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.

Times Article Confirms Current Travel Industry Woes

On September 28, I posted an article here on the impact of the current economy crisis and its impact on the airline segment of the travel industry. Today's New York Times Business Section featured a piece called "Travel Industry Shaken by Economic Downturn." The only silver lining for those with any travel budget at all is that seats in premium cabins on some transatlantic carriers are being deeply discounted, as are rooms in some high-end hotels.

Airlines and Haiti Relief Efforts

Relief contributions by commercial air carriers'  and a cruise line -- and a cruel hoax

American Airlines' last commercial flight took off from Port-au-Prince shortly after Tuesday's devastating quake. The carrier immediated scheduled three relief flights for Wednesday and three more for Thursday. Each carried 10,000 pounds of supplies for the airline's 100 employees in Haiti, as well as materials for local hospitals. It has also set aside American is also giving AAdvantage frequent flyers a one-time 250-mile bonus who make a minimum $50 donation to the American Red Cross 500 bonus miles for a $100 donation.The donation must be made online here by February 28.

Spirit Airlines is prepared to add up to 1 billion miles into its frequent flyer program to members who donate $5 or more to the Red Cross, UNICEF or Yele Haiti. Click here to link to the carrier's relief contributions.

The United Airlines Foundation is matching up to a total of US$50,000 to the American Red Cross for monetary donations by United customers and employees through the International Response Fund at united.com. Also, Mileage Plus members and employees can donate miles to the airline's nonprofit relief partners as part of its Charity Miles program. According to the communications department, "United is also working with relief agencies to determine how we can best support air lift humanitarian efforts, including transporting aid workers, food, and water."

Continental Airlines permits its OnePass members to donate miles to relief workers through the American Red Cross and other aid organizations through an existing program  that does not seem to be speficially linked to Haiti relief.

Two EL AL aircraft, one jumbo 747-400 and one 777, flew to Haiti yesterday with 80 tons of supplies and 229 passengers (medical personnel, search-and-rescue teams and a K9 rescue squad). 

Commercial cargo and package carriers like FedEx and UPS are not yet able to land in Haiti, but UPS is said to be donating $1 million to help the people of Haiti through relief agencies. This is just the beginning of the process, and I'm sure that others will participate as well.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is reportedly ready to continue sailings to its resort at Labadee, a private port of call on the north coast that escaped quake damage. The cruise line will carry humanitarian supplies on regular voyages.

And on the ground (or on the snow), Utah's Brighton Resort is donating $1 from every ticket sold tomorrow (Saturday, January 16) to relief efforts.

Horrible Hoaxes in the Twittersphere

According to a CNN report, "Twitter was buzzing Thursday morning with news that several airlines are flying doctors and nurses to Haiti free of charge to help with relief efforts there in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake....The rumors are false...'[The] hoax on Twitter about American and JetBlue flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free was just that -- a hoax. We don't know who is responsible, but it's a very low thing to do,' airline spokesman Tim Smith said in e-mails sent Thursday.Twitter users also circulated a rumor that UPS would ship for free any package under 50 lbs. to Haiti. In a blog post Wednesday on UPS's Web site, a spokeswoman debunked the rumor and said that destruction of Haiti's roads and communications networks 'means our own shipping services to Haiti are on hold.'"

Haiti: Hotel Oloffson Appears to Have Survived

Port-au-Prince landmark hotel survived the quake

Back in the early '80s, during a period of relative quiessence in Hait (Papa Doc Duvalier having been succeeded by his more benign son, Baby Doc), the country was taking advantage of a relatively quiet period and was trying to entice foreign tourists to return. Yes, our small group of travel journalists was driven past heartbreaking shantytowns and shameful slums, but also visited places of hope and creativity. We visited the cathedral (now in ruins), repeatedly drove past the Presidential Palace (now collapsed), visited the Centre d'Art and bought some wonderful primitive paintings, bought other handcrafts at the Iron Market and drove up into the mountains past deforested mountainsides to a crafts coop and a rum distillery. And I stayed at the Hotel Oloffson, a labyrinthian frame building bedecked in elaborate fretwork and set in lush private grounds.

In Haiti's heyday, when the rich and famous frequented Haiti, the richest and most famous stayed at the Oloffson and anchored its bar. A cigar-chompoing Connecticut native, Al Seitz, took over the hotel in 1960, and over the years, hosted such big names as Jackie Onassis and Mick Jagger, and Seitz named hotel rooms after them.  Graham Greeen set The Comedians at the Oloffson. After Al Seitz' death in 1982, his widow, the former Suzanne Laury, continued to operate it, and that's when I visited. The Oloffson survived thanks to foreign reporters and international aid workers who needed secure lodging

As I watched television reports of the horrible earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince two days ago, I also wondered how the Oloffson fared. The hotel has survived decades of a challenging climate, natural disasters, merciless dictatorshops and insurrections, but might have been the cruelest blow. However, it is known that wood-frame buildings withstand quakes and shakes better than poorly built masonry ones. According to a report in USA Today's "Hotel Check-In," the Oloffson seems to have dodged yet another bullet:

"At least one prominent hotel is safe - the Hotel Oloffoson, owned by Richard Morse. According to his tweets today, everyone is safe at the hotel. He tweeted, 'all my guests slept in the driveway last night..people came up from the streets thinking they were bodies.. neighbors helping neighbors.'

