It's That Time of Year!

Well, it’s that time of year again. Where did the summer go? You have probably noticed the days getting shorter, the kids are getting ready for school, and you may have seen notices of ski shop sales. It’s time to start thinking about your ski trips for the coming winter. Many of the major resorts in New England & Eastern Canada open in mid November. That’s less than three months away.

Tours de Sport has been offering ski & snowboard vacations throughout the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada for 26 years so we have a bit of experience in trip planning. There is still plenty of availability for the Christmas holiday, some great deals for early season getaways, and don’t forget about Presidents’ Week. We can help with your family vacation, a couples’ weekend or group trip and it’s never too early to start the planning.

And, by the way, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting a colder and snowier than normal winter which should be great news after last year. So go on line and design your vacation or give us a call and speak with one of our vacation specialists and get going on that ski vacation today.

"The Big Breakup" or "Ski Life After ASC"

If your attention strayed early this Spring from skiing to tennis or golf or maybe your long neglected garden, you might have missed one of the biggest events to affect Eastern skiing since the heated gondola cabin.

The American Skiing Company, or ASC, as it was known with either grudging admiration or outright loathing depending on your point of view, basically ceased to exist late this Spring, as each resort in the ASC family was sold off to complete the dissolution of the company. For those of you may have come in late, here is a brief synopsis of what transpired.

It all began with the December announcement that ASC was selling Steamboat Resort in Colorado for $265 million to Intrawest, that other giant of resort ownership.

On February 16th, it was announced that Mount Snow and Attitash were being sold for $73.5 million to Peak Resorts, Inc., a resort operator with ski resorts in Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio. Included in the sale were the commercial cores of the Grand Summit hotels located at each resort. What is interesting here, is that this will be Peaks first foray into managing resort lodging. The sale was completed in late April.

Just four days later came the news that the big enchilada, Killington/Pico, was being sold for $83.5 million to a joint venture between SP Land Co., a Killington-based real estate development company, and Powdr Corp., a Utah ski resort company that owns several Western resorts, including Park City. The sale was completed in mid-May.

This left Sunday River and Sugarloaf as ASC's only remaining East Coast resorts, and for a good little while rumors were flying about what might happen, including Les Otten's possible interest in getting back into the ski game. Talk about things coming full circle! Les was, after all, the father of ASC back in the 1980's when he purchased Sunday River. When the dust finally settled, Sunday River and the Loaf were sold in early June to Boyne USA, Inc. for $77 million in cash. Boyne operates or has interests in seven other resorts in North America.

The final shoe dropped in late July with the sale of ASC's lone remaining resort, the Canyons, in Utah to the Toronto-based Talisker Corp. For the purchase price of $100 million, Talisker, which is developing a luxury residential community at nearby Deer Valley, will also assume about $600,000 in ASC debt. The sale is expected to close before the end of September. ASC has notified the SEC of its intention to dissolve the company and delist its stock.

Out of the ashes of ASC we now have the rebirth of six major resorts in New England under new management this winter. Interestingly, all of them were acquired by companies that have experience in ski resort operations elsewhere in the US and Canada. So what does this mean to you, the skier? We'll take that up on a resort-by-resort basis in a series of posts that will begin in early September. First up, will be, Putting the "snow" back in Mount Snow.

Holiday’s in the Northeast – A true Norman Rockwell moment!

The majestic mountains bustle with excitement as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and the golden colors of the fall foliage turn to the crystal white of the season’s first snowfall! It’s the start of not only the Northeast Ski season but also the beginning of the American holiday season.

If you are one of the many people that have not ventured to such areas as Stowe, VT, Bethel, ME or Lake Placid, NY during this festive time, you are indeed, missing out! Children partake in numerous winter activities as skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling and more! While quiet moments are enjoyed on a romantic sleigh ride or scenic gondola ride. Tis truly a sight to behold!

Norman Rockwell graced us for 40 years of painting Post Christmas covers, from 1916 to 1956. Rockwell may have captured better than any other artist the beauty, joy, and spirit of our favorite American holiday.

With the hustle and bustle of today’s lifestyle why not consider stepping back in time this winter season and taking you, your family or friends on a trip they will treasure for years to come!