Section Contents - Quick Links to Articles

• 1 - SKI CANADA'S BIG 3 RESORTS: BANFF - LAKE LOUISE - SUNSHINE

• 2 - SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN GETS NEW LIFTS and MORE

• 3 - SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT

• 4 - SUN VALLEY IS AMERICA'S SKIING HISTORY

SKI CANADA'S BIG 3 RESORTS:

BANFF - LAKE LOUISE - SUNSHINE

BANFF, ALBERTA, CANADA – Ski Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine, three resorts in the Canadian Rockies, boast one of the longest ski seasons in the world from mid-November until late May. They receive an average of 30 feet of the driest, fluffiest champagne powder there is. Together they encompass over 7,700 exquisite acres of skiable terrain.

The resorts are located in Banff National Park, an area internationally noted for the pristine landscape and abundant wildlife, where development is closely monitored. This provides a careful blend of mountain wilderness and cosmopolitan luxury. The town of Banff is an easy 81 miles from Calgary, home to the 1988 Winter Olympics and one of the user-friendliest airports in North America. The smaller hamlet of Lake Louise is just 35 miles past Banff. Within the radius of these two towns, over 2,600 square miles of protected wilderness awaits your discovery. This natural playground, scattered with open valleys, stunning scenery and intriguing mountain wildlife, is the summation of three noted ski destinations – Ski Norquay, Lake Louise Mountain Resort and Sunshine Village. The three resorts combined their efforts 30 years ago to provide a “tri-area” lift ticket with unlimited access and free transportation to each of the resorts, including night skiing at Ski Norquay. As the only ski areas in North America located in a United Nations World Heritage Site, the combination of Ski Banff, Lake Louise, and Sunshine is a ski resort anomaly.

Start your holiday at Ski Norquay. As the first ski area in Canada to open last year, Norquay is looking forward to another long season. Only 10 minutes from the town of Banff, families enjoy the quiet runs and short lift lines. Advanced skiers and boarders appreciate some of the steepest slopes in the Rockies. Solidifying Norquay’s commitment to skiing and snowboarding is the Snow Sports Centre, which offers a selection of introductory and advanced programs for adults and children. Off-piste free-riding, freestyle and extreme riding are among the upper-level specialties offered. Under new ownership since 2006, the resort offers unique features such as buy-bythe- hour lift tickets and a money back guarantee on groomed runs, continuing to set Norquay apart. Widely considered to be Banff’s best family ski resort since its opening in 1926, Ski Norquay has become a holiday tradition.

Lake Louise Mountain Resort is consistently named one of the most scenic resorts in North America. Stunning scenery, incredible Rocky Mountain wildlife and a colorful history are just a few of the reasons why Lake Louise Mountain Resort is unique. With more than 4,200 acres spread over four mountain faces and 139 named runs, it is no surprise the World Cup starts its season each November at Lake Louise. Enhanced grooming, retail shop expansion, improved après-ski facilities and more terrain including the Minute Maid Wilderness Adventure Park and expanded back bowls are just the start of improvements to Lake Louise Mountain Resort in the past two years.

Considered as the ultimate ski getaway, this winter retreat has attracted international royalty, Hollywood stars and heads of state. In addition, Ski, Mountain Sports and Living magazines have awarded the resort their prestigious gold medals for challenge, lifts, scenery, terrain, value, and snow quality. Consider it a must visit.

Celebrating 80 years in 2008, Sunshine Village completes the tri-area. The resort first opened with guests arriving on horse-drawn sleighs. It now boasts over 107 runs and 12 lifts, including the most quads in the Canadian Rockies. Sunshine offers more than 3,500 feet of vertical with endless powder and perfectly groomed runs.

Consistently praised as the best snow in Canada, Sunshine averages over 30 feet of natural champagne powder per season. Family-owned by locals, more than $35 million has been spent at the environmentally progressive resort over the past few years to build an exceptionally fast, efficient lift system capable of eliminating line-ups.

