Outside Magazine lists the best ski resorts in North America

by Kraig Becker on

With snow already falling all over the U.S., it is clear that ski season is in full swing, and with winter still more than a month and a half away, ski bums and bunnies have plenty of great months on the slope ahead. To that end, Outside Magazine has published their list of the 16 best ski resorts in North America, just in time for you to start planning your first weekend in the mountains.

As you might expect, the majority of the resorts are found in the western United States, with Colorado and Utah particularly well represented. Some of the places that make the cut include the iconic Alta/Snowbird, which averages an astonishing 500 inches of snow per year and Snowmass in Aspen, which combines great skiing with luxury living. Our neighbors to the north get some love too, with Whistler-Blackcomb and Revelstoke Mountain Resort, earning nods. Both are located in British Columbia for those looking for a Canadian escape.

The rest of the list includes Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Alyeska Resort, Alaska; Silverton Mountain, Colorado; Breckenridge, Colorado; Park City, Utah; Power Mountain, Utah; Bridger Bowl, Montana; Crested Butte, Colorado; Steamboat, Colorado; Taos, New Mexico, and Mammoth Mountain, California. And just to prove that not all of the fun is out west, Jay Peak, Vermont makes the list as the lone resort in the Eastern United States, proving that you don’t have to go a long way to get a superior experience on the slopes.

So, did your favorite resort make the list? Which of these have you been to? What did they leave off the list?

The 10 most-affordable ski spots in North America

by Katie Hammel on

Skiing, like polo and yachting, is a rich man’s(or woman’s) sport. The equipment is expensive, and in order to participate, you need to go to a specific place. In the case of skiing, this means paying ski lift fees and traveling to a pricey ski resort. The costs can add up and make it prohibitively expensive for less affluent ski enthusiasts.

But there are some less expensive ski resorts. Ski.com has put together a list of the top ten affordable ski spots in North America.

Keystone, near Denver, makes the list because of the many extras it offers, such as night skiing included with a lift ticket on the day of arrival, plus access to nearby resorts like Vail and Breckenridge. Steamboat in Colorado is on the list thanks to affordable ski-in/ski-out lodging and convenient shuttle services. And Winter Park, also in Colorado, is praised as catering to a “moderate demographic, no luxury properties.”

Whistler-Blackcomb, near Vancouver, is normally a very pricey destination. But in an attempt to lure visitors before the Olympics, it is offering some fantastic deals right now. Airfare to Vancouver can be expensive, depending on where you fly from, but you can save money by flying into Seattle and taking a train to Vancouver.

Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Banff(Alberta, Canada), and Lake Tahoe round out the western top ten with plentiful deals, discounts, and special offers that help keep prices low. On the east coast, Stowe(Vermont) and Lake Placid in New York offer excellent mid-week prices.

Southwest apologies to deplaned mom

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Pamela Root, who was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight Friday, will receive another chance to fly on the airline. She and her son were removed from a San Jose-bound plane when her two-year-old son wouldn’t stop screaming “Go! Plane! Go!” and “I want Daddy!”

In addition to an apology, the airline gave her a refund and a travel voucher for $300. Root had hoped to be compensated for the portable crib and diapers she said she had to buy, but alas, that wasn’t in the cards.

I have to admit, this seems like a tough call. While it’s never easy to boot a paying passenger, you need to balance that against the eardrums of everyone else who shelled out for a ticket. Of course, a bit of compassion for kids (who don’t know any better) is necessary, but that’s little consolation to everyone else.

It looks to me like Southwest made the right call in both parts of this. It removed what was obviously a problem for the other passengers, and it more than compensated Root for the trouble. Southwest is out a few extra bucks for the decision, but that seems to be a small price to pay for the goodwill it earned with the remaining fliers. And, it swiftly apologized and compensated the mom.

In a poor economy, SeaWorld raises ticket prices to just under $80

by Scott Carmichael on

SeaWorld Orlando doesn’t seem to think the economy has suffered enough, because it just raised its prices by $4 to an insane $78.95, per person.

With just six rides and ten shows, SeaWorld assumes people won’t have a problem paying this, even though their new prices are just 5 cents lower than neighboring Disney or Universal, who have much more to offer.

Now, I won’t argue with anyone who says the park puts on a good show, and they are known worldwide for their amazing aquatic shows, but when you charge just under $300 for a family of four, you’d better put on more than just a “good show”. Once you add food and a local hotel, a trip to SeaWorld will cost over $500 for just one day.

In this economy I would expect parks to actually lower their prices, instead of raise them. Minor discounts are available to people who pre-order their tickets, but even with those discounts you’ll be spending far too much.

The park does offer a free visit on a second day, within 7 days of your first visit. If you are visiting the Orlando area and want to visit SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica, the total bill will come to just under $550. Add their all day dining option for all three days and your credit card will take a $900 hit, and that doesn’t even include your flights and hotel. Too much? Tell us in the poll below!

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A Critical Mass Halloween in San Francisco

by Catherine Bodry on

Though the Bay Bridge closure clearly reduced traffic in downtown San Francisco last Friday, bicycle activists congregated nevertheless. This Critical Mass ride, a group of protesters who gather on the last Friday of every month to “celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists’ right to the road,” was dressed up in their Halloween finest.

I stood in front of the ferry terminal for about an hour watching costumed cyclists rolling in from every direction. Hundreds of folks and their bikes — many of which were also dressed up — gathered at the Justin Herman Plaza at the Embarcadero. A few rode around shouting things like “bikes don’t use gas!” but the mood was peaceful yet celebratory.

I took some photos to share — there were way too many great costumes to capture but the following gallery is a small sampling of what was on display. Warning: there are a pair of booty cheeks in photo number 12.

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