January at Colorado's Winter Park Resort has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against this ski resort's operator. Christopher Norris, the father of two young children from Evergreen, Colo., died as a result of being caught in an avalanche while skiing the Trestle Trees area of Winter Park on January 22. The small avalanche, reportedly 40 feet wide and 60 vertical feet long, started on a rocky outcrop with slope angles...

Burlington, VT - Sugarbush Resort accepted the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence on Tuesday at the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility spring conference in Burlington. As part of its ongoing efforts to be responsible stewards of the environment, the Vermont ski and snowboard resort partnered with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB), an environmental consulting firm, to develop a long-term water quality remediation plan for the entire resort. The programs have proven...

Stratton Mountain, VT - For anyone still hankering for time on the mountain, Stratton Mountain will host southern Vermont’s final jam of the season on the same snow the pro riders at the U.S. Open rode, so don’t pack those skis and boards away just yet. Snow is stockpiled and features are lined up for the final on-snow event of the season: the 3rd Annual Mountain Mayhem Rail Jam. The winter’s favorite features will make a reappearance under sunny skies for this “park-builder’s...

Eden, UT - A northern Utah ski area, and a substantial chunk of the Ogden Valley, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on June 1. Wolf Creek Utah Resort, which includes Wolf Mountain, at 1,000 vertical feet the state's smallest ski hill, will be sold at auction along with its 6,845-yard 18-hole championship golf course, events center, Discovery Center, and enough land to subdivide into 850 to 950 residential and commercial lots. All told, the resort's land holdings exceed 3,000...

Crystal Mountain, WA - After all the other ski resorts in Washington State have already called it quits, Crystal Mountain plans to remain open Saturdays and Sundays and Memorial Day for skiing and snowboarding until May 28th or later, conditions permitting. Crystal is now one of seven ski resorts in North America still open. Discounted tickets are being sold for all five lifts still operating weekends from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.,  including the resort's  Mt. Rainier Gondola. Crystal...

Augusta, ME - Maine Governor Paul LePage presented Saddleback Ski Resort in Rangeley with a 2012 Governor's Award for Business Excellence during a reception held today at the Statehouse Hall of Flags in Augusta. The 22nd annual awards, administered by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and sponsored by Fairpoint Communications, recognize companies that demonstrate a high level of commitment to their community, employees and to manufacturing or service...

Honolulu, HI - North American skiers and snowboarders will now be able to avoid tedious transfers in Tokyo and now fly directly to ski resorts on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido aboard new flights announced by Hawaiian Airlines on Wednesday. The airline is set to begin service between Honolulu International Airport and New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, site of the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, on the island of Hokkaido three times per week in November 2012 aboard Boeing 767-300ER wide body...

Whistler (BC), Canada - In a winter that lacked snow across much of North America, resulting in a 15.7% decrease in skier visits in the U.S., Whistler Blackcomb Resort received both snow and visitors. The British Columbia resort this week announced second quarter and fiscal six month results ending March 31, 2012 that resulted in increases in all key metrics, including a 22.6% increase in destination visitors over the latter period when compared with the same period a year earlier. "Over the...

Snowbird, UT - Utah's Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort is hosting a summer sports camp designed for youth ages 10-15, and includes mountain biking, swimming, hiking and climbing with professional coaches. “Snowbird’s Mountain Sports Camp is a great way for kids to learn new skills on a natural playground,” said Maggie Loring, Snowbird Mountain School Director.  “The coaches are excited to inspire the kids to connect with the mountains and teach them fundamental skills they will use...

Park City, UT - America’s most coveted ski and snowboarding lift ticket, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s (USSA) Gold Pass, is going high tech to celebrate its 40th anniversary this coming 2012-13 season. The Gold Pass first started in the 1972-73 winter season as a fundraiser for the U.S. Ski Team in a unique partnership with U.S. ski resorts. It has continued to grow in its 40-year history to become one of the largest single fundraising tools to support Olympic skiers and...

Vernon, NJ - In an apparent case of first impression nationwide, Mountain Creek Resort, Inc. has sued its insurance carrier, Everest Indemnity Insurance Company, in an attempt to force the insurer to pay a claim under a weather insurance policy underwritten by the company to the New Jersey ski and snowboard resort. Although this lawsuit appears to be the first of its kind anywhere in the United States, the lack of case law is hardly surprising given the way in which weather insurance...

Great Barrington, MA -Ski Butternut's operations manager, Reuel Sheldon, is retiring after 30 years of service at the ski resort in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Sheldon is stepping own after seeing the mountain through many great years and some challenging times, including a life altering injury to the resort's iconic owner, Channing Murdock, in 1994 on the heels of the worst winter on record and a devastating F4 tornado that ripped across the mountain May 29th (Memorial...

Calgary (AB), Canada -Twenty-nine athletes were named to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team on Thursday as Alpine Canada continues its preparations for the 2012-13 World Cup season and the 2013 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. The squad of 19 men and 10 women features three new additions and nine racers who have recorded World Cup or world championship podiums – including reigning world downhill champion Erik Guay, who has 17 top-three World Cup results. Leaving the men's team is Olympian and...

Kellogg, ID - Idaho's Silver Mountain ski resort is offering skiers and riders one last chance to hit the slopes this season on Sunday...for free. Dave Smith Free Ski Day, sponsored by Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg, also gives moms the chance to play golf for free at Galena Ridge for Mother's Day. Silver Mountain's gondola will start loading guests at 8 a.m. and chair lifts #1 and #2 will turn from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Music, BBQ and beverages will be served at the...