Two years ago, Sunshine captured the prestigious Silver Eagle Award for water conversation, the premier honor within the North American ski industry. Significant renovations have also occurred at the Sunshine Inn – the only ski-in/ski-out hotel in Banff National Park. While beginners and intermediates enjoy a wealth of green and blue cruising runs, advanced skiers and riders can head for the steeps and glades of Goat’s Eye Mountain. Those with a real taste for the extreme should try Delirium Dive, Wild West and Silver City, newly opened areas requiring a transceiver and mandatory travel with a partner.

Besides great skiing and riding, guests enjoy an impressive array of winter fun such as canyon walks, dog sledding, heli-skiing tours, ice climbing and ice-fishing, romantic horse-drawn sleigh rides, sightseeing tours, skating, snowmobile tours, snowshoe treks and tobogganing. Banff is proud to offer world-class dining and shopping, galleries, après-ski, nightlife and spas – all within an easily accessible pedestrian area.

With three incredible resorts in its backyard, Banff National Park makes an ideal winter vacation destination. Unlike other popular ski destinations, winter is low season, which translates into affordable ski holidays for visitors. The snow, the space and the serene beauty of the Canadian Rockies is what a winter vacation should be. It doesn’t get much better than three world-class mountains all in the heart of Canada’s protected playground. The area’s unique heritage, coupled with the tri-area all access pass, is a combination not found anywhere else in the world.

Please log on to their website via an easily found link on the home page of www.skiernews.com. You can also learn more about your vacation in Banff National Park at www.skibig3.com or call them toll free 1-877-754-8190.

SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN GETS NEW LIFTS and MORE

SANDPOINT, ID — Stand at the top of Schweitzer Mountain and feast your eyes on three mountain ranges, three states, Canada and beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. The views do not get any better. Skiing Magazine readers recently voted Schweitzer Mountain among the top 25 best ski resorts in the country. The current rank, at No. 21, speaks to its amazing terrain with two massive open bowls and 84 named runs spread over 2,900 acres. All this and 300 inches of white fluff on average add up to one great time at Schweitzer.

More than $10 million in new improvements will offer skiers and riders better access and more fun during the 2007-08 season. Two new chairlifts will change the way you ski Schweitzer. The Basin Express, a high-speed detachable quad, and the Lakeview Triple will increase total uphill capacity by 28 percent. They will ease access to The Stomping Grounds Terrain Park and Schweitzer Bowl’s steeps and chutes, as well as to low angle intermediate terrain.

The Stomping Grounds Terrain Park offers an extensive variety of some of the most unusual custom park features around. A 12-foot-high wall ride and a variety of rails and jumps keep the experts entertained while beginners build skills in the Terrain Garden on smaller rails and jumps.

While you are at the resort, enjoy the rustic charm of Schweitzer Village with shops and dining options at your doorstep. The five retail shops offer top of the line technical snowsports gear and fashionable lifestyle mountain apparel, as well as accessories, supplies, art, and tons of cool gifts.

But that is not all. The Lakeview Lodge now sports a new outdoor patio with heated flooring. In addition, the resort has new grooming and snowmaking equipment. The Cirque Group Welcome Center, conveniently located in Schweitzer Village, offers expanded staffing and services for groups.

Stay in the heart of Schweitzer Village and enjoy skiin/ ski-out access. Selkirk Lodge offers 82 hotel rooms ranging from standard to the elegant Northwest Suites. Most rooms feature wet bars, microwaves and refrigerators, with upgrades available, including jetted hot tubs and studio kitchens. Enjoy the European flavor of the alpine lodge decor and relax by the fireplace in the lobby.

The White Pine Lodge offers 50 condominium style units featuring contemporary mountain architecture. All units include full kitchens, living rooms and fireplaces. The Great Room is a luxurious hang out just steps away from two large outdoor hot tubs. Guests of both lodges have access to an outdoor heated pool and an exercise room. You can also choose an on-mountain condominium. Diverse floor plans can suit any taste and work well for groups, families and friends alike.

