Greetings, Rocky Mountain and Wild, Wild West sliders!

It's Martin Luther King weekend, and in spite of the record attendance being broken across the board for all this SUPREMELY SLICK AND SUPERB ROCKY MOUNTAIN SNOW, there's still opportunity to ride Mile-High this weekend without spending a small fortune. Read on, then slide on!

Thought o' the Ski Week: The sport of skiing consists of wearing three thousand dollars' worth of clothes and equipment and driving two hundred miles in the snow in order to stand around at a bar and get drunk. P.J. O'Rourke (well, PJ OBVIOUSLY wasn't a reader of Sliding on the Cheap!)

Tip o' the Ski Week: It's getting to be that time of year when traffic jams start building to and from resorts. Do a double-header: save yourself time and gas money AND put the ease on the environmental damage by taking alternate transportation. The Breeze Ski Bus to Winter Park for one, and they'll sell you DISCOUNT lift tickets on the bus as a thanks - call 888-4-Breeze for info and rez. Amtrak for another, leaving Denver's Union Station, stopping in Winter Park, Glenwood Springs (near Sunlight and Aspen/Snowmass), and Grand Junction (near Powderhorn), schedules and fares at www.amtrak.com. The Colorado Mountain Express to Vail/Beaver Creek or Aspen/Snowmass for yet another, information at www.cmex.com. And there's always car-pooling and ride-share at skicolorado-extreme.fws1.com/carpooling.html. In fact, take a gander on the website and notice the car-pool rewards for meals at Vail and chances to win prizes at Keystone!

Weather outlook from our friends at Weather.com: Snow and cold in the mountains through Saturday, snow and freezing rain in the plains through Thursday morning. Stay on top of the up-to-date weather conditions and snow report with our happy sponsors at www.weather.com.

AHHHH-BASIN:
What are holidays for but to spend them with friends? Get three buds together, visit the good folks at www.themanagers.com, book a 1BR+loft condo for $67/pp/pn, that includes lift tickets, and ride the Freshies Above All in style! More hot deals at www.arapahoebasin.com.

ASPEN RESORTS:
Aspen/Snowmass Highlands/Buttermilks Get in to Aspen packages still outrageously priced starting at $203/pp/do - includes 3 nights lodging, 2 days lift tickets to Highlands/Buttermilk, or upgrade to all FOUR mountains for pocket change! Making a last-minute trip to the west slope? Get a bunk bed at the turn-of-the-century Little Red Ski Haus for only $45/pn, 2 night stay, please, and there's more at www.aspensnowmass.com.

COPPER MOUNTAIN:
Milk the MLK-only deals on the Hill Metallica this weekend! Got a season pass to either Copper or Winter Park? Use it here, get a hotel room for $99/pn/do. Need lodging and lifts? Try the two-night special for $98/pp/pn, based on four guests in a 2-BR condo, and they'll throw in the lift tickets 'cause they like you! Don't believe me? See for yourself at www.coppercolorado.com.

CRESTED BUTTE:
A foot of freshies last weekend. A new lift planned in the near future (details later!). Help the Butte-i-ful celebrate this weekend with the Mid-Winter Odyssey package - stay two nights at the ski-in, ski-out Sheraton, get two days of lift tickies, and get the third night lodging free, starting at $175/pp/do! Go straight for the Big Guns at www.skicb.com

DURANGO MOUNTAIN RESORT/PURGATORY:
Creative is the name of the game at this one-of-a-kind resort. Get the best of everything with the Steam & Ski package - $76/adults, $45/kids will get you a morning riding on the superb trails of Purgatory Mountain, then it's all-aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for an unforgettable ride through Cascade Canyon and along the Animas River. Do what you Do so well at www.durangomountainresort.com

LOVELAND:
Ongoing reason #704 to skip the Ice-enhower Tunnel: the Slap and Tap Boulder Beer Goddess. If the Hoppin' Goddess finds you while skiing on the slopes and slaps you (not upside the head!) with a sticker that says "Hazed and Infused," then off you go to the Rathskeller bar for a free pint of the stuff AND a chance to win a party at Boulder Brewery worth $150! Pearson's Candy has gone nuts again this year - purchase one Pearson's Salted Nut Roll (Wal-Mart, anyone?), don't be a litterbug but present the wrapper with the coupon from here: http://mailiwant.com/links.jsp?linkid=4410&subid=801364&campid=8248 and get $14 off a full-price adult lift ticket! Feel the Love at www.skiloveland.com.

MONARCH MOUNTAIN:
Purchase a Snowbank card for $15 at any Monarch ticket window, and you're set for the season. Discounts vary depending upon holidays and such, but you'll never pay more than $39 for a daily adult lift ticket, and every sixth visit is free! www.skimonarch.com

POWDERHORN:
Monday-Wednesday lift tickets are only and always $19 (except 1/20 MLK day). Bus service from Grand Junction to the Horn of Plenty Pow-Pow runs Sat/Sun and is only $5 R/T (call 970-241-1570 for schedule). There are as many ski & stay deals in Grand Junction as there are hotels, and it's all at www.powderhorn.com.

