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It has been a white weekend in Steamboat, as Mother Nature paid a much anticipated visit to Ski Town, U.S.A. with 14.5 inches of snow falling at Thunderhead, the resort’s mid-mountain location at 9,080 feet, in the past 72-hours (Oct 25). Mother Nature showed just how fast she can go from fall to full winter and reminded all of us that it’s never too early to make sure your equipment is waxed up, season passes are in hand and you’re getting into shape for a fantastic season.

Meteorologists are calling for a La Niña weather cycle this winter, which bodes very well for Steamboat.  The last La Niña took place during the winter of 2007/08, when the Steamboat Ski Area recorded 489 inches of snow at mid-mountain.

The resort is scheduled to open Wednesday, November 24, 2010, with its traditional opening day benefit, Scholarship Day, where proceeds from specially-priced tickets are donated to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club’s Scholarship Fund.

The snow will be here all season, but the incredible early season deals out at the moment won’t be around much longer, and if the early season snow is a great indication of things to come, then guests should act now to take advantage of the best winter vacation packages.

HT Holidays goes wireless from this winter - HT Holidays is completing the installation of wireless routers in all but 4 of there properties. The service which will be fully operational by the end of November, means that HT Holidays will be the first ski property management company to offer FREE Wireless internet in all Niseko properties. They will also have wireless connectivety available in all public spaces and internet access points in various buildings this winter. Talk to the team at Ski Traveller about your Japan ski holiday today.

Wednesday 22 September, was officially the  last day of Summer in Canada, and it brought over 20cm of snow to Banff-Lake Louise.  The ski fields open within 41 days.  Check out this nice and white photo.

Register your kids today for Nancy Greene Ski League.
The Sun Peaks Alpine Club will be offering Nancy Greene Ski League programs for skiers aged 5 to 11 years old for the 2010-11 ski season. These programs deliver customised free-skiing and introduce young skiers to alpine ski racing.  The philosophy of the Nancy Greene Ski League is to encourage participation, interaction, and the development of technical skiing skills in an exciting and motivating atmosphere.
For more information visit www.sunpeaksracers.ca
Visit our Sun Peaks page for accommodation options and specials.

  After skiing NZ for 25 consecutive winters I decided it was time to fufill a life time passion to have a northern hemisphere ski holiday.We are a family of five with two 15 yr olds and one 17 yr old.We belong to a Ruapahue ski club and I had seen some info kicking around the club about ski holidays but everytime I multiplied the cost by five I just about fell over.Last winter I saw a ski holiday featured in the herald travel section.This was run by Lianne Stott at Ski Traveller in Auckland.I began to email Lianne and with the benefit of her advise and experience we decided that our destination would be Copper Mountian in Colorado.  Copper mountian is an area called Summit County that includes the towns of Silverthorne, Dillon, Breckinridge and Frisco.The adjoining ski fields are Breckinridge, Keystone, Araprahoe Basin and Copper Mountian.These are all within a 15-40 minute drive from Frisco.From Frisco is a free bus service that runs between all these towns and ski fields that runs for about 19 hours a day.Brilliant.We never felt the need for a hire car at all and still managed to see a lot of the local area.Vail, reputed to be Americas largest ski field is only 20 minutes down the road from copper mountian but is not included in the Summit County area but easily accessible.  We booked 12 nights at Copper in a two bedroom, two bathroom, pull out sofa bed, fully equiped kitchen condo that was about 2-3 minutes walk to the chair lift.Copper village was very quaint, spotlessly clean, zero litter,comes with all the restaurants, shops, hot tubs, lap pool, skating rink, medical center and hire shops.For a family ski holiday this was fantastic.The ski field was supurb with great variety of beutifully groomed to challenging moguled steeps.The facilities on field were excellent.Copper had a deal Mt Ruapehue where we were able to ski on our 2009 seasons pass.This made to holiday way more affordable than I thought possible.  Liannes booking and airport advise was right on the button.Also her advise on comprehensive travel insurace was invaluble.Dont skimp on insurance.We had a great time, really loved it, and I cant wait to plan the next one.  Go Ski TravellerMark.

