It's "finally ... beginning to look something like
Christmas in the mountains" of ME, NH and VT, according to
the Providence JOURNAL. But "snowmaking can only go so
far." Ski ME Association Exec Dir Greg Sweetser: "There
will be skiing. ... But if you want to ski every inch of
glades, well, it's still early in the season." VT Ski Areas
Association Marketing Dir Molly Mahar Kerr said after the
recent snowfall, "We're a little more in the holiday spirit
now" (Prov. JOURNAL, 12/16). But in Aspen, Scott Condon
wrote that some CO ski resorts are "staring at a millennium
bust that threatens to get even worse unless more snow falls
-- and fast." Numbers from the Aspen Chamber Resort
Association showed that "current reservations would produce
an occupancy level in the mid-50s" for the week of December
18, "about the same as last year." Aspen Skiing Co. COO
John Norton: "I think it's going to be as quiet around here
as we've seen in years" (ASPEN TIMES, 12/15).
NEW FEATURE: See THE DAILY on Friday for the first of
our ski resort "Spons-o-Meters." Tomorrow: American Skiing.
SKI DEALS: GM's Chevy Truck Division formally announced
that it will title sponsor the NASTAR, a recreational ski
and snowboard program that will relaunch December 20 in an
effort to promote recreational ski racing. Kaleidoscope,
along with Ski Magazine and the U.S. Skiing Association, has
repackaged the NASTAR program for the 2000 season (NASTAR).
...In N.Y., Mindy Sink examines Vail Resorts' three-year
deal with DLJDirect (see THE DAILY, 12/7), which includes
computer kiosks at Vail's mountains. Since Vail Resorts is
publicly traded, an investor could "theoretically" trade
Vail stock "while on the slopes." Vail spokesperson Paul
Witt: "If the snow's looking really good, then you might be
thinking, 'Buy, buy, buy'" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/16).