When we shut down this blog in June, left off with the heartbreaking story of Bode and Morgan Miller losing their young daughter Emmy in a tragic swimming pool accident….so we’ll kick the new season off with news (if you haven’t heard) that the Millers have welcomed a baby boy into the family, and we’ll add our voice to the rest of the skiing community in offering joy and best wishes…speaking of World Cup greats, Lindsey Vonn just announced that this upcoming campaign will be her last, regardless of where she stands with Ingemar Stenmark’s record.  I say good for her, she’s got nothing to prove to anybody…our lead photo today is just one of the newsworthy new off season lift installs, this is indeed Chet’s Dream and is a new high speed quad replacing the old #1 chair at Loveland,  Colorado.  This is the first detachable at the I-70 ski area, and I’m glad to see it…south a bit, Taos Ski Valley is making some big changes in New Mexico, they’re adding a high speed chair and something called a “gondolita,” which is designed to connect the base area with their beginner/novice terrain…turning east, new chairs in the Catskills as Hunter Mountain opening up a new section of mountain, and nearby Windham completing work on their new six pack…big goings on in Vermont at Killington; Kmart putting a high speed lift up on Snowdon peak, and they’re moving that  chair over to what used to be the South Ridge Triple.  They’re also doing some serious snowmaking pipe work — I can tell you the top of Bear Peak looks like Superman hit it with a giant can opener, and the new pipelines are darn impressive…biggest news in the mid-Atlantic region is Peak Resorts‘ spending spree; the Missouri operator just inked a deal to buy out Snowtime Inc. which means that Pennsy areas Ski Liberty Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort and Roundtop Mountain Resort are now part of the growing Peak family.  Peak, if you aren’t familiar with it, also owns Mount Snow VT, Attitash and Wildcat NH, and the aforementioned Hunter NY. …hey it’s great to be back; we’ll see you next week with more off season happenings!