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Lift Ticket Discounts Thanks To Liftopia

We've already jinxed ourselves with our early winter wishes this year. But since the cold weather is inevitable, we might as well embrace it. This year, finding that ideal mountain and lift ticket is going to be a lot simpler thanks to Liftopia.

Liftopia is similar to other travel booking sites but with a specific focus on lift tickets and other ski related products. There's also a lot of information on what's happening at your favorite resorts, including conditions and trail openings. Users are also welcome to chime in and share their experiences direct from the slopes.

Of course the best reason to search Liftopia is for discounts of up to 70 percent when buying tickets in advance. Right now you can get a lift ticket at Windham Mountain in the Catskills for just $24, just days before Christmas. It may not be the peak of ski season, but, hey, 24 bucks. With more than 80 resort partners and growing, Liftopia's a travel site to keep your eye on.

Related Stories:
· Liftopia [Official Site]
· Windham Mountain [Official Site]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

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The (Bankrupt) Yellowstone Club

Allow us to savor a bit of schadenfreude with this news: The tony Yellowstone Club has filed for bankruptcy. The swanky, members-only resort outside of Big Sky, Montana--that counts former VP Dan Quayle, cyclist Greg LeMond and Bill Gates as members--couldn't seal a new investment deal and so has asked a federal court for protection from creditors as it reorganizes its finances.

The sprawling complex already boasts a golf course, private skiing and clusters of log-cabin style "residences," as well as three mountain lodges where--we imagine--Bart Bass-style captains of industry feast on ortolan and quaff centuries-old port.

Just weeks before US Treasury Secretary Paulson started handing out billions to banks, The Yellowstone Club was planning to add 450 additional condos, a spa and even more skiing. Needless to say, those plans are now on hold. Maybe if the resort goes out of business the rich will be stuck buying "cheap" $62-a-day lift tickets like the rest of us!

Related Stories:
· The Yellowstone Club [Official Site]
· Exclusive Yellowstone Club Files for Bankruptcy [AP, via Google]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

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Praying For Snow Proven Effective As Another Resort Opens

We already know how things are going in Colorado, and apparently our snow dance has worked. Snowbird Resort in Utah is set to open up the lifts tomorrow. They’ve already had three feet of snow this month and, with the help of a little grooming, they're ready to go.

The main tram as well as the Gadzoom and Mid-Gad lifts will be working out the kinks beginning at 9 am. This is the second-earliest opening in the mountain’s history, and Snowbird appears to be offering a better experience than some of the more forced openings at other mountains.

Even though it’s early in the season, an all-day lift ticket is still going to set you back $62. At least you’ll be enjoying the snow instead of shoveling it off the driveway.

Related Stories:
· Snowbird Opens for Skiing Friday [Salt Lake Tribune]
· Snowbird Resort [Official Site]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: vice48sr5005]

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Bring On The Snow

Time to put fall festivals and Halloween to bed. Screw the cornucopias, pumpkins and earth tones--let's carve through the white stuff!

Just a quick ride from Denver, Loveland Ski Area kicked off the season in late September by firing up the snow making guns. A little warm spell in early October slowed them down, but the weather lately has been wintry, and they've got one lift running and three beginner trails where you can shake out the off-season.

Only about ten minutes away, machine-made groomed snow is also what's available at Arapahoe Basin. They only have a sliver of the action open so far, but one lift is running and there are a couple trails to navigate. Conditions may not be ideal, but where else can you find a resort that's open from October until early June? We'll regret saying this later, but winter can't come soon enough!

Related Stories:
· Loveland Ski Area [Official Site]
· Arapahoe Basin Ski Area [Official Site]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Loveland: andrewparnell]

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New for Winter: Ski and Therapy Combo Vacations

We're not averse to a vacation that also teaches us something, but when we heard the idea of combining life coaching with a skiing session at Chamonix we wanted to put our foot down.

Not that we are like, totally on top of our lives or anything--we do that procrastinating thing and don't always love our in-laws--but a ski vacation is something we want to enjoy. Psycho-babble on the ski lift and analysis of what our ski style says about our life decisions might just spoil that a bit.

But the UK Times journo who took up the challenge of life coaching-plus-skiing reckoned he got a lot out of it. Putting your body on the edge on difficult slopes apparently helps you get your life in perspective too. Just don't plan on seeing us along for the ride.

Related Stories:
· Skiing with a Life Coach [UK Times]
· Learning Holidays coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: drobnikm]

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Summer Vacation with an Edge: Skiing the Andes

The summer months don't exactly scream skiing and mountaineering, but if you head to the Andes Mountains in Chile that's exactly what the summer is all about. Just wait until you get back home and tell all you friends about the world-class ski trip you took over Labor Day Weekend.

ChileMontaña offers a tour of Portillo, El Arpa, La Parva and Valle Nevado over a week. You'll start off in Santiago and you'll return there at the end of your summer/winter vacation. Each ski area offers something different--huge mountain peaks, steep and deep terrain and even a 3,000-foot decent at El Arpa.

The trip offers opportunities for both skiers and snowboarders alike. You'll spend your evenings in high-end accommodations, and cultural interaction and cuisine are also on the agenda. The tour will set you back $2,800 per person, but that price does cover pretty much everything including airport transfers, dinner and lift tickets. All you need to do is get your flight and pack a pair or two of skis.

Related Stories:
· ChileMontaña [Official Site]
· Ski Resorts in Summer: Skiing Edition [Jaunted]
· Summer Vacations with an Edge coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ChileMontaña]

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Ski Resorts in Summer: Skiing Edition!?

While we sweat it out here in the States, going to cook outs, forming relationships that won't last past Labor Day and crashing on our friends' couch at their beach house, life in the deep Southern hemisphere is in full-on winter mode. Argentina has been having a moment the last couple years with lots of coverage about super-cool Buenos Aires. But a lesser known feather in the old Argentine cap is the Las Leñas ski area.

