New gondola cabins, additional ski terrain, improved snowmaking and two new snowcats highlight $7 million in capital improvements at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain Resort this summer.

Skiers and snowboarders at Okemo Mountain Resort this winter will view their ride up the mountain through the bright orange tint of a retractable, transparent dome.  A  new, high-speed, six-pack bubble chairlift with heated seats – the first of its kind in North America - is under construction at the Ludlow, Vt. resort.

Dennis Barquinero named general manager at the Jackson Gore Inn at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt.

One of Wilmot Mountain’s most popular chairlifts, aka Chair 5, was down for much of last season much to the chagrin of its many patrons, but there’s some good news.

One of the top summer attractions in the Heartland and around the Great Lakes, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, last summer drew over 1.3 million visitors last summer that came to climb the dunes and enjoy this pristine environment. 

Jim Seely, a Las Vegas native and current member of the resort’s marketing staff, has been named Director of Marketing for  Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort (LVSSR).

With 130-some years as a Heartland tourist destination you could hardly call Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, sedate.

A plan to expand its race and training terrain at Golden Peak has been submitted to the U.S. Forest Service by Vail Resorts. The plan increases available terrain by 68 acres, allowing for some 41 acres of additional trails, three surface lifts and more snowmaking.

Blackjack LLC, owner of Blackjack Ski Resort, has executed an agreement to acquire next door neighbor Indianhead Mountain Resort, and the deal is expected to be consummated by the end of the month. 

New jet non-stop service to Jackson Hole, Wyo. is set to be offered from 13 cities for the 2014-15 season. The announcement follows a successful season that showed an increase of 10 percent coming through the airport and a record number of skier days set at 530,000.

Zipline tours are popular pursuits at ski resorts along the east coast and in the western mountains, but around the Great Lakes not so much.  You need to head to Michigan’s Boyne Country to find the Heartland’s only multiple zipline tours.  

One of the widest reaching of the relatively new multi-resort passes — the Powder Alliance — has jumped the border into Canada, adding British Columbia's Silver Star to its list of western U.S. participants.

Eight months after kicking off Colorado’s record-breaking 2013-14 ski and ride season, Arapahoe Basin will operate for one final weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 20-22) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Summer is a great time to visit America’s national parks, and two of the most popular are easily accessed from a pair of trendy Montana resorts.

Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced that statewide skier visits totaled an estimated 12.6 million for the 2013/14 ski season, the best season on record in the state. Colorado was up more than 10 percent compared to last season and more than 8 percent compared to the five-year-average. This report is courtesy of our partners, Mountain i Journals and was written by Allen Harvey.

Considered one of the Heartland’s top family resorts, Michigan’s Crystal Mountain is adding several new outdoor adventures this summer that will appeal to all family members.

Vermont’s resorts celebrated a stellar season at the Vermont Ski Areas Association annual meeting at Killington Resort. There were 4,503,269 skier and rider visits, nearly identical to last year’s near-record numbers.

Summer has barely started in the Heartland, but a trio of ski resorts already has projects underway to enhance skiing and riding conditions next winter. There are also some new summer offerings. 

Not ready to pack it in yet? No need. Arapahoe Basin, Colo. will once again extend skiing and riding – this time for three weekends in June – into the “summer season.’

The baton drops on the Vermont Symphony Orchestra 2014 Summer Festival Tour at the Jackson Gore Inn at Vermont’s Okemo Mountain Resort, Friday, June 27. This will be the orchestra’s fourth appearance at Okemo.