Jessye Norman in "Nabucco" Concert At Masada

American-born diva, Biblical story, Israeli mesatop venue -- coming this June

The first Society of American Travel Writers convention that I attended was in Israel in the fall of 1983. The trip was full of memorable experiences and sights, and when I learned that Jessye Norman (right) will give a concert performance from "Nabucco" at the fortress of Masada this June, two memories came flooding back.

One was from a day trip from Jerusalem that included a visit to a magnificent Roman amphitheater in Caesarea. Our guide, whose name I think was Yossi and who was then old enough to have had personal memories of World War II and Holocaust horrors, told of a Berlin State Opera performance there of "Nabucco." The Giuseppe Verdi opera is set during the Babylonian captivity. Sharing the stage with the Berlin company were legions of locally cast spear-carriers. He said that it "was the first time that the Germans played Jews and Jews played Babylonians." The word "healing" was not yet in vogue, but I couldn't help but think that this performance with all of its symbolic layers must have been a positive event for all involved.

A group of us spent three days hiking and camping in Judean and Negev Deserts. On our last night, our little convoy of Army surplus personnel carriers drove up to the back (west) side of Masada, the fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. We camped at the foot of a 375-foot-high ramp (story below) and hiked up before sunrise and before hordes of tourists disembarked from the aerial tram that comes up from the east. In short, we had mesatop to ourselves. A handsome young Israeli soldier, surely selected for his resemblence to Sal Mineo in the 1960 movie "Exodus," told the Masada story. Totally captivating. We made our way down the ramp and returned to camp before the first tourist-toting tram unloaded.

Masada is as iconic in Israel as a combination of Lexington and Concord, Valley Forge, Fort McHenry and perhaps Gettysburg in the US -- maybe more so. Herod the Great fortified Masada, also in the first century B.C., in case of a Jewish insurrection. In 66 A.D. the Jews in fact did begin revolting. A group called the Sicarii, whom newscasters might today describe as extremists, defeated the Roman garrison at Masada and took over the mesatop from which they then attacked Roman forces. The Romans tried repeatedly to uproot the Jews and finally succeeded after they built the ramp, hauled a battering ram up it and breached the walls. When the Romans entered the fortress, they found that the 900 Jews had burned all of their supplies and committed mass suicide. I can only imagine what today's media would make of such an incident, but Masada remains an Israeli symbol of Jewish survival, and soldiers are sworn in there. What a fitting setting for "Nabucco."

The "Nabucco" Weekend features sunrise performances of Verdi's "Nabucco" directed by Israeli conductor Daniel Oren on an elaborate stage at the foot of Masada, June 3 and 5. The gala concert featuring American soprano Jessye Norman accompanied by the Israeli Opera Orchestra will br on June 4 atop Masada.

Packages revolving around this performance are now available, start at from $668 per person, double occupancy for one night and the performance $1,769 pp/do for a weeklong country tour (May 31 to June 6) with the "Nabucco" weekend at the core. These prices are for foreign visitors only, and it is unclear whether Israeli citizens actually pay less. For package details, click here. When you go to the website and hear the "Nabucco" soundtrack, you'll want to book immediately. I sure did.

News Flash: NY Times Travels to Colorado Wine Country

Colorado wine country in prestigious newspaper -- including some factual slippage

In a New York Times travel feature called "Biking Colorado's Wine Country," New York-based wine writer Stefani Jackenthal explores the Palisade region on two wheels. She and a friend spent three days cycling, sipping, dining and B&Bing. I love it when the the prestigious Times focuses attention on Colorado, but why, oh, why does the self-proclaimed "newspaper of record" always get something wrong? The last time was the misleading "36 Hours in Denver" feature with so many off-the-mark facts and suggestions that I blogged it and, more importantly, the Times' mailbox was loaded with objections and corrections from indignant Coloradans.

