Side trip: Quick swooshes from plane to slopes

By Times Wires
Published January 20, 2008

Here are five snowboarding getaways recommended by Future Snowboarding magazine, which promises you'll be on the slopes within 60 minutes of landing at the nearest airport. "Storm Chasers: From Plane to Powder in Under an Hour" are listed in the magazine's February issue.

They are:

Airport: Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, Colo.

Snow: 10 minutes to Buttermilk.

Aspen Highlands, Ajax and Snowmass are within a half-hour's drive of the airport.

Airport: Burlington International Airport, Vt.

Snow: 30 minutes to Bolton Valley.

Sugarbush, Stowe and Smugglers Notch are within an hour's drive of the airport.

Airport: Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Nev.

Snow: 30 minutes to Mount Rose.

Northstar, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are within an hour's drive of the airport.

Airport: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Snow: 55 minutes to the Summit At Snoqualmie, Alpental.

Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain are within 55 minutes of the airport.

Airport: Salt Lake City International Airport.

Snow: 45 minutes to Snowbird.

Brighton, Solitude, Park City and The Canyons are within an hour's drive of the airport.

Fodor's new pocket guides

Fodor's Travel Publications is out with a new series of compact books called Fodor's In Focus guides.

The $10.95 pocket-size paperbacks measure just approximately 4 by 7 inches and are less than 200 pages - perfect for tucking into a purse or for those who like to travel light.

Books out this winter are guides to Aruba; Los Cabos, Mexico; Puerto Rico; Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C. (both cities are covered in one guide); the Bahamas; and Bermuda.

The books list options for a variety of budgets and interests, including must-see sights and local secrets, along with reader recommendations from Fodors.com.

Equestrian vacations

If you love riding horses and you love travel, consider booking a vacation with Cross Country International, which offers equestrian vacations.

Packages accommodate all levels, from relaxed trail rides to intensive sessions that include cross-country training, dressage and "hunt seat"-style rides. Guests can also choose English or Western saddle, and should expect to spend from one to more than three hours a day on horseback.

Rates vary depending on locale. A seven-day inn-to-inn riding trip in Provence offered from late April through early October is $2,325 per person.

Details at www.equestrianvacations.com or toll-free 1-800-828-8768.

Times wires

[Last modified January 17, 2008, 10:56:42]