RIP: Ski Train

Denver-Winter Park train off-track -- perhaps forever

Click here to read about my trip Riding the Ski Train to Winter Park less than a month ago. Delightful as the ride was, and much as we intending to take it more often, it most likely won't happen again. Surprisingly -- in fact, shockingly -- owner Phil Anschutz either has sold or is about to seel the Ski Train rolling stock to the Algoma Central Railway, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway Company, that among other excursions runs the Snow Train from Sault Ste.-Marie, Ontario, into the white world of the Agawa Canyon (right).

Jim Monaghan, an Anschutz spokesman, told the Denver Post that the Canadian railroad approached them about selling Colorado Ski Train. The Anschutz organization was receptive because the logistics of running the train to with the upcoming redevelopment of Denver's Union Station were uncertain -- but the costs were certainly rising. During the Union Station makeover, there was talk about temporarily operating the train from a parking lot at Coors Field. That won't be necessary.

One of the Ski Train plans for next winter that will now no longer happen was to offer two-day packages that included a Saturday trip to winter park, an overnight stay at Winter Park and a Sunday afternoon return to Denver.

Anschutz reportedly did not sell the Ski Train name or logo to the Canadians, so there remains a possibility, slim though it might be, for the eventual return of the revered train, which began operating in 1940. No question that it will be missed.

Happy Anniversaries, Parks Canada

Canada's equivalent of the US National Park Service celebrates its 125th this year. But wait! There's more!

Happy Anniversaries -- plural "anniversaries" with an S is correct, as Parks Canada (and also Parcs Canada in our officially bilingual neighbor to the north) -- celebrates and celebrates and celebrates. Currently, the agency is responsible for 42 national parks, 167 historic sites, nine historic canals and three national historic conservation areas. Like trivia? Point Pelee National Park, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario is the smallest and also the farthest south -- farther south, in fact, than New York City. The farthest north is Sirmilik National Park on northern Baffin Island, also the area where the earliest signs of human habitation have been found. Parks Canada/Parcs Canada certainly has a lot to celebrate.

2010 - 125th anniversary of the year (1885) that Cave Basin was established as a natural reserve to protect Banff Hot Springs. Two years later, it became the nucleus Banff National Park, Canada's first national park.

2011 - 100th anniversary of the creation of the agency now called Parks Canada/Parcs Canada

2012 - 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, commemorated and documented at numerous National Historic Sites close to the Canada-US border.

2013 - 300th anniversary ot the Fortress of Louisbourg, a faith reconstruction of a fortress built in 1713 to protect French poessesions in what is now referred to as Atlantic Canada.

Epic Snow = High Avalanche Danger

Fatalities and non-fatal incidents underscore the need for caution

In a recent post, I ooh-ed and ah-ed and cheered the prodigious snowfall that the West has enjoyed this winter. At the end of my post, I added the caution, "All that snow does mean avalanches are a real hazard, so this is a time to stick to resort skiing and riding. Save the backcountry until conditions are more stable. And, if you're driving, make sure your car is fitted with adequate snow tires, possibly chains, emergency gear and a level-headed driver." Now, I'm elevating the caution to a red-flag warning.

Colorado

I've been skiing at Snowmass for a few days, under idyllic conditions: blue sky, sunshine, no wind, superior snow conditions. But every once in a while, the boom of avalanche-control explosives can be heard as the resort's patrollers and snow-safety crew blast dangerous snow depositions and cornices, presumably on the backside steeps, before they can slide on their own and harm anyone.

Amazingly, not all avalanches occur in the backcountry or steep inbounds areas. At Snowmass' heralded new Base Village, I watched a series of harrowing slides unload from a brand new condominium building's metal roof directly onto the Sneaky's Tavern terrace, where visitors were having lunch. If those huge chunks of sun-softened wet snow had fallen on anyone's head, the result would not have been pretty. Quick-thinking managers emptied the tables, cordoned off the danger zone (right) and before long, dispatched workers with shovels up to the roof to push the remaining snow off the edge.

Given this unfortunate design, they are going to have shoveling teams at the ready after every significant snowfall. Think about it: A snow-loaded, south-facing metal roof + bright sunshine = problems like this afternoon's. Imagine what this will be like in spring when generous March/April snows are typically followed by warm sun.

The developer, Related Westpac, is proud of such high-profile projects as Time Warner Center in New York City, CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Florida, and other places far from ski country. Did they hire architects from Miami or Phoenix? Didn't the Town of Snowmass Village building inspector alert them to the ill-conceived combination of design and materials?

