Buy one mountain, get two. Or three. Or four. Or in the extreme case of Italy`s Dolimiti Superskipass, 35 resorts full of ski mountains.
To skiers, the prospect of a multiple-mountain ticket deal is very seductive, even though those added thrills are rarely free. Contemplate the joy of tackling a different trail layout and atmosphere every day. Weigh the efficiency of satisfying your curiosity about several resorts for only one transportation and lodging outlay. Count multiple-choice skiing as a solid bargain, even if you have to pay a premium it.
If variety is your dish, here are 10 great places to find it.
LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA/NEVADA
Heavenly Valley, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood-any one of the major Lake Tahoe areas rates really big. Heavenly Valley, which calls itself the largest ski area in America, is so big it spills across both sides of the California-Nevada border. Squaw Valley covers 8,300 acres (not all of which is developed) on six peaks. Kirkwood has the highest base elevation in northern California, and Alpine Meadows` open bowls are so vast that the number of possible downward routes is almost infinite.
Any one of these areas is so big that even the most diligent skiers could find fresh pleasures all week. The only flaw in the happiness: The gnawing knowledge that a little bit farther around the lake is another treasury of slopes and yet another and another.
The San Francisco weekenders who frequent these hills seem happy to cling to a single favorite ”home” mountain. Those who fly over Colorado and Utah to get here insist on ordering the whole thing. As befits this multiplicity of marvels, there are several ways to buy the feast.
The Tahoe North Visitors and Convention Bureau sells a multiday ticket that can be used for Squaw, Alpine Meadows and three less monstrous areas, Homewood, Incline and Mt. Rose. The five-day edition costs $140. The Ski Lake Tahoe group offers a five-day $150 ticket good at Alpine Meadows, Northstar and Squaw Valley, on the north shore of the lake, and Heavenly Valley and Kirkwood, on the south shore. This is available via the individual resort`s reservations services. Bear in mind that traffic can drag out what should be an hour`s drive between Squaw and Heavenly.
The oft-photographed paddlewheeler, the Tahoe Queen, takes skiers from the south side to the north for a day`s skiing (but not vice versa). Vacationers who relish the night life and gaming of the casinos tend to perch on the south shore. Those who would settle for a good dinner and a woodsier atmosphere choose the condos and motels on the north shore.
Northstar has housing on the mountain and so, to a limited extent, does Squaw. More inter-area possibilities are offered via the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, which hopes that instead of sleeping on the north or south shores of the lake, skiers will stay in a motel or casino-hotel in the Nevada towns. The authority also arranges shuttle buses to the ski hills. Adding to Reno`s allure is the fact that airborne vacationers usually land in Reno.
Contact: Tahoe North Central Reservations Service, 800-824-6348 or the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, 800-FOR-RENO. For South Shore information, call the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, 800-822-5922.
ASPEN, COLO.
”Buttermilk is a dynamite teaching center, everything from a one-degree slope to black diamond expert runs,” says Vic Braden, the tennis-teaching maven who now runs Vic Braden Ski College at Buttermilk, an experimental week- long program separate from the ski school that takes anyone, from never-evers to mogul-mashers, through intensive sessions in which Braden-trained instructors vary their teaching to suit the students` learning styles-visual, aural, kinesthetic or trial-and-error.
Buttermilk may be the Rodney Dangerfield of Aspen`s four mountains, but even Braden`s mogul-mashers study here. For nonstudents, Buttermilk is also dynamite for carefree, uncrowded cruising and hobnobbing with locals. It merits a visit from loyal partisans of Aspen Mountain, the ”downtown” hill that is the most prestigious of the four (although intermediates can sneak down in comfort), or even fans of Snowmass, revered for its mile-wide Big Burn sector and its lesser-trafficked expert runs.
For these three mountains, operated by the Aspen Skiing Co., an interchangeable lift ticket, to be worn around the neck, is widely available at the ticket window, via the company`s reservations service or as part of many airline and tour firms` packages. The cost is $124 for four days out of five or $155 for five days out of six, which works out to $31 a day vs. a one- day/one-mountain ticket costing $35.
