The Inside Scoop - Telluride

We have been given the inside scoop from one of Telluride's very own so you get the most out of your holiday!

Best Beginner Run
Galloping Goose: Atop Prospect Bowl Express (12), this rolling 7.4 km trail takes beginners past some of the most scenic vistas in North America.

Best Bump Run
Mammoth: From the top of Plunge Lift (9), this wide and consistently steep bump run is the place to prove your skills in the moguls.

Best Groomer
See Forever: The name of this run says it all. Take in the views of Bear Creek, Wilson Peak, the San Sophia range, and the La Sals of Utah while carving up fresh corduroy.

Best Apres
The Beach at Gorrono Ranch: Sit back in a beach chair and soak in the sun, music, and views at the Beach at Gorrono Ranch, located on the mountain under the Village Express (4). Slopeside in Mountain Village, check out live music and craft beers from around the world at the new Hop Garden - look for the big yellow umbrella.

Unique apres ski activity....
Perched at the top of the gondola, few restaurants in the world rival the breathtaking views, world-class cuisine and award-winning wine list of Allred's. Open to the public for apres ski at the bar and nightly dining. Consider this a "must do" activity while in Telluride.

Best Photo Op
Anywhere on the mountain... yet the top of the Prospect Bowl Express (12) and the top of the new Revelation Lift (15) boast stunning 360 degree panoramas.

Local Tips: Big White

Jim Loyd, Big White's Sales Director, has lived, worked and raised a family in Big White. We asked Jim to share his local knowledge and recommendations, on how to make the most out of a holiday to Big White.

Lift and Runs
Jumps and Bumps: Dragons Tonque off Snow Ghost Express, Flagpole off the Powder Chair and International off the Bullet Express.
Cruising Runs: Big White has 118 runs, with many cruising runs. A few favourites are: Blue Sapphire, Sun Run and Exhibition.
Glade Skiing: The Whitefoot Bowl on the Falcon Chair, Sun-Rype bowl off the Gem Lake Express and the Black Forest Glades of the Black Forest Express. Come and explore.
Powder Days: Amazing!! Big White known its Champagne powder snow. In the trees or on the runs, everywhere is sensational! The Cliff is like heli skiing!!
Terrain Park: TELUS Park is the Okanagan's largest, lifted terrain park, which boasts a snow cross course, rails and features of all sizes.
Late Afternoon: Top of the Alpine, Sun Run says it all, or Born to Run off the Snow Ghost Express
Early Morning: Paradise, Sundance, Powder Keg and Kalina's Rainbow are all great warm up runs.
Most Challenging: The Cliff, an epic steep run on a powder day!

Restaurants
Great Value: Copper Kettle Grill has something for everyone from burgers and steak to choices for the kids.
Pizza: The Underground Bakery is the best with their hand made crust, and they deliver!
Steak: Kettle Valley Steakhouse not only has great steaks but also serves venison for the more adventurous diner.
On Mountain: All of our restaurants are on-mountain. The Swiss Bear in the Chateau Big White has a European flair.
Sushi: A small selection of sushi is served at Beanos Coffee Shop in the Village Centre mall. Beanos also make the best coffee.
Fine Dining: 6 Degrees Bistro is a great place to enjoy fantastic food paired with excellent wine and a cosy atmosphere.
Family Restaurant: Sam's Dining Room is a quiet place for a family get together and don't forget the gun barrel coffees for mum and dad!
Lunch: Gigi's lunch special. $10 for a panini, plus a choice of 2 out of 3:soup, salad, fries.

Bars
Apres: Happy Valley Day Lodge is the place for apres, with live music from 4-6pm for families and for those wanting to partake in a few beverages.
Cocktail: Gigi's has a great comfortable lounge with a fantastic bar and professional mixologists.
Pub: Snowshoe Sam's in the place to go for a beer and watch the game. Rated Canada's #1 Apres ski bar for good reason.
Night Club: Snowshoe Sam's often has live music and a great place to party the night away.
Dance: Sam's and Raakel's is where most live music is and where we rock out on the dance floor
Deck View: Carver's Deck looks over the valley to the Monashee mountains, it's absolutely spectacular.

