Hello Sliders!

If you only read, or pass along one newsletter to your friends during the season, this is it. Why? Because Labor Day weekend signals the unofficial beginning of the ski/snowboard season when resorts and retailers blow out gear at up to 80% off. We shop the tent sales, so should you if you want the best value in sliding hardware and apparel! If you can't make it up to Tahoe this weekend, you can shop www. sportsbasement.com where you will find outdoor gear discounted everyday-- and if you use a SOTC code while shopping, you take another 10% off the price.

When we're talkin' tent sales...Northstar has been the SOTC favorite for more than five years. This year, they've partnered with Sugar Bowl and are really ramping up the amount of gear. It WILL NOT be in the Northstar parking lot, but at Truckee High-School on Donner Pass Road.

How about cheap season passes? Now is the time to scoop them up. If you don't, your knees will buckle when you saunter up to the ticket window, your entire crew in tow. Cheap season passes are the standard, not the exception and if you ski or ride, make sure to pick one up, even if you plan to ski several different resorts this winter.

The Sliding on the Cheap newsletter is free and is delivered once a week during the season and twice monthly during the fall. What will you find? Cheap tickets, hotel, lodging, food and more! To sign-up (or drop) go to www.slidingonthecheap.com! Yes, and we give away FREE lift passes, to SOTC readers selected at random from our list each and every week!

Special Offers!

Interactive Solutions Sprint Promotion/Free Northstar Lift Ticket!
Choose from a great selection of phone styles from Sprint PCS and get a free lift ticket valid at Northstar-at-Tahoe! All listed phones are free when you port over to Sprint PCS with a $65 or higher voice plan and a 2 year agreement. Get 1100 Anytime minutes, Unlimited Nights and Weekends (starting at 9pm) Long Distance and Free PCS to PCS with a multi line agreement. Styles available for this promotion Nokia 3588i, Sanyo 4900, Samsung VI660, LG 5225, Sanyo 8100. Ask us about great prices on other  Sprint Phone styles.

Special price on a Treo 600, $399.99 when you port over your current number to Sprint and activate on a voice plan of $65 or higher 2 year agreement, plus a free lift ticket. Get 1100 Anytime minutes, Unlimited Nights and Weekends (starting at 9pm) Long Distance and Free PCS to PCS with a multi line agreement. Unlimited e-mails and pictures for only $15 per month with accompanying voice plan.  Promotion ends 9/30/04 Contact Stuart Homer: 925-274-1075
stuart [at] is-us.net (Free Lift Ticket provided upon phone activation, some restrictions apply)

Sports Basement! Jump into fall with an SOTC member discount!
Do all your outdoor shopping while relaxing at home--and do it cheap! Sports Basement offers a vast selection of snowboard, ski gear and clothing, athletic shoes, backpacks, sleeping bags, snowboards, fitness and triathlon apparel, cycling gear and more. Major named-brands up to 70% off retail price every day. (Before the SOTC discount.) Sliders always receive and ADDITIONAL 10% off online at www.sportsbasement.com when you enter coupon code SLIDING3 at checkout. Bring a newsletter into one of two San Francisco store locations, and take another 1 0% off the lowest marked price!

Tent Sales! Tent Sales!

Northstar-at-Tahoe's Twelfth Annual Tent Sale is coming to Truckee to equip outdoor enthusiasts in the best gear at the lowest  prices Friday, Sept. 3 through Sunday, Sept. 5, 2004, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Northsport, Northstar's premier retail store, plans to make this the largest tent sale ever with savings reaching between 50 and 80 percent.

Save on name brand apparel and equipment from Marker, Dynastar,  Adidas, North Face, Columbia, DNA, Hot Chillys, Lange, Bogner,
Salomon, Technica, Ashworth, Tsunami and more. Lake Tahoe's best pass deal, the Double Whammy Season Pass, will also be on sale starting at prices as low as $289 for adults and $79 for children.

For a sneak preview, check out the Northsport clearance center, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Northstar Village.

The sale will be held at Truckee High School, 11725 Donner Pass Road in Truckee, Calif. From Northstar, turn left onto Highway 267 and follow for approximately five and a half miles. Turn left on Brockway Road and follow until the Donner Pass Road intersection, then turn left onto Donner Pass Road. Truckee High School is located 1.8 miles up the road on the left.

