Greetings, Rocky Mountain Sliders!

Wow! It is UNBELIEVABLE in Colorado right now. It's been snowing a lot, it's snowing now, and it's going to continue to snow. There are resorts reporting the best mid-mountain bases in 30 YEARS. And in case you hadn't noticed, a fair number of resorts have opened EARLY! Who ever heard of Champagne Powder this early in the season?! But the reality is, riders, it's a REALITY, it's now, and it's only going to get better!

Thought for the week: The mountains will always be there, the trick is to make sure you are too. Hervey Voge

Tip o' the Ski Week: Destination resorts. That may be a new term to some, may be an oldie to others, but the facts remain the same. For individual products, destination resorts may not offer the same breaks as a day-slide resort, but the real deals are in booking the packages. So in Colorado, Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride, Durango, and Steamboat are all considered destination resorts where you'll get the best breaks when you book lodging, lifts, and even rentals all together. It's their specialty, since most folks go there for at least an overnight or two and make it their home-away-from home. Look also for those terrific last minute deals at www.skitown.com and subscribe to the Last Second Club. If properties aren't filled by the time a holiday or the weekend rolls around, they'll do just about ANYTHING to fill the space!

FREEBIES: It's not too late to sign up with mountains as Mountain Hosts, part-time Food & Beverage crew, Competition Center staff, and a myriad other possibilites to trade labor for a season pass. Check online at your favorite resort's employment/job page, or call the Human Resources department to see what they might be offering. You might be pleasantly surprised at how easy some of the jobs are. One resort hires the TP Patrol - workers ride with a backpack full of toilet paper and check all the commodes on the hill to be certain supplies aren't diminishing. How easy can that be?!?!?

And speaking of FREEBIES, this week's winners to the random Sliding on the Cheap pick are:  nueces3 [at] aol.com
 johnweg [at] earthlink.net

Claim your FREE lift tickets by contacting the good folks at slidecheap [at] aol.com. Thanks for signing up, and all you click-throughs and read-onlies will be missing out if you don't subscribe for the great newsletter of your choice AND the chance to win free lift tickets!

Okay, so I'm a dork. My humblest apologies to the fine folks at Wolf Creek for overlooking them in the last SOTC issue. And for that reason, they get FIRST mention!

WOLF CREEK: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Ride Colorado's finest powder, and do it without the crowds, without the hassles, without the lift lines. Lift tickets are only $43/adult/day for their stellar champagne powder, and get a room and continental breakfast at the Super8 in Pagosa Springs for as low as $56/pn. www.wolfcreekski.com. Go soak those ski-weary muscles in the mineral baths at Pagosa Hot Springs – you’ll probably never leave! www.pagosaspringsresort.com

WINTER PARK/MARY JANE: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Not only are they open, but BULLETIN BULLETIN BULLETIN Janeside, Timberline, and Vaquez Ridge are OPEN OPEN OPEN (stay tuned to your 'puters for the opening of Vasquez Cirque)! AND the newly designed, hot-off-the-blueprint Rail Yard Terrain Park opens this weekend as well! Unbelievable! If you think it doesn't get any better, read on. Go to King Soopers in the Front Range and purchase a four-day Snow Pass for $99, or online at www.getuphere.com for $119. Stay at the new and improved Rocky Mountain Inn & Hostel for as low as $22/pp/pn. Need more room? Check out the lodging specials at www.skiwinterpark.com

VAIL RESORTS:
Beaver Creek OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Brecken-fridge OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Keystone OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Vail OPEN OPEN OPEN, almost two weeks early!

VAIL, BEAVER CREEK, BRECKEN-FRIDGE and KEYSTONE are offering an unbeatable deal for winter vacationing families from 12/1 - 2/14/03. Kids ages 12 and under FLY FREE, STAY FREE and SKI FREE when accompanied by a paying adult. PLUS, Kids SHUTTLE FREE and RENT EQUIPMENT FREE! www.snow.com/kidsfree will give you all the beta. PLUS the Perfect 10 is still on sale - with The Perfect 10, you'll get 10 days of skiing or riding at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-Basin in Colorado, plus Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California for just $329! ($199 for children ages 5-12). Some restrictions do apply. www.snow.com or promotions.snow.com.

