Park City, UT - On the eve of the Visa Freestyle International World Cup, Utah's Deer Valley Resort on Wednesday renamed its unique freestyle aerials tow lift ?The Hurricane? in memory of the late Jeret ?Speedy? Peterson. The tow is used to shuttle aerials athletes to the top of the jump for the annual International Ski Federation World Cup. The 2010 Olympic silver medalist in freestyle aerials, Peterson won two of his seven World Cups at Deer Valley including setting a world record...

Whitefish, MT - A Wisconsin-based atheist group has vowed a court fight after the U.S. Forest Service this week reversed an earlier decision to deny a permit for a plot of land upon which a statue of Jesus has sat for decades at Whitefish Mountain Resort. "The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) will be suing the U.S. Forest Service over the unconstitutional presence of a Knights of Columbus shrine to Jesus in Flathead National Forest in Montana," the group said in a statement released...

Richmond, UT - Plans for a small new ski resort in northern Utah's Cache Valley received a green light Thursday night from the Cache Valley Planning Commission. Proposed for development on private in Cherry Creek Canyon east of Richmond, near the Idaho border, the approval followed several months of contentious debate involving neighbors and the conservation group Bear River Watershed Council, both of which voiced concern regarding the effects that the proposed ski area is expected to...

Kalispell, MT - Following the resumption of search efforts on Thursday, the body of a missing Montana skier was found in the backcountry near Kalispell on Thursday, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office has confirmed. Mark Albee, 42, of Bigfork was skiing with his brother in the Jewel Basin area near Camp Misery east of Bigfork when the avalanche struck on Wednesday. Wet, sloppy conditions hampered rescue efforts and a low ceiling prevented air support to searchers. The victim's body was...

Park City, UT - Olympic moguls skiing champion Hannah Kearney stretched her record World Cup win streak to 13 with a victory Thursday night in the Putnam Investments Moguls at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Utah. Kearney's teammate Heather McPhie finished second with an impressive jumps package, while Canadian Mikael Kingsbury took the top spot for the men for his sixth consecutive win on the FIS Freestyle World Cup. "The pressure was on. I enjoyed it. It was...

Chamonix, France - U.S. ski racer Bode Miller came within a mere .01 seconds of victory in the first of two Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhills in Chamonix on Friday as Klaus Kroell snagged the first Austrian speed win of the season. Swiss skier Didier Cuche finished third to snap a two-race win streak, but retained the World Cup downhill points lead. Erik Guay finished just off the podium in fourth as the Canadians put two men in the top 10. "'It's tough," said a clearly disappointed...

Portland, ME - The Downtown Showdown rail jam, scheduled for tomorrow in Portland, Maine's Monument Square, has been called off due to a lack of snow. Organizers including the City of Portland, and Maine's Sunday River and Sugarloaf ski resorts, say that the mixed precipitation and warm weather have stymied efforts to make enough snow to build the 35-foot hill necessary for the fourth annual staging of the...

Bend, OR - The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office in Bend has confirmed that a skier reported missing on Tuesday afternoon from Mt. Bachelor ski area was found later that night safely holed up in a nordic ski shelter. Daniel Gorman, 41, of Lynnwood, Wash., skied the southeast face of Mt. Bachelor with friends on Tuesday when he skied more than a mile and a half past Mt. Bachelor's boundary line. He was directed to the AC/DC Shelter in the Edison Butte Nordic area via two-way radio...

Kalispell, MT - Searchers this morning resumed their efforts to locate a backcountry skier swept away by an avalanche in northwestern Montana. The Flathead County Sheriff's Department, the Nordic Ski Patrol and Flathead County Search and Rescue members all headed to the Jewel Basin area in the Swan Range east of Bigfork near Kalispell on Thursday morning to search for the missing skier, one of two brothers who were skiing in the area on Wednesday when the slide struck. Search efforts...

Kirkwood, CA - The upcoming Subaru Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) event scheduled at California's Kikwood Mountain Resort for Feb. 22-27 will be postponed until Apr. 4-9 due to inadequate snow cover on The Cirque at Kirkwood, tour officials announced this afternoon. "The late arrival of winter in the Tahoe area forces us to wait for more snow accumulation on Kirkwood's steep, rocky terrain," said Event Director Bryan Barlow. "Unfortunately the late start has delayed our early season events, yet...

Angel Fire, NM -Competitors of all ages are once again waxing their snow shovels for the legendary Angel Fire Shovel Race Championship happening Feb. 11-12. The challenge is fairly simple. Competitors sit on the scoop of a standard aluminum snow shovel, handle pointed downhill, and then lift their hands and feet to allow gravity to take them for a ride down Angel Fire's slopes. Each rider gets two shots to clock the fastest time down the front of the Angel Fire ski mountain. Top speeds...

Huntsville, UT - In honor of the 10 year anniversary of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville will be hosting a volunteer appreciation day on February 16th.  Snowbasin will offer a special $20.02 day lift ticket to ski or snowboard for those who wear their 2002 Winter Games Volunteer Coat or show their volunteer credentials.  People will also be meeting on Earl?s Plaza at 1 p.m. for a group photo. ?Snowbasin has been looking forward to...

Lake Placid, NY - Current snow conditions, or more accurately a lack thereof, have forced the postponement of the 30th annual Lake Placid Loppet cross country ski race from this week to March 9-10. The Lake Placid Loppet has established itself as one of the best events of its kind in the country. Since 1981, thousands of skiers have enjoyed skiing and racing on the challenging Mt. Van Hoevenberg trails at the Olympic Sports Complex. In addition, the 32nd Empire State Winter Games...

Calgary (AB), Canada - Olympian Emily Cook, of Belmont, Mass., geared up for this week's VISA Freestyle International in Park City, Utah, with her fourth FIS Freestyle World Cup top-ten aerials finish in a row, taking seventh place on Sunday at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Mengtao Xu of China was the women's winner, with Canada's Olivier Rochon taking the men's top spot for his second World Cup medal and his first gold. Extremely windy conditions and warm temperatures melting the...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Thick fog blanketed the Kandahar speed track in Garmisch-Partenkirchen forcing the jury to cancel the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super G scheduled for Sunday. It was the second super G canceled in a week after the Kitzbuehel, Austria race was also scrapped due to weather. The men's World Cup tour moves to Chamonix, France for two downhills and a super combined. The Kitzbuehel race has been rescheduled by the International Ski Federation (FIS) for...

St. Moritz, Switzerland - American ski racer Lindsey Vonn came within just .03 seconds of a three-race sweep in St. Moritz to finish second in Sunday's super combined behind defending Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall champion, and Vonn's former friend, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany. Sunday's race race was a reschedule from a canceled December super combined in Val d'Isere, France. It was the first victory of the season for Hoefl-Riesch, the defending World Cup champion. Vonn, of...

Aspen, CO - Canadian skier Chris Del Bosco won his second Skier X title in three years at the Winter X Games in Aspen on Sunday and teammate Dave Duncan took bronze as Canada?s all-conquering ski cross team put on another show of strength. Filip Flisar, of Slovenia, was second. Del Bosco, who won gold at the X Games in 2010 and silver last year, was a dominant force from the quarter-finals on, as he used his full arsenal of slick passing moves and great technique to pick off his rivals on...

Aspen, CO - The 108,000 people who witnessed Winter X Games Aspen 2012 saw some amazing feats over the four days.  However those who stuck around for the final event Sunday night saw history in Snowboard SuperPipe. Shaun White - one of the most decorated X Games athletes in history - scored a perfect score of 100.00 on his final run to capture his fifth consecutive Snowboard SuperPipe gold. He is the first athlete to win five consecutive SuperPipe gold medals and is just the third athlete...

Aspen, CO - Coming into his second Winter X Games, Canadian rider Mark McMorris had zero gold medals. When he left Winter X Games Aspen 2012, he did so as a double gold medal winner after winning Snowboard Slopestyle on Saturday night to go along with his Big Air victory. "I didn't have any expectations coming in this year," the 18-year old from Regina, Saskatchewan said. "I just wanted to ride like I can and land my tricks. That is all I come out to contests to do is to have fun and try and...

Aspen, CO - Thanks to a bevy of tricks including a switch double cork 1440 and a switch double misty 1260, Bobby Brown took the top spot in Ski Big Air at Winter X Games Aspen 2012 on Saturday night. "It's all about consistency," Brown, of Breckenridge, Colo., said of his runs. "It's not about someone coming out with the gnarliest trick ever, it's just about laying it down when you need to.  I am just really stoked.  Everyone is at such a high level now no one person is that much further...

Aspen, CO - Canadian rider Mark McMorris overcame a perfect run by Torstein Horgmo of Norway to capture his first Winter X Games gold medal in Snowboard Big Air to close out Friday night at Winter X Games Aspen 2012. "X Games is something that I have watched since I was super young and all of my idols have been here," said an energetic and excited McMorris, of Regina, Saskatchewan. "To end up on top of the podium in the biggest event in snowboarding is such a good feeling.  All the support...

Aspen, CO - Jamie Anderson, the lone American to enter Women's Snowboard Slopestyle at Winter X Games in Aspen, set an X Games scoring record in the event on Friday with a 95.33 on her final run to capture gold. The gold medal was Anderson's third in Snowboard Slopestyle and her sixth total medal in the event.  Last year the South Lake Tahoe, Calif. resident captured the bronze and said it was nice to see her hard work in training this year paying off. "I guess I was on point today,"...

Aspen, CO - Nate Holland, Nick Baumgartner and Jayson Hale led U.S. Snowboarding to a clean sweep of the men's snowboardcross podium at Winter X Games, held Saturday in Aspen. Alex Deibold (Manchester Center, VT) was next in fourth, demonstrating the depth of the U.S. team. Holland's time of 1:27.57 was a commanding half second ahead of Baumgartner's 1:28.01 to take his fifth X Games snowboardcross gold. "It always feels great to be on top. I knew I just had to ride my heart out and...

Alta, UT - For many years, Utah's Alta Ski Area has allowed patrons to ride its Sunnyside chairlift free of charge from 3 to 4:30 p.m., providing a way for lapsed skiers and large families to get out on the slopes. The success of the program has on occasion led to lengthy lift lines at Sunnyside after 3 p.m., providing bottlenecks for paying guests and "Free After 3" participants alike, so resort officials are pulling the plug on the program following Valentine's Day this...

Champion, PA - State Police in Somerset County are investigating the death of a skier at Seven Springs Resort in Champion on Monday. Witnesses indicate that David McClelland, 36, of Coraopolis, Penn., was skiing at a high rate of speed on Monday evening when he veered off a trail and into a rocky, wooded area around 6 p.m. He was unconscious when found by members of Seven Springs ski patrol and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 7 p.m. Police indicated that they have no...

Bellingham, WA - A man from the Czech Republic survived a night in a snow cave in the backcountry surrounding Washington's Mt. Baker ski area over the weekend. Jakub Cink, 23, was reported missing from the ski area at the end of the day on Saturday. A search party of about 20 rescuers headed south based on witness accounts, and after his tracks were located the search was discontinued around 2 a.m. due to high avalanche danger. Cink spent the night in a snow cave on Mount Shuksan...

Danbury, NH - A 60-year-old man was critically injured in a skiing accident Sunday morning at Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire. The victim, whose name has not been released, was skiing on an intermediate run at Ragged Mountain when the incident occurred at around 9:40 a.m. He was transported by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where he was admitted. Neither the nature of his injuries nor his condition were immediately available. He was wearing a helmet...

Calgary (AB), Canada - Canada's Mikael Kingsbury and America's Hannah Kearney earned goldmedals in World Cup mogul skiing in Calgary on Saturday. The pair seem unstoppable in making their mark on the FIS World Cup mogul scene this year. With his performance at the Canada Post Grand Prix at Canada Olympic Park, Quebec's 19-year-old Kingsbury is one gold medal away from tying the FIS World Cup record of six consecutive wins. Scoring 24.30, Kingsbury took the win in a somewhat anti-climactic...

Aspen, CO - Saturday's podium was a North American skier sweep under beautiful sunny skies at the X Games superpipe in Aspen as Canada's Rosalind Groenewoud took gold and Noah Bowman earned the silver medal for Canada, and David Wise earned gold, Maddy Bowman landed silver and Brita Sigourney and Torin Yater-Wallace each finished with a bronze for the U.S. Groenewoud said it was the love and support she felt from the ski community in the wake of Sarah Burke?s death that boosted her to her...

Westford, MA - A 9-year-old boy was airlifted to a Boston area hospital following a skiing accident on Sunday at Nashboa Valley ski area in Westford. The victim, whose name has not been released, was found unconscious in the woods off a ski trail on Sunday night following a run with his father. He was flown to Children's Hospital in Boston, where he remains this morning. His condition remains unknown. Reports indicate that the victim was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident,...

Park City, UT - A 19-year-old woman died on Sunday after falling from a chairlift at Canyons Resort in Utah. The unidentified University of Utah student was riding the High Meadow chairlift near the resort's Red Pine Lodge shortly before noon on Sunday when she is believed to have suffered a medical condition before falling from the lift, which services beginner terrain. She was seated with other companions in the chair when the incident occurred but it is yet unknown whether or not the...

Salt Lake City, UT - A 24-year-old University of Utah student died Saturday afternoon when an avalanche swept him 2,400 vertical feet down a slope in the Wasatch backcountry. Alecsander Barton, originally from Concord, Mich., was reportedly an experienced backcountry skier and snowboarder. He had just begun his descent of a run called Little Giant on the west side of Kessler Peak in Big Cottonwood Canyon when the massive hard slab avalanche broke three feet deep and an estimated 1,000...

Government Camp, OR - An Oregon teenager died after slamming into a tree while snowboarding at Mount Hood Skibowl on Saturday night. Taylur Dewolf, 17, of Sandy was found 10 feet off a groomed trail with severe head and chest trauma, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department. She was discovered after the Sheriff's department received a phone call at 10:30 p.m. from the girl's father, who indicated that Dewolf had been snowboarding with family and friends at Skibowl, but had...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Swiss juggernaut Didier Cuche climbed into the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill lead with victory in a a fog shortened Garmisch downhill on Saturday. The oldest man to ever win a World Cup race at 37 years of age, Cuche has been on a winning streak lately and comes off a victory at the previous weekend's downhill in Kitzbuehel. Canadian Erik Guay claimed his first podium of the 2011-12 World Cup season  with a second-place finish at the site of his...

St. Moritz, Switzerland - Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn torched the St. Moritz speed track on Saturday for a whopping 1.42 second margin of victory and her career 49th Audi FIS Alpine World Cup win. It was Vonn's eighth win of the season, second in two days, and extended her World Cup overall lead to 352 points over Slovenia's Tina Maze. Saturday's downhill victory was the first in St. Moritz for Vonn, of Vail, Colo. "I've struggled in St. Moritz in the past and for some reason...

Aspen, CO - U.S. snowboarder Kelly Clark, of West Dover, Vt., scored gold at the Winter X Games on Friday to secure her 13th consecutive competition with a 93.66 as part of a U.S. Snowboarding sweep of the halfpipe snowboarding. The win was Clark's third major victory of the year after opening wins at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Copper and Breckenridge Dew Tour. She became the first woman to win back-to-back X Games gold medals in Women's Snowboard SuperPipe with her ninth Winter X...

Keystone, CO - Skier deaths seem to be reported this winter with increasing frequency around the U.S., and no doubt the leaner than normal snow pack thus far this season has contributed to some of them. Three have died just this week in Colorado alone with the latest at Keystone Resort, where a 54-year-old man died on Wednesday of a broken neck. The body Vesslin Vlassev, of Westminster, Colo., was found by a passing skier alongside the intermediate Jacques St. James trail on Dercum...

Aspen, CO - Snowboarding sensation Shaun White opted Friday to drop out of the Snowboard Slopestyle at Winter X Games in Aspen following an injury received during training on Thursday. White, 25, of Carlsbad, Calif., took some practice runs on Friday morning, but determined that his sprained ankle was too tender for competition in today's elimination rounds. White indicated that he will use the down time to rest up for Sunday's Snowboard SuperPipe competition. White won the...

McLean, VA - SnowSports Industries America (SIA) and The Leisure Trends Group on Thursday released the most recent numbers for December 2011, collected from the point of sale systems of more than 1,200 snow sports retailers across the U.S. According to the report, December's lack of snow had significant impacts on the snow sports market as snow failed to fall in key regions across the country. Snow cover across the contiguous 48 states fell from 48% in December 2010 to 23% in December...

Park City, UT - The Park City community has joined together in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. A variety of Olympic-related activities are scheduled in February beginning with a February 1 event on Main Street in Park City.  During these events, community members will have a chance to meet Olympic athletes, view special memorabilia exhibits, share Olympic experiences and immerse in the Olympic spirit once again. Park City, Utah will spend February...

Courmayeur, Italy - Richard Amacker won the men's ski contest and Ralph Backstrom won the men's snowboard contest on the Mont-Fortin Thursday as the 2012 Swatch Freeride World Tour (FWT) stopped in Courmayeur-Mont-Blanc, Italy. In an incredibly competitive men's ski competition Amacker, from Le Valais in Switzerland, was the last rider down  and chose an original line in the rider's left hand side of the face.  The 23-year-old then quickly put on a demonstration of world-class ...

St. Moritz, Switzerland - American ski racer Lindsey Vonn pushed her Audi FIS Alpine World Cup points total to 1,070 with a super combined victory on Friday in bluebird St. Moritz. Friday's race was the first super combined of the season after a December race in Val d'Isere, France, was canceled. "St. Moritz is a great hill for super combined. I felt like I had a really good downhill run, but I was a little bit nervous," Vonn admitted. "I didn't think I had enough time ahead of the slalom...

Taos Ski Valley, NM - New Mexico authorities have identified a man killed Tuesday in a ski accident at Taos. Dan Bauhs, 60, was well known to the Taos ski community. Details surrounding his death, however, remain sketchy at press time although the nature of the incident has been confirmed as accidental and involving no one else.  Bauhs was transported by ski patrol to a medical clinic, where he was pronounced dead. "It is with great sadness that we confirm the death yesterday at Taos...

Aspen, CO -Montreal, Canada's Kaya Turski came from behind to win her third-straight gold medal at the X Games on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen on Thursday, and she did it by landing a trick that no woman has ever landed in this competition. Coming into the third run of the best-of-three final in the bronze position, Turski, was sitting in the bronze medal position. ?The pressure was high, third run, last to drop, I was ready to go all in,? she said. And she did, pulling out a perfect...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Canada?s Robbie Dixon won?t compete in this weekend?s alpine World Cup ski races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, after suffering an injury during training. The 27-year-old from Whistler, British Columbia, struck a gate during a giant slalom training run in Paganella, Italy, on Tuesday. He did not fall but later reported experiencing concussion-like symptoms. ?Robbie Dixon will be returning to Canada for further evaluation with Alpine...

Vail, CO -Maine snowboardcross rider Seth Wescott is at the X Games in Aspen, Colo. again. But this time, instead of watching the event from the snowboardcross course he's viewing it from the ESPN broadcast booth. Wescott, 28, of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, tore his pectoral muscle at last week's World Cup snowboardcross in Veysonnaz, Switzerland. Following successful surgery in Vail, Colo., Wescott is on the mend but will sit out the rest of this winter season. Wescott has won two...

Calgary (AB), Canada - The Canada Post Grand Prix Freestyle ski World Cup lands at Winsport Canada?s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary this week, and with it comes the world?s greatest mogul and aerial skiers. Canadian fans will be looking for success from their home team. Men's mogul skier Mikael Kingsbury of Quebec is on a winning streak, having won all four World Cup events this season. Americans heading north to watch the show will see if Vermont's Hannah Kearney can extend her women's...

Steamboat Springs, CO - A snowboarder died in a Denver hospital on Tuesday of injuries sustained on the slopes of Steamboat on Monday. Aaron Easter, 32, a Colorado resident, was found unconscious on an intermediate trail shortly before noon in a depression where snow had been undermined by ground water. The hazard had been marked by the resort's ski patrol at the time, and Easter had reportedly been snowboarding alone. Passers-by initiated CPR that was continued by patrollers and...

Chamonix, France - On Saturday Markus Murmann, appointed by the International Ski Federation (FIS), visited the Verte des Houches course in Chamonix to verify that snow and course conditions were up to snuff for the 18th annual running of the Kandahar men's World Cup ski races, scheduled this year for Feb. 3-5. In a process known as "snow control," Murmann gave a thumbs up to preparations for the downhill and super combined races. The 20km of B netting are in place and the teams are...

Great Barrington, MA - Ski Butternut in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts will host the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge this Sunday, where speed is king for skiers and snowboarders who compete. Sunday will be a day of racing, music, fun and giveaways at Butternut as the longest running and farthest-reaching ski and snowboard race competition in the United States is now in its 22nd season. The event is open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities. Entry is...

Aspen, CO - Winter X Games Gold Medal Snowboardcross (SBX) champion Nick Baumgartner arrives in Aspen this week looking for a repeat in the six-man riding action on Buttermilk Mountain at the 2012 Winter X Games. Qualifying takes place on Friday with the finals to follow on Saturday. Baumgartner, a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team, won last year's Winter X SBX competition in dramatic style. Less than two weeks prior to the event that was televised on the ESPN networks, the Iron River,...

Schladming, Austria - Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah, battled huge ruts and continuous snowfall to finish sixth Tuesday in the Schladming night slalom in front of 45,000 raucous fans as hometown hero Marcel Hirscher, who has been at the center of a huge gate straddling controversy over the past few days, won the event for his sixth World Cup victory this season. Italy?s Stefano Gross was second in and Austria?s Mario Matt rounded out the podium in third. It was Ligety's best slalom...

Tannersville, PA -Camelback Mountain Resort in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania has partnered with the SkiDUCKS (Skiing and Snowboarding for Disabled and Underprivileged Children and older Kids) for this winter season. SkiDUCKs is a new, grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of disabled and underprivileged children by sharing the joys of skiing and snowboarding. The group will come to Camelback Mountain Resort for three sessions this winter; the...

Stowe, VT - All active, full-time Vermont military personnel, Guard and Reserve members along with their spouses and dependent children  will receive complimentary single-day lift tickets at Vermont's Stowe Mountain Resort on three select Sundays this winter. ?Stowe?s Vermont Military Days are a wonderful opportunity for many families to discover the East?s most exciting winter resort and share memorable lifelong experiences together,? says Stowe Mountain Resort International Sales...

Salt Lake City, UT - With few exceptions, winter made a late debut to most of the western U.S. this ski season. It took until the third week of January, but thanks to substantial snowfall many regions in the West are now back on track and eager to welcome guests. Ski resorts in Utah picked up over four feet of snow over the past week. The state's venerable Alta Ski Area in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City racked up 49 inches in the last seven days, bringing base depths to a...

Killington, VT - Vermont?s Killington Resort this past weekend hosted the 2011-12 Winter Dew Tour, the largest on-snow event in the East, with superpipe and slopestyle competitions at Bear Mountain in front of 32,000 fans, a 10% increase from last year?s event. On Saturday afternoon, snowboarders threw down their best in the slopestyle finals and the competition continued into the night with the freeskier superpipe finals in an under-the-lights aerial battle. The action concluded on...

Mt. Crested Butte, CO -The first stop of the Junior Freeskiing Tour (JFT), originally scheduled for Feb. 2-5 in Crested Butte, Colo., has been postponed by organizers until Mar. 29-Apr. 1 to allow more snow to accumulate. "Much of the West has experienced low snow conditions this year and in order to give our athletes the highest quality event, we are forced to wait for additional significant storms," says JFT Director Jeff Berman. Famous for its rocky and steep terrain, Crested Butte...

Kitzbuehel, Austria - Nolan Kasper, of Warren, Vt., tied for 14th in slalom Sunday tied with Brad Spence of Canada to lead three Americans into the Kitzbuehel top 30 as Italian Christian Deville captured his first Audi FIS Alpine World Cup win. "It was a fight with the snow and the weather, but this hill is always difficult. It was fun to watch and it was fun to be a part of," said Kasper, who added, "The first run didn't feel all that good, but I stayed in a decent position and was able to...

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia - Audi FIS Alpine World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn, of Vail, Colo., continued to put consistency in her technical skiing, recording her best slalom finish of the season in seventh on Sunday at Kranjska Gora. The finish left Vonn's overall World Cup lead to a slightly reduced margin of 282 over Slovenia's Tina Maze, who finished fourth, as Austrian Michaela Kirchgasser snapped the five-slalom win string of her teammate Marlies Schild in taking the win. Sunday's finish...

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia - Vail, Colo.'s Lindsey Vonn missed the Kranjska Gora giant slalom podium by three hundredths of a second to finish fourth on Saturday, yet boosted her Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall lead to 296 over local ski racer Tina Maze, who finished behind Vonn in fifth. Vonn, the Olympic downhill champion, slipped a few gates before the finish and dropped both hands in the snow, but made a quick recovery to stay on an icy course conquered by Tessa Worley of France after...

Kitzbuehel, Austria - Swiss ski racer Didier Cuche, who at 37 is already the oldest man to ever win a World Cup race, padded his record by winning a historic fifth Hahnenkamm downhill Saturday to surpass Austrian legend Franz Klammer for the most downhill wins at Kitzbuehel. A foot of heavy snow fell overnight and throughout the race, forcing the jury to shorten the notorious Streif by starting on the Alte Schneise below the treacherous Mausefalle and Steilhang sections. Klammer, covered in...

Kitzbuehel, Austria -Overnight rain transitioned to pancake sized flakes of saturated snow Friday morning, forcing a unanimous jury cancellation of the Hahnenkamm super G in Kitzbuehel. Over 500 volunteers and course workers were staged for hill preparation on Friday to keep Saturday's 72nd Hahnenkamm downhill on schedule as snow continued to fall throughout the day. "It's a very simple update, all you have to do is go up the window and it will explain everything. The snow is untouchable...

Veysonnaz, Switzerland - It was a sweep for U.S. Snowboarding Sunday with Lindsey Jacobellis, of Stratton Mountain, Vt.,  and teammate Nate Holland, of Squaw Valley, Calif., each winning at the Veysonnaz World Cup that coincident with FIS World Snow Day. Jacobellis continued on a roll with her third straight win of the season to remain undefeated starting with her victory in the USANA Snowboardcross Cup at Telluride last month. She now has 26 World Cup wins to her credit, 25 in...

Bozeman, MT - Separate power outages on Sunday caused two ski resorts to suspend operations in the western U.S. A 10:40 a.m. outage near Bozeman, Mont., darkened the entire canyon leading to Bridger Bowl ski area on Sunday, ski area officials indicate. Back-up power was used to evacuate chairlifts, but with no power available for the resort's lodges and other amenities resort officials elected to close the mountain for the day before power was restored to the area around 1:30 p.m. Sunday...

Vail, CO - A sketchy snow pack killed two skiers in Colorado over the weekend in separate in-bounds avalanches. At Vail Mountain, a 13-year-old boy was killed when he was buried in a slide on closed in-bounds terrain. Taft Conlin of Eagle, Colo., died on Sunday when he was swept away by the avalanche on Prima Cornice, a partially forested double-black run that was reportedly closed and roped off at the time. Conlin's companion, who was not buried by the slide, summoned rescue officials who...

Denver, CO - Colorado Ski Country USA?s (CSCUSA) 22 member ski resorts on Friday reported a decrease in skier visitation for the beginning of the 2011-12 ski and snowboard season. Skier visits at CSCUSA resorts were off by 10.65 percent during the first period of the ski season, defined as opening day of the season through December 31, 2011, compared to the same period last year. CSCUSA President and CEO Melanie Mills cites variable snow conditions as a contributing factor. ?We had a...

Copper Mountain, CO - A 51-year-old skier died on Friday night after falling head first on a snow-covered tree stump while skiing the previous weekend at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Donald Hinckley was pronounced dead just before midnight at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colo., of a traumatic brain injury and fractured neck, according to Summit County coroner Joanne Richardson. Hinckley was skiing Copper's Far East run on Jan. 14 when the incident occurred. Hickey was wearing a...

Wilmington, NY - A 25-year-old Long Island man died on Friday after losing control and striking trees while skiing with family at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington. According to police, Daniel M. McGovern of  Carle Place, N.Y., was pronounced dead at the scene after being located at 10:30 a.m. some 30 feet from the edge of the Excelsior trail. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident. An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted at the Adirondack Medical Center in  Saranac Lake,...

Tupper Lake, NY - The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) on Friday voted nearly unanimously to approve a 6,200 ski resort development at Big Tupper, near Tupper Lake. By a vote of 10 to 1 the agency approved the proposal by Preserve Associates to rebuild the ski resort with replacements for the ski area's existing lifts as well as new lifts and trails. It also calls for construction a new marina on Tupper Lake and housing at the resort that would consist of up to 206 single-family and 125...

Lake Placid, NY - Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney, of Norwich, Vt., won a record 11th consecutive FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls event with victory at the USANA Freestyle Cup at Whiteface Mountain on Thursday. The title elevates Kearney past Switzerland?s Conny Kissling for the longest Freestyle World Cup win streak. World Champion Patrick Deneen, of Cle Elum, Wash., earned his first podium of the season, finishing second behind Mikael Kingsbury of Canada in the men's event, who continued a...

Veysonnaz, Switzerland - Lindsey Jacobellis, of Stratton Mountain, Vt., and Russian rider Andrey Boldykov, last Thursday each won the first of two 2012 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup snowboard cross races scheduled in Veysonnaz, Switzerland that replaced an event canceled earlier in Bad Gastein, Austria, for a lack of snow. While Jacobellis claimed her career's 25th World Cup win ahead of Bulgarian rider Alexandra Jekova and Canada's Dominique Maltais, who finished in second and third,...

South Lake Tahoe, CA - A 34-year-old British man struck a sign post and died at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's department officials indicate that Christopher Michael Perring of the U.K. swerved to avoid another skier and crashed into a sign post at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, sustaining blunt force trauma to his chest. Ski patrol provided first aid at the scene but Perring reportedly died before a...

Washington, DC - Nearly 75 venues held Winter Trails events on Jan. 7. Despite challenging snow conditions across the country, there was strong support for the event series designed to introduce new partipants to cross country skiing and snowshoeing, and substantial media coverage. Due to the light snow cover, many event sites needed to get creative and make some last minute changes to their offerings. Several snowless sites offered hiking options on January 7th, but also showcased...

Bellevue, WA - Skiers who are planning a winter getaway on the slopes of Beaver Creek in Colorado had better make sure that their bank accounts are well padded. The adrenaline rush that comes from schussing down Beaver Creek's runs is going to cost them. Indeed, the lodging prices at Beaver Creek are, by far, on average the most expensive of any ski resort in the United States, a recent survey compiled by Cheaphotels.org has revealed. Just how expensive will a Beaver Creek ski vacation run? On...

London (ON), Canada - Canadian alpine ski racer Julien Cousineau is very optimistic about his recovery after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee in London on Wednesday. Cousineau, who turned 31 on Tuesday, suffered the knee injury in a World Cup slalom race in Adelboden, Switzerland, on Jan. 8. ?I?m feeling pretty good,? Cousineau said. ?The doctor was really happy with the surgery and he said to start weight bearing as...

