Some good news for a couple of Michigan ski areas – Porcupine Mountain and Otsego Ski Club – that won’t be closed for the 2012/13 season. Minnesota’s Detroit Mountain Recreation Area is looking to reopen after an eight year hiatus.

There are 100 jokes in this headline, for sure. But for sustainability and creativity, it’s no laughing matter. The "Beast of the East" is bringing cow technology to its beacon, the K-1 Express Gondola.

Ohio’s Mad River Mountain, home hill to Olympian Louie Vito, will be hosting the Heartland’s first rail jam Nov. 4. Last year’s event was a huge hit, and over 400 people have already confirmed on MRM’s Facebook page they will be there for the “throw down.” The ski area’s annual Ski Patrol Ski Swap will be taking place inside the lodge. 

One of skiing’s original savants died Wednesday night (Oct. 17) in the French Alps. Emile Allais, who espoused the technique of parallel skiing when Austrian instructors were teaching the Arlberg (wedge) movement, succumbed after a brief illness. 

With the countdown underway to the start of the new ski and ride season, at least several New Hampshire resorts are still in fall mode around the Northeast.    

Midwest ski shows are a sure sign that the winter season is not far away, and two of the Heartland’s top shows take place this weekend: The Windy City Ski and Snowboard Show and the Minnesota Ski and Snowboard Expo. 

How would you like to ski 31 of Michigan’s top ski areas for less than $6.50 per visit this winter? 

Picture the Yankees and the Red Sox burying the hatchet. Imagine NBC and Conan kissing and making up. Now you know how unlikely it is that a Sugarbush-Mad River Glen partnership would develop. 

Ski area opening bragging rights go to the Midwest for the 2012/13 season.  Wild Mountain, east of the Twin Cities along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, opened today (10/7/12).

As the crow flies, not much separates major initiatives in the upper reaches of Vermont and New York. Although similar in nature, a massive project in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is already off the ground, while a comparable development in New York’s Adirondack Mountains is being slowed by an environmental lawsuit. (See related story).

Northwestern Lower Michigan around the Lake Michigan villages of Petoskey and Harbor Springs is known to snowsport’s enthusiasts as Boyne Country, home to Boyne Mountain and Highlands and Nubs Nob. There have been plenty of improvements. 

Five top Montana ski areas have season pass price increases coming over the next few weeks. Now is the time to act if you’re thinking of purchasing a season pass before prices increases start taking place.

Three Heartland ski areas are hosting early October open houses, festivals, rail jams and a chance to preview new gear for the coming season. 

One of the best reasons to visit Shanty Creek Resort this time of year is the spectacular fall color. Known for its variety of winter slopes, the resort’s 4,500 wooded acres turn brilliant shades of red, gold and yellow.

The Heartland’s newest high-speed lifts are being installed at Wisconsin’s Granite Peak Ski Area and Terry Peak Ski Area in the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

Now may not seem like the time to worry about next season’s lift ticket deals, but if you like skiing and boarding at Ski Brule, the best prices of the coming season are now available.

Zipline tours are popular pursuits at numerous ski resorts along the east coast and in the western mountains. Around the Great Lakes, you head to Michigan’s Boyne Country to find the Heartland’s only zipline tours. 

It may be the middle of August during one of the hottest Heartland summers on record, but several of the region’s ski areas are currently offering their best season pass deals for the 2012/13 season.

Record heat is scorching much of the Heartland this summer, so you might consider a quick trip to Big Sky Resort in the Montana mountains, with Yellowstone National Park just down the road.

Central Wisconsin offers mountain-like scenery at Devils Lake State Park, the popular Wisconsin Dells and the long running Tommy Bartlett Water Ski Show. Devils Head Resort, just down the road, is a great place to stay.