For those who enjoy seeing white steeples poking up amid the condomania, a new alliance called Ski the Vermont Classics, instigated by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, presents an intriguing sampler of northern New England skiing. Most of the accommodations are in the lakeside city of Burlington, a pretty town enlivened by the presence of several thousand ski-mad University of Vermont students.
Each day, using their own wheels, the vacationers make a 30- to 90-minute drive to Bolton Valley (the closest), Jay Peak (the farthest), Smugglers`
Notch or Sugarbush. Sugarbush in itself is a ”two-fer,” consisting of two close (but not interconnected) areas, the original Sugarbush spread, which now likes to be called South Basin; and what was once known as Sugarbush North but now wants to be called Mt. Ellen.
Bolton`s compact terrain is the most family-oriented. Jay Peak, only 90 minutes from Montreal, has a definite Canadian flavor and an aerial tram. Smugglers is popular with clubs and meeting groups. The Sugarbush twins each have big trail assortments with ample expert territory.
Does one classic seem to be missing from this list? Stowe, the grandmother of Vermont skiing, declined to participate. The deal is offered Dec. 16 to March 20. Except at Christmas, when prices are somewhat higher, a ticket that can be used during a seven-day period costs an adult $90 for three days and $150 for five.
Contact: Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce, 802-863-3489.
BANFF, ALBERTA
The three ski areas in Canada`s Banff National Park-Lake Louise, Norquay and Sunshine-have always intrigued Americans who liked a lot of variety with their powder.
Last year, for the Winter Olympics, the Calgary-Banff neighborhood got a fourth star, Mt. Nakiska. Seeing it on TV, skiers began daydreaming about trying that intriguing peak for themselves. This season it is possible, even for sub-Olympians.
After all, Nakiska is a mountain designed for post-Olympic use by recreational skiers. It has 30 different runs draped across a vertical drop of 3,012 feet and state-of-the-art snowmaking to assist nature. Kananaskis Village Resort, about an hour out of Calgary, can house those who want to linger at Nakiska.
Most vacationers will want to mush on to the town of Banff, which makes a festive jumping-off place for the other ski areas. They will be sure to visit the Banff Springs Hotel, if only to drink a toast to this grand institution on its 100th birthday.
Steep-sided Mt. Norquay has the nearest skiing to Banff. The self-contained resort of Sunshine Village is 10 miles away, the last leg achieved by gondola ride. It offers a spectacular top-of-the-world backdrop for a spectacular array of runs above the timberline, many of them within an intermediate`s skills. It is isolated, tranquil and a favorite with families. Thirty-five miles from Banff is Lake Louise, an area that could have hosted the Olympics` Alpine events without much embellishment, but it is inside a national park, and Canada wanted to protect it from Olympic hordes.
The mountain is a multifaceted diamond, with thousands of acres of bowls and glades. Interchangeable tickets are sold only as part of a lodging package. Typical is one concocted by Cartan Tours of Chicago and sold via travel agents. Seven nights at the Banff Springs Hotel, five days` skiing, transfers, tips and taxes, starting at $439.
Contact: Travel Alberta, 800-661-8888.
COURCHEVEL, FRANCE
Three valleys, 12 resort villages, 200 miles of ski runs (300 miles`
worth, according to some local patriots)-in one vacation nobody could ski all the French Alps, but Courchevel makes it seem as if they had. For starters, the resort itself is a multiple, layered out in separate but slope-linked villages called Courchevel 1300, 1500, 1650 and 1850, the numbers representing altitude in meters.
All the Courchevels are superchic, but Courchevel 1850 has the most glitz, the best snow and, of course, the most Americans. It has a flock of elegant little hotels that sit right on the edge of the ski runs and is the perfect base for excursions in any direction.
A week-long Three Valleys ticket is sold, but there is so much skiing close at hand that people usually buy a Courchevels-only ticket, which costs $137 for six days. Then, when the omens seem right to try the Three Valleys circuit, they upgrade the ticket for that day. The circuit is not a back-country expedition, but a day trip-a long day trip-using lifts and
intermediate or expert trails. On other days, skiers might elect to ski only to the far side of the main mountain, down into the resort of Meribel.
By the way, the 1992 Winter Olympics will be held near Courchevel in Albertville.
Contact: French Government Tourist Office, 312-337-6301.
VERBIER, SWITZERLAND
Courchevel sells three valleys. Care to try for four? Verbier, which young Europeans rate as the hottest thing on snow, has its own layercake of communities and a domain that stretches over 8,200 vertical feet. One run starts atop the Mont Fort glacier, zooms past the village and does not require getting back on a lift until 12.5 miles later. The main part of the village swirls around a U-shaped wall of mountain. On the far side of that mountain wall are a flock of resorts that are little more than clusters of condominiums and chalets.
But, oh, the snowfields that soar above them! They are part of the Verbier lift-ticket system. The four-valley circuit is a lift-and-trail route that can be accomplished in one day, using intermediate runs or embroidering the itinerary by choosing steeper alternatives.
For those amenable to a bus ride, Verbier`s ticket is honored at several more distant resorts. The number of lifts included are 81, and the six-day pass costs $174.
Contact: Swissair, 312-641-8830, or Swiss National Tourist Office, 212-757-5944.
LECH-ZURS-ST. ANTON, AUSTRIA
The Arlberg! To skiers that has been a magic name since skiing as a sport was born here at the century`s turn. In and around the Arlberg Pass are three of skidom`s most beckoning resorts, Lech, Zurs and St. Anton, and two of the coziest ski hamlets, Stuben and St. Christoph.
Gaps that can`t be ski-ed keep their endlessly billowing terrain from being completely interconnected, but the region`s lifts, 72 of them, are tied together on one Arlberg Pass, which this year costs $133 for six days.
Crowded? You bet, but the high-speed lifts installed in the last few seasons ease the pangs, even on the most popular inter-resort run, the easy route between Lech and Zurs. From St. Anton, it is moderately easy (or really tough, if you prefer) to ski down to Stuben or St. Christoph.
Where to stay? St. Anton is huge, noted for its comparatively reasonable bed-and-breakfast hotels, its young crowd and its wealth of steep slopes.
Zurs is small, catering to the lynx and sable contingent who ski as well as they dress. Lech is steep and elegant enough to satisfy most, and has a big stock of picturesque top-drawer hotels.
Contact: Austrian National Tourist Office, 312-644-5556.
CORTINA D`AMPEZZO, ITALY
Italy has the ultimate multi-mountain ticket. It is not just for glamorous Cortina, or Austrian-flavored Val Gardena, or intimate, shiny-new Arabba. It is for the entire range of Italy`s Dolomite mountains, tied together not by road or train line, but by an interchangeable lift ticket. The Dolimiti Superskipass covers 395 lifts clustered into 35 resorts.
Inter-resort runs exist, but don`t expect a single unified network that lets you zip from lift to lift until you have checked out each of the 395 lifts. If anyone has achieved that, the Italians have yet to boast about it, but it would take a ski-borne Columbus a full season, if not longer, to fulfill that dream.
The six-day edition of the Dolimiti Superskipass will cost $112 in high season, but virtually nobody buys it. Instead, Cortina skiers, for example, opt for the resort`s own 42-lift ski pass for five days and buy the Dolimiti on the day chosen for adventuring.
Contact: Italian Government Travel Office, 312-644-0990.