Christine Blanchard of New Jersey wrote in to the BBC that she 'heard a lot of people are at the Hotel Oloffson - near the center of Port-au-Prince - because it's one of the few hotels still standing.' She'd written to BBC earlier this morning after staying up all night searching for missing family in Haiti.)"

I know that is is but one small island of good news in a sea of untthinkable tragedy, but in a Molly Brown sort of way, perhaps it's a sign that beleaguered, resilient Haiti "ain't down yet."

P.S. After I wrote the post above, I learned that the hotel was surffered some damage. The New York Times reported  that photographer Teuila Minsky, who was also staying in the Oloffson,said that a wall at the front of the hotel had fallen, killing a passer-by. Hotel owner (or GM) Richard Morse, using Twitter, was described as "a major source of news coming out of the disaster area in the early hours. In a Twitter Post from Jan 12th, he states 'Our guests are sitting out in the driveway.. no serious damage here at the Oloffson but many large buildings nearby have collapsed.'"

Peace Though Tourism Conference Coming Up

Delegates from 40 countries to address some world problems through tourism and travel

I certainly won't be at Host Stenden University in Leeuwarden, Netherlands later this month for the International Institute for Peace through Tourism's first IIPT European Conference, October 21-24. The theme is “Bridging the North-South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development.” Delegates from more than 40 countries from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean will be there to exchange their experiences, knowledge, insights and visions as to how travel and tourism can build on, expand and leverage current sustainable tourism development, wealth creation, poverty reduction and societal betterment in developing countries.

The conference is being organized by IIPT in partnership with the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and UN Environment Program (UNEP) in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals. IITP says that the conference will bring together Ministers of Tourism, senior executives from both the public and private tourism sectors, European Union representatives, UN agencies, foundations, donor agencies, NGOs, educators, policy analysts, leading practitioners, entrepreneurs, future leaders of the industry and senior representatives of related sectors including environment, culture, sport and sustainable economic development.

The conference program is serious and formal, with plenary sessions featuring inspiring keynote speakers and also practical sessions and workshops with case studies of “success stories” and “models of best practice.” If is a lofty and worthy goal, and I frankly don't know whether the US is one of the 40 participating nations. After all, aren't we the country whose president, after the 9/11 attacks, asked Americans to go shopping to prove the patriotism? And until the current economic meltdown in the the US, Americans comprised a huge portion of international travelers.

In my very humble opinion, encouraging international tourism, particularly to developing countries, is a worthy goal. Perhaps the conference will find ways for tourism to benefit local people and local economies rather than cruise lines, hotel chains and other travel providers based in first-world, industrialized countries. And perhaps in this violent and unstable world, it will further pave the way to peace through cross-cultural understanding.

Foliage Season: Drive a Car, Ride a Bike or Take a Hike

The aspens are at or near peak -- but won't be for much longer

Wherever I've lived in fall foliage country, people have always tried to time their travels to catch peak color, whether in New England with maples that show red, orange and yellow, or the Rockies where aspen leaves take on the color of freshly painted highway lines that contrast again the dark conifers. In the last two weeks, I have driven to or through the high country three times, enjoying the through-the-windshield views of Colorado's autumn glory.

My trips along Interstate 70 were to research Western Slope subjects for various assignments, and I didn't have a chance to stop. Therefore, I was really eager to go for a high-country hike. Yesterday, despite gray skies and a forecast for afternoon rain, four of us headed west to hike the Ptarmigan Trail out of Silverthorne. Even when "civilization" was in sight (below), the aspen display was splendid.

The view across the Blue River Valley toward the Gore Range (below) reminded us, again, why we live here:


Some of the aspen were thick-trunked, while others, like those below, were straight and tall as lodgepoles. Seen from right below, their high branches silhouetted against a gray sky resembled lace:

Below is a short video of those leaves coming down when a breeze stirred the treetops.

Much of the trail (below) was "paved" with the gold of new-fallen leaves, and a canopy of gold was overhead. It felt magical.

Even in October, we spotted occasional end-of-season wildflowers (below).

Most of the leaves will drop soon, if not by next weekend, most likely by the weekend after that. We met a pleasant young couple and their dog (below) who were heading deeper into the backcountry to hunt grouse.

We also encountered a team from the Colorado Mountain Club inventorying the condition and usage of the Ptarmigan Trail as one of more than 50 areas for possible addition to existing wilderness areas. The area we hiked through would be annexed into the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness.

The trail ends on the summit of 12,948-foot Ptarmigan Peak, but we didn't go that far. After about 2 1/2 miles and nearly a 1,200-foot elevation gain, the clouds thickened and a downright cold wind picked up. So we turned around and retraced our steps, reaching the car just as it started to drizzle. Truncated or not, a good hike was had by all.

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.