As the snow begins to fall, it's time to plan ahead and book a flight to your favorite Colorado resort -- whether flying in from East, West or in between.

 A series of storms will target the West this week with some of the heaviest snow yet of the season in the Sierras, while the East continues to bask in mild temperature. Here are the details in this week’s SnoCast.

Snowstar Winter Sports Park, located within 10 minutes of the Quad Cities, has been purchased by Jennifer and Doug Harper from nearby Illinois City. They managed the ski area last season and bought it this past summer. Without their assistance, the resort would not have opened last year, according to the assistant manager at the time of the sale Valerie O'Rouke in a press statement.

Michigan-based Wisconsin Resorts, which also owns five other Great Lakes ski areas, recently purchased its sixth Midwest ski area, Alpine Valley in the southern part of the Wolverine State.

The race to be the first to drop the ropes on the 2021-22 season has a new winner this season, as the "friendly" cloak-and-dagger competition reached new heights.

Since hedge-fund manager Louis Bacon bought Taos Ski Valley in 2013, skiers and riders who favor the New Mexico resort have seen something new each season: infrastructure, chairlifts, overnight accommodations, even paved parking lots, and all-mountain cell service.

This past week featured the first significant snow of the season. Many ski areas across the Rockies received 4”-10”, with locally near a foot and a half, of fresh snow.

As the next major step in the Sunday River 2030 plan for enhancing the guest experience, Sunday River is scheduled to install the fastest 8-person chair in North America for the 2022-23 winter season. The Jordan 8, a new Doppelmayr D-Line chairlift that is among the most advanced in the world, features weather-blocking bubble covers and will access terrain on Jordan Bowl and beyond.

After attempts to sell the Jay Peak ski area were halted at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, sale discussions have been taking place with several interested parties this year, according to an update from the receiver appointed after the former owner was accused of fraud in 2016.

The annual race to be the first U.S. ski and snowboard resort to turn on its lifts is on, as the three usual competitors Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Keystone utilize their highest-in-the-nation elevations for both the natural and man-made snow cover necessary to win.

Another ski season is nearly here, which means another season of SnoCast is back! This week, we're tracking the first potential big snow of the season. 

One of the best ways to enjoy breathtaking fall views that abound across the upper Midwest is a slow chairlift ride to the top of the ski hill. Here are some of the best around the upper Midwest.

The arrival of October signals one thing for Colorado’s most passionate skiers and snowboarders: Three Front Range ski areas that vie annually for the distinction of being first to open for the season could begin snowmaking operations very soon.

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.

It takes more than good terrain to be a truly great ski town. When you're walking in ski boots and lugging your equipment around, a town that sits at the base of the ski area or has a great bus system will make all the difference.

Even with the annual uncertainty around Sierra snowfall, this upcoming ski season will be the first that China Peak’s operators can fully deploy a new capital investment.

Autumn in Vermont is hard to beat. Fall foliage, brewfests and flannels make for the quintessential New England experience. Many of Vermont's ski areas will be hosting brewfests and Octoberfests as well as providing scenic chairlift rides for leaf peeping. 

Utah's Snowbasin Resort has announced significant enhancements and upgrades to the resort and quest experience, some of which will be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season.

The tradition of sprawling preseason ski shows took a hiatus last season, but many have returned this autumn to get skiers and riders hyped up for the upcoming winter.