October 19, 2004 -- It's that time of year when lodges start gearing up for the ski season. How can we tell? They're starting to offer those early season deals for those willing to gamble on the weather. If you want to improve your chances of powdery slopes, we got offers for later in the season as well. Today we look at popular resorts out west.
Two of the top resorts here have packages for the slopes from late November through December this year. At the Spring Creek Ranch (tel. 800/443-6139 or 307/733-8833; www.springcreekranch.com), their "Ski Free" package is priced from $150 per room per night (two persons in the room), and includes a deluxe room with fireplace, breakfast for two daily and lift tickets to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort or Grand Targhee (limit two per day). This is available from late November to December 24.
At the Wort Hotel (tel. 800/322-2727; www.worthotel.com) there's a "Ski Three Free" package offering savings of up to 50%, they say, and good for travel from late November through December 21. This three-night deal is priced at $106.77 per person per night and gets your accommodations (including tax and service); daily continental breakfast; all ski transfers, ski storage and use of the fitness room and Jacuzzi; and daily lift tickets to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Grand Targhee or Snow King (limit one ticket per person per day). The hotel also has one- and two-night "Ski Free" packages.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is scheduled to open in early December, and Grand Targhee opens in mid-November, snow permitting.
Across Utah
Ski Utah (tel. 800/754-8824; www.skiutah.com) has dozens of offerings on the slate this season for families. The Navajo Lodge Learning Center at Brian Head Resort (tel. 435/677-2047; www.brianhead.com) has special programs for kids, including the "Mountain Explorer," which offers beginner and moderate skiing lessons for 6- to 12-year-olds and snowboarding lessons for 7- to 12-year-olds. Included are coaching, lunch, all-day rental equipment, all-day supervision and an all-day lift ticket for $89. The program runs daily from 9 to 3:30.
A "Tiny Tracks" program for kids 3-5 has two daily sessions, with semi-private lessons (2 to 1 instructor-to-student ratio for 3 year-olds for a 1 hour each session; four-and five-year olds with two hour sessions, 6 to 1 teaching ratio). Coaching, lunch, equipment and lift tickets are included here as well for $89; a half-day afternoon option is available for $74, based on availability.
There are free ski programs for children of various ages at other Utah resorts including:
- The Brighton Resort (tel. 800/873-5512; www.skibrighton.com)
- The Canyons (tel. 435/615-3402; www.thecanyons.com)
- Park City Mountain Resort (tel. 800/222-7275; www.parkcitymountain.com)
- Snowbird Ski Resort (tel. 800/232-9542; www.snowbird.com)
- Sundance (tel. 800/892-1600; www.sundanceresort.com)
According to tourism officials here, you can save up to 30% on reservations if you book by October 31, 2004. It's not a bad offer to consider since three inches of snow have already fallen at the time of this writing. The "Stay & Ski Five-Night" promotion includes five nights of lodging, a four-day ski lift ticket and a discount coupon booklet offering discounts to local shops and restaurants. You also get a free upgrade to Fresh Tracks lift tickets (limited to only 650 people and good for the whole season), offering mountaintop breakfast and early-morning access to the best slope conditions. The package can be customized, but starts at $335 (C$435) per person if you book by October 31, 2004. Call 800/WHISTLER (944-7852) to book of visit www.tourismwhistler.com for more details.
Expert skiers are awaiting the opening in January 2005 of Telluride's new Mountain Quail. You have to be an expert to use this, the first-ever hike-to terrain for skiing within the resort. You hike for 30 minutes from the top of Lift 12, the northwest-facing chute here then affording skiers and boarders 1100 feet of vertical drop, with plenty of "face shots" and powder turns.
Each ski tour here will be led by experts, ski school instructors and ski patrollers, following a 15-minute safety orientation. Each skier will be required to wear a beacon and shovel, both provided by the resort. Weather and conditions permitting, Mountain Quail will open the guided hike-to terrain as early as mid-January 2005. For more information, phone 970/728-7409 or visit www.tellurideskiresort.com.
US Airways Vacations (tel. 800/352-8747; www.usairwaysvacations.com//vacation_savers/ski_vail.asp) has a "Ski Vail Super Sale" on right now on packages that include your airfare and accommodations in a choice of 20 participating resorts at Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek If you book a stay of five or six nights, you get 10,000 bonus frequent flier miles on USAir; for seven nights or longer, you get 15,000. They also throw in an upgrade from mid-size to full-size when adding on a rental car. Ski vacations start from $986 per person for five nights at the Gateway Mountain Lodge for departures out of the carrier's hometown of Philadelphia (a multitude of departure gateways are available at varying costs). You must book by December 15 for travel from January 8 - February 17, February 26 - March 12, and April 2 - 17.
Vail says it will have 33% more grooming for corduroy lovers with the addition of ten new snow cats, while the affiliated Heavenly Resort on the California shores of Lake Tahoe has expended more than $200 million in improvements, including a new village, new transit system, new lifts, lodge renovations and a new 15-acre beginners' area. Contact Vail at www.snow.com.
Do you know of a great offer for skiing this winter? Tell us about it on our Winter Sport Message Boards today.