Wyoming

Meanwhile, following inbounds slides in Utah and California earlier this winter, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has experienced far more catastrophic problems from several inbounds avalanches. Laramie Bowl reportedly slid to the ground, and just two days after Dave Nodine, a 31-year-old local was killed in an inbounds slide, the Headwall released, and tons of snow ran straight into the lodge at the top of the Bridger Gondola. A site called Skiing the Backcountry posted a report about Nodine's death and a second report with dramatic photos of the snow damage to the restaurant. Stephen Koch has also premitted me to post photos like the one on the right. For more images, see his blog. Fortunately, this avalanche happened around 9:30 a.m. If it had released three hours later, the restaurant would have been filled with skiers who lunch. According to the resort's official press release on the incident:

"At approximately 9:30 am this morning, after JHMR Ski Patrol had completed one
avalanche hazard reduction route and were getting ready to conduct another, the
Headwall slid naturally from the southeast aspect above the Bridger Restaurant.
This incident took place before this area of the mountain had been opened to the
public. A search for potential victims took place and everyone has been
accounted for. This incident is under full investigation and a more detailed
report will be released at 4p.m. At this time, JHMR will remain closed until
further notice."

Followup news report: The day after I posted this item, the Jackson Hole News reported more extensively on the Headwall slide that damaged the Bridger Restaurant:

"The Headwall avalanche that raked the Bridger Restaurant building...trapped or hit seven ski patrollers...Five patrollers were slightly injured in the incident, which tore the railing and glass shields off the restaurant deck, burst through doors and windows and piled snow 8 feet deep inside. The avalanche roared down the Headwall slope at 9:26 a.m. after being provoked by a ski patrol bomb, resort officials said. It piled snow about 30 feet deep around the mid-mountain restaurant building and sent patrollers and other workers scrambling to free colleagues.

"Airborne snow that eddied around the corner of the building pinned or partially pinned four patrollers among scattered furniture on a patio. The blast knocked down two other patrollers who were hiking up to the building. Debris shuttered a seventh, and his search dog, inside the ski patrol room in the restaurant building until workers cut through an interior wall to set them free.

"The slide ran two days after an in-bounds avalanche below the Paintbrush
trail buried and killed 31-year-old David Nodine, of Wilson. Nodine skied off
the trail into an area unofficially known as Toilet Bowl with a friend when the
slide ran; patrollers found him within six minutes using a transceiver and
uncovered him within another four minutes. Bridger-Teton National Forest
avalanche forecaster Jim Springer and resort President Jerry Blann on Tuesday
fleshed out details of the Headwall slide, including how Blann dug out veteran
ski patroller Larry Detrick, who was buried up to his neck."

Remarkably, but perhaps on lawyers' advice, other than one "incident statement" following the Headwall slide, the resort's website makes no mention Nodine's death or of the avalanche that slammed into the restaurant and could have killed some of its own patrollers too. The Mountain Dining page still lists restaurants at the top of the gondola. Perhaps the resort cleaned out the snow and fixed the mess fast, but Nodine is gone, and there is no word about the injured patrollers.

British Columbia

The Vancouver Sun reported that eight snowmobilers are missing from a group of 11 buried in an avalanche in southeastern British Columbia in the Harvey Pass area, about 25 miles south of Fernie, on Sunday afternoon. According to the report, "The group had reportedly split into two when seven of them were buried in an avalanche at about 2 p.m., said Fernie RCMP. As the other four tried to dig them out, they were hit by another avalanche, which buried the entire group. All of the men, who are from nearby Sparwood, B.C., were wearing avalanche beacons. Police said two of the buried riders managed to dig themselves out within 20 minutes and used their avalanche beacons to locate a third man, who was rescued after another 20 minutes of digging." Three safe; seven bodies reportedly recovered on Monday and the final victim still missing. The search had to be called off because of darkness and continuing high danger.

Just a week ago, in Grand County, Colorado, two of four snowmobilers riding up a steep slope near Gravel Mountain in the Arapaho National Forest. One was a 38-year-old firefighter and paramedic and the other a 19-year-old.

These are examples of the differently types avalanche-caused fatalities in the West this winter, so please, skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers, be careful. For my part, I'm sticking to the groomers.

Affordable Family Skiing Includes Freebies for Kids

Free kids' lift tickets, lodging, air fare and/or rentals ease the family skiing budget

I'm spending the weekend at Steamboat, the Colorado resort that pioneered Kids Ski Free, which offers free skiing/riding, lodging and even rentals for children 12 and under on a one-to-one basis with a full-fare adult with a stay of five nights or longer. Several years ago, the resort sweetened the offers still more with a discounted teen ticket for youngsters. Childcare and ski school are not included in the Kids Ski Free program. The latest added benefit is that kids also fly free to nearby Yampah Valley Regional Airport on American, Northwest and United. If you happen to be coming to Steamboat on the January 16-18, check out the resort's Family Snow Fest during that weekend. For details, call 877-237-2628 or 970-871-5252.

