Anchorage, Alaska (Mountain Press)- The nation's most preeminent cross country athletes will have to wait to prove themselves as both able-bodied and adaptive races at the 2009 ConocoPhillips U.S. Cross Country Championships were canceled Saturday

San Leandro, Calif. (Mountain Press)-As a first step in 2009, the Conservation Alliance is teaming up with various member companies to launch a new stewardship initiative for ConservationNEXT, which is an online, social community that allows individuals to get involved with the Conservation Alliance and environmental protection.

Arapahoe Basin, Colo. (Mtn Press)-Arapahoe Basin’s Montezuma Bowl opened to the public at 11am, Tuesday, December 30. Great early season snowfall allowed A-Basin to groom and open the terrain two weeks earlier than expected.

Asheville, NC (Mtn Press)-Already this winter season there have been dozens of reports of in-bounds avalanches at ski-resorts, and in other popular sports areas. These reports have been mainly coming from Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. There have been nine reported deaths in the U.S. due to avalanches, with similar reports in Canada.

Teton Village, Wyoming (Ski Press)-The avalanche death of an in-bounds skier on Saturday at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort capped off one of the Rocky Mountains’ worst weeks on record as seven people died in five separate slides.