It’s not too late for a 2010 ski holiday….check out Alta & Snowbird in Utah they have the best late season skiing in North America.  I was there in mid April 2009 and we had nearly two feet of snow dump over night in the Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Snowbird and Alta are located side by side (you can ski from one to the other) in the Little Cottonwood Canyon under an hour from Salt Lake City Airport.  Alta is a skiers only mountain, Snowbird you can snowboard or ski.

Check out the amazing snow at Alta: http://www.altachalets.com/alta/check-out-our-new-alta-video

We have some fanatastic homes, lodges, chalets and condos available at Alta and Snowbird.
Get a group of friends together and book our ski home that sleeps 22.

Please talk to Lianne about your ski holiday to Utah.
Toll Free NZ: 0800 11 22 99
email: liannes@skitraveller.co.nz

Hi Lianne,
 
This was my first trip to Copper Mountain.  I have previously skied Keystone (3x) and Breckenridge(1x) when I lived in the US.  I must say that I was a bit hestant as my general perception of Copper developed over the years was that it represented a smaller mountain with less challenging trails (I’m an expert skier) and less exciting nightlife. 
 
Boy was I completely wrong.  I found the mountain fabulous. Staff were very friendly, the sking great and the range of expert trails super.  As an added bonus the mountain was extensive enough to hide a crowd of skiers. …but that wouldn’t have mattered as the lodge/ski pass combination provided a “fast pass” electronic ski pass that vertually put you in the front of any lift line.  Add two days of fresh powder …what more can you ask for.
 
The lodge (single bedroom with murphy bed) was also super.  Easy check-in, 5 minute walk to the lift with views from our room of the slopes.  The village bars and restaurants were also great.  My wife and I also took day trips to Aspen and Breckenridge to view the shops and the slopes and concluded that Copper was definitely our choice.  
So an emphatic 10. 
Cheers,
Terry P

Hello,  Panorama Mountain Village started the Mile One quad to load skiers for the first time in the 2009-2010 season.  The Canadian men’s national team will be training slalom on Hay Fever for the next couple of days.  Panorama Mountain Village opens to the public on December 11, 2009. See you on the slopes!!  Jennifer MossDestination SalesPanorama Mountain Village

Why not ski and then get a few days in the tropical sun in Tahiti?  Ski Traveller can package any ski resort in the USA with a Tahiti Stopover.

See our best deals package for Ski Mammoth & Sun in Tahiti.
http://www.skitraveller.co.nz/best_deals

A quick 90 minute train ride on the Shikansen Bullet train from Tokyo will deliver you to Nagano Station, only an hour’s drive from Hakuba.

The Hakuba Valley is spread across 30 kms of mountainous terrain.  Here the mighty ski jumps from the 1998 Winter Olympics still sit at the base of Goryu Toomi , one of eight ski resorts.   The area is well suited to all levels, with a variety of terrain from wide open groomed slopes, tree lined bowls, steeps and backcountry skiing & boarding and with one interchangeable lift and shuttle bus pass, what could be easier.

The Evergreen Ski School, owned and operated by a Canadian/Japanese couple provides expert tuition for all levels, from children to adults.

The nice thing about Hakuba is it retains a Japanese charm yet has over 100 bars and restaurants.  The Lodge at the Tokyu Hotel is a great place to enjoy an après ski drink.  For lovers of food and wine, The Phoenix Hotel Bar and Restaurant is run by the team from Falls Creek’s award winning Summit Ridge Lodge. 

Accommodation is located at the base of Happo One with hotels and pensions (bed and breakfast) and a few apartments scattered through the woodlands.

Talk to Sarah about Hakuba she was in Hakuba last season.
sarahh@skitraveller.co.nz
www.skitraveller.co.nz