Elsewhere in Colorado, Aspen/Snowmass has partnered with Frontier with an unprecedented Kids Fly Free/Stay Free offer. Children 12 and under fly, stay and rent free with a minimum three-day, four-night package from "select" cities with Sunday through Thursday arrivals. This package cannot be booked online but only though 800-214-7669, with a December 23, 2008, booking deadline.

Sun Valley has a similar program in which children aged two to 11 fly free to Ketchum/Sun Valley on Horizon Air's nonstops from Los Angeles or Seattle when booked in conjunction with "a qualifying lodging package during selective travel dates." Youngsters 15 and under also ski and stay free in a participating Sun Valley Company property during January 4-31 and March 1-30, 2009. Off-peak fares are available Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Fares higher on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The air tickets can be purchased until the end of the promotional period.

Up in the Canadian Rockies, two children 12 and under ski free with two paying adults with a package that includes seven nights' of economy-style accommodations in Banff or Lake Louise, and lift tickets for the three resorts that participate in the SkiBig3 group: Ski Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Mountain Resort. The package is available all season long except for the December 20 through January 4 holiday peak. Call 877-754-7080 for reservations.

Big Snow & Big New Lift at Whistler

Peak2Peak gondola a technological wonder and a skier's dream

The new Peak2Peak gondola that will be inaugurated on Friday, December 12, links two on-mountain stations on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, for the first time enabling people to ski/snowboard both mountains in a day without having to return all the way to Whistler Village. As if to bless the new lift (right, photo by Ian Anderson), the snow gods have been depositing fat white flakes on North America's biggest resort.

This state-of-the-art Doppelmayr 3S tri-cable gondola is a transport lift like no other. Its 16 Sky Cabins cross 2.73 miles (4.4 kilometers) from mountain to mountain. Between its farthest-apart beefy towers, built to withstand wind and weather, is the world’s longest unsupported span: a stunning 1.88 miles (3.024 kilometres) above Fitzsimmons Creek. It is also the world’s highest lift of its kind crossing the valley floor at a maximum of 1,427 feet (at 436 meters). The cabins were unveiled in September, and load testing began on October 1. Since then, skiers and riders have been salivating.

A Super Launch for a Super Lift

I wish I were going to the Peak2Peak launch but can only be there vicariously via a live webcast of launch ceremony -- and so can you. It will be transmitted beginning at 10:30 a.m. PST on http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/webcast. The official ribbon cutting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the gondola terminals on both mountains.

The first cabin to take off from Blackcomb to Whistler will ferry 22 locals who were nominated as "the most deserving" in the resort's Ride of Their Life contest. In the first cabin from Whistler to Blackcomb will be auction winners who bid for the places, with auction proceeds going to the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation that supports community organizations throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor. The day will be full of festivities from breakfast to "grand" après-ski celebrations.

Winter is High Season for Stormwatching

Tofino is the best place for observing mammoth Pacific Coast storms in luxury and comfort

Here’s a wet and wild winter option to languishing on a tropical beach, swatting golf balls on a palm-studded course, cruising calm seas on a big ship or even skiing through down-soft powder snow. If you lust for a combination of excitement and raw natural beauty, think about heading into the teeth of wild winter weather. For a growing cadre of stormwatchers, nothing but nothing beats the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island off mainland British Columbia's coast.

There you will find the only stretch of the island’s central coastline with a year-round paved road. Between forested mountains and lakes to the northeast and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest stretches a sliver of Pacific Rim National Park Preserve, known for its fine-sand beaches, rocky headlands embracing scenic bays and coves, and rainforest hiking trails cut through thick old-growth red cedar and Western hemlock.

The Pacific Rim Highway, a two-laner flanked by these towering, moss-draped trees, runs right through the park with Tofino on one end and Ucluelet on the other. These funky hamlets just 25 miles apart enjoy some of western Canada’s mildest winter temperatures and experience some of its heaviest rainfalls and most potent storms. What the 3,000 or so locals endure has made these towns meccas for winter stormwatchers, who treasure this dramatic and remote area to watch Pacific storms roll in with power, fury and wild beauty.


More than 130 inches of average annual rain falls on this part of Vancouver Island, which is nicknamed the Rain Coast. Of that, 20 inches can pour from the skies in a single storm. Even in relatively tranquil periods between storms, impressive swells roll onto shore, crashing against rocky headlands, sliding over the wide beaches, littering the white sand with whiter oyster and clam shells, fringing the tideline with seaweed and rearranging the driftwood.