Mammoth Lakes, CA - Some of U.S. Freeskiing’s best athletes, like recently crowned AFP halfpipe World Champion Torin Yater-Wallace and AFP slopestyle World Champion Tom Wallisch, have descended upon Mammoth Mountain’s Unbound Terrain Park for a 10-day intensive training camp alongside the U.S. Ski Team alpine racers at this California ski resort. "Team training camps are essential to athlete training not only for skills, but team building," explained Mike Jankowski, U.S. Freeskiing Head...

Park City, UT - Utah's Park City Mountain Resort and Neff Headwear have announced a joint venture combining Neff’s dynamic action sports brand with the ski resort’s terrain parks. The resulting collaboration, Neff Land, will open in 2012-2013 as Park City Mountain Resort’s newest park. “I couldn’t be more excited to incorporate Neff’s style and creativity into our own terrain park features,” said Jeremy Cooper, Park City Mountain Resort’s terrain park manager. “We...

Lake Wanaka, New Zealand -Skiers and snowboarders looking for a spectacular journey from Queenstown to the Southern Lakes’ largest ski area, Treble Cone, can book a scenic flight over the foothills of the Southern Alps this season. Launched two years ago, the service is proving popular among visitors to the region and Queenstown locals. The daily service by Glenorchy Air departs from Queenstown Airport, flies past Coronet Peak, Arrowtown and the historic Macetown area to land in the...

Samuel Miller, VA - Several sources are reporting that Virginia's troubled Wintergreen ski area has settled a dispute with the state Department of Taxation as the resort has been rumored to be undergoing a "strategic reorganization" after cutting its work force in February. According to an article written by Lisa Provence in the Charlottesville newspaper The Hook, Wintergreen got into hot water when the state dug deeper into a conservation easement granted on 1,422 acres of the resort's...

Mammoth Lakes, CA - U.S. Ski Team coaches and the Mammoth Mountain Race Department have constructed terrain mimicking World Cup race hills for specialized training at the California ski resort. "It took a lot of work to get the slopes to this point, but the crew at Mammoth has been incredibly energetic and supportive in helping us produce terrain to specifically help our team build skills in areas where we need more work," said U.S. Women's speed Head Coach, Chip White. Mammoth Mountain...

Heber, UT - Steven Nyman, born and bred in Utah, was skiing at age two (Dad ran the ski school at Sundance) and was a discretionary pick for the 2002 Junior Worlds squad where he landed two medals. Coaches were so impressed, they entered him in a World Cup slalom six days later and he finished 15th to launch his U.S. Ski Team career. Read on to see what makes Nyman tick. Sport:  Alpine skiing Hometown: Sundance, Utah Current Location:  A random couch somewhere School:...

North Conway, NH - New Hampshire's Cranmore Mountain ski area in North Conway is getting ready open for its second summer season on Saturday, May 26, including the new Soaring Eagle Zipline and Mountain Segway Tours. “We are thrilled to be opening two new activities for this summer. They represent a significant investment in our Mountain Adventure Park and will provide families with even more to do during a visit here,” stated Cranmore GM and President, Ben Wilcox. The Soaring Eagle is...

London, UK - European airline Monarch on Monday announced plans to launch 10 new ski resort routes for winter 2012-13, including scheduled flights from Leeds Bradford International Airport for the first time. The new routes will reach winter ski resorts in France, Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria via Grenoble airport in France and Friedrichshafen and Munich airports in Germany, complementing the airline's existing services to Milan, Venice and Verona, which will operate year-round for access...

Lakewood, CO - On Monday the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) honored three ski areas – including Colorado’s Aspen Skiing Co., Maine’s Mt. Abram, and Washington’s Stevens Pass – with the 2012 Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence. The Golden Eagle Awards are the ski industry’s most prestigious award for recognizing resort environmental programs and projects. In its winning effort for ski areas with up to 200,000 skier/snowboarder visits per year, Mt. Abram...

Tanglwood, PA - Recycling, or more accurately "repurposing," is an economic buzzword these days, and is something that the ever resourceful Laszlo Vajtay, owner of Plattekill ski area in New York's Catskill Mountains, practices regularly. It is with this principle in mind that Vajtay traveled to Pennsylvania and acquired substantial equipment being auctioned off at the defunct Tanglwood ski area in the Poconos, including a Hall double chairlift, a Bombardier groomer, two snowmaking fan guns...

Mono County, CA - The body of an Ann Arbor, Mich. man missing since April 19 was discovered Thursday afternoon in a popular backcountry skiing area on Mount Dana in Mono County. Searchers with Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue found the body of Boris Avdeev, 31, in Cocaine Chute after discovering his black Honda Civic on May 1 that had been parked near Poole Plant Road off Highway 120, the Tioga Pass Road, since April 19. A note was left under the windshield wiper of the vehicle...

Franconia Notch, NH - Several groups are collaborating on an initiative to develop a ski racing center on the Mittersill portion of Cannon Mountain ski area in New Hampshire. The Holderness School, the Franconia Ski Club and other interested parties have launched a fundraising drive to build a new T-bar lift, snowmaking, trail widening and perhaps even night lighting at Mittersill, a ski area on Cannon Mountain that was closed for many years but was recently absorbed into the Cannon Mountain...

Lakewood, CO - With weather that could be charitably described as "challenging" across many regions of the U.S. this winter, it should come as no surprise that visits to American resorts in 2011-12 dropped by 15 percent, the biggest margin since the winter of 1980-81. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) on Monday announced that U.S. ski areas tallied an estimated 51 million skier and snowboarder visits during the 2011-12 season. According to the organization's preliminary 2011-12...