Get Connected at Puerto Vallarta Resort

Luxury boutique hotel helps guests connect the 21st-century way

A lot of people are intending to get savvy or savvier about social media -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. -- but never get around to it. Casa Velas near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico now helps guests get a handle on 21st-century communications at with three free social media workshops a week. It's the newest inclusion at this all-inclusive, adults-only, AAA Four Diamond Casa Velas Hotel Boutique (not Boutique Hotel, but Hotel Boutique). The Monday, Wednesday and Friday workshops take only an hour, enough for such basics as creating a Facebook profile, adding friends, uploading photos and utilizing “Like” pages; getting on Twitter, following and Tweeting; and also creating videos and uploading them to YouTube.

Pierre Bonin, Casa Velas managing director believes his property to be Mexico's first to offer social media workshops, free at that. Of course, the property benefits when has introduced guests share their vacation experiences, photos and videos with family and friends, but Casa Velas’ social media program was also requested. Velas Resorts surveyed 300 guests in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and the Rivera Maya. Seventy percent of respondents, aged 18 to 64, expressed serious interest in social media. The majority wanted to share vacation photos, videos and trip experiences with friends and family on Facebook. The plan is to add such workshops to other Velas Resorts.

I've never been to Puerto Vallarta in general let alone to the Casa Velas in particular, but the resort looks appealing. It is a member of The Leading Small Hotels of the World and appears to be a hideaway rather than a high-action place. It is closer to Puerto Vallarta Airport (five minutes) than to P.V's popular downtown area (15 minutes), filled with, art galleries, shops, restaurants, nightspots and seaside malecon. The hotel has 80 suites (some with private pools and Jacuzzis), large pool, richly landscaped grounds, golf privileges at a couple of nearby courses, a small spa and Emiliano, an a la carte fine-dining restaurant serving Mexican and international cuisine.

From now through December 23, rates start at $240 per person per night, based on double occupancy, including dining at Emiliano, private beach club, premium international liquor brands, 24-hour in-suite service, in-suite minibar, private roundtrip airport transportation and all taxes and gratuities. I don't know where rates that "start at" $240 PP/DO might end. I'm not pretending that $480 per day for a couple is a cheap vacation, but it certainly seems to present a good value for those who want a luxury getaway. And have you priced the hourly rate of an Internet tutor? Reservations, 866-529-8813. RCI members, RCI Members, 800-835-2778.

Affordable Aspen

You can spend a lot or a little in Colorado's most glamorous resort town

I just returned from a couple of days in Aspen, the first time in several years during the non-snow season. As I wandered around town, which is pretty quiet until Food and Wine Classic in Aspen rolls in during the third weekend in June, I was struck by the contrast between how much luxury is available and how many options there are for a very affordable visit. Locals and visitors alike have more options than the stereotype would lead people to believe.

Getting Around

Some people drive around in the town's many Cadillac SUVs, Lincoln Navigators, Audis and BMWs.

Others use the exemplary RFTA public bus and van service with free or cheap transportation around town and down-valley.

Still others use two wheelers -- motorized and otherwise. Downtown Aspen has designated parking spaces for motorcycles and scooters.

Dining Out

Some of the most elegant and/or stylish restaurants, best chefs, most attentive waitstaffs and priciest menus can be found in Aspen.

But so can informal and reasonable bakeries, cafes and even a few remaining hole-in-the-wall restaurants, as well as the famous Popcorn Wagon, permamently parked at the corner of Hyman and Hunter.

Shopping

Dior and Gucci are right next door to each other on Galena Street.

Across the street is The Gap.

 

And  around the corner are fantastic consignment shops with designer and brand-name clothing for a song. It helps to be a size 6 or less.

Lodging

I don't even have to do a compare-and-contrast visual here. Off-season lodging prices are ridiculously low in the off-season to begin with, and through October 31, the Perfect Summer promotion gives you a third night free when you book two nights -- or a fourth night free when you book three. In addition, you'll get a Perfect Summer Pass for deals on arts and cultural events, outdoor adventures, dining and nightlife and spas for Aspen/Snowmass style pampering. A page on the website lists current specials in Aspen and nearby Snowmass. Book through Stay Aspen/Snowmass by calling 888-649-5982 or Emailing info@stayaspensnowmass.com.