TELL-U-RIDE: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Purchase a 4-or-more day lift ticket in advance and keep your toes toasty with a FREE pair of Thorlo socks. College students, if you missed out on the College Pass, head for Tell-U-Ride 1/4/03–1/12/03 for Da Ride’s first ever College Week. Lift tickies $20, rooms at Bear Creek Lodge for $89/night, and (here’s what I’D go for!) APRES-SKI SUMO WRESTLING in the Plaza. Grab a brew at the New, and you’ve hunkered into la dolce vita. www.tellurideskiresort.com

SUNLIGHT: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
A new Jib and Rail Park. A new extreme run called Perry’s Plunge (gulp!). Try-before-you-buy Demo Days 12/14. Kids ski free. Ski/Swim/Stay packages for as low as $59/pp/pn and enjoy the world-renowned Glenwood Hot Springs as well as the spectacular, small-mountain-feel/big-mountain-runs at the Light of the Sun. Well, what are you waiting for? www.sunlightmtn.com

STEAMBOAT: 56% OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
The daily rate on lift tickets jumps from $49 to $64 on 12/19, so the Early Bird catches Das Boot turn! They’ve also brought back the ever-popular Snow Saver and Snow Flight packages (remember, this is a destination resort!). And if you’re around this week, take a turn with that mountain charmer, Billy the Kidd, every day at 1 PM. www.steamboat.com will lead you to Das Answers!

SKI COOPER: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN Friday/Saturday/Sunday till 12/13, then
7-days a week! Season passes are STILL on sale for $199/adult, $59/kids or get your at-window tickies for only $31. Chicago Ridge Snowcat Tours are booking fast at 719-486-2277, and the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse is open for an outrageous meal and alpine experience. There's more than just Alpine skiing - telemarkers, Nordics, snowboarders and snowmobilers enjoy this great 10th Mountain Division terrain in the San Isabel National Forest. www.skicooper.com

SILVERTON MOUNTAIN: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
This one-of-a-kind, not-for-the-fainthearted, steep'n'deep resort had 100" total summit snow, 42" mid-mountain, and that was before the last round of storms. Good news - Silverton has been granted an increase in skier visits by the BLM, doubling their daily ration of powder-hounds. $99/day will get you expert guided terrain without the crowds OR TRANSFERABLE 10-packs are still available for $800. If you're into vertical ice, the WI is getting thick in Ouray. So here's a plan - head to Ouray, bag some falls, jump Red Mountain Pass to Silverton, crash in one of the prettiest towns in Colorado, and be prepared for copious Kodak moments at Silverton Mountain. Apres-ski there are some great, small bars for a brewski, and if you're doing some early holiday shopping, stop in at Weathertop Wovens on Main Street. This Little Alps region is a definite memory-maker. www.silvertonmountain.com

MONARCH: 93% OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
GREAT ski and stay deals for $39/pp/do at the Monarch Mountain Lodge right there on Hwy 50, a ski-glove’s throw away from the resort (www.monarchmountainlodge.com. Want to be a re-run? Sign up for the Monarch Snowbank card – 15 bucks will get you discounts on lift tickets every day of the year, plus for every five days you ride, the sixth is free! www.skimonarch.com.

LOVELAND: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
75 trails, 9 lifts, 94++ inches of snow to date. No Eisenhower Tunnel to get through. And this is absolutely ridiculous, but true – the Land of Love ski school will again offer the popular 3-Class Pass program. Purchase three beginner ski or snowboard lessons and after completion of the third lesson, receive a FREE unrestricted season pass to Loveland Ski Area. Ride the highest elevation quad chair in the world by buying the 4-pack for only $99, but hurry, offer ends THIS Sunday, 12/8. www.skiloveland.com.

DURANGO MOUNTAIN RESORT/PURGATORY: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN!
And just pretty as a picture. Here’s one smart resort - take 20% OFF when you stay at least nights at the Purgatory Village Condominium Hotel during regular season. This package includes lodging in a studio for two and lift tickets for two AND it’s for only $85/pp/pn. There’s MORE, including one-of-a-kind holiday specials at www.durangomountainresort.com.

