Hit The Slopes - A Quick Look At 2 Hot Ski Destinations
All the amazing ski stories about Utah's incredible snow are true. With an average of almost 1,300 annual centimetres of dry, powder snow, there are great snow conditions from deep fluffy powder to nicely groomed slopes on a good balance of beginner, intermediate and advanced runs.
Utah has 13 resorts, with the majority located about one hour from the Salt Lake City International Airport. Brian Head, in southern Utah, is just 2.5 hours from Las Vegas. Clients can arrive in the morning and ski the afternoon. And, most resorts have ski-in, ski-out accommodations. Clients can stay at one resort or resort hop and ski several in one trip.
Brian Head is Utah’s highest-elevation resort, and boasts 50+ runs for all ability levels, including an entire mountain dedicated to beginners and children. The Resort’s lift-served Snow Tubing Park is the best in the region, with six lanes to choose from.
Centrally located in some of nature’s finest scenery, St. George has become a winter resort for snowbirds, and a jumping off point for Brian Head Resort, as well as a key gateway to the greatest concentration of national parks and natural wonders on earth. Within easy driving distances are such world-renowned destinations as Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon National Parks; Cedar Breaks and Pipe Springs National Monuments, Snow Canyon State Park, the Virgin River Gorge, Kolob Canyons, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The St. George area is a historical gold mine, full of 19th-century homes, buildings and old dirt roads leading to fascinating ghost towns and prehistoric dinosaur footprints.
Whistler Takes It To The Streets
It’s an open secret that sports are just part of the Olympic/Paralympic Games experience. Now for the flip side: where's the party? The places to be during the 2010 Winter Games – when not actually cheering at the finish line – will be at one of the designated celebration sites in the village. Whistler has six celebration sites each with a theme, ranging from family fun at Town Plaza and live music at Village Square, to fringe theatre at Village Common and circus arts, dance, and Aboriginal performances at Mountain Square. The main site, Whistler Medals Plaza, will host Medal Ceremonies, live competition broadcasts and the Paralympic Closing Ceremonies. (Tickets will be issued for crowd control at Whistler Medals Plaza; details to be announced at vancouver2010.com.) And – because 90 per cent of Whistler Blackcomb’s terrain will be open for public skiing throughout the 2010 Winter Games skiers and boarders can catch shows and updates at Skiers’ Plaza as they hop on and off the gondolas.
Other reasons to head to Whister? The new world record-breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola is a breathtaking, 4.4-kilometre journey between the two mountains, that provides a 360-degree window into Whistler Blackcomb’s alpine environment, its surrounding peaks, changing seasons and wildlife habitat.
The AAVA Whistler Hotel (formerly Coast Whistler Hotel) will re-open in November 2009, with convenient access to the shops and restaurants of Whistler Village and a five-minute walk to the base of Whistler Mountain.