Family Activities

I can't think of a much better family deal than an all-day $59 ticket for two adults and two youngsters to ride the Silver Queen gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain, an ideal place for a family hike on a high peak and a picnic. Some activities do carry an additional charge, but there are also free ones. The free mountaintop obstacle course course is full of natural and man-made obstacles like logs, rope swings, cargo netting and more that is fun and challenging for the whole family. Also free and a whole lot of fun is the silver mine sandbox where kids can go back in time to the turn of the century and Aspen's silver mining history. Dig in the silver mining sandbox to uncover silver nuggets of all shapes and sizes. They can take small silver nuggets as a souvenir. All of these free activities operate daily from June 18 to September 6.  You must buy family day tickets must in person at the Aspen Mountain ticket kiosk.

Additional free kids' activities on Aspen Mountain are offered on a weekly rotating schedule: the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies live animal program, Mondays, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.; the Jammin' Jim show and juggling workshop, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; and storytelling, Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. And for folks who love bluegrass, there are free concerts with various local and national groups on Saturdays and Sundays, 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.

Have fun!

Carry-Ons in the Overhead? Spirit Charges $45

Nudist resorts jump on this lousy new policy to promote the "Nakation" concept

Spirit Airlines has positioned itself as a low-fare airline, further dangling the carrot of attractive MasterCard benefits in front of passengers. But now they've added a cruel new stick, if you'll excuse the scrambled metaphor, by charging $45 (yes, forty-five dollars) for each carry-on that goes into the overhead bin, beginning August 1. What a wretched idea, paying $90 roundtrip for luggage that passengers themselves handle  -- one that I hope doesn't catch on.

Miami is their hub, and they fly to/from several other South Florida airports too. From/to points north, flights serve Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angles, Myrtle Beach New York (LGA), To the south, they fly to/from a bunch of Caribbean islands, Cancun in Mexico, several Central American cities, Columbia and even Lima, Peru.

Arthur Frommer, who has been helping travelers save money since he wrote "Europe on $5 A Day" decades ago, too Spirit to task for this terrible policy. In a blog post, he noted, "According to USA Today, Spirit receives three times the number of complaints made each year about the much larger Southwest Airlines. Its policies of customer service (or lack of it) have been widely discussed and condemned.[Then he wrote about the $45 bag fee]...Since Spirit also charges for suitcases checked aboard such a flight (it was the first airline to do so), a passenger can avoid such expense only by traveling without any luggage at all. It's hard to imagine a more inflammatory action."

"Nakationers" Save Luggage Fees

I have to hand it to the American Association of Nude Recreation for responding quickly to Spirit's new baggage-on fees by pointing out that, "Traveling with luggage is an ever-increasing inconvenience and expense - even if you don’t check your bag." The association points out that for a "Nakation" – a vacation in one of its 250 members -- the all of the necessities for a week (sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries) can go in a small carry-on that will fit under the seat, avoiding even Spirit's crappy carry-on bag fees. To avoid one last hassles involving security screening, don't bring one large sunscreen but rather two or three that are 3 ounces or less, Put them in a one-quart, clear plastic zip bag along with such optional toiletries as deodorant (well, maybe that should be optional), lip balm, contact lens solution, etc.

I've often joked (not within any official's earshot) that if the Transporation Security Agency screening becomes any more intrusive, we'll all have to go through the checkpoints butt-nekkid. Call it a pre-Nakation.

Looking in on Huatulco

Quick trip to resort towns in southern Mexico yields favorable impression

You know those "36 Hours in...." pieces that are published in the New York Times and in Hemispheres. I experienced "36 Hours in Huatulco" -- about the time I spent in this resort development in the State of Oaxaca. Two days and three nights provided a tantalizing taste, and I'd love to return.