Eight-foot waves are not uncommon. Add wind and rising tides, and when all the elements of waves and weather converge to create the proverbial perfect storm, waves have been known to crest to 30 or 40 feet, occasionally more. Driftwood isn’t limited diminutive sticks and ordinary-size logs, but includes enormous tree trunks cast upon the beaches and piled into bayheads like spilled toothpicks. Beneath the turbulent waves lie nearly 250 shipwrecks, sunk over two centuries, in the so-called "Graveyard of the Pacific."

A dozen significant tempests, give or take, hit this coastline each month during storm season, which kicks off in late October or early November and shifts into high gear in January and February. In midwinter, you’ll see curtains of rain, buckets of rain, horizontal sheets of rain, sprays of rain shooting through the salt-kissed air – but rarely snow. It is improbably romantic, whether you prefer to share the raw and invigorating experience of the outdoors, protected by fetching fishermen’s slickers that lodges lend to guests, or to snuggle in the warm, dry coziness of one of the handful of inns and lodges that remain open. Even from indoor comfort, you will be mesmerized as wave after wave washes up on the beach below, crashes onto a nearby cliff, and sprays your double-paned window. You might also luck upon nature’s light show from a winter electrical storm.

During low tides and calm periods, there’s nothing finer than an invigorating walk, either on a trail or directly along the shore. Step onto a beach as the tide goes out and gaze out at the restless sea and down by your feet to examine what the water has deposited on the sand. Still, it is imperative to keep a cautious eye for changing weather, and retreat when the ride begins to change. Beaches can be especially hazardous during a true winter storm, when massive drift logs ride the waves and jumble onto land and pile up like Brobdinagian Pick-Up Sticks. Except during the most potent storms, when hoteliers and innkeepers caution guests to stay inside, you can don heavy-duty raingear and venture out into the weather, staying on marked trails and staying off wet rocks.

The best stormwatching spots include designated safe areas along the well-named Wild Pacific Trail that snakes along the top of sea cliffs and Big Beach, a relatively sheltered, horseshoe-shaped strand near Ucluelet. Radar Hill, crowned by remnants of a long-abandoned World War II installation at nearly 500 feet above sea level, provides a stunning panorama of coves, bays, breakers and clouds but can be terribly windy during a howling storm. Perhaps best of all is the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse overlooking with views of Barkley Sound, Broken Group Islands and the open sea. The operating Canadian Coast Guard Station (below), a squat, square signal structure, is a coastal a landmark at the tip of the peninsula below Ucluelet.

In late February and early March, gray whales begin migrating northward along the coast, and stormwatchers begin to give way to whale watchers. An estimated 20,000 gray whales – the entire North American population of this awesome species – pass close by on their 5,000-nautical-mile journey from mating and calving lagoons of the Sea of Cortes between the Mexican mainland and Baja California, to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. That’s one heck of a commute – and it happens just off-shore of Vancouver Island. Most grays are gone by May, but some spend the entire in Clayoquot Sound, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve just northwest of Tofino.

The rocky headlands jutting out toward the sea offer fine vantage points for spotting these splendid marine mammals, and during the Pacific Rim Whale Festival (Mar. 14-22, 2009), free public viewing stations are set up at Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, and charter boat and floatplane operators from Ucluelet and Tofino begin their season. The festival features 70 events, ranging from a seafood chowder cook-off to an art show.

Wildlife viewing is not restricted to whales. Bald eagles overwintering in this area can often be spotted in sheltered harbors, where they perch on trees or pier pilings in the harbor. The region’s black bears do not go into deep hibernation, so it is not uncommon to see bears even in the wettest weather. By March, you can often spot a bruin or two on skunk cabbage growing in roadside ditches or marshy areas.

Tofino was a fishing town, while Ucluelet’s economy was once based on logging. First Vietnam-era war protestors and later eco-activists added a layer of idealism to the pragmatic working-class popular, which still is only about 3,000 people spread between the two towns. Local business signs now indicate such enterprises as “Massage therapy,” “art gallery,” “fishing charters” and “whale watching trips” now form the base of the local economy.

These days, the economy is tourism-based. Of the several properties that stay open in winter especially for storm-watching and whale-migration season, the first among equals is the Wickaninnish Inn (above), an upscale Relais & Chateaux property that offers a polished version of down-home hospitality. In December, rooms starting at $200 a night -- less than half of summer season rates when there's much less excitement. With a first-rate restaurant and on-site spa, the inn's early storm-season pricing fits into the "affordable luxury" category. It closes Jan. 2-8 before reopening for high storm-watching season, when room rates are $100 or more higher per night. The reservations number is 800-333-4604.