Nine dining options range from casual to fine dining to take-out. Full bars are available at the Chimney Rock Grill and Tap’s Lounge. Tap’s features live music and great parties on weekends, with a happening après ski scene every day.

Check out the full array of on- and off-mountain activities, including spectacular guided cat-skiing trips and snowmobile tours with Selkirk Powder Company. Point Photography is on the mountain offering personal photography to capture your once in a lifetime moment.

After a hard day on the slopes, treat yourself to a full service spa treatment at Solstice Spa or a relaxing movie in the theater. The resort also offers tubing at Hermit’s Hollow, dog sledding with True North Expeditions, snowshoeing, Nordic skiing and a host of fun kids’ activities.

Schweitzer Vitals

The winter season at Schweitzer Mountain this year will start in late November and extend through April 2008, weather permitting. The ski terrain starts at 4,000 feet in elevation, extends past the base at 4,700 feet and reaches the 6,400-foot summit. With 2,900 skiable acres, there is plenty of room and varied terrain for everyone. Schweitzer has 10 lifts, including two high-speed detachable quads: Great Escape Quad and the new Basin Express; one triple: the new Lakeview Triple; three doubles: Snow Ghost, Sunnyside, and Musical Chairs; and three surface lifts: Idyle The, Musical Carpet, and Happy Trails. The resort is located less than two hours from Spokane International Airport, near the lovely town of Sandpoint, Idaho.

2007-08 Events

Dec. 8 ..... Holiday Kick-Off

Dec. 21 ..... Shot in the Dark Jam #1

Dec. 31 ..... New Year’s Eve Parties; Music with Altitude Concert #1

Jan. 5 ..... Oakley’s Big Day Out

Jan. 18-20 ..... Winter Carnival Celebration (Fireworks on the 19th)

Jan. 18 ..... Shot in the Dark Jam #2

Jan. 26 ..... Music with Altitude Concert #2

Feb. 1-22 ..... Starlight Race Series (Fridays)

Feb. 2-3 ..... College Daze

Feb. 16 ..... Shot in the Dark Jam #3

Feb. 23 ..... Music with Altitude Concert #3

Feb. 29-March 1 ..... Outrageous Air

March 14-16 ..... Stomp Games

March 26-29 ..... 72 Hours at Schweitzer Film Festival

April 5-6 ..... Tropical Daze

For more information please go to www.schweitzer.com or call 1-800-831-8810. You may also log on to their website via an easily found link on the home page of www.skiernews.com.

SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT

Special Feature to SKIER NEWS

by Ed Blumstein

Before my first visit to Idaho, all I knew about it were Boise, potatoes and Sun Valley. I had never been to northern Idaho until I visited Coeur d’Alene, which is about 35 miles and about 45 minutes from the Silver Mountain ski area in the Northern Rockies.

The history of Silver Mountain is as interesting as the skiing. It sits on top of a closed silver, lead and copper mine. Legend says that precious metal was discovered in the early 1880s by prospector Noah Kellogg’s mule, which kicked over a rock containing silver. As a tribute to the discovery, the mountain was named Jackass Mountain.

Jackass Mountain ski bowl, funded by a group of local citizens, opened in 1968 with one chairlift. The Bunker Hill Mining Corp purchased it in 1973 and renamed it Silverhorn Ski Area. The City of Kellogg took over the management in 1984. They lobbied Congress and got $6.4 million from the Federal government to build the longest single stage gondola in the world. The City of Kellogg and the Von Roll Tramway Co, the builder of the lift, provided additional financing. The construction was completed in 1990 and the ski area was reopened as Silver Mountain. The mountain reports that if “all of the Gondola towers were laid end to end, they would stretch over a mile”. In addition to the gondola, three chairlifts were added.

The ski area has two peaks, one in the town of Kellogg and the other in the adjacent town of Wardner.

To get to the ski area, exit Interstate 90 at the town of Kellogg (exit 49). Hop on the gondola and travel 20 minutes to the base of the ski area. At Tower 14, you pass over and have a great views of Wardner, once home to 2,000 miners and merchants. At Tower 22, you can see the spot where the mule founded the mine.