Officially called the Bahias de Huatulco, it is actually a string of resort developments and beaches tucked into a series of nine bays along a 35-mile-long stretch of south-facing coastline between the southern end of the Sierra Madre Range and the Pacific Ocean. Rather than one long beach, there are 36 small ones, which means there is no shoulder-to-shoulder, Cancun-style row of high-rise hotels. In fact, there are no high-rise hotels at all, because regulations prohibit anything higher than five stories, and nothing is built on the ridgetops either. (Below, Tangolunda Bay with Camino Real in foreground and Quinta Real, with its twin Moroccan-style domes, in the background.) Recycling, water purification and aggressive sewage treatment also have contributed to Huatulco's certification in 2006 as a Green Globe Community. In fact, it became the organization's first recognized tourist destination in the Americas.

Fonatour, the Mexican government development and tourism promotion agency, also designed Huatulco as the greenest of the country's five new resort areas and also transferred 30,000 acres to another agency for preservation as a national park. There is not yet any infrastructure, but the dense jungle, coral reefs, bays and beaches within park boundaries are protected. Biologists and wildlife experts have document 413 plant species, 130 species and subspecies of mammals, 291 species or birds, 72 species of reptiles and 15 amphibian species, as well as fish and shellfish that live in the sea. It is an astonishing accomplishment for a country that has had, at best, a checkered environmental and ecological record.

Located between the Coyula and Copalita Rivers that cascade down from the Sierra Madre, Huatulco offers river rafting as well as such more expected activities as sea kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing and golf. In the town of La Cruceita are a shady plaza, a church, small shops, restaurants, bars and small, budget hotels. The waterfront center of Santa Cruz is smaller with a second plaza, more shops and a cruise ship pier accommodating two vessels. The Boulevard Santa Cruz/Boulevard Benito Juarez parallels the coastline and connects Santa Cruz with the zone of larger beach hotels with swimming pools, restaurants, bars and other facilities (one of Las Brisas' several pools, below left; beach in front of Camino Real, right).

West of Huatulco is the small village of Ventanilla with its stunning, undeveloped beach fronting a mangrove-fringed lagoon (below left) and a small, palm-studded island (right) on which a crocodile preserve is situated. A boat ride through the mangroves is a magical experience, with dappled light, sounds of birds and the occasional glimpse of orange of a male iguana.

The beach at Ventanilla is one of several where sea-turtle eggs are removed from the sand to a protected enclosure until they hatch and make their way to the water. Close to the nearby beach community of Port Angel is the Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, a research and rehabilitation center that studies both sea and land turtles. It is also something of a turtle zoo, where visitors can see many species on land and in tanks (below).

Mexicana Airlines flies Mexico City-Huatulco several times a day year-round. Continental has nonstop service from Houston on a seasonally changing schedule. Hotels range from in-town bargains with rooms for as little as $25 a night to super-luxury resorts with room rates starting at more than $200 nightly. Several properties are all inclusive, meaning that all meals, entertainment (below) and on-site activities are included.

After a 36-hour taste of Huatulco, I look forward to returning for a whole feast.

Results of Tavel Magazine Readers' Poll on Skiing

Results of Condé Nast Traveler's 13th Annual Ski Poll announced

A ski poll is nothing at all like a ski pole. The former is a travel magazine's annual survey that ranks "the best places to ski and stay in North America" An "unprecented" 32,633 Condé Nast Traveler readers who took part in this year's survey. Frankly, I always take these reader polls with a grain of salt. Big Western resorts always "win" because more people visitthem. The big, fancy hotels generally rank high, not necessarily because everyone who selected them has stayed there, but because many people recognize a name-brand luxury chain and vote for it. The results are interesting nonetheless.

