Three exciting winter deals from the Four Seasons

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts wants to host you for ski season and is offering some great deals this season. So, instead of just hitting your old standby or scrambling at the last minute, go upscale this time. The Four Seasons is delivering bargains from Jackson Hole to Whistler, BC. Chances are, there’s a great one waiting for you.

Skiing in Jackson Hole – This resort is hosting the first annual How-to-Heli Camp. You’ll be able to get to the virgin trails of the Teton mountains, delivering for skiers a real expedition through fresh snow … with no lines! The camp comes with two days of on-mountain instruction, lift tickets, a day of heli-skiing and four nights in the Four Seasons. The camp runs from February 3 – 7, 2009 and starts at USD 2,975.00 per person based on double occupancy.

Ice climbing in Whistler – Demonstrate your physical prowess with waterfall ice climbing (don’t worry, you’ll have a guide) … all it takes is a heft dose of courage and the $466 (USD) for a personal climb. Skiing’s a blast, but this will kick your adrenaline into overdrive.

Bungee jump into Cheakamus Canyon – drop into the canyon and trigger an unparalleled thrill. Plunge 160 feet toward the Cheakamus River; it probably won’t occur to you that it’s glacier-fed, but that will be interesting later. Book it through the Whistler concierge, at $115 a pop.

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.

Colorado offers free 3-month trip to “snow virgins”

by Katie Hammel on

My four-year old niece, who lives in Florida, once detailed for me all the places she’d been in the world. “I have been everywhere,” she said. “I have even been to snow!” (For the record, that means she has been to Michigan). If you aren’t as “well-traveled” as my niece and haven’t yet experienced the icy wonder of snow, Colorado wants to hear from you.

Colorado is looking for “snow virgins”, people who have never been in an area with extensive snowfall (entrants may be subjected to a background check) to enter its “Snow at First Sight” contest. Contestants must be at least 21 years old and residents of the US. To enter, they’ll need to submit a 60 second video explaining why they should be chosen to win a 3-month trip to Colorado to experience their first snowfall.

Entrants need to get their friends and family to vote on their video – finalists will be chosen according to popularity and creativity. Ten finalists will then go to Colorado for the official audition.

So what does the winner get, other than the chance to make their first snow angels and snowmen? They’ll receive a free trip to Colorado for three months (January 1 through March 31, 2010), an $800 stipend for each month, and attendance at promotional events arranged by the sponsors. They’ll get to take part in winter activities like skiing, snowboarding, and dog-sledding and will get to blog all about their adventures in Colorado’s winter wonderland.

Get married at Colorado’s Keystone Resort and get free season ski pass

by Katie Hammel on

Skiing couples looking to get married on a mountain should look into Keystone Resort in Colorado. Couples who host a wedding at the resort between November 30, 2009 and November 30, 2010 will receive complimentary passes for the 2010-2011 ski season.

In addition to months of free skiing, the Keystone Wedding Pass Promotion includes a free one-night resort stay with champagne and strawberries, the services of a dedicated wedding coordinator, discounted room rates for guests, and a special cake on the couple’s one year anniversary. There are several different packages to choose from. All include rental of chairs, tables, linens and serving ware, rehearsal space, and shuttle service around the resort for guests.

Multi-course dinners with open bar range from $75 to $150 per guest and there are all several venues available. Venues hold anywhere from 80 to 350 guests and include a majestic lodge overlooking the mountains or an intimate gourmet restaurant reached by gondola.

The resort opens for the season on November 6 and offers trails for skiers and snowboarders of all levels.

University in Virginia opens year-round ski slopes

by Katie Hammel on

It’s always been that, at their most basic, skiing and snowboarding require two things – some sort of skis or a board and of course, snow. And snow usually requires precipitation and a sufficiently cold temperature(this concludes today’s lesson in meteorological science). But as of August 29th, snow – and the weather conditions required to create it – will become unnecessary for American skiers.

That’s the date when the Liberty Mountain SnowFlex Center opens. And it’ll stay open, all year round. How? The complex, on the grounds of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, will be home to a ski slope that utilizes a synthetic material called SnowFlex. SnowFlex aims to be the closest replication of snow. It’s already in use at several European locations and has been used at Olympic training facilities, but this will be the first public ski area in the US to use it.

The Liberty Mountain Center will feature a beginner slope, freestyle rails, and a quarter pipe. Prices are pretty reasonable – actually when compared with the cost of most mountains, they’re downright cheap. Thursday through Sunday rates are $7 an hour. Monday through Wednesday the rate goes down to just $5 an hour.

For die-hard skiers and snowboarders, I doubt this faux snow could ever replace the real thing, but for those looking to get in some more practice time, it’s one cheap way to spend summer on the slopes.