The wine country piece, which will appear in Sunday's Travel Section but is already available online and in Friday papers, is also somewhat off the mark. Jackenthal wrote, "The first contemporary Colorado winery opened in 1968, but it was slow growing; by 1990, there were only four wineries. Eventually, however, the industry took root. Today there are 72 recognized Colorado wineries, according to the Colorado Wines trade group, with more on the way." Ivancie Winery indeed opened 1968 using non-Colorado grapes but was fairly short-lived. Wineries and vineyards hiccuped into being, and it was two decades before Colorado wineries really were producing wines from Colorado grapes. The trade group is called the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, more of a mouthful than Colorado Wines but it's the correct name.

The town of Palisade is described as being "surrounded by the Book Cliffs mountain range and Grand Mesa." Palisade isn't surrounded by those two geological features. The Grand Mesa is to the southeast. The Book Cliffs are on the other side of the Colorado River to the north. That leaves the south and west, which are drier than the Mesa and flatter than both. The Book Cliffs are not a mountain range but rather a 60-mile-long escarpment of exposed, eroded sedimentary rock. Wikipedia currently calls them a "mountain range," which is probably where she found the inaccurate description.

Halka Chronic's geologically definitive Roadside Geology of Colorado desribes the Book Cliffs as "towering palisades of Mancos shale. This gray shale, yellow where it is leached, contains types of clay that swell when wet and shrink when dry. Such action brings about a loose soil that is so constantly eroding that it won't support much in the way of vegetation. Where it is not protected by the Mesaverde caprock, the Mancos shale erodes into hump-backed gray and yellow badlands."

But then again, Jackenthal visited several Colorado wineries, compared their wines to European ones and generally enthused about what she found. So who am I to worry that she's weak on Colorado geology and that she implies a non-existent continuum between Ivancie's winery, the real start of the modern Colorado wine industry two decades later and its increasing maturation 20 years after that.

United Jet's Landing Gear Collapses

"They" say a picture is worth a thousand. Thee AP photo above shows a United Airbus 319 with a collapsed wheel and subscquent damaged wing at Newark Airport on Sunday evening. Click here for the MSNBC.com story.

Seeing this image after reading the online discussion on Elliott.org on the virtues and annoyances of flying. Chris Elliott wrote a post called "Flying Under the Influence of the TSA. What now?" that kicked off lively comments about flying versus other ways to travel. Landing gear collapse hadn't yet entered into. it, but now it could.

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.

Southwest Numbers Soften in September

Even the country's savviest discount carrier sees passenger declines

Southwest Airlines, arguably the country's smartest air-transport company, guess right on fuel prices, kept its fares relatively stable and declined to impose the rigorous extra fees (notably for checked baggage) that other airlines imposed. So its September figures reveal the recession that in which the country found itself, even before the government was forced to bail out failed financial institutions.

Southwest reported that it flew 5.3 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in September 2008, a walloping 5.9 percent decrease from the 5.6 billion RPMs flown in September 2007. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 0.8 percent to 8.4 billion from the September 2007 level of
8.3 billion. The combination of fewer miles flown and more available seat miles made for a load factor of 63.4 percent, down from 67.9 percent in 2007.

While September was down, the numbers for the nine months that ended on September 30, 2008, were up. Between January and September, Southwest flew 56.2 billion RPMs, up from the 54.8 billion RPMs for the same period in 2007 (an increase of 2.6 percent). Available seat miles were also up, increasing 4.6 percent from 74.4 billion to 77.8 billion. The year-to-date load factor declined slightly to 72.3 percent from 73.7 percent during the same period last year.

Normally, I don't include financial numbers here, but when such a savvy airline experiences such a decline, it is an eloquent testimonial to the countries financial problems in general and the woes of the travel industry as well.

Swank Hotel Debuts at Base of Beaver Creek

Westin Riverfront brings Beaver Creek cachet down into the Eagle River Valley

Beaver Creek is an elegant, exclusive gated ski resort that was developed as an uptown place. Think expensive slopeside lodging, chic boutiques and pricey eating places. Avon, originally a lettuce farming center with a railroad depot for shipping the crop out of town, iss a downtown place. It grew a bit more organically with lower-priced lodging, service businesses and even (gasp!) a Wal-Mart.