Rail Transportation's US Future

President's proposal for rail expansion would alter US travel

I love trains. When I travel abroad, it is my favorite mode of transportation., I love the energetic bustle of big-city railroad stations and the convenience of traveling from center-city to center-city, and I certainly prefer reaching small communities by train to clogging up roadways with a costly rental car. I wish we still had decent, punctual trains in this country, and maybe it will happen in my lifetime. I was cheered by President Obama's State of the Union message last Wednesday that included the intention of awarding $8 billion in stimulus funds for development of light-rail corridors around the country and new high-speed rail in Florida. It makes sense from all perspectives -- employment, traveler convenience, the environmental benefits of mass transit.

A number of US and Canadian cities already have light rail rapid transit -- surface trains, not subways, that unclog roadways. When I changed planes in Phoenix not long ago, I saw that the city's Valley Metro rail line reaches Skyharbor Airport from both east and west. Vancouver's new SkyTrain (upper right) connects the airport with the center city. Light rail lines in Denver, Salt Lake City and Calgary do not currently reach their respective airports but hopefully will in the future. Kansas City voters rejected a north-south light rail line, but the regional transportation district is planning on using diesel-driven trains on existing tracks -- perhaps similar to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe Railrunner (lower right). We'll see.

Elsewhere in the world, a rail link from major airports to the city and from there to national and international train networks is taken for granted. Once again, the US, which pretends to be so enlightened and so advanced, lags far behind. I just hope that Washington a-ginners who were fixating on deconstructing proposed health care/insurance reform don't get their talons into rail transportation improvements too.

Austin-Lehman Adventures Supports National Parks

Glacier National Park, celebrating centennial in 2010, is first beneficiary

“Preserve a Park” is a new conservation and educational initiative by Austin-Lehman Adveventures, an award-winning tour opeator. It will benefit a different national park each year via financial contributions to an organization that supports that park, while featuring an educational experience for guests who book one of the company’s “Preserve a Park” trips.

The first beneficiary is Glacier National Park, celebrating its centennial in 2010. This year, ALA will donate $100 per guest from each Glacier trip to the Glacier National Park Fund, a not-for-profit that supports the ongoing and future preservation of Glacier National Park’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Austin-Lehman Adventures is offering three six-day five-night trips to Glacier: August 1-6, August 8-13, and August 15-20; price per person is $2,498.

Coupled with adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, Glacier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the world's designated Peace Park. Glacier National Park was known to Native Americans as the “Backbone of the World.” Today, even though the namesake glaciers themselves are rapidly shrinking, the park preserves more than one million acres of stunning glacier-carved terrain that encompasses old growth forest, alpine lakes, rugged mountains and sweeping meadows of wildflowers. Highlights of park trips include biking, hiking and rafting both less traveled and most famous routes. These include the celebrated Going-to-the-Sun Road, one of North America’s most scenic roads and an 11-year building feat.
 
ALA has built an international reputation for small group active travel to destinations in North, Central and South America, Europe and southern Africa. The company specializes in adult and family multi-sport, hiking, biking vacations that emphasize history, culture, and geography’s natural beauty. Trips are limited to 12 guests (18 on family departures) and feature excellent regional dining, distinctive accommodations and all-inclusive rates and services.
 
I have visited Glacier National Park three times -- always in winter and always on cross-country skis. I've nibbled at the fringes of the huge park both from the west side of the park and from the Izaak Walton Inn on the south side, including traveling there to by train to Amtrak's last flag stop in West Essex, Montana. I've seen a bit of park that way and also not seen it at all, when the snow was swirling. Summer pictures are tantalizing, and I applaud the company for supporting the organization that supports the protection of Glacier and other parks in the future.

Sherman's Pick for 10 Best Ski Resorts for Nonskiers

With only four in the U.S., mixed-interest groups better get passports ready if following Sherman

 ShermansTravel selected "Top 10 Ski Resorts for Nonskiers."  The magazine's selection -- or perhaps the selection of Becca Bergman whose byline appears after each writeup -- is heavily canted toward resorts in other countries. This is not surprising in the sense that Alpine resorts have long considered themselves winter destinations, rather than ski destinations. The list include links to "smart splurge" and "great value" accommodations but not the main resort websites. I've added those for your convenience.

