WINTER SKI REPORT -- NORTHEAST STRUGGLES AS SNOWBOARDS SURGE

     Ski resorts from "Canada to Connecticut are suffering warm
weather meltdowns that have left many of New England's best
slopes speckled with green grass," according to a report in the
BOSTON GLOBE.  As of early this week, 35 of the 69 ski areas in
the New England Ski Areas Council were listed as closed.  Areas
that remained open this week "were mostly those that had invested
heavily in snowmaking equipment" (Ackerman & Arnold, BOSTON
GLOBE, 1/18).
     SNOWBOARD REPORT: Michael Farber reports on snowboarding in
the current issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.  Snowboarding is "the
new craze at America's winter playgrounds," and the National
Sporting Goods Association estimates that by the year 2000, there
will be close to four million snowboarders.  Farber writes that
not "only has a new sport and culture emerged, but also a new
industry" (Michael Farber, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 1/23 issue).