Best Early Season Ski Deals
Ski Resorts Offer Bargains Through Mid-December
Head to the ski and snowboard slopes before the holidays. You'll find great snow, uncrowded trails and restaurants, and hotel bargains, even free lift passes
It's time to get those boards tuned and waxed and ready for the new season. The snow is already falling in the Rockies -- both in the US and in Canada -- and resorts such as Loveland in Colorado are already blowing snow to assist what Mother Nature provides.
Some of the best skiing and snowboarding is early in the season, before the crowds arrive with Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas presents. And ski resorts tempt us with bargains that free lift passes and other great deals.
Here are some of the best --
Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee, Wyoming
Spring Creek Ranch is offering a "Ski Free" package through mid-December, for skiing/snowboarding at either of these legendary resorts in the famed Grand Teton range. The package includes breakfast and two lift tickets daily, plus complimentary shuttle service to town and to the resorts. Spring Creek Ranch sits on 1,000 acres just outside the town of Jackson Hole, high up on a butte. The view is spectacular. Ditto the accommodations.
Steamboat, Colorado
This is the place to ski with Olympic legend Billy Kidd, who manages to keep his trademark Stetson firmly on his head even while flying down the slopes. There are $16 million in on-mountain improvements for this season, including the new Christie Peak Express six-person chairlift. Book by October 31 for rates as low as $306 per person for four nights lodging and lift tickets. The program is called Early Rewards,
Mont Tremblant, Quebec
This resort consistently rates as # 1 in Eastern North America by the readers of Ski Magazine. The lifts are modern and fast, the slopes are broad and challenging, and the village is compact and charming. Until Nov. 15, rates are reduced up to 44%. This season, Mont Tremblant is more accessible than ever with Continental's new daily direct flight from New York to Tremblant's International Airport (YTM). City to slopes in just 90 minutes.
Ski Europe
The tour operator Ski Europe is offering it's SuperSki Weeks in Innsbruck, Austria; Garmisch, Germany; Interlaken,Switzerland; and Chamonix, France starting at $650, for packages that include round-trip air from New York City, lift tickets and most meals. You can even rent your equipment on-line before you leave, including a helmet, so it's there waiting for you at your hotel.
Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada
How's this deal -- $25 for an all-day lift ticket, group lesson and gear rental. Yes, $25. If you've never been skiing/snowboarding before, or have a significant other, best friend or kid sister who has been postpoining learning to play in the snow, this is the place to learn to schuss the slopes with grace and confidence. The 8th Annual Learn to Ski and Board Weekend is the weekend of December 8-9. North Lake Tahoe is just 45 minutes from the Reno airport, or three hours from San Francisco.Go, learn, have fun.
And be sure to start the New Year with continued fun in the snow. The Quebec Winter Carnival each January is three weeks of non-stop events and festivities.