CRESTED BUTTE: OPEN OPEN WEEKENDS, TWO WEEKS EARLIER THAN PLANNED!
It’ll feel like coming home when you hit the slopes of the Butte-i-ful Crest (and check out the tribal pic of the Elk Avenue Wild Bunch on the home page!). Already tired of major resort crowds? SKI YOUR PASS OFF! Bring your season pass from any other resort and you ski for FREE with a three nights lodging package. Packages start at $93/pp/pn and are valid 12/14-12/25. There’s also the TOO CHEAP TO IGNORE (we grok that lingo!) package, 12/13-12/20, including three nights lodging/two days lift tickies starting at $156/pp/pn. There are mega-more hot deals at www.skicb.com

COPPER MOUNTAIN: OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN under 8 feet of snow!
The most popular pass on the Hill Metallica is back for a limited time! Four Passes for $89 are available exclusively at King Soopers locations throughout the Front Range, and will be available for a limited time, or while supplies last, but maybe through December 20, 2002. AND, when King Soopers customers spend $50 or more with their Sooper Card, they will receive a $10 off coupon to apply towards their Four Pass purchase, bringing the price down to the early season rate of just $79. Can you say Jiminy Christmas! And season passes are available STILL for just $254, but only until 12/15. Early season hotel rooms are still available, and for $42/pp/pn. www.ski-copper.com and they mean what the URL says!

ASPEN RESORTS:
ASPEN: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
SNOWMASS: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
HIGHLANDS: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
BUTTERMILK: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Get In To Aspen for as low as $203/pp/pn! Includes 3 nights lodging and lift tickies at Highlands/Buttermilk for two days. Upgrade to a 4-mountain ticket for a few cents more. Add air and the package is still only $424/pp/pn. And you thought you couldn’t afford to hang out with the fur! It gets even BETTER! If you’re a spontaneous tourist like moi, you’ll really like the last-minute specials at www.stayaspen.com/specials.php. Rooms are still as low as $53/pn. YOWSA! www.aspensnowmass.com.

AHHHH-BASIN:OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN under 9 feet of snow!
The spectacular $199 Bonus Pass is still available! You get an unlimited Season Pass to A-Basin and 5 non-transferable lift tickets at Keystone or Breckenridge, one of which can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek. This pass is good at the Basin all day, everyday of the 02-03 season! The little ones (ages 6-14) can get this pass for $149, offer ends December 8th. AND, there’s live entertainment in the bar every Saturday from 2:30-5:30, so make sure to bring your dancing shoes!

ROCKY MOUNTAIN COMPADRES:
GRAND TARGHEE: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
UNRESTRICTED adult season passes are still on sale for $499, but if you have a problem with commitment, pick up a Vertical Value Plus card for only $59 and enjoy reduced at-window ticket prices (how does $30 sound) all season. Lodging specials include select Teewinot Lodge rooms $69/pn Sunday - Thursday OR try the 3 Night/3 Ski Day Perfect Family Package from only $178 per adult (based on 4 adults to room in the Targhee Lodge, during Value Season). Averaging 500 inches of some of the finest powder in the Wild Wild West, check it out for yourself at www.grandtarghee.com

JACKSON HOLE: OPEN OPEN OPEN!
Another fine destination resort, you’ll find outrageous packages for this outrageous resort. Consider the Ski Free, rates starting at $51/pp/pn for lodging and lift tickies. Gotta bring three friends to the Village Center Inn, gotta stay two nights, offer good from 12/7-12/20, and stay must be complete by 12/21. There’s more, like the Cowboy Package, at www.jacksonhole.com. Told you this was the Wild Wild West!

Good news! TAOS IS ON BOARD AS WELL!
TAOS CHUTES HERE WE COME! Taos Ski Valley opened 11/23, and is offering a half-off lift and lodging deal 12/1-12/13. Translation: $16 lift tickets and rooms from $24.50 ONLY at the Best Value Indian Hills Inn. Sipapu Ski Area opened 11/29 with $5 lift tickets till 12/13, stay in Taos for the half off price from $24.50. As if Indian Hills wasn’t slashing prices enough, they're offering room specials at $99 for 3 nights until 12/19 AND advance lodging purchase in 10 night minimums for as low as $29.90/pp/pn. Don’t believe it? Contact Best Value Indian Hills Inn, Taos Plaza, 505-758-4293, or make your reservations at 800-444-2346, and get access to one of the coolest hills in the Southwest.

Backcountry news: All this snow is beautiful, but deadly as well. We're in avy season early this year, as snow depths and temperature differentials have created a substantial and consolidated base early on. One death for the season already of a snowshoer on a 25-degree slope, another two injured on a Class II south slope on Quandary Peak. Check overall conditions at www.geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche, check the weather forecast at iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/graphicsversion/bigmain.html, bring your beacon, probe poles, shovel, and wits. You'll be safe if you use your head, and happy slogging!

Till next week, stay low, stay smart, stay luz,
Your Robin Hood of the Rockies,
Martha
skibabeage [at] hotmail.com