The magazine's press release explained: "Readers were asked to evaluate resort towns on the following criteria: Terrain and Conditions; Lifts and Lines; Town Ambience; Dining; and Après-ski/Activities. The ski hotels were rated based on: Location; Rooms; Service; Dining and Food; and Design. The awards appear in the December issue (on newsstands November 25) and are derived from the Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Survey." Whistler Blackcomb, BC, was voted Best Ski Resort Town, with an overall score of 90.7 and top scores in Après-Ski/Activities and Local Dining. Other top scorers in specific categories are:

• Top Terrain: Big White, BC (95.3)
• Top Lifts and Lines: Deer Valley, UT (92.1)
• Top Aprés-ski/Activities: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (93.2)
• Top Local Dining: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (90.3)
• Top Local Ambience: Jackson Hole, WY (94.0)

The Top 10 Ski Resorts are the usual suspects:

1. Whistler Blackcomb, BC

2. Telluride, CO

3. Deer Valley, UT

4. Aspen, CO

5. Jackson Hole, WY

6. Sun Valley, ID

7. Vail, CO

8. Beaver Creek, CO

9. Park City, UT

10. Sun Peaks, BC

Ranked as the Best Ski Hotel for 2008 is the Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise, AB, with an overall score of 93.3 and the top score for Food (94.9). There's something funny about the Pan Pacific Mountainside leading in three categories but not appearing at all on the overall top-10 list. Make of that what you will. Both are in Whistler/Blackcomb. Other category leaders are:

• Top Location: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (100)
• Top Rooms: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)
• Top Service: Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY (95.1)
• Top Food: Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB (94.9)
• Top Design: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)

According to the poll, the Top 10 Ski Hotels overall are as follows:

1. Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB

2. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC

3. Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY

4. Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley, UT

5. Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, CO

6. Four Seasons Resort, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC

7. Little Nell Hotel, Aspen, CO

8. Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Vail Valley (Edwards), CO

9. Sundance Resort, Sundance, UT

10. St. Regis Resort, Aspen, CO

Vail Names Trail After Lindsey Vonn

Ski areas have traditionally honored important people in their development and notable competitors by naming trails after them. Consider Sun Valley, with Gretchen's Gold (Gretchen Fraser, 1948 Olympic gold medalist) and Christin's Silver (Christin Copper, 1984 Olympic silver medalist and two dozen World Cup victories) both on Seattle Ridge, and Picabo's Street (Picabo Street, 1998 Olympic gold medalist, World chamnpionship gold, World Cup downhill title) down on the Warm Springs side.

Vail has renamed the International Trail and now calls it Lindsey's in honor of Lindsey Vonn's two medals in the just completed 2010 Winter Games. How appropriate, since the run was used to contend the women's speed events during the 1989 and 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships.

And yes, I know that other ski areas have honored other competitors who trained on their slopes. Sun Valley is just the won -- I mean one -- that came to mind when I saw the photo of the new trail sign honoring Vail's big winner during the '10 Games.

Preview Colorado Ski Season at Ski Expo This Weekend

Lively ski and snowboard show offers deals, steals and snow-oriented entertainment

The 2008 Colorado Ski & Snowboard Expo kicks off at noon today, November 7, at the Colorado Convention Center and runs through Sunday, November 9. Exhibitors include Colorado mountain resorts selling discounted season passes and multi-day ticket packs, as well as overnight lift/lodging packages. Also, ski tour operators will be promoting their travel packages and destinations, and equipment and accessories manufacturers will be showing their hottest and best gear. Other then the Ginzu Knife people, hucksters of various products and services unrelated to skiing but present at every show will be sprinkled among the snow-related exhibitors -- providing a bit of diversion.

Kids, who are admitted free, love to troll the show for stickers and posters, get autographs or ski stars, snarf up candy (as if they didn't get enough on Halloween) and gawk the the entertainment. There's high-flying action of Honda's “Rocky Mountain Snowdown” that I saw on Channel 7 News early this morning. Youngsters can also try skiing or snowboarding at the the Kids Snow-Play area. For some people, the icing on the snow-oriented cake is Colorado Ski & Golf’s annual multi-million dollar ski and snowboard sale with bargains galore on equipment, clothing and accessories. For others, the sale is reason enough to go.

The Colorado Convention Center is at 700 Fourteenth Street, Denver. Show hours are Friday, November 7, 12:00 noon - 10:00 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Cash-only tickets are $12 at the door; $10 with a coupon that you can print out or from King Soopers and the Denver Post, and $9 if purchased online here. Children under 12 are free. It's good that there are discounts to the show, because parking is $10 (you have to pay the eight-hour minimum), but if you go Sunday, there is more available street parking (but less stuff on sale from Colorado Ski & Golf). A free subscription to Ski, Skiing or TransWorld Snowboarding comes with paid admission to the show.

