In the shadow of battling behemoths, smaller, independent ski areas are thriving.  Arapahoe Basin, Echo Mountain, Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Granby, Silverton Mountain and Wolf Creek all report record visits, and revenues in the last two seasons.

Used to be that the first week of April was the traditional time to hang up the skis, store away the boots, and dust off the summer recreation equipment. Not so much nowadays.

With decreasing snowpack due to drought and climate change, the ski industry has invested millions of dollars in more efficient snowmaking systems.

Last season, Covid gave a jolt to the time-honored habits of skiers and riders, but the 2021-2022 season promises to be a bit less restrictive -- with exceptions.

Vail Resorts' portfolio includes five New England and Middle Atlantic resorts that will see new lifts going up in the next summer's construction season.

Having paused lift construction in the 2020-2021 season, Vail Resorts unleashed its financial wherewithal to make it easier to move around a half-dozen of the 19 of its ski and snowboard mountains in the Rockies and the Sierra.

The 2021-20 Colorado ski and snowboard season is just around the corner. See a full list below of when you can hit the slopes.

When Vail bought Canada’s famed Whistler Blackcomb ski mountain, locals were nervous. Now, after a record season of visitors, they’re enraged.

Three years after being acquired by big ski conglomerates, Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain faced their biggest test yet: COVID-19.

Vail Resorts has announced a 20% decrease in their Epic season passes for the 2021-22 ski season, and that also includes their Epic local passes at all their Midwest ski areas. A little bit of good news for those skiers that like to mainly ski local.

Following a tough 2020-2021 season that forced all U.S. resorts to adjust on the fly, skiers and riders who purchase an Epic Pass for next season will get a 20% price break.

Skiing, despite the cold, the travel and the high cost, offers an attraction few sports can rival. In a word: "Freedom," said Henri Rivers, of West Babylon.

After the majority of the 470 ski areas in the United States closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Ski Areas Association reported skier visitor numbers dropped 14% compared to the 2018-19 season. It was a blow to the resorts, the towns they call home and a multitude of businesses that serve the industry with everything from gear and accessories to hotels, shuttle companies and more.

It used to be you’d have to go out west for a top-notch upscale ski vacation, but fortunately, that is no longer true. With a major transformation over the past 10 years, Stowe Mountain and the Spruce Peak Village will truly give you everything you are looking for in a ski vacation.

Cold feet: This was my biggest concern.

Millions of Americans would love to bust out of pandemic isolation and go skiing.

In the spring, during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, Colorado’s Summit County — home to the sought-after mountain destination of Breckenridge — enacted one of the strictest stay-at-home lockdowns in the country.

Vail Resorts Inc., one of the largest financial contributors to Colorado’s cloud seeding program, has dropped out this year, leaving a major hole in the program’s budget.

The good news is that Vermont’s ski resorts plan to be open this winter. Offering the fun of skiing and snowboarding is still the focus, but the mountain experience will look different due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

With snowflakes already falling at high elevations and lifts scheduled to open just weeks from now, many of us are dreaming of mountain escapes, imagining that first run of the season.