STEAMBOAT:
Here's what you want to do at Das Boat: as with many resorts, there's not a lot to keep you occupied in the evening if you choose to stay in a property around the base area. Steamboat is no exception. For a livelier time, stay in the Rabbit Ears Motel (look for the pink bunny head sign on the east end of town) for $69/pn, call 800-828-7702 for reservations. It's right across from the Steamboat Hot Springs where you can soak for $6, then head for the Tap House Sports Grill in downtown for one of their nightly specials and a pint of one of 21 brews on tap. And Tuesday night is 33-cent wings night! www.steamboat.com

SUNLIGHT MOUNTAIN:
Ski, Swim & Stay is good this weekend, and Kids Ski Free to boot! Packages starting at $59/pp/pn for a lift ticket to Sunlight, a soak in Glenwood Hot Springs, and a night's lodging at one of 14 participating properties, and kids 13 and under get a free lift ticket for every paid adult as part of the package! www.sunlightmtn.com

TELL-U-RIDE:
Stay in a luxury condo at the San Sophia in downtown Tell-U-Ride, normally $350/pn, book now through 2/1/03, take 20% off (that's $70!) AND get lift tickets for only $39! Two blocks from downtown and walking distance from the gondola - what a life! They'll Tell-U-More at www.tellurideskiresort.com

VAIL RESORTS:
Beaver Creek, Brecken-fridge, Keystone, Vail January's a great time to visit Vail Resorts - not just for the terrain, but the price on select lodging has just dropped 50%! Forest standard studio condos at Keystone starting at just $89/pn, or stay at the Breckenridge Mountain Lodge mid-week starting at $33.50/pp/pn, some restrictions apply! Better yet, book a 2 BR condo mid-week in the Keystone forest area, bring three friends, get lodging AND lift tickets starting at $67/pp/pn! Book online at reservations.snow.com

WINTER PARK/MARY JANE:
It's all open - Janeside, Parkside, Parsenn Bowl, Vasquez Ridge, AND Vasquez Cirque. There are some lodging specials that will knock you off the Tour de Bump! Fr'instance, a 1BR condo through Winter Park Vacations, sleeps 4, $95/pn! That's less than $25/pp/pn! Or a 1BR Beaver Village Condo, reduced to $150/pn, buy three nights, get the fourth night free! Book 4 nights lodging on selected properties, buy three days lift tickets, and the kids ski free! Got a season pass to either Copper or Winter Park? Use them BOTH at www.winterparkresort.com

WOLF CREEK:
Thursday, 1/16, is Ladies' Day at Wolf Creek, deal includes lift ticket and a lesson for $44! Sunday, 1/19, is the MLK Fun Race, dual format, open to all ages and abilities, and free with the purchase of a lift ticket! Howl at the abundant powder at www.wolfcreekski.com

WYOMING:
JACKSON HOLE:
Go Big or Go Home they say at JH Central Reservations, and they mean it with the $74/pp/pn package, includes 4 night minimum stay lodging and 3 days lift tickets. It's still and always steep and deep at www.jacksonhole.com

GRAND TARGHEE:
They just got a foot of freshies, and it's looking like an almost 8 foot summit base! What a value at $49 for a lift ticket for all that powder and groomed! "Nuff said - check it out yourself at www.grandtarghee.com

NEW MEXICO:
ANGEL FIRE:
Jumpin' fuego de los angeles, what a deal! Learn to snowboard and keep the gear for only $249! Package includes 2 half-day group lessons with their lesson guarantee, snowboard, boots, bindings, and all the necessary fittings and adjustments, AND 2 vouchers for half price lift tickets at your next Angel Fire visit! Let the angels light a fire under you at www.angelfireresort.com!

TAOS:
January's the month for Extreme Savings at the Loop de Chutes - stay 3 nights in the "taon" of Taos, ski 3 days, all starting at $230/pp. Have a Taos Card? You'll really reap the benefits on lodging and lifts - like $10 off daily lift tickets, AND $10 off each night's stay at participating lodges with the 7th night free! Taos Cards still available at www.skitaos.org/RATES. Ski, eat, sleep, ski, repeat when necessary at www.skitaos.org

BACKCOUNTRY NEWS:
The Colorado Mountain School teaches a Level I Avalanche Course this weekend, 1/17-19, at Winter Park Resort. Friday night starts classroom work at 7 PM. All-day Saturday and Sunday classes are in the field with an introduction and review of avalanche phenomena, travel techniques, decision-making strategies, and avalanche rescue. Visit www.cmschool.com or call 888-267-7783 to sign up.

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