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.    

Halloween gets us closer and closer to the opening of the ski and ride season. Many resorts or nearby towns are planning Halloween events. Here are a few to check out.

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? 

Now there’s a new way to combine a bit of city and mountain winter vacationing. Eurostar has forged a partnership with the international high-speed train service, “TGV Lyria” for weekly service between London and several popular Swiss resorts.

Most Colorado resorts had to scale back off-season upgrades in the face of an 11 percent drop in skier-days in 2011-2012, but regulars at a number of mountains will notice some welcome enhancements.

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. 

Shades of Billie Jean King (if you’re old enough to remember the tennis “battle of the sexes”). Now, American superstar Lindsey Vonn – who already has won on the Lake Louise women’s downhill course 10 times – wants a shot at the men.

Pick your location across the Northeast and a number of ski resorts were admiring the first snows of the 2012-13 season.

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).

Guests at 49 Degrees North, 49 miles from Spokane, Wash., will be riding a new double chairlift on Angel Peak this winter and enjoying a Mid Mountain Lodge by 2014.

There’s an apparent increase in certified ski and snowboard instructors getting paid for lessons outside of normal working hours, a trend that has prompted resorts to take action. 

North Carolina Ski Areas Association’s 2012-13 Gold Card is worth its weight in gold for skiers and riders.

So, you want to free ski with members of the U.S. Ski Team at Copper Mountain prior to opening? Copper Mountain season pass holders can enter a contest on Facebook to do just that.

Several British Columbia ski resorts – Big White, Silver Star, Whistler Blackcomb, Fernie, Mount Washington, Panorama – have been busy with new offerings for skiers and boarders this season. Here are some of those offerings. 

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).

Less than 50 days to opening day at Park City Mountain Resort and even less time to get in shape if you're planning to ski Solitude, Brighton.

The inaugural version of Ski Utah Magazine has launched taking the Beehive State’s ski trade association in a new direction. 

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.