Beaver Creek's Marvelous Ice Music

Ice music in Beaver Creek's Crystal Grotto is a wondrous thing


A large, two-lobed igloo with stadium seating at the top of Beaver Creek's Centennial Express lift serves as the recital hall for a group of musicians who play on instruments made of ice. It is all the brainchild of Tim Linhart, long-time ice sculptor. He arrived in the Vail Valley in 1989 from Taos, New Mexico, began carving ice and has been doing so ever since. This winter, he has taken ice sculpture to the next level by designing a structure and creating instruments mostly of ice on which what he calls "ice music" can be played.

Over the years, he has sculpted eight playable violins, seven guitars, 15 cellos, a xylophone, an assortment of flutes, violas and his spin on a pipe organ that he calls a Rolandophone. The ice instruments change colors and cast different hues on the ice walls as the musicians play a mixture of pop, sing-along and country.

To create string instruments, Linhart packs a mixture of snow and water onto plastic instrument forms, then puts the top and bottom in a mold and crafts the sidewalls. He attaches the standard violin or guitar nack and regular strings. Percussion instruments are all ice. He and the musicians who play together are captivated by the clear, haunting sounds produced by ice instruments.

Crystal Grotto is the name for the cojoined igloos where ice music is performed this season. Remaining performances are at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on February 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28,  March 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28, and April 3 and 4. Guests must have a lift ticket or foot pass for one roundtrip chairlift ride.Crystal Grotto tickets may be purchased in advance or (space available) on performance day. Lift tickets are sold at the Beaver Creek Ticket Office. Crystal Grotto tickets are $10 for the 45-minute performance (except the 3:00 Saturday show when children 12 and under are free). When you enter and are offered a foam cushion, take two. And prepare to be totally enchanted.

Chris Elliott Takes on Resort Fees

Where airline add-ons have gone, hotel fees have followed

Security surcharges. Fuel surcharges. Checked luggage fees. Inflight food and non-alcholic beverage fees. Surcharges for better seats. GR-R-R-R. About the only charge that has gone away is the fee for using the airplane's headset for inflight entertainment.

Some hotel fees really irk me. My top two are Internet and parking, which are free at most budget and mid-range hotel chains but often carry a hefty that charge in high-priced urban hotels. Of those, the Internet fee really frosts me. In a post called "Hotel Fees That Must Die -- and How to Kill Them," consumer advocate Chris Elliott has taken on the topic of hotel and resort surcharges. He points out that hotel occupancy has limping along through the recession. Too many properties use add-ons (sometimes automatic) to increase revenues. You would think that they would offer freebies as an incentive for guests. Occasionally, a hotel or resort will do so. A resort-style property south of Denver has a great Valentine's package that does just that.

Right now, I'm at the excellent Pines Lodge at Beaver Creek on a last-minute media rate. They had a cancelation on Friday afternoon, so my husband and I decided to stay overnight rather than fight the Saturday traffic on Interstate 70. The WiFi is free, which is the reason I'm posting this now rather than waiting until I return home later today. I don't yet know what the charge will be for mandatory valet parking.

So take Chris Elliott's advice, and question add-on fees, check your bill and complain to the manager if you need too. Hopefully, the lodging industry will get the message.

Skiing Utah: Powder Mountain

"Less is more" at this ski area near Ogden (and that's not me blasting through the powder)

Powder Mountain offers more terrain and more snow with less infrastructure than any other area in Utah. It is a ski and snowboard area, pure and simple, and not a resort with lodging. There's 4,700 acres of inbounds terrain -- 2,800 acres directly lift-served, 1,200 more requiring a shuttle ride back to the lifts and 700 requiring a snowcat ride. Add to that 2,500 acres of guided snowcat skiing/riding terrain, and you have a formidable 7,200 acres to explore. In North America, only the combination of Whistler and Blackcomb offers more acreage. There's not a snowgun anywhere, for Powder Mountain receives 500 inches of cloudlight Utah snow every year. What's all the more remarkable is that Powder Mountain has just four chairlifts (only one a high-speed quad) and three surface tows.