Independently owned Aspen Highlands is also an exciting place to ski, particularly for friends who ski at different levels. With Colorado`s biggest vertical drop, 3,800 feet, the Highlands offers bowls, mogul fields and moderate terrain. A four-mountain voucher book is available, for one dollar more per ski day than the three-mountain ticket, from the main reservations services, the lodges or at the ticket window.
During January, the three- or four-mountain ticket costs $4-$6 less per ski day if prepaid as part of a lodging package.
Contact: Aspen Resort Assoc., 800-262-7736, or Aspen Skiing Co. Reservations, 800-525-6200.
SUMMIT COUNTY, COLO.
Summit County makes it easy for skiers to sample each of its four noble areas, although the four-area ticket costs more than those sold only for Breckenridge, Copper Mountain or the the Keystone-Arapahoe Basin combination
(two distinct areas, one management). Packages are widely available; for an adult, six days for $156. Shuttle buses simplify the commutation problem. And each corner of the county has its own character and its own fans.
Night-bloomers and history buffs like staying at Breckenridge, an old mining town where gingerbread and rosy brick buildings still bloom among the condos. This will be the ski area`s first winter under the ownership of a Japanese sporting-goods firm, but locals predict few changes in the spirit of the slopes, which sprawl across three peaks, mixing steep open bowls with gentle boulevards.
Apart from its Club Med village, Copper Mountain is a settlement of hearth-hugging condo dwellers who save their energies for the vast terrain, particularly if they are going to dive down though the double-black-diamond spread of Spaulding Bowl. Just a low intermediate? Copper has lovely broad runs for you, and a fine health club for apres-ski recuperation.
People who love getting phone messages and speedy service love the handsome Keystone Lodge. It is not at the slopes, but it is the centerpiece of a resortful of amenities like giant swimming pools and an outdoor skating rink. Keystone mountain is famous for the well-cut intermediate runs and for the terrifying gashes on North Peak.
A few miles away is Arapahoe Basin, an old-time area with updated equipment but no housing. It offers an unbeatable duplication of real Alpine skiing hard to find in North America.
Contact: Breckenridge Resort Chamber, 800-221-1091; Copper Mountain Resort, 800-I-LUV-FUN; Keystone Reservations Office, 800-525-1309.
UTAH
What a galaxy! Within 45 minutes of Salt Lake City Airport there are 7 skis areas, and within 60 minutes 11.
Utah used to have lift-ticket deals that let vacationers sample every hill in the state. Gradually, as individual resorts` ski menus have grown, giving skiers less incentive to commute up and down snowy canyons, the deals have narrowed.
Also, Salt Lake City`s hotels have disentangled themselves from the complexities of selling tickets (exceptions include the Salt Lake Hilton, Salt Palace Travelodge).
To bag a multiplicity of mountains this season, it takes careful shopping. You might find purveyors of package tours might already have done the ticket shopping for you.
Park City is the best bet for multi-mountain deals. A multi-area voucher book for an adult, usable six days out of seven, costs $186. It will buy a day`s skiing when presented at the ticket window at Alta, Brighton, Deer Valley, Park City, Park West, Solitude or Snowbird.
Since each area has its own price schedule, some windows will ask for more money and others will compensate you with free refreshments or discounted lessons.
Deer Valley and Park West have their own variations of the Park City ticket. Snowbird vacationers can arrange to get a ticket honored also at Alta, Deer Valley and Park City. Alta vacationers can get a package that also includes Deer Valley, Park City and Snowbird.
The Interconnect Adventure Tour is an easy way to arrange a five-area sweep, but it takes strong legs, strong skills and $90 (includes lunch).
Skiers hit Park City, Solitude, Brighton, Alta and Snowbird in one challenging eight-hour stretch, using breathtaking backcountry routes through powder, crud, corn or all of the above.
Contact: Among the Utah reservations services with toll-free numbers are Advance Reservations, 800-453-4565; Deer Valley Reservations, 800-424-DEER;
Park City Information Center, 800-367-3736; Park City Holidays, 800-222-PARK; Snowbird Central Reservations, 800-453-3000.