ShermansTravel's Choices

• Bad Gastein, Austria
• Megève, France
• Mont Tremblant, Quebec
• Park City, Utah
• Sierra Nevada, Spain
• Stowe, Vermont
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Taos, New Mexico
• Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia
• Zermatt, Switzerland

Claire's List

I'm not taking issue with the selections above as much as feeling there are some better choices. I would just like to have seen more domestic destinations that are more convenient and affordable these days for US skiers -- and those criteria don't even take into account the additional hassles of overseas air travel in effect for the foreseeable future. Here are six (three in the US) that I think would have been worthy for ShermansTravel's list:

• Aspen, Colorado - Enchanting old mining town with a deserved reputation for high prices but a lot of surprisingly affordable, often free, non-ski options. These include free bus area transportation, free cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails and tours, free art museum, three ice skating rinks, excellent intown spa, winter flying fishing on the Roaring Fork and Fryingpan Rivers and much more.
•  Banff/Lake Louise, Alberta - Located in Banff National Park, town of Banff offers terrific shopping, museums and galleries. Heart-of-the-park cross-country skiing and snowshoeing adventures, including at nearby Lake Louise, which is jaw-droppingly beautiful.
•  Jackson Hole, Wyoming - The ski area is known for steep-and-deep skiing and riding, but the picturesque Town of Jackson offers fantastic shopping and gallery hopping. There's an Olympic-size skating rink at Snow King Resort. Visit the National Museum of Wildlife Art and then take an unforgettable sleighride through the National Elk Refuge, just north of town, or take a snowmobile trip at Togwotee Pass to the south. Plus snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Grand Teton National Park, which actually borders the downhill ski area, and a day trip to magnificent Yellowstone National Park beyond.
•  Innsbruck, Austria - Two-time Olympic host in the heart of the Tyrolean Alps offers urban culture and urban pleasures. Twenty museums, from archeology to the most modern art. 14th International Fair for Contemporary Art INNSBRUCK (February 19-22) is major.Splendid shopping, window and otherwise, in the historic Old City. Vibrant nightlife.
• St. Moritz, Switzerland - Glamorous resort in Rhaetian Alps. No better place for window shopping, skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, winter walking, sledding, horsedrawn carriage rides and spectating at top-level sports competitions, including polo on the frozen lake.
•  Vail, Colorado - Fabulous shops in charming pedestrian village, fine spas, scenic gondola rides (free after 1:00 p.m.) and free valley-wide bus transportation. Cross-country skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and nearby snowmobiling. Excellent dining. 

New Hotel Wing Shines at Sunshine

Upgraded accommodations at Sunshine Village near Banff

The Banff/Lake Louise area in western Alberta boasts three very different and very intriguing ski areas. Mammoth Ski Louise's network lifts and vast skiable terrain comprise the largest ski area in the Canadian Rockies (or perhaps all of the Rockies). Norquay, the smallest of the trio, is the closest to town and has a reputation for challenge. Like Taos, Norquay's toughest runs are the first you see on approach, with the easier turf out of sight. But Sunshine Village offers something unique in the Banff area: slopeside lodging.

Sunshine is celebrating its 82nd season -- quite a history in the ski world, where many areas date back to the '50s and '60s but hardly any others on this continent reach even the most rudimentary operations back to the 1920s.

When the transport gondola from the valley below stops operating at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 on Fridays), Sunshine Village becomes as self-contained as a ship afloat in a pure white sea. Dining, entertainment, socializing and activities for adults and children are concentrated in the Sunshine Mountain Lodge. The lodge's just-opened new wing features suites and rooms that are compact but complete. "Cozy" rather than "spacious" would be the word. All three ski areas are within the boundaries of Banff National Parks, which meant that the new wing had to replace an old one so as not to extend the building's footprint. The lodge's location just steps from the lifts is unsurpassed.

Space in the rooms and loft suites is tight, especially when guests have their clothing and gear scattered around, so public rooms like the one below are well used for games, socializing or just relaxing.

The loft suites have one regular queen-size bed and one queen-size Murphy bed on the lower level and a second large bed upstairs in the loft. When a family or group of friends share a suite, Sunshine Mountain Lodge accommodations don't provide much privacy, but I do love these duvet covers...

...and the convenient location and the mountain views can't be beat.

Reservations: 87-SKI BANFF (877-542-2633) or 403-277-7669.

Where to Watch Wild Weather

The Weather Channel stormwatcher picked 10 spots; I have an 11th

If you've ever seen a tornado, you've watched wild weather. Those who were in Miami for Hurricane Andrew, in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina or on Galveston Island for Hurricane Ike certainly witnessed devastatingly wild weather, as did those in the path of assorted tsunamis, typhoons and earthquakes. If you want to experience wild weather, check out The Weather Channel's stormtracker's Jim Cantore list of 10 vacation destinations for experiencing "wacky weather." He added suggestions of the best (therefore least wild and wacky) times to go there, but I'm not including those here. After all, if you're seeking wild weather, you don't want mild weather -- and I have one of my own to add (photo at right, and my suggestion below).

