From: kurtray@sco.COM (Kurt J. Raymond)
Subject: Lake Tahoe deals 92/93
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 21:23:58 GMT




From SJ Mercury News, 12 November 1992

Downhill Deals
--------------
By Bill Sunderland

Deals, deals, and more deals are the theme of this year's ski season.

Five years of drought coupled with the country's economic woes have left
California ski resorts battling for the dwindling number of  skiers who
still can afford the slopes.  So how better to draw them than by offering
bargains?

Not only the resorts but both the convention/visitors bureaus for the North
Shore of Lake Tahoe (the Truckee area) and the South Shore (the South
Lake Tahoe area which is on the California/Nevada border and where the
gambling is) are offering all sorts of deals in an effort to draw visitors.

The more flexibility a skier has, the better the deal -- particularly for
those who can break loose during the middle of the week.

If you can ski only on weekends, very few of the resorts have increased
lift ticket prices and one, Bear Valley, has dropped its adult price by $7,
from $32 to $25.

Northstar is offering an electronic frequent skier program, along with
incentive prizes for those using the system.  Called Club Vertical, members
receive a personalized electronic wristband with a pre-programmed
microchip.  At each lift, a microchip reader scans the wristband and
records the number of feet the skier will ski from the top to the bottom of
that lift.

Club Vertical members will receive monthly statements tracking how many 
vertical feet they have skied, along with prizes and discounts they may
qualify for.  The prize for the skier logging the most vertical feet during
the year is a free 1993-1994 lift pass.  Members can purchase daily lift
tickets at a discount of $5.

And for those skiers who are marking that big 40th birthday this year,
there is a unique offer from Badger Pass, which is located in Yosemite
Park.  Anybody 40 years old - and you have to prove you are 40 - can get a
free day lift ticket, or even a free season ski pass if you ski there
regularly.

For senior skiers, Dodge Ridge has the best deal - skiers over 62 ski free.

The following are some packages offered this year by the north and south
Lake Tahoe areas and by specific resorts:

Tahoe Donner: This resort offers special weekend packages for beginners,
such as an improve-your-skiing package that includes a lift ticket, lesson
and equipment, $49 for adults, $39 for children.  This was a mid-week
package before this season.  Similar mid-week packages are $39 for adults,
$29 for children.  There also is a $29 package for first-time skiers,
available on both weekends and weekdays.

Tahoe North Visitor's and Convention Bureau:  For families, there are
three-day, three-night ski/lodging packages that include lift tickets for
four ski areas for $135 per person, double occupancy.  With an eight-area
lift ticket, the package is $171.  Four-area participants are Diamond Peak,
Boreal, Mount Rose, and Homewood.  Eight-area tickets also include Squaw
Valley, Alpine Meadows, Northstar and Sugar Bowl.

One can also purchase four-area and eight-area lift tickets for three or
more days.  For example, the three-day, four-area adult lift ticket costs
$86.  For more information, call (800) 824-6348.

South Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority:  There are numerous packages offered
by hotels and motels in combination with the numerous ski resorts in the
area.  They range from $59 per person for lift ticket and lodging at less
expensive motels to many times that at fancier hotels.  There's pretty much
something for everybody, but mid-week specials are the way to go if you
can.  To work out which package you want, call the Visitor's Authority for
information at (900) 776-5050, or (800) AