AlpineZone

WILMINGTON, NY ??” Jeannie Thoren is slated to return to Whiteface Mountain with the ski industry's best supply of women's skis, boots and accessories for free demo days on December 28 and 29, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) announced Monday.

Thoren, one of the top 25 most influential people in skiing, has earned her renowned name by drastically improving women's technique through equipment selection and modification. Sh...

NEWRY, ME ??” The popular Massachusetts-based band Entrain returns to Sunday River New Year's Eve. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at the Welcome Concourse at South Ridge, or by calling 800-543-2SKI. Doors open at 8 pm and it's 21+ only.

Legends Restaurant in the Grand Summit Hotel offers a specially crafted menu by new Executive Chef Don Hauser. Two seatings at 7 and 9pm for $70 per person. Advance reservations are requir...

LUDLOW, VT ??” Skiing and riding terrain is now open on all five-mountain areas at Okemo Mountain Resort, including the new Jackson Gore Peak and base area. Also for the Christmas Holiday week, the SoBe Super Pipe is scheduled to open, along with The Dew Zone and Nor'Easter Terrain Park. With snowmaking and grooming operations running non-stop at every opportunity, 90+ trails and all 18 lifts are expected.

In addition to great skiing and...

LAKE PLACID, NY ??” The Lamb Lumber World Cup B Nordic Combined races ended Saturday with Norway's Kenneth Braaten stopping Bill Demong of the United States from a sweep of all three Lake Placid events.

Braaten's sprint victory was completed over a gusty 7.5-kilometer course at the Verizon Sports Complex, and avenged a poor performance in the mass start jumping event held earlier in the morning.

Matthias Menz of Germany was ...

HIGHMONT, NY ??” Belleayre Mountain is offering an all-mountain lift ticket Monday through Thursday, Dec. 20-24 for the mid-week price of $35. Christmas Day lift tickets will be $25. Peak season rates are in effect starting Sunday, the 26th, also the start date for annual Holiday Training Camp. The annual Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Slalom Event is Dec. 29. Call or visit the website for details.

LAKE PLACID, NY ??” After a change of schedule due to uncooperative weather, Matthias Menz of Germany took the midway lead Friday in the Lamb Lumber World Cup B Nordic Combined mass start cross country ski competition.

In Nordic combined mass start, the traditional format of jumping followed by a cross country ski race is reversed. The athletes have a 10 kilometer mass start race (all starting together in seeded positions) and finish wit...

BRETTON WOODS, NH ??” The Mount Washington Cog Railway will begin preliminary winter operations Saturday, December 18, 2004. Beginner terrain will open tomorrow, with trains taking skiers, snowboarders, and sightseers partway up the tracks, making a 400- to 500-foot ski run available. Tickets for all-day skiing at the Cog will be available at a discounted price of $25 until more terrain opens. Full trail opening is anticipated for Sunday, December 26....

CHAMPION, PA ??” With nearly a foot of natural snow this week, near perfect snowmaking conditions and the promise of more snow on the way, Seven Springs opened for the season today.

The resort opened 14 trails, including Avalanche, Tyrol, Stowe, Wagner and North Face slopes, Fawn Lane, Phillip's Run and Cortina trails. Six lifts were in operation, including the high-speed six-passenger Coca-Cola Polar Bear Express.

LAKE PLACID, NY ??” Bill Demong's return to the highest level of international Nordic combined racing took another upturn Thursday when the Vermontville, N.Y. native won a Lamb Lumber World Cup-B Nordic Combined race in Lake Placid.

The two-time Olympian, who lives 15 miles from the hills where he learned to jump and ski, captured the Gundersen individual 15 kilometer competition in come-from-behind fashion.

In clear, cold co...

WINDHAM, NY ??” Slopeside. It's the ski area hot spot. For lodging. For dining. For apres-ski action. For everything.

Except, many people think, for shopping.

"The idea that retail is more expensive at on-mountain ski shops is the major misconception we encounter," says A.J. Savasta, retail manager at Windham Mountain. "Our pricing is competitive. Many people are surprised by that."

Some perception of on-mount...