The opening of the $500 million Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa in Avon last weekend represents the first Beaver Creek-quality resort hotel down in the valley. The lobby, restaurant, enormous 25-meter outdoor pool (bottom photo) and decks of the green-built condo-hotel are oriented directly up the Beaver Creek drainage providing guests with a perfectly framed view of the ski runs. Seen from the Westin, Beaver Creek and Avon seem a lot closer to each other than they do when riding a shuttle bus up the winding access road. Also pulling Avon into the Beaver Creek orbit is the year-old Riverfront Express gondola, which delivers skiers from the hote's doorstep to Beaver Creek's Bachelor Gulch sector in less than three minutes.

The gondola, which is free to all, is not a ski lift but public transportation both up and down from ski area to town, not just for Westin guests but also for guests of other lodging properties in Avon or day visitors parking at the free public lots along US 6. This is especially significant since the Town of Vail, just down the road, is considering raising fees in its parking structures this winter.

Back to the Westin, it is a 210-unit property featuring well appointed studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, each with kitchen. The property's facilities and amenities comprise a long, imposing list: Restaurant Avondale run by local star chef Thomas Salamunovich, Spa Anjali (Earth, Fire, Water and Air theme), wine bar, convenience store, on-site sporting goods store/rental/storage, 24-hour business center, free Internet access, recycling stations on every floor, activity concierge, ski valet, meeting facilities and, best for skiers, that gondola conveniently right outside a back door.

I spent just a comfortable night there on opening weekend. The decor is tasteful, pared down and elegant. It's got green versions of popular luxury features, including in-room Internet access, well appointed bathroom, gas fireplace, flat-screen TV, kitchen facilities (my studio had a kitchenette) and Westin's ultra comfortable Heavenly Bed.

In summer, the Westin appeals to golfers (several courses nearby), anglers (it's located right on the Eagle River), cyclists (the bike path is right there too) and, of course, skiers (the gondola makes is a ride-in, ride-out to the slopes). As long as golf weather holds, there should be some interest in the High Flying Golf Package consisting of lodging for two, two rounds of golf at Red Sky Ranch & Golf Course, two 50-minute treatments at Spa Anjali, breakfast for two, complimentary valet Parking and a "welcome amenity" on arrival starting at $224 per person per night. Considerably less expensive is the Master the Mountain Golf Getaway, accommodations, two rounds at the Eagle Ranch Golf Course, breakfast for two, valet parking and "welcome amenity" starting at $99 per person per night. Rates rise during the ski season.


The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, 126 Riverfront Lane, Avon; 866-949-1616.

Carnival Nixes 'Cougar Cruises'

"Fun  Ships" ban more meat market/meet market cruise for older women/younger men

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read about California-based Singles Travel Company's promotion of "the world's first international cougar cruise," Dec. 3-7, 2009, inviting older women and younger men to "a festive pre holiday fun weekend of dining, dancing and partying"  aboard the "Fun Ship Elation." Word on the street, or on the waters, is that the cruise was a success and that demand spiked for more such trips. ""I've had to hire two more people part-time just to pick up the phones," Singles Travel Company executive director Ann Thomas told CNN at the time. "I've never seen a response quite like this."

But Carnival Cruise Line has pulled the plug on future cougar cruises, according to a report in USA Today. The line's Jennifer De la Cruz reportedly didn't say why the line had banned them. Newsweek had called 2009  "the year of the cougar," and ABC is broadcasting "Cougar Town," whose theme is, well, older women/younger men. It seems that that's a demographic mix for a latter-day "Love Boat" that Carnival doesn't care for. But with competition strong among cruise lines, I suspect that the Singles Travel Company will have no problem finding a line to pick up where Carnival left off. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.