Snow Trails Founder David Carto Credited for Contributions to the Industry.

LAKEWOOD, COLO. – May 30, 2008 – Snow Trails founder and president David Carto today was honored with the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1961, David Carto along with seven other investors built Snow Trails from a hilly farm pasture and a converted 1890’s bank barn into the first commercial ski area in Ohio. Being below the 41^st parallel, it was the most southern location for a ski area at the time. The first season was successful due to a cold and relatively snowy winter in addition to the snowmaking efforts. The areas first chairlift was installed for the 1962/63 season. The original renovated barn was quadrupled in size by 1968 and additional building construction to house the rental-ticketing facility was completed by 1971. Snow Trails continued to innovate and installed the first airless snowmaking system in 1972. Other buildings housing operations and a large, state-of-the-art maintenance building were completed in 1994.

The lodge, ski shop, operations and the maintenance buildings are all heated and cooled by geothermal exchangers utilizing water that is used in snowmaking in the winter. Snow Trails also pioneered the industry’s first power-driven rotary tiller for grooming in 1981, and in 1985, snowboarding as well as instruction was offered for the first time.

David served as a member of NSAA Board of Directors 1974 to 1980 and on the Midwest Ski Area Operators Board in the 1970s. He created the Ohio Alpine Committee which brought sanctioned ski racing to Ohio in the 1960s, and initiated the first USSA Central Division Junior Ski Racing program in the early 70s. In addition, he organized the Ohio Conference of Ski Area Operators in 1979 to lobby for ski liability legislation patterned after similar laws enacted in ski states that was passed by Ohio Legislature in November 1980, and signed into law in January 1981. To reflect the use of snowboards and other changes in the industry, an amended version was passed in 1996 as a result of similar efforts. He has served as secretary on the Ohio Ski Tramway Board, that was established by the ski law, since its inception in 1981. David’s four children are all involved in the ownership and operation of Snow Trails. The award was officially presented May 30 at NSAA’s National Convention and Tradeshow at the Hilton San Francisco, Calif. For more information visit nsaa.org.

The National Ski Areas Association, located in Lakewood, Colo., is a trade association formed in 1962 for ski area owners and operators nationwide.