Get off the gondola, and the choices start. Ski over to Chair 2 and take the lift to Kellogg Peak. From there you can ski down theWardner side or the Kellogg side. The entire mountain has some really challenging terrain and some easy trails, with good solid intermediate runs to boot. If you are a really hot skier, you will want to go to Wardner Peak. At elevation 6,200 feet, it has a bevy of challenging black diamond trails.

Ski Skyway Ridge to the Tamarack trail and down to Chair 4. Ride to the summit ofWardner Peak and take theWardner Peak Traverse, which feeds into the challenging runs, most ending at Chair 4, which you can take for more of the same.

Most of the blue runs can be reached from the Kellogg summit and flow back down to Chair 2. If you like wide and straight, try Silver Belt. Sunrise, a little narrower than Silver Belt, curves around the left side of the mountain before it reaches Chair 2. There are many other options with a good mix of blue and black runs.

Most of the beginner trails, newly expanded this year, can be reached from the top of the gondola and empty into Chair 5. The distribution among beginner, intermediate and expert is about equal.

The mountain has 1,660 skiable acres, 67 trails and a 2,000-foot vertical drop. The tubing area at the top of the gondola has a magic carpet for an easy ride to the top of the tube hill and a fun-filled decent.

In 2004 Eagle Crest Partners, Ltd., the mountain’s new owner, built 68 condos at the gondola base as the first phase of a planned resort community. They sold quickly. In 2005 in the second phase of the development, they built 110 condos and in 2006 Phase Three, 99 condos. They sold out in one day. Visitors can rent many of the condos.

To emphasize its commitment to becoming a four-season resort, Silver Mountain started construction on an indoor water park in 2005. It will open in March of 2008. The Flame Rider SurfWave is predicted to be the most popular attraction. The ride will never be the same twice, claims the developer.

From the early days of a single chair, this mountain has grown to a destination resort, with a day spa, condos to rent, shops and restaurants. If you want a little more selection in restaurants, shops and housing when you are not skiing, the drive back to Coeur d’Alene is short and scenic. The luxury class Coeur d’Alene Hotel has bargain stay and ski packages.

The nearest airport, Spokane, is an hour away on I-90.

Now when I think of Idaho I still want my taters fried while I nurture my vision of the long runs and powdery snow at Silver Mountain.

Please call SIlver Mountain for more info at 1-888-558-2952 or you can log on to www.skisilver.com, or find it via an easily found link on the home page of www.skiernews.com.

SUN VALLEY RESORT

AN AMERICAN SHANGRI-LA

SUN VALLEY, ID — The history of the “American Shangri-La,” as Sun Valley is sometimes referred, is not too different from the magical village of legend. It all began in 1935, when Count Felix Schaffgtosch, under the hire of Union Pacific Railroad chairman Averell Harriman, set out in search of the perfect spot for a grand American resort.

The Count spent months searching the mountains of the West and surveying many areas that would later become famous resorts, but none of them met his strict criteria.

Feeling defeated and ready to abandon the search, the Count was preparing to wire Harriman the bad news when he heard locals talking about Ketchum, an old mining town in central Idaho. The Count postponed his return home and set out for the Ketchum area.

Upon reaching the Ketchum valley, Count Felix Schaffgtosch was overwhelmed by the area and wired his employer, saying: “This combines more delightful features than any place I have ever seen in Switzerland, Austria or the U.S. for a winter resort.”

The Count’s enthusiasm spread to Harriman, who rushed to join the Count, and within days purchased 4,300 acres of what was soon to become Sun Valley.

Harriman was determined to build Sun Valley into a resort worthy of its breathtaking and majestic setting. “It is not enough to build a hotel and then mark with flags and signs the things you propose to do in time to come.” Harriman said. “When you get to Sun Valley, your eyes should pop open. There isn’t a single thing that I could wish for that hasn’t been provided.” Part of what he “wished for” included a timeless lodge complete with glass-enclosed pools, haute cuisine, impeccable service and nightly orchestra performances.