Cantore's Top 10 Wild Weather Destinations

• Death Valley, California - The hottest, driest and lowest-elevation spot in North America; 760-786-3200


• Breaux Bridge, Louisiana - Cantore was there during Hurricane Gustav and watched the storm roll in over the Delta; 888-565-5939


• Dangriga Town, Belize - Hurricanes and tropical storms can wallop the coast of this Central American town; 800-624-0686


• International Falls, Minnesota -Nicknamed "the icebox of America," this is the coldest town the continental United States; 800-325-5766. Just last year, Fraser, Colorado, was vying for the title, and everything in the lower 48 pales beside places inland in Alaska. think Fairbanks.


• Gulf Coast, Mississippi - Cantore cited Hurricane Katrina as an example of the coast's brutal wather phenomena; 888-467-4853


• Sydney, Australia - "Vast Australia experiences weather ranging from snowstorms to sandstorms, said Cantore, but singled out Sydney for its "phenomenal dust storms"; 310-695-3200


• Killington, Vermont -"Mountains on one side and the coastline on the other," said Cantore, described as a native Vermonter. I wonder why he picked Killington. How about Sugarloaf, Maine, of Mont Ste.-Anne, Quebec, like Killington, ski mountains that rise above the surrounding countryside; 802-773-4181


• Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaii - Cantore cited thick clouds atop snow-capped Mauna Kea, but he didn't mention the fumes that blow from Kilauea, a volcano that has been erupting and producing lava flows since January 3, 1983; 800-464-2924


• Crater Lake, Oregon - Cantore mentions "snow [that] can cover the landscape from October through June in some areas," but that's no big deal for us Coloradans. He also mentiones that "the coastal region of Oregon can get more than 100 inches of rain annually, which in higher elevations translates to a lot of snow — as much as 16 feet at times." The Sierra Nevada range is similar; 541-594-3000


• Barrow, Alaska - Cantore says that temperatures in the country's northernmost city average temperature is 10 degrees plus 64 days without sun, 907-852-5211

No. 11 from Claire

How could a stormwatcher ignore the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where the storm-watching season stretches from November through Feburary. Hotels and resorts in and between the hamlets of Tofino and Ucluelet offer storm-watching packages for guests who really want to experience wild Pacific storms. The photo above comes for the Wickaninnish Inn; 250-725-3100.

Do You Have a 12th to Add?

Let me here from you. Leave a comment with your suggestions.

Centennial for Canada's Splendid Empress Hotel

Victorian landmark in Victoria, BC, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year

Victoria on the south end of Vancouver Island is a totally captivating city. Whenever I've been there I've thought that I could easily live there -- or at least spend a few nights in one of the Fairmont Empress Hotel's 476 rooms. It is one of Victoria’s most distinctive and beautiful landmarks, and another time, perhaps I will. Meanwhile, I have strolled through the gardens, wandered through the lobby and had a drink in the Bengal Lounge, where the word "colonialism" is a quaint and picturesque theme rather than an administrative system that is way out of favor these days.

I was just leafing through a 10-year-old copy of Victorian Homes magazine, which featured Victoria and noted that the Empress Hotel was then 90 years old. It was built in 1908, when the British Empire was the world's most widespread and powerful. By then, Canada, was already evolving from colony to independent nationhood, but English influence was still potent in Victoria. The Parliament building overlooking the Inner Harbour would not look out of place along the Thames in London, and neither would the nearby Empress, a splendid and opulent example of late Victorian/Edwardian colonial architecture.

The grandiose Empress is now part of the Fairmont group. The public rooms, which are all I have seen, have been immaculately restored. Many of the original features are still in place, including beautiful leaded glass, 12-foot windows and some dozen ornate chandeliers hanging from the high carved-mahogany ceiling.

The Bengal Lounge carries out the theme of India in the days of the British Raj. The Empress Dining Room is an elegant restaurant serving contemporary British Columbia cuisine, including wines from a commendable list.

I have only sat down in the Empress for a drink, but many day visitors come for afternoon tea. In fact, I read somewhere that more than 100,000 guests do so each year, nibbling on small crust-off sandwiches of various sorts, freshly baked scones, house-made preserves, thick Jersey cream and a cornucopia of other pastries, and sipping on the Empress's custom-blended tea from Royal Doulton cups. There is a suitable dress code and such 21st-century tattiness as ripped jeans, short shorts or running clothes are not seen.

I don't know which day, week or month during 2008 has been designated for the official centennial celebration (and being so English in flavor, I am guessing there must be an official celebration!), but there is a Centennial Bed and Breakfast package that includes the hotel's famous afternoon tea, breakfast in the Empress Dining Room and a new commemorative edition of The Empress, a book tracking its glorious 100 years in words and pictures. Rates begin at CDN$199 per person, single or double occupancy, and is offered all year -- with the usual "based on availability" caveat that hotels are so fond of. If you just want to have tea, a special Centennial Tea will be presented every Friday afternoon through the end of September. The cost is CDN$100 for a memorable tradition.

