Best Ski Resorts for Beginners

by Adrienne Wilson on

My first attempt at skiing didn’t go over too hot. I was 14 years old in Aspen with my ‘Adventure
Dad’ and the rest of the family. The pressure from my
‘Alpha-male’ father was a slight much for me in the moment, but was Aspen even the best place for a youngster to
learn how to maneuver the new extensions on my body and in the snow? Away features a list of
great ski resorts for
the novice. Aspen isn’t included. I’m sure those with a die-hard passion to learn how to ski and snowboard are
ready to hit the slopes with the big boys and girls, but sticking to slopes designated for beginners has several
pluses. For one you don’t have to worry about advanced skiers cutting you off or even worse cutting them off. Here’s a
few from the list:

 

  • Breckenridge

  • Copper Mountain

  • Deer Valley

  • Keystone

  • Northstar-at-Tahoe

Many more make great destinations this coming ski season so be sure to check out the rest.

Ski Lodge in…Manhattan?

by Erik Olsen on

You have to raise a glass at any effort to remember the late Hunter S. Thompson with a bar. And
a new restaurant/bar in the city is doing just that, while also bringing the relaxing vibe of a ski lodge to Manhattan.
A new place called Aspen just opened up
here, promising patrons an apres ski feel in the heart of the Big Apple. One of its coolest features is the Gonzo Room,
a private dining area dedicated to Hunter. There,at West 22nd Street in Chelsea, you will hangout beneath the cruel
gaze of the gonzo writer as you sip from a bottle of Wild Turkey.

Ascutney Post T-Giving Deal

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s my plan: gorge myself on turkey and stuffing this Thanksgiving, and then, while everyone else is out shopping
on the day after, I head out to the slopes to burn off all that excess energy. So where to go?  Well, Ascutney
Mountain Resort in southern Vermont will be open for skiing the day after Thanksgiving, and they are offering
a holiday package, where for $89 per person a night, you get a condo on
the slopes with fireplace, balcony, and lift tickets to boot. This may not be my choice this post-T-giving, but I will
set my sights on hitting the slopes somewhere.

Top Ten Spots for Early Skiing

by Erik Olsen on

You can almost hear the boards rattling in the closet, can’t you? I need to wax mine up, that’s
for sure, even though I’m not quite sure yet whether this will be more of a skiing or a boarding year. I’ve been taking
up the snowboard and am finding that for certain places, the snowboard really kicks a$s. But I haven’t decided this
year where to go yet. Mammoth is on the list for
sure…gotta get there before they turn it into Disneyland. Then I’ll try to make a trip up to Stowe for the first time
since I’ve lived on the East Coast. And finally, I’ll probably make it to Utah…one of my favorite places around. Well
all this dreaming of slopes comes from taking a look at this list of
twelve areas supposed to have early snow. Most of the stand-bys are here, and they give a nod to Mammoth and my beloved
Utah, and let me say how cool it is that they list
Alta/Snowbird
first.

Related link: On Mammoth’s Future

NYT Winter Special

by Erik Olsen on

So I called out a cool article in the
Times this weekend, but neglected to mention that the article was part of a broader and
very solid series of pieces on winter
sports. It’s really nice to see the Times doing features like this for the adventure crowd, and the series has got some
nice ideas for the coming winter.

In addition to the piece on
King’s Trail in Sweden,
there are also articles about skiing
Austria and Stowe, and a terrific piece on
skiing (yes, it is true) in Bulgaria. And then
don’t miss the interview with
two-time extreme skiing world champion and free-skiing advocate
Chris Davenport.

(King’s
Trail in Sweden)