Activities
Off Mountain Activities: Activities include dog sledding, snowmobiling, horse drawn sleigh rides, tubing, skating, snowshoeing and spas to name a few.
Kids Activities: Our top notch kid's centre has the most friendly instructors and staff and run several evening kids activities including skating parties, and movie nights.
Shopping: There are several retail shops for any items you may need from skis to jackets to socks. A souvenir shop and delicatessen are also located on the mountain. There is even a grocery market in case you have forgotten anything.

Events
Weekly: Ours events are very family oriented and one of our most popular is Carnival night, followed by Big White's Got Talent where anyone can come out a show us their talents. Another great one if our famous fireworks show.
Season: The Christmas eve parade is one of our biggest events of the year, with on-mountain business getting involved and a huge guest turnout. And don't forget Australia Day, Big White style, no one does it better on snow!

Free Ski days at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly & Arapahoe Basin!

The Epic Pass
Buy a 10 day pass - get 120 days free skiing!
There's no other deal like this, the Epic Pass costs about the same as a 10-day Vail Beaver Creek pass. The Epic Pass provides an unlimited number of days of skiing and riding at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly (Lake Tahoe) and Arapahoe Basin anytime throughout the entire ski season.

Epic 7-Pack
Plan on skiing/riding for 7 days? The Epic 7-Pack provides seven days of skiing and riding at any of the six world-class mountains at an affordable price!

The Summit Pass
The Summit Pass provides an unlimited number of days of skiing & riding at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin anytime throughout the entire ski season.

Get Fit for Your Heli-Ski Trip

Now is the best time to start your fitness regime to be in top condition for your upcoming CMH Heli-Skiing trip.

Not only does being ski fit mean that you wont be as stiff and sore after a day on the slopes, but you will find it easier to ski harder and for longer periods.

Not sure how to put your fitness program together? Check out this CMH Heli-Ski Fitness Plan for idea's and you'll carving up the mountain in no time!

Vail's Blue Sky Basin

The Blue Sky Basin is like a ski area in a ski area. There's a different look to the terrain than the rest of Vail, and a real sense of being in the backcountry instead of part of one of world's biggest resorts.

As you would expect in Vail, Blue Sky Basin has a very modern lift system with three high-speed quad chairlifts but provides a more retro ski experience. Instead of boulevard-wide runs Blue Sky Basin features mostly glades and natural tree-free meadows. Most of the runs are general routes rather than specific, defined trails. Signage is directional, pointing to a destination rather than funneling people onto specific trails.

Skiers and snowboarders can stick to groomed sections, dance through the powder in the trees or mix and match. In fact, even the snowcat operators have been instructed to groom where it "feels" right. In that manner, every trip down Blue Sky's slopes can feel and look different.

If it is at all possible to get sick of Vail's huge back bowls, Blue Sky Basin offers skiers a snowboarders a wilder side of Vail.

Breckenridge

Just a short hop from Denver to the top of the Rockies lies the amazing town and resort of Breckenridge, Colorado.

Breckenridge is one of Colorado's oldest and largest ski resort towns, with a rich history that dates back as far as the mid-19th century gold mining days. Over the past few years, Breckenridge has been extensively developed to a true world class resort, whilst still maintaining much of the old mining charm.

If you are looking for a big resort experience, Breckenridge boasts over 155 runs, 30 lifts spread over 4 interconnected mountains, and the highest lifted point in North America at 12,800 ft or 3900m.

Breckenridge also offers extensive snowboarding facilities, with four terrain parks, three half-pipes and a super-pipe. Breckenridge's Freeway Terrain Park is a boarder's dream come true, and has been repeatedly voted one of the best in the United States by numerous snow-riding magazines.

The resort provides as much off the mountain as it does on the slopes. The town has over 400 restaurants, shops, galleries, and entertainment venues, from laid-back bars to raging nightclubs. Accommodation in Breckenridge is located both on and off the mountain with a huge range of options to suit anyones preferences or budget.

