20 Great Mountain Huts

by Kraig Becker on

Looking for a great mountain lodge to book for you next ski vacation? Something that affords stunning views with limited crowds and great access to the backcountry? Then look no further than this list created by Eric Kendall for The Guardian.

The list is broken down into subcategories, such as “Gourmet/Luxury”, “Easy Access”, and “Glorious Isolation”. There are even suggestions for non-skiers who would still like to play in the snow. The vast majority of these lodges are found in Europe, although Canada and New Zealand are represented as well.

The mountain huts in the luxury category offer all the upscale amenities that you would expect, including gourmet restaurants, hot tubs, and private ski instructors. For example, the Rifugio Fanes in Italy, offers luxury beds, hot showers, and unrivaled skiing in the Dolomites.

On the other end of the spectrum are the lodges that specialize in isolation, which require a little more work to get to, but reward visitors with untouched powder and a hut all to themselves. The Club Alpino, also in Italy, is the perfect example of this type of lodge. It is the highest hut in the Allps, sitting at 4554m (14,940 feet) and requiriing a bit of acclimization before visitors settle in.

Winter is not over yet, and there is still plenty of great skiing to be had. So pack up your gear, wax the skis and head to any one of these great mountain huts to enjoy some of the best skiing on the planet, while relaxing in equally impressive settings.

Find love on the NH slopes

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Are you a die-hard skier who has always wanted to meet the love of your life on the slopes? Good, go to New Hampshire. For the price of a lift ticket at Black Mountain in the Mt. Washington Valley, you could experience a life-changing eight-minute ride in a chairlift.

Back for a third year, the Black Mountain Chairlift Speed Dating event has been upgraded to include “love potions” from the bar and a menu sure to set your heart racing. The best pick-up line will score you a free night at Whitneys Inn, two tickets to Black Mountain, a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne. If the line really is a winner, though, none of this will compare to the real prize!

Make ski resort losses your gain this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Skiers are winners in the current recession. Lodges and resorts out west are offering generous deals to put you on their powder. So, if you have a bit of extra cash on hand and the urge to hit the slopes, there’s never been a better time to be alive.

In the Aspen/Snowmass area, you can get a free flight, a free night’s stay and a free lift ticket. Of course, there’s a catch. You’re total stay has to stretch to five-days/four-nights, and you need to pay for one of the two airline tickets – which have to be on Frontier Airlines.

Vail Resorts, with properties in Colorado and on the California/Nevada border, can get you three nights in a room and three days on the hills for the price of two at its Heavenly Resort or Lakeside Inn & Casino. RockResorts, which operates on the luxury end of the scale, is kicking in a free night, a bottle of wine and a $50 gift card for guests who stay at least two nights.

These types of deal are rare this time of year, when skiers normally flock to the slopes. But, times are tough. Visits to Vail Resorts are down 5.8 percent (through January 4, 2009), and revenue from lift tickets is down 7.5 percent. Bookings through the end of last year … down 14.8 percent. More and more reservations are hitting at the last minute. For the airlines and resorts, this is brutal, and they’re willing to go the extra mile, it seems, to get you to dig into your wallet.

[Via NY Times, where more deals are listed]

Indulge in Romance at Badrutt’s Palace

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Skip out on the usual box of candy and fistful of roses plopped on the kitchen table and do something interesting for a change. This year, kick around a seven-night ski trip to Badrutt’s Palace in St. Moritz for Valentine’s Day. Doesn’t Switzerland sound better than another dinner at your local favorite restaurant?

A four-course dinner, by candlelight, at Le Restaurant, completes the experience. Executive Chef Frédéric Breuil’s Valentine’s Day menu includes warm goose liver with braised cabbage, winter vegetables and sherry sauce, truffled salsify soup with ravioli, grilled chicken breast with prawns and basmati rice and leeks. The experience ends with heart-shaped chocolates filled with raspberries and raspberry sauce.

Dinner is priced at approximately $160 per person (not including liquor), and the seven nights on the slopes will set you back $5,600. If you need to come up with a quick idea, and money’s no problem, here it is. You have two weeks … pull the trigger.

Quebec has some insane deals

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I know I just pitched cold-weather destination Montreal to you last week. So, why would I send you even farther north? Well, for skiers, this is a no-brainer. If you could get your third night (hotel) and third day (slopes) free, you’d probably battle the cold happily. This is exactly what’s going on in Quebec right now.

From January 5 to 29 and also February 1 to 12, you can get two-for-one hotel and lift access at Stoneham or Mont-Sainte-Anne. To sweeten the deal, they’ll throw in a guided tour of each mountain, access to the Mont-Sainte-Anne snowshoe trail and a free ski free rental, free skiing lesson or a half-day of cross-country skiing (with equipment). Prices start at $226!

While you’re in this part of the world, dash into the city for the 2009 Carnaval de Quebec. Explore the ice palace, shout during the canoe race and admire the snow sculptures while buried under 17 layers of clothing. Quebec may be cold this time of year, but that’s no reason not to go.