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Side Trips

It's all downhill from here

By JANET K. KEELER
Published October 16, 2005

If they can ski in Dubai, why not Florida?

According to Gulf News, the first indoor ski slope in the Middle East is expected to open next month.

Until the Florida indoor ski industry gets off the ground (and that doesn't count the indoor slope at Bill Jackson's in Pinellas Park), Sunshine State skiers will have to cross borders to get their powder fix.

Out West, the snow show has started. About 18 inches fell in Breckenridge, Colo., last weekend, enough to get skiers licking their chapped lips. The slopes at that resort don't open until Nov. 11 but the first snow always spurs a flurry of excitement.

Each year brings something new on the slopes, even if it's just a higher lift-ticket price. Here is a roundup of tidbits that spoke to our inner mountain gal.

- JANET K. KEELER, Times staff writer

SKI RENTAL: You think it's tough getting through airport security normally? Try hauling a few sets of skis, poles and maybe a couple of snowboards. The Web site www.rentskis.com arranges equipment rental at 79 locations in California, Colorado and other Rocky Mountain ski resorts. Advance rental keeps you out of lines, there and at the airport. For information, call toll-free 1-800-544-6648.

EXTREME SKIING: Steel-nerved skiers can get more extreme thrills when Silverton Mountain opens in the San Juan Mountains, with 1,300 acres of expert-level terrain for guided and unguided skiing. Silverton will be Colorado's 25th full-scale ski area. Only 475 skiers a day are allowed on the mountain, the Associated Press reports. For more information, go to www.silvertonmountain.com

LOCAL CONNECTION: Bill Jackson's sporting goods mecca in Pinellas Park 9501 U.S. 19 N; (727 576-4169) has an indoor ski slope where customers can test-drive skis. The store sponsors a ski club and hosts trips. The February Lake Tahoe excursion is sold out but there are two scheduled for Montana. For information and a generic ski trip checklist, go to www.billjacksons.com

HOT SPOTS: The November Men's Journal lists Davis, W.Va., population 700, as one of the nation's "10 coolest mountain towns" in North America, the Associated Press reports. Davis gets 150-plus inches of snow annually. Plus, it has a wicked-good microbrewery. There's snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the Monongahela National Forest and downhill at Timberline Four Seasons or Canaan Valley. North Conway, N.H., earned coolest "multisport town" for providing access to the White Mountains, seven ski resorts, cross country trails, snowmobiling and the International Mountain Climbing School.

HERE'S A LIFT: Skiers flying into Salt Lake City, Utah, get a free lift ticket by presenting their same-day boarding pass at Park City's resorts, the Canyons, Park City Mountain or Deer Valley. More than 150 flights arrive before noon at the airport, which is 36 miles from Park City, site of the 2002 Winter Olympics. For information, go to www.parkcityinfo.com

MORE ABOARD: There was a time when snowboarders were unwelcome at most of the nation's 500 ski resorts. Not anymore, especially since the number of 'boarders is increasing while skiing is declining. About 7-million took to the single board in 2003, double the number a decade before, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.

LOOKING GOOD: They don't call you bigfoot for nothing, not in furry apres-ski boots from Alpine Accessories. The goat-hair models promise to keep tootsies toasty for $159 plus tax and shipping. Check them out at www.alpineaccessories.com or call toll-free 1-800-476-6754. Kids will go nuts for goofy ski headgear that includes a blazing yellow puffer fish, a unicorn and some grateful dreadz.

[Last modified October 14, 2005, 08:46:05]