Located just 90 minutes by air from Buenos Aires, the Las Leñas Valley is a hot spot for South American ski nuts as well as North Americans looking for the perfect year-round snow buzz. The base area of the resort is pretty much the whole town, where you'll find cheap-to-five-star dining options and lodging, as well as clubs and bars that go off all night.

For people from North America, the mountain definitely has a much different look and feel: This stretch of the Andes has craggy, cathedral-esque formations full of open snowfields and tight, steep chutes. So whether you're headed down to experience a different culture or the rush of your life, Las Leñas has you covered.

Related Stories:
· Las Leñas [Official Site]
· Ski Resorts in Summer coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Powderruns]

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Ski Travel: A Piece of Dubai on LI?

Most New Yorkers would probably file indoor ski mountains among "things we never knew we needed." But if developers have their way, the NYC metro area will soon be home to not one, but two of these modern monstrosities.

The revamped New Jersey Meadowlands complex is set to open an indoor slope later this year near Giants Stadium. Now comes word that developers plan to bring another enclosed slope to Long Island.

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What Will You Break on a Ski Break?

Skiing might sound like an invigorating winter vacation pastime, but some think it's got a dangerous side. Judging by the photos in a Times report out of the UK over the weekend, it's true. They put together a special about ski breaks of a different sort: those in holidaymakers bones.

As well as showing a neat collection of x-rays, the newspaper drew on the info at a website called ski-injury.com, which collates data about ski accidents in Scotland. What worried us the most was that it's not those risk-taking advanced skiers that are most likely to break a bone--it's beginners.

For skiers, the most common damage to do to yourself is injuring a knee, with the head and shoulders also taking a beating. Snowboarders face different dangers, with 25 percent of their injuries being to wrists.

On an across-the-world basis, winter sport enthusiasts will be happy to hear that skiing and snowboarding are really relatively safe. A skier would have to ride for around 1,000 days--nearly three years non-stop--to guarantee an injury, and snowboarders--depending on whose stats you believe--can go 500 days between incidents. The good news is that whichever stats you manipulate, it sure ain't as dangerous as Mom said, so get out there and hit the slopes.

Related Stories:
· Ski Breaks: The X-Ray Stories [UK Times]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]
· Ski Areas Near Airports Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: gojumeister]

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Active Travel: Ski Jumping In Park City

The International Olympic Committee claims women's ski jumping doesn't merit admission into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver because the sport wouldn't be competitive enough. That has former Salt Lake City mayor Deedee Corradini protesting the decision, along with her Women's Ski Jumping USA Foundation.

Maybe if more ladies strapped on skis and started jumping, they'd join the cause. The facilities used for the 2002 Olympics are open to the public year-round, and a few local clubs offer lessons and camps to learn the sport.

An all-day personal lesson from Axis Freeride costs $500. Yeah, it sounds steep, but if you want to learn how to rocket down a big icy ramp and fling yourself through the air, you can't skimp. (A half-day intro class will run you $85, but you'll need to bring your own gear.)

By the end of the day, you'll be flying 30 feet off the K10 jump--and if you're especially talented, your instructor might let you try the K20 or K40, which send you soaring up to 100 feet. In addition to ski jumping, you can also learn bobsled, skeleton and luge. Try 'em all before deciding what kind Olympics protest to join.

Related Stories:
· Former Salt Lake City Mayor Leads Ski Jump Protest [24 Hours]
· Axis Freeride [Official Site]
· Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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Near-Record Snowfall at Tahoe

We really like skiing and boarding. But that doesn't mean we want to spend our whole vacation just getting to the mountain. Our Ski Areas Near Airports Map will help you maximize your time on the slopes.

While the rest of the country slogs its way through a long and merciless winter, Lake Tahoe's ski resorts are getting pounded with near-record snowfall. Weekend storms dumped an extra three feet of fresh powder on top of an already high base level--over 12 feet at some spots!

Spring skiing has always been popular at Tahoe, and every year some lifts stay open until May despite balmy temperatures. With the snowpack at the highest its been in decades and La Nina likely to bring abnormally cooler weather, this year looks to be even better.

The North Lake Tahoe Express will get you from the airport to the slopes in about an hour, so those looking for a quick weekend jaunt need not involve an automobile; it'll keep your carbon footprint small, too. Then again, with snow like this, we 're starting to wonder what the hell Al Gore was so worried about.

Related Stories:
· Lake Tahoe Snow Conditions [Official Site]
· Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Squaw Valley [Jaunted]
· Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Northstar-at-Tahoe [Jaunted]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Telstar Logistics]

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Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Bridger Bowl

The powder paradise of Bridger Bowl Ski Area is but a twenty-minute drive from Bozeman, Montana. Even better, the town's nearest airport, Gallatin Field Airport, is just eight miles away.

Bridger's average annual snowfall of 350 inches buries the area's 71 trails, which are split pretty evenly between beginner, intermediate, advanced and extreme. If you feel like flexing that health insurance, hit up the extreme trails' 8,700-foot elevation, steep chutes and rocky cliffs. Or, if you enjoy skiing on trails that don't require the use of an avalanche transceiver, take one of Bridger's seven lifts to the area's less daunting pistes.

While Bridger can help guests find lodging, it's not the traditional resort. It's a non-profit mountain, so lift tickets are a reasonable $43 for a full day. You can also get in on some package deals. The PowderHound Package includes four days of skiing and four nights at one of the area's vacation rental homes for the price of three.

Related Stories:
· Bridger Bowl [Official site]
· Ski Areas Near Airports Map [Jaunted]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]
· Montana Travel coverage [Jaunted]