Northstar-at-Tahoe is located off Highway 267, just six miles from the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. For more information call 1-800-GO-NORTH or visit www.NorthstarAtTahoe.com.

Sugar Bowl
Don't miss the best chance to gear up for the coming season. Great stuff at awesome prices!!! Sugar Bowl Ski & Sports offers 50% off EVERYTHING! Skis, Boots, Clothing, Gloves, Goggles...anything you need for skiing. This Labor Day weekend  in the Truckee High school Parking lot. Top name brands including
Salomon, Volkl, Rossignol, Atomic, Tecnica, Burton, Mountain Hardware, Arc'Teryx, Nikita and Isis.

HEAVENLY'S 18th ANNUAL LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE
 With the 2004-05 ski and snowboard season just a short couple
 of months away, Heavenly is offering some amazing low prices on
 winter gear and apparel at the resort's annual
Labor Day Ski & Snowboard Sale, Saturday, September 4 through Monday, September 6, 2004. The three-day parking lot sale at Heavenly's California Lodge gives snowsport enthusiasts the opportunity to get a jump on their winter needs and take advantage of the resort's $299 Season Pass offer. "After eighteen years Heavenly's annual ski and snowboard sale has become a Labor Day Weekend tradition for locals and visitors alike," says Jim Havens, hard goods buyer for Heavenly Sports.  "With more than $1 million in inventory, we can offer the best
prices on hundreds of name brand items including skis by Rossignol, Salomon, and Atomic; snowboards by Burton, Lib Tech, and Gnu; and tons of other great brand name gear and apparel." Sale highlights include Salomon Xtra Hot Pilot skis with bindings for $599.99 (MSRP - $1149) and Lib Tech Dark Series snowboards for $249.99 (MSRP - $489). Additionally, K2 3500 IBC skis with bindings are  $249 (MSRP $575) while children's skis are specially marked at $69.99.
Those in the market for new apparel will find all ski and snowboard apparel fifty to seventy percent off.

Heavenly season passes will also be sold, making it easy for shoppers to take advantage the resort's incredible $299 limited-time season pass offer.

The event features a Glen Plake look-alike contest on Sunday at 2pm. The contest is open to the public.  Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places for those people
most resembling Plake with his signature mohawk look. There will also be an ongoing raffle prize drawing held throughout the weekend.

Heavenly's Labor Day Ski & Snowboard Sale will be held at the  California Lodge on Saturday, September 4, 9am - 6pm; Sunday,
September 5, 10am - 6pm; and Monday, September 6, 10am - 2pm. Food and beverages will be available during the three-day event. Heavenly's California Lodge is located off Ski Run at 3860 Saddle Road in South Lake Tahoe, CA. For more information, call 775-586-7000 or log onto www.skiheavenly.com.

Village Ski Loft!
Village Ski Loft's 30th Annual Labor Day Ski and Snowboard Sale is right around the corner. Friday, September 3rd through Monday, September 6th. Under the big top and in the store! Don't miss it. Look for the circus tent at 800 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village. Flaps open Friday 8:00 am. (775) 831-3537

Season Pass Offerings!

Homewood!
Tonight at midnight is a major pass deadline. SOTC members can log onto skihomewood.com and pick up one of the last $99 Value Day Season Passes,  or a $199 Midweek Plus Pass.

Diamond Peak!
Hurry, time is running out to save big bucks on your Diamond Peak season pass! Full season adult passes start at just $428! no black out dates! Kids' passes are only $177 so it's a great deal for the whole family. Diamond Peak is the perfect place for your family ski trips: great children's instruction, great prices and great terrain. Ordering your pass is easy. Buy it online at www.diamondpeak.com or call (775) 832-1177. What are you waiting for!sale ends September 30th!

