Easy Transport from Reno to North Tahoe Resorts
Since you don't need a car at Squaw Valley or Northstar-at-Tahoe, leave the driving to North Lake Tahoe Express (tel. 866/216-5222; www.northlaketahoeexpress.com). Vans operate daily between 3:30am and 12:00 midnight between Reno-Tahoe International Airport and North Shore resorts and also Truckee and Tahoe City. Fares are $35 on-way, $60 round-trip, with discounts for two or more. Reservations required. Tahoe Area Regional Transit (TART) shuttles operate between towns and resorts. There is also free nighttime service until midnight to the South Shore casinos.
New Skiers, Riders Net Free Year-Long Pass
Waterville Valley, NH's (tel. 800/GO-VALLEY; www.waterville.com) Learn to Ski and Ride Program reaps bonuses on the first three days of lessons and a yearlong season pass after that. Day 1: two-hour beginner lesson, rental equipment and a learning area lift ticket, $75. Day 2:� all of the above and $10 lunch voucher for any on-mountain restaurant, $70. Day 3: all of the above and a voucher for $50 Anon Helix goggles, redeemable that day at day at Sport Thoma. Sport Thoma also sells and offers special fittings of R.E.D. helmets for the new skier. After three days, the instructor signs a special "passport." On Day 4, purchase a regular lift ticket and receive a season valid for the next 12 months.
Loon Helps the Ladies Get Off the Greens
Loon Mountain, NH (tel. 800/229-LOON; www.loonmtn.com) offers a Women's Breakthrough Workshop every Sunday morning help women skiers and snowboarders step up their comfort level, from green to blue runs and from blue to black. Loon's top female instructors conduct the workshops, and Mountainside Rental Shop stocks women-specific skis and boots. Cost is $69, plus lifts and rentals.
Take the A Train to Ski
Located only five miles to from Amtrak's Windsor Station, Ascutney Mountain Resort (tel. 800/243-0011; www.ascutney.com), VT, appeals to both rail fans and those who just want to avoided crowded highways and winter driving conditions. Once at the resort, a car is unnecessary in the self-contained (and newly renovated) resort village. Rail riders get a deal too: 20 percent off the train fare, round-trip shuttle between station and resort, three nights' lodging, 2½ days of lifts coordinated with the train schedule starting at $270 per person, non-holiday Sunday through Friday stays and from $364 per adult, $324 per child.
Olympic Host Cypress Mountain Adds Quad Chairlift
Whistler/Blackcomb, BC, venue for the Alpine and Nordic events at the 2010 Winter Olympics has an international reputation, but when the spotlight shines on the hot freestyle and snowboard competitions, Cypress Mountain (tel. 604/926-5612; www.cypressmountain.com) will be in the spotlight. In preparation, this area just 30 minutes from Vancouver has added a new highspeed quad chairlift, nine new runs and an in-ground superpipe.
Total Makeover of Michigan Resort Hotel
Lakeview Hotel & Conference Center is the new name for original slopeside lodge at Summit Village at Michigan's Shanty Creek Resorts (tel. 800/678-4111; www.shantycreek.com). The 185 rooms have been renovated and upgraded for this winter, and the lobby and public spaces will be remade following the ski season for a total investment of $10 million.
Vanoise Cable Car on Hold This Season
The gigantic Vanoise cable car linking the French resorts of Les Arcs (tel. +33 (0) 4 79 07 12 57; www.lesarcs.com) and La Plagne (tel. +33 (0) 4 79 09 79 79; www.la-plagne.com/en/Home-UK.phtml) to create the Paradiski domain (www.paradiski.fr) will not operate this season "for some technical reason," according to the resorts. This one-of-a-kind lift features two 200-passenger, double-decker cabins operating independently on two separate cables. When operating, it crosses the Ponthurin valley, some thousand feet below in just four minutes, linking Peisey-Vallandry on the Les Arcs side with Les Coches on the La Plagne side. With the big lift down, the Paradiski lift pass is not being sold. A technological wonder, but one prone to technical problems.
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