The Fairmont Empress, 721 Government Street Victoria, BC V8W 1W5, Canada; 250-384-8111.

Krazy About "Kooza"

Cirque de Soleil touring show now dazzling Denver

My name is Claire, and I'm a Cirque-a-holic.

Fortunately, Cirque de Soleil sends a touring show to Denver practically every year, sets up it yellow and gold "Grand Chapiteau" tent in a Pepsi Center parking lot and dazzles Denver audiences. "Kooza" premiered last night for its month-long run, and my husband and I were there. (In the spirit of full disclosure, we have seen every Cirque show that has come to Denver, including "the horse one," and when we were at a convention in Las Vegas a few years ago, seeing three resident Cirque shows was one of the redeeming features about being there).

"Kooza," like other Cirque shows, has a story line -- usually a bewildered wanderer led into a magical world -- but this is a thin thread really links incredible acrobats, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, jugglers, dancers and comedians and allows audiences to relax and breathe between the show's heart-stopping acts. See the trailer by clicking here.

Show after show, act upon act, these are universally performers. Hint: Go to "Kooza," if only for the two amazing men whose act involves a pair of giant "hamster wheels." Take a look at the YouTube video that just hints at the power of this act. Every ride at neighboring Elitch's pales beside the apparatus on which the perform.

Cirque is celebrating its silver anniversary this year. It traces its origins to Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town northeast of Quebec City, where Gilles Ste.-Croix founded a street theater that he called Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers). These gifted street performers played to local and tourist crowds, striding on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire and playing music. One of the locals who was enchanted by the troupe was Guy Laliberté, who with Ste.-Croix and others founded Cirque du Soleil. Their dream was to take a Quebec-based company around the world.

Fast-forward to 2009, and the dream has come true -- and way more. Twenty resident and touring troupes are electrifying audiences in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Cast and crew are astonishingly international, representing 40 countries. Unsurprisingly, many are from Eastern Europe and China, where circus arts and acrobatics are widely taught and the talent pool is deep.

"Kooza" will be in Denver through September 20. Tuesday through Friday ticket prices are $60-$130 for adults, $38.50-$87.50 for children to age 12 (slightly higher on weekends). Westword is promoting a 25th-anniversary special at 25 percent off,; I think you have to register to obtain tickets at this discount. The apaper is also running a contest for free "Kooza" tickets. Otherwise, buy on-line or call 800-678-5440.

UNESCO to Inspect a Pair of National Parks

Mining is threatening International Peace Park; UN agency to look into the situation

When it comes to global warming, ice is the canary in the mine. The shore-fast ice along the north coast of Alaska and Canada has been thinner and breaking up earlier every spring. Huge chunks of the Ross Ice Shelf and other tracts of frozen water have been breaking off the Antarctic continent. And glaciers all over the world have been visibly shrinking -- not just measurably in scientific terms but visibly in this lifetime. Glacier National Park in northern Montana, with its shrinking and disappearing glaciers, has been a the poster child for climate change.

But there is another threat to Glacier and its neighbor to the north. Coal mining could be a greter problem for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, composed of contiguous Glacier National Park in northern Montana and Waterton National Park (above right) across the Canadian border. National Parks Traveler reported that UNESCO's World Heritage Committee voted unanimously to look into the "threat posed to the two parks by [coal] mining proposals for the headwaters of the Flathead River just to the north of Glacier and just west of Waterton Lakes." A dozen US and Canadian conservation and environmental organizations "asked the World Heritage Committee to declare the two parks a 'World Heritage Site In Danger' due to the mining possibilities that Canadian officials so far seem to have supported," according to National Parks Traveler.

"While U.S. politicians ranging from those in Montana counties all the way up to the U.S. secretary of state's office want Canada to block Cline Mining Corp. from scraping away mountaintops in the headwaters of the Flathead River to reach millions of tons of coal, Canadian officials so far have not been keen on the idea," National Parks Traveler had reported earlier.

The UNESCO report is supposed to be completed in 2010, but pardon me if I note that this issue has been around for several years. U.S. and Canadian officials were supposed to be dealing with the mining proposal since at least 2007. The North Fork Preservation Association has been keeping tabs on the situation, including the appearance of the North Fork of the Flathead on an increasing number of lists of endangered rivers, Check out Toronto-based Cline Mining's website to see images of the kinds of mining infrastructure most of us don't want to see in the backyard of our precious national parks or in pristine river valleys. The Cline map shows two coal projects in southeastern British Columbia, where the Flathead River originates: Sage Creek and Lodgepole. I'm not sure whether one or both are what UNESCO will be studying.

In any case, while the inspection team is in the neighborhood, perhaps they might take a look at the remaining glaciers too.