The 5 1/2-mile access road ascends through the woods, first passing shuttle pick-up points for off-piste skiers and riders, and then the Sundown beginner/intermediate area served by a double chairlft and a surface tow. Laid out almost like a separate ski hill, it has a parking lot, a base lodge, a teaching hill, ski school, rental shop and lights for night skiing. The Timberline base has another another parking lot, another day lodge, a yurt from which private lessons and powder tours depart and a ski shop including rentals.What you don't see is a lift.

It is necessary to ski down to the loading area for the Timberline triple, and from there, you can access the Hidden Lake Express, a recent replacement for a classic old double chair that accesses the heart of Powder Mountain's lift-served terrain and culminates at the area's highest point. Powder Mountain's topography is a series of ridges and valleys, and long roads between them. Gentle meanderers lace across the complicated terrain, and groomed cruisers entice intermediate and advanced skiers. But Powder Mountain's abundant black-diamond turf really makes it shine. Outstanding tree skiing, rock-rimmed chutes, headwalls and snowy spillways make it a place for advanced and expert skiers and riders to rip. Especially on non-holiday weekdays, you can have the vast terrain practically to yourself. The terrain is complicated and spread-out that the two-dimensional trail map is helpful, but even better for getting a clearer picture of the lay of the land is to take the free guided tour that takes off from the Timberline base at 10:00 a.m. daily.

The limited on-mountain lodging is not operated by Powder Mountain. Lodging options include the condos and townhomes in the rental program of Wolf Creek at the bottom of the Powder Mountain access road, additional accommodations in the small town of Eden and downtown lodging in Ogden, a very cool little city less than an hour's drive.

Powder Mountain, P.O. Box 1119, Eden, Utah 84310; 891-745-3772.

Skiing Utah: Sundance

Sundance: Robert Redford's ski mountain -- slopes amid a super-environmentally aware resort

Why would a Coloradan ski anyplace else?, friends ask when I go out of state (or out of the country) to make some turns. First (and really foremost), I travel so that I can write about ski resorts beyond the Centennial State's rectangle. But beyond that, I find that experiencing skiing and mountains and mountain resorts elsewhere refreshes my perspective on the Colorado Rockies. After all, when a person lives two hours from Vail and there are seven closer ski areas, it's easy to become jaded.

Why Sundance?

To reduce culture when leaving the People's Republic of Boulder, Sundance is a good place to start. In fact, if Boulder could design its own mountain resort, it would create Sundance. Just 450 acres of 6,000 that Robert Redford owns have been lightly developed for skiing. Sound environmental practices have gone into infrastructure and operations of the resort (an anti-resort, really). Smart building, conservation and recycling efforts have a high profile in the lodging and dining operations -- and it's Redford's founding philosophy, not just for show. For instance, the reusable shopping bag, right, contains a statistical reminder that unnecessary plastic bags are a major waste. The small print reads: "Use this bag twice a week for 2 years and each bag will SAVE 11 pounds of garbage, 832 plastic bags, enough petroleum to drive a car 60 miles."

Culture Under the Sundance Umbrella

Other Sundance efforts that are umbrella-ed under several intertwined entities. The Sundance Preserve, Utah's answer to the older Aspen Institute but with a lower-key public presence. The Sundance Preserve has hosted world leaders, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, Academy Award-winning actors and directors, innovative scientists and accomplished corporate leaders to discuss public policy, social issues, art and the environment. The non-profit Sundance Institute is dedicated to the discovering and nurturing independent artists and audiences. It supports and inspires independent film and theater word introduces American and global audiences to their new works. The Sundance Channel provides further outreach. This cable television network airs independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short film, and original programs, all are shown uncut and without commercials. It is interrelated with the Sundance Film Festival (January 21-31 this year), which is now so big that it has spread to Park City and even to Ogden for enough venues. Then there's Sundance Cinemas, the commercial and educational arm of the Sundance film presence.