Kitzbuehel, Austria - Swiss ski racer Didier Cuche has announced that he will retire from the World Cup circuit at the end of the current season. At the age of 37, Cuche is one of the oldest skiers to ever start a World Cup race. Despite this, he's the current defending World Cup champion and is presently sits in contention for a fifth World Cup downhill title, which would match a record set by Austrian great Franz Klammer. Cuche won the title in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Cuche made...

Salt Lake City, UT - Professional freeskier Sarah Burke died Thursday morning in a Salt Lake City hospital of injuries sustained in a fall while training in Park City Mountain Resort's Eagle Superpipe on Jan. 10. She was 29. Burke, a pioneer in both women's ski slopestyle and halfpipe, was a driving force behind the sport's inclusion in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia in 2014. Born in Midland, Ontario, Canada and living in Squamish, British Columbia, Burke was a four-time gold...

Denver, CO - Snowfall was down this holiday season at most western mountain resorts but actual occupancy among  resorts surveyed across Colorado, Utah, California and Oregon was up 1.3 percent compared to December 2010 when many western destinations were enjoying near-record snowfall and early season conditions.  The most recent data released on Wednesday by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) also revealed that the Average Daily Rate (ADR) was up a significant 8.1 percent compared...

Calgary (AB), Canada - Reigning ski cross world champion and X Games gold medalist Kelsey Serwa will sit out the rest of the 2011-12 World Cup season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee during a race last week in Alpe d?Huez, France. The 22-year-old from Kelowna, British Columbia, won the first two World Cup races of the season and was leading the overall standings when she landed awkwardly during the women?s final in Alpe d?Huez on Jan. 11. Serwa...

Aspen, CO - A skier and a snowboarder were each killed in separate accidents in the Aspen area on Wednesday, one at Aspen Highlands and one at Snowmass. The Pitkin County Sheriff reports that Aspen resident Gabriel Lee Hilliard, 30, was snowboarding on the double-black Canopy Cruiser run near the Deep Temerity lift at Highlands when he lost control and struck two trees, the second one impaling him on a branch in his left side of his chest. Hilliard, who was riding alone at the time, is a...

Hunter, NY - New York State Police say that a 41-year-old snowmaker at Hunter Mountain slipped on ice and fell to his death among rocks and trees on Wednesday morning. Brian Mattice, of Gilboa, N.Y., was working with equipment alongside the ski resort's expert Milky Way trail just before opening on Wednesday when he slipped on ice and tumbled down a 200-foot embankment into rocks and trees bordering the run. He was attended to by members of Hunter Mountain ski patrol but died of his...

Salt Lake City, UT - Outdoor Retailer (OR) Winter Market returns to Salt Lake City this week, bringing with it more than 1,000 brands and 21,000 attendees from around the globe to the world's largest outdoor industry trade show. Show participants will congregate Thursday through Sunday to participate in a Salt Palace Convention Center full of exhibits, product launches, seminars, meetings, networking events and celebrations of the outdoor, lifestyle and winter sports industries. Now...

Kitzbühel, Austria -Canada?s Jan Hudec is a rookie again ? at the age of 30. The veteran speed skier, from Calgary, Alberta, has been competing on the World Cup circuit for a decade but this week he?s preparing to make his debut in the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria. ?I think I?ll be the oldest rookie ever in Kitzbühel,? said Hudec, who raced a super G in Kitzbühel in 2009 but didn?t finish the race. ?It?s pretty interesting considering I...

Kirkwood, CA - Kirkwood Mountain Resort?s commitment to its freeride and terrain park scenes took a flying leap forward with the resort?s recent announcement that an inflatable airbag will now be a permanent fixture at the Tahoe ski area. Manufactured by U.S. Airbag, this cutting-edge terrain park feature will simulate a soft powder landing allowing skiers and snowboarders to safely attempt new tricks and push the boundaries of the sport. The decision to purchase the airbag was a direct...

Bolton, VT - Vermont's Bolton Valley ski resort east of Burlington will once again host the Bolton Valley Snowshoe Shuffle, a 5K walk or run on snowshoes to benefit the American Lung Association, on Saturday, Feb. 11. The event will be held on a specially designed course at the Bolton Valley Nordic Center and will include several hills and groomed trails as well as powder sections and single track. All abilities are welcome, from those who have never been on snowshoes to seasoned...

Snowbird, UT - With winter taking slightly longer than expected to deliver its powder The North Face will postpone the first stop of its Masters of Snowboarding series, originally scheduled for Utah's Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort January 19-21, in order to provide more time for optimal competition riding conditions to develop. Officials in Ogden have also canceled that city's Winterfest 2012. The Masters of Snowboarding is the largest open, big mountain snowboarding competition in the...

Squaw Valley, CA - Truckee, Calif.-based High Fives Non-Profit Foundation  and Squaw Valley's CHARITYSMITH will present the Squaw Valley Prom 2012 on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. The Squaw Valley Prom is entering its eighth year. This marquee event has seen tremendous growth and exposure since its inception. Bust out your best pumped up kicks and bring it back to ?88 as the Squaw Valley Prom 2012 drops 80?s style. The event takes place at the Olympic House, Bar One and Bar One...