After just seven months of construction, Sun Valley opened to the public in the winter of 1936. The resort was an instant success. Local wildlife was seen sharing the mountain with European nobility and Hollywood royalty. Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Claudette Colbert, Bing Crosby and Gary Cooper were all regulars in the lodge, while world champions including Don and Gretchen Fraser, Gracie Carter Lindley and Andy Hennig used the mountain for Olympic training.

In 1977, Sun Valley joined the Little America family, under the ownership of R. Earl Holding. Since then, Holding has redefined the standard of elegance and excellence subscribed to by Harriman. He has lavishly refurbished the Sun Valley Lodge and Sun Valley Inn, from the stairs and halls to the guestrooms and made profound improvements to the mountain amenities. However, Holding’s greatest accomplishment is Baldy’s “Triple Crown.”

“Baldy,” says Holding, “is a regal mountain and it is only fitting that she wear a crown radiant with three precious jewels.” Those jewels are Baldy’s three distinctive and award-winning day-lodge facilities: the Warm Springs Lodge, Seattle Ridge Lodge and River Run Lodge.

Unlike the Shangri-La of legend, Sun Valley welcomes the return of visitors year after year. The tradition of beauty and service, “roughing it in style” as Harriman called it, has become the tradition for families across the globe. So, do not be surprised if you catch a glimpse of a world champion as you carve your way down Bald Mountain. And just nod if you hear a familiar voice telling tall tales at the local watering hole. It is all part of the magic and mystique that has made Sun Valley the American Shangri-La.

Learn more about Sun Valley by calling 1-800- 786-8259 or log on to www.sunvalley.com from an easily found link on the homepage of www.skiernews.com.

DOLLAR MOUNTAIN GETS NEW LIFTS

SUN VALLEY, ID – There can only be one original ski resort, and since 1936, Sun Valley has held that distinction. Born out of a desire to bring the magic of the European ski resorts to America, Sun Valley quickly became a phenomenon without peer on this continent or any other. From the crisp air atop Bald Mountain to the quaint walking village below, there is no other place quite like Sun Valley, regardless of the season.

Two new high-speed detachable quad chair lifts will replace Quarter and Dollar lifts on Dollar Mountain. This will double the lift capacity on Sun Valley’s beginner and children’s ski mountain.

In addition, 60 percent of Dollar Mountain’s ski runs will be under snowmaking, ready for Sun Valley’s upcoming ski season.

Twelve acres of snowmaking and 27 new York Safyr Tower Guns will be added to the existing snowmaking system. Ski runs that will be covered include Sheepherder’s Dip, New Bowl, Graduation, Poverty Flats, and Quarter Dollar Bowl.

The project will greatly enhance the early season snow coverage and ski conditions on Dollar Mountain.

New ski technology is nothing new to this sunny and gentle old mountain. In 1936, one of the world’s first two chair lifts was installed here by Union Pacific Railroad, founders of Sun Valley Resort. From the opening of Sun Valley on Dec. 21, 1936, to the present day, Dollar Mountain has maintained its reputation as one of the finest ski teaching areas in the world.

Lots of Sun Valley sunshine graces this 6,638-foot, treeless mountain. It has seven lifts and a lift capacity of 3,400 skiers per hour plus a state-of-the-art day lodge at the base of the mountain. Dollar Mountain’s base lodge, the new 26,000-square-foot family center, opened in 2004 and completes the ultimate ski experience for all ages – and ideal winter playground for the young and young at heart.

Sun Valley Resort’s owners Mr. and Mrs. Earl Holding began the reconstruction of the resort’s on-mountain lodges in the mid Nineties. All nationally acclaimed as some of the world’s finest mountain facilities, this newest development embraces Sun Valley Resort’s commitment to providing an unparalleled winter family vacation experience.

Learn more about Sun Valley by calling 1-800- 786-8259 or log on to www.sunvalley.com from an easily found link on the homepage of www.skiernews.com.