Skiing at Sundance

But what about the skiing, you ask? Sundance Resort's lodgings and public buildings tucked among the trees lie at the foot of a mid-size ski area with 41 runs, three chairlifts and a respectable 2,150-foot vertical. that, from the bottom, looks smaller than it skis. The only visible lift, a quad named Ray's after the pre-Redford owner, ferries riders to a midway unload for those who want to ski or snowboard the lower mountain, continues to the front-mountain summit and another unloading area and then drops into a low spot from which the Arrowhead triple reaches the area's highest lift-served point. Looking south beyond the signs and the safety fence is a long view past the mountains to the flat and across to the next mountains.

Skier's right leads to Sundance's most challenging terrain -- a landscape of ridges, gulleys and glades. Skier's left features some short, steep shots, a bit of gladed terrain and wonderful cruising runs. It is possible to yo-yo on Arrowhead all day long, mixing and matching blue and black runs. Back to the lower mountain, its tamest beginner terrain is served by a short handle tow, but beyond that, novices and intermediates can get a lot of mileage on the long green and blue runs measuring to 1,325 vertical feet. Most of these runs are again lit for night skiing  after many dark years. A handful of terrain features built  into one short blue trail (Montoya, I think) attract boarders. Up the road is the Sundance Cross-Country Center, with 26 kilometers of daily groomed trails for skating and classic track skiing and also 10 kilometers of dedicated trails through the woods.

Skiing Better at Sundance

I'm going out on a limb when I write that if you want to learn to ski or overcome a plateau on which you've been stuck, there's no better place to do so than Sundance. It is the home hill of Jerry Warren. His titles are director of mountain operations and director of skiing, but his real renown comes in ski instructor circles. Jerry, one of the country's top ski technique gurus,  used to coach the Professional Ski Instructors of America elite demo team. Last June, he received PSIA's Lifetime Achievement Award, only the sixth person so honored in half a century. There's simply no one better to identify and fix skiing problems -- and I'm betting that he clinics his ski instructors to do so too. My pals and I spent a few very productive hours skiing with him and taking his counsel.We didn't go through Warren's entire three-day Ski Performance Lab program (including videoanalysis and seminars), but those few hours were enough to fine-tune my turns.

I just wonder why I didn't get around to taking a picture of Jerry too. I guess I was too busy concentrating on my technique and practicing what he preached -- gently and with humor, of course.

Sundance Info

Sundance Resort is up in Timpanogas Canyon above Provo at 8841 North Alpine Loop Road, Sundance, Utah 84604. Phones: 866-259-7468 (main number), 800-892-1600 (lodging reservations), 801-223-4110(snow report), 801-223-4140 (ski/snowboard school and Ski Performance Labs), 801-223-6000 (activities and events), 801-223-4170 (cross-country center). Click here to sign up for Sundance's newsletter.

Molokai Ranch Closes -- Including Molokai Lodge

Elegant lodge and other ranch properties on Hawaii's most laid-back island to cease operations

Less than a year ago, we visited Molokai, home to roughly 7,500 people, and stayed at a lovely inn on Molokai Ranch, which sprawls across 60,000 acres (roughly one-third of the island). You can read my overview here. We saw plans by Molokai Properties Ltd., a subsidiary of Guoco Group, to set aside 50,000 acres in a conservation easement and develop 500 beachfront acres at La'au Point into a luxurious subdivision for up to 200 mansions -- hardly in keeping with Moloka'i's quiet, spiritual side but offering the promise of jobs to the island with Hawaii's highest unemployment rate.

Locals, with a personal interest in their island, of course also saw the plans, and even after some 150 public hearings, many didn't like what they saw as the ruination of their quiet, non-materialistic way of life. Others would have welcomed the expansive second homes as providing employment (many islanders currently commute to nearby Maui to work in tourism there).

Thinking about the McMansions, Prairie Palaces and gated communities in Colorado and elsewhere on the mainland, I felt sad that a developer was now eyeing lovely Moloka'i for an over-the-top subdivision. According to an Associated Press report, "Molokai Ranch submitted an environmental impact statement to the state Land Use Commission for approval in October. But commissioners said the study inadequately addressed water treatment, potential environmental hazards to Hawaiian monk seals and other issues. The ranch withdrew the study but had said it planned to prepare another one."