Alpine Meadows
Will be giving away Alpine lift tickets at the Village Ski Loft tent sale  and at Bobo's Mogul Mouse tent sale in Reno. Season passes are all
on sale now with no price increase over last season. This includes the return of two very popular products from last season; the midweek plus Sundays and the Young Adult (13-22) unlimited pass. Pass prices are in effect through Oct. 1, 2004. Adult unlimited is $929. Midweek is $549, valid M-F, non-holiday. Midweek plus Sundays is $649 valid Su-F, non-holiday. Young adult unlimited (13-22) is $199. Senior unlimited (65-69) is $569. Senior midweek (65-69) is $299 valid M-F non-holiday. Super Senior unlimited (70+) is $50. Child unlimited (7-12) is $149 and Child 6&under is $50. How about a group season pass discount program? Contact Jay Abdo at jabdo [at] skialpine.com.

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe!
Get Them While It's Hot -- Mt. Rose - Ski Tahoe's $299 Value Pass  and $149 Junior Value Pass On Sale September 1-30, 2004. Large-Scale
 Improvements To Mark Resort's 40th Anniversary Including the
Opening of The Chutes, and New High-Speed Six Pack It's never too early to start thinking about the coming winter, particularly with Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe's season passes going on sale from September 1  -  30, 2004. Mt. Rose is offering a $299 Value Season Pass and a new $149 Junior Value Pass for ages 15 and under for winter 2004-05. This coming season marks the resort's 40th anniversary, and to commemorate, Mt. Rose will initiate some of the most significant changes in the mountain's history. This includes the opening of The Chutes, one of the largest terrain additions to a Lake Tahoe ski resort in many years; the addition of the new corresponding  "Chuter Chair," and a new high-speed six passenger chair in the
 East Bowl dubbed "Blazing Zephyr."

Passes can be purchased online at www.skirose.com or by stopping in the Guest Services Office Monday through Saturday between 11am and 6pm. After September 30, pass prices  increase to $800 and $400 respectively.
Restrictions apply and Value Pass availability is subject to sellout. Visit the Mt. Rose website for complete details or call 800-Ski Rose outside Nevada or (775) 849-0704 locally.

Heavenly!
Great deals on gear isn't the only way to celebrate Labor Day weekend. You can also take advantage of Heavenly's excellent season pass deal. Not only do you get three FREE days of skiing or riding at sister resorts in Colorado (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone), but if you purchase your pass at the tent sale, we'll give you a $25 coupon to use at the tent sale on a purchase of $250 or more. T hat's one stellar deal you can let pass by!

Boreal
Boreal's Night Pass is a hot item. Just $99 ride any night, all season. Other resort passholders can extend their day on the mountain from 3:30pm to 9pm. Parks and superpipe are lit at night as well. Boreal offers a full anytime pass for just $249, college student pass Monday thru Friday, ok holidays for just $99.  Lots of options! Go to www.rideboreal.com for details.

Northstar-Sierra
Double Whammy Season Passes on sale now! With the Value Season Pass, after less than 5 visits your pass has paid for itself and the rest of the season you're skiing & riding free! For more information log onto www.DoubleWhammyPass.com. At the Northstar Tent Sale: if a Double Whammy season pass is purchased, Northstar will give a $10 gift certificate valid on merchandise purchased at the sale of $20 or more. It's like getting $10 additional dollars off your pass!

On the South Shore,Northstar-Sierra will be giving away a free pair of Adidas shoes to everyone who purchases a season pass at the Adidas Tent Sale. They always offer the best deals on shoes and every kind of athletic apparel.  It's best to shop on Friday for the best selection.
They will take pictures on the spot so people can avoid time waiting in line at the resort and be ready to go when the snow flies. Here are the details: Adidas Tent Sale Location: Salomon-Adidas Tent Sale at the Outlet Center  in S. Lake Tahoe- 2062 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
(530) 541-8006 September 3-5 from 9am to 7 pm

Sugar Bowl!
Once again, Sugar Bowl comes through with the sweetest deal. The Kama Aina local's pass is available until October 31 to residents and 2nd homeowners in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe. A slightly restricted pass is only $319 for adults, $199 for young adults and seniors. The full season's pass is $649 for adults, $349 for young adults and seniors. Check out www.sugarbowl.com for more details or call at 530-426-9000.

We're just getting warmed up, Sliders! Pass this along to your friends and family!

Kevin Tinto + Crew