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It’s been a while since you’ve seriously schussed. Since you’ve felt the wind against your face as you hurdle down a black diamond, or maybe since you’ve snow-plowed your way down the bunny hill. Lucky for you, ski and snowboard season is here-a great chance to get outdoors, and a perfect opportunity to get some friends together for weekend getaway. Plus, the venerable post-skiing tradition of partying by the fire (otherwise known as apres ski) adds a whole other dimension to your escape-one that very well might find you having a friendly, whiskey-fueled snowball fight at 4am.
Here are some options-from the extravagant adventure to the more reasonable road trip-to send you on a ski vacation this winter. Go ahead. Answer the mountain’s call.
High-end Heli-skiing in the Rockies or Tetons
If you’ve seen the Warren Miller movies they play ad nauseum in ski shops-deep powder and steep drops, a clean-slate of idyllic ski and snowboarding conditions-you know what you’re dealing with here. You don’t have to be a professional stunt-skiier to do this; adventurous intermediate to advanced skiiers are welcome. This is no joke though; the kind of skiing that requires stones of steel and a thirst for the untraveled path. Should you be ready for the challenge, Helitrax offers trips to many of the top Colorado resorts, including Aspen, Telluride and Steamboat Springs. High Mountain Heli-skiing takes people from Jackson Hole in Wyoming. This is the kind of experience that you’ll be telling people about for a long time-and every Miller movie you see gives you a perfect excuse to bring it up.
Mid-Range
Resort-hopping in Lake Tahoe
There’s a reason this lake is famous. Deep, blue and crowned by white-capped mountains, Tahoe’s beauty will stop you in your zig-zagging tracks. And with seven different resorts around Lake Tahoe, this area is a windfall for ski and snowboarding enthusiasts-you can try several different ones on your stay here. The South Lake area boasts some huge, impressive mountains like Kirkwood and Heavenly, not to mention several casinos. The north side of the Lake features a former site of the Winter Olympics, Squaw Valley, as well as several great smaller resorts like Northstar and Alpine Meadows. No matter where you go, there are are moderately- priced places to stay. Some of the quiet residential areas have big homes that can be rented for a weekend or even a season-some include hot tubs and bars to ensure proper apres-ski protocol.
Budget
East Coast Opportunities
Though not quite as sexy or spectacular as their Western cousins, many East Coast resorts offer great skiing or snowboarding options for those on the right side of the map. Some are high-end resorts worthy of an extended stay (such as the ones in Vermont), while some of the others are great for day or weekend trips. Driving distances range from less than two to almost eight hours, and there are myriad options for overnight stays. So get a group together and get to some shredding.
New York
Holiday Valley
Whiteface
Pennsylvania
Camelback
Shawnee Mountain
Vermont
Sugarbush
Smuggler’s Notch
Okemo
New Hampshire
Bretton Woods
Maine
Sugarloaf
This article was originally published January 23, 2008 and was reproduced with permission.
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