Antwerp, Belgium - Established in 1919 and headquartered in Belgium, Lazer designs, manufactures and markets bicycle, leisure, and action sports helmets in more than 60 countries. Starting next winter, they'll be adding helmets for the ski and snowboard market to their product line. Launching to retailers this month at both the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) trade show and ISPO in Munich, Germany, Lazer Sport will unveil a full line of helmets specifically designed for skiers and...

Whistler (BC), Canada - The first leg of The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series (PPOS) wrapped up on Sunday under mostly clear, cold skies at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada. In total, $10,000 in prize money was awarded with Roz Groenewoud of Whistler taking the women's title at home and Gus Kenworthy, of Telluride, Colo., taking the men's title. The Whistler stop was the last event the 2012 Winter X Games athlete selection committee considered for invites, allowing...

Henniker, NH -New Hampshire's Pats Peak has announced a weekend line up of special events. This Saturday is the S&DUB Board Shop/CandyGrind Big Air Contest, sponsored by Pats Peak, S&W Sports and CandyGrind. The Big Air Contest will take place in Turbulence Park starting at 12:30 p.m. Registration for the Big Air will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the ski area's Valley Lodge with a $20 entry fee plus at least a Valley Lift Ticket is required or Pats Peak season pass....

Killington, VT - Vermont?s Killington Resort is set to host the second stop of the Winter Dew Tour?s Pantech Invitational, the largest snow sports event in the East. Top athletes in freeskiing and snowboarding from around the world descend upon Killington?s Bear Mountain to compete in superpipe and slopestyle competitions this week. ?Killington Resort is thrilled to have top freeskiers and snowboarders competing at Bear Mountain,? stated Chris Nyberg, president and general manager...

Carrabassett Valley, ME - Just two days after a Nova Scotia man struck a tree and was killed at Sugarloaf last week, a New Hampshire man was airlifted from the Maine ski resort with a severe head injury after he slid off a trail and struck a tree as well. Nicholas Jones, 24, of Bedford, N.H., was unconscious when attended to by Sugarloaf ski patrollers on the side of the intermediate King's Landing trail after catching an edge at mid-day on Saturday. He regained consciousness in...

Zermatt, Switzerland - The Ski Club of Great Britain?s longest-running mountain event, the Luttman-Johnson Challenge, returns next month and is as popular as ever.  Now in its 38th year, the unique mountain restaurant race continues to attract over 40 teams of skiers and snowboarders, some new to the race experience and other cult followers who have been perfecting their championship formula since Luttman first launched the event in 1974. The aim of the Luttman-Johnson Challenge is to...

Salt Lake City, UT - A press conference organized by the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association (CFSA), scheduled for Monday afternoon in Salt Lake City to discuss the condition of the injured acclaimed freeskier, was canceled on Monday morning by members of Burke's family. "The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association has just received word that the scheduled news conference from doctors and family in Salt Lake City regarding the condition of injured Canadian halfpipe skier Sarah Burke has been...

Wengen, Switzerland - An eight-year-old boy from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the talk of the ski racing world on Sunday when he was unveiled as Canadian slalom ace Brad Spence?s sponsor in front of thousands of fans in Wengen. Gage Ferguson had his Christmas wish to become his hero?s personal sponsor granted when the Calgary-based ski racer arranged to wear a special helmet sticker bearing the boy?s name at one of the world?s most famous races. KLM, one Alpine Canada?s sponsors,...

Lakewood, CO - The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) recently announced that to date, supplier companies and partners have contributed a total of $175,000 to the association?s Sustainable Slopes Grant Program. New this year, Brendle Group,  a Colorado-based engineering sustainability consultant firm and longtime environmental partner to the association,  has provided a $10,000 in-kind contribution to complement HKD Turbo?s snowmaking grants for this grant cycle. Launched in...

Wengen, Switzerland - Defending Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia moved closer current overall leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria with victory in a technical and challenging Wengen slalom on Sunday as Hirscher was disqualified for straddling a gate. It was Kostelic's second win of the weekend after opening the 82nd Lauberhorn with victory in super combined. Kostelic now trails Hirscher by 30 points in the overall chase. No American men made the second...

Rockville, MD - Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA), one of the nation?s largest multi-sport, multi-disability organizations, has announced the schedule for its 2012 national SkiTour. The SkiTour program is the only one of its kind, ensuring opportunities for wounded warriors, youth and adults with disabilities to receive advanced instruction and state-of-the-art adaptive equipment throughout the nation at ski destinations including Breckenridge, Sun Valley, Aspen, Stowe, Park City, and...

Ludlow, VT - 2012 is a leap year, so it seems only fitting that Vermont's Okemo Mountain Resort has added a new air bag for the new year to allow skiers and snowboarders to leap into the air and practice their jumps with increased safety. With the resort's new Amp Energy Big Air Bag, skiers and riders can launch themselves off a snowy ramp, leap into the air, and land on a giant inflated PVC pillow similar to the ones used by movie stuntmen. The Amp Energy Big Air Bag is 30 feet wide...

Ste.-Adèle (QC), Canada - Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, earned his first FIS World Cup medal on Sunday at Mont-Gabriel, finishing second in the aerial event of the Canada Post Grand Prix behind Pavel Krotov of Russia. Emily Cook, of Belmont, Mass., finished second in the women's competition while Olga Volkova of the Ukraine took the gold. In fact, the finals podium was comprised of athletes from six different counties. Rochon went up against Krotov, Naoya Tabara of Japan and...