It appears that the company has changed its collective mind. The ranch owners recently announced the closing of the Molokai Lodge (room shown at right), Kaupoa Beach Village, the Kaluakoi Golf Course, the Maunaloa gas station, the Maunaloa Tri-Plex theater, the colony of casual, economical Tentalows near the beach and oddly, a cattle-rearing business -- and public access to private ranch property will now be denied. According to reports, the owning company, Guoco Leisure's Peter Nichols issued a statement saying that "unacceptable delays caused by continued opposition...means we are unable to fund continued normal company operations."

Tourism Blackmail

It seems as if this international, cross-border corporation is putting the screws on Moloka'i by shutting down the biggest enterprise on the island and directly cutting off some of the few employment opportunities that exist, and then via the ripple effect, hurting small business as well. I feel terribly sorry for the locals like the ebuillient Rudy Dela Cruz , who shepherded us around Moloka'i. Many people indeed have staked their dreams on the infusion of money that they foresaw for their island. Still, I don't get the warm fuzzies about GuocoLeisure, which was established in Hong Kong, is based in Singapore, was once called BIL International, is listed on the Hong Kong stock exhange but incorporated in Bermuda. "In pursuit of prime value" appears to be the company slogan.

"The Group's principal activities are operating the 'Thistle' chain of hotels in the United Kingdom and developing land and properties on Fijian and Hawaiian islands for residential and tourism purposes. These properties include the Molokai Properties and the Denarau Properties. The Group operates in Australasia, Asia, the United States of America, and United Kingdom," according to an online profile. In the six months that ended on December 31, 2007, the company reported HK$1,021,000,000 in earnings, up 36 percent from the previous year. That doesn't give much credibility to Nichols's contention that they can't afford to keep Molokai Ranch going unless they are allowed to create an exclusive, expensive subdivision.

"Molokai, Hawaii's sleepiest major island, is getting sleepier," wrote Jane Engle in the Los Angeles Times. That, depending on which position one agrees with, is either good news or bad news. But in either case, it was big news on this small island.

Spring Powder Graces in the Rockies

This epic winter just keeps rolling along, with resorts extending their seasons

Skiers and snowboarders will remember the winter of 2007-08 as slow to start but then just would not quit -- and as a skier myself, it's news that I'm thrilled to share after several consecutive posts about airline/airport misery. Spring powder is a rare treat.

In Colorado, weekend storms bestowed 19 inches on Aspen Highlands and Beaver Creek, 18 inches on Snowmass and Steamboat, 16 on Aspen Mountain, 15 inches on Vail and Crested Butte, a foot or so on Loveland, Winter Park and Buttermilk, but "only" about six inches on Copper Mountain, Eldora, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Telluride and Echo Mountain.
Silverton reports 120 inches of settled snow at mid-mountain and Wolf Creek boasts 129 inches. Such significant snow totals this season have prompted some resorts to extend winter operations. Aspen Highlands is the latest resort to extend their closing date, joining Monarch, Purgatory (Durango) and Wolf Creek, which have already pushed back their closing dates. Arapahoe Basin will operate as late as it likes while there's still cover. (The two pictures on this post were taken on March 31, the top one at Vail and the bottom one at Aspen -- or perhaps Snowmass. Hard to tell with all that pow'.)

Utah has been similarly snow-blessed. Alta and Brighton have both surpassed the 600-inch season snowfall totals. Resorts that have tallied 12 or more inches in the last 48 hours include Alta, Brighton, The Canyons, Snowbird and Park City.

Up north, Sun Valley is keeping the lifts running on Bald Mountain until April 20 and is also offering a great Last Tracks package, with one night lodging and one day of skiing from $86 per person, plus kids 15 and under can ski free with each paid adult. Also in Idaho, Brundage Mountain near McCall surpassed the 400-inch mark on March 29 and is extended its season as well, operating seven days a week through mid-April and for the two weekends after that.