Located just off the main freeway that links the world renown resorts of Vail and Aspen, Breckenridge also makes for a great stopover. In fact, you can ski Breckenridge on the same lift pass as in Vail.

Bariloche, Argentina

Experience world class skiing and boarding at Bariloche during the Southern Hemisphere winter.

Mountains
Enjoy more vertical than all but the biggest North American resorts, a mix of above and below tree line, with relaxed powder bowls, groomed runs, steeps, glades and forest trails to suit all levels. Plus there more lift capacity than the rest of Argentina put together, including express lifts top-to-bottom.

Villages
Ski villages feature excellent shopping, restaurants and varied nightlife. It's also easy to go downtown to Bariloche city in the evening.

Value
Bariloche is both the best skiing and best value in South America, especially if you like to go out and go shopping. You will save plenty here compared to major ski destinations, especially with Travelplan's exclusive VIP resort card.

Access
Direct flights from Sydney to Buenos Aires on LAN/Qantas & Aerolineas make it closer than the USA. There are numerous daily flights from Buenos Aires to Bariloche, so same day connections are possible on Saturdays for ski weeks.

Accommodation
Choose from 5 star ski in/ski out to quality moderate apartments and hotels. Eating out is cheap, so most people don't bother cooking. Accommodation operates mostly on Saturday to Saturday ski weeks, depending on season and property, other days may be available.

Options
We recommend 1 or 2 weeks here, or combine your trip with a few days at the smaller boutique resort of Villa La Angostura around the north side of the same lake. Alternatively, continue on south to the Patagonia glaciers at El Calafate, which is 2 hours flight from Bariloche.

Specials
Add a Patagonia Powder Week package to get shown the best of the mountain and what's available by our locally based ski hosts. This is the perfect way to see and ski the best of this beautiful part of the world, while meeting fellow skiers and boarders.

Cotton, Polypro or Merino Wool: What's your ski wear of choice?

Did you know merino wool is the preferred material for ski instructors gear on the slopes? Find out why they think it beats cotton and poly-pro to keep you dry and comfortable in all weather conditions.

In the past few winters CMH Heli-Skiing has been carrying Icebreaker apparel in our retail shops in each of our Heli-Ski and Heli-Hiking Lodges. After hearing guides raving about the stuff, claiming they never got cold or had to do laundry I figured I'd better get to the bottom of it.

Article written by Jane Carswel - CMH

Read Full Article at:

http://blog.canadianmountainholidays.com/heli-ski-blog/bid/61970/Cotton-Polypro-or-Merino-Wool-What-s-your-ski-wear-of-choice

Skimetric Academy

Adalbert Leibetseder is a passionate man. An extreme
perfectionist by nature, he is fascinated (you might even say obsessed) by the desire to transform every skier who walks through his door into a skier who can perform at the absolute peak of their ability.

The problem, he believes, is that each one of us has a unique
body alignment which means that we all stand differently on ski equipment that is mass produced. The solution, he says, is "to bring ground zero up to the level of the sole of the foot".

Travelplan director Toby Withers completed the Skimetric
programme at Mount Hotham this month.

Adalbert's method is threefold. Firstly, he analyses our natural stance and balance on each foot, and our current skiing style. Toby stood in a variety of positions, on both feet and then on each in turn whilst Bert took notes. Then they went outside and skied one run together. Bert watched Toby from every angle and recorded his turns on video.

Après ski and me :)

by Katie

I have appreciated the apres ski experience for years. Even when my brother and I were young, I remember having the best time dancing on the benches outside of the Schuss Bar in Thredbo while the parental division were enjoying their afternoon beers, (not to worry, they weren't being irresponsible, someone had to look after the skis...and I'm sure they were keeping an eye on us through the window from inside...).

Being allowed into the bar however, does bring a whole new appreciation to the world of apres ski for me, and has since become an important element of my time spent in ski resorts around the world.