Ski season approacheth, and I guess I’m glad. Summer passed way
too fast and I didn’t get nearly as much paddling, hiking, camping, etc. in as I would have liked. Did you?
Well, now we take out the Gortex and dust off the boards. And to prepare you for the season,
Askmen.com offers its take on the
Top Ten Ski Areas in the world. On the
domestic side, Aspen gets a nod, as does Stowe and Vail, and once again, as is so often the case, Whistler gets to top
spot.
We’re going to try to feature more travel package ideas and deals here, and I figured I’d get started with a great
deal for skiers. Jackson Hole is one of the best ski areas in
the country. It is known for being occasionally (OK, frequently) really damn cold, but it is also the location of the
longest ski run in the United States.
So you might be interested to know that Jackson Hole Racquet Club is offering a
four-night Ski Getaway starting from $299. The trip must take place between January 2 and April
3, 2006, and you will receive a four-night stay in a two-bedroom condo as well as lift tickets for three days of
skiing. As I say, it’s cold, but that’s cool.
For the third year in a row, Park City, Utah will offer travelers their
Quick Start to the slopes promo. Here’s how it works: The
Ski Today, Ride Today plan allows skiers a free one day lift ticket at three area resorts for the same day the traveler
flies into town. Essentially, the boarding pass becomes a free ski pass for the day.
The three resorts participating in this promotion are Canyons Resort, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley
Resort. This deal runs from each of these resorts season opening day (varies) until December 24, then picks up again
from January 2 – February 16 and Marck 27 – April 16, 2006. Downtown Park City is only 36 miles from the airport, so
book an early flight and have your skis on by lunchtime!
Funny, I didn’t know grass skiing was so big in places like Switzerland, Slovaki, Germany, Austria
and Czech Republic to name a few. Perhaps it’s not even that big, but it does give skiers
something active to do while waiting for the snow. What’s even more interesting is the
International Grass Ski World Competitions and Grass Ski
World Cup are both scheduled to be held in Dizin, Iran for 2006 and 2007. Several factors like the high quality of
the grass ski slopes, geographical situation and Iran’s hospitality make Dizin a dazzling location to hold the
competitions. Seems Iran is just bubbling with reasons to explore the country and grass skiing just pops off that
list.
If you find yourself wanting to know more about the sport,
if you ski dot com has a great crash course on the basics
of grass skiing. Apparently the dry sliding sport is ideal in preparation in learning alpine skiing.
Right after college, I worked as a ski photographer at Squaw Valley, and we’d make occasional forays into
Truckee to hang at the bars, mingle with the locals, eat some vittles. I remember
the town as being a lazy, kinda down and out place. It had a solid Western feel, was kind rough around the edges, but
it was hardly a destination place. It was also the place where the Donnor party had it’s well-known “Family Brunch”, as
it were.
Looks like
Truckee
has changed since those long ago days. In other words, maybe Truckee ain’t so yucky anymore.
Paul McCartney now spends time in Truckee along with an assortment of other skiing glitterati who are turning the
woodsy hamlet into the next Aspen (OK, not quite). Downtown now boasts patisseries, curio shops, antiques stores and
full-fledged galleries. The places that used to serve coffee called “bellywash” now sell double-half-caff mochas and
biscotti. The gentrification is great for property owners, but obviously not everyone is happy. Many folks there miss
the rustic feel of the place and hate to see it go. Myself, I haven’t been back in all these years, but I confess I’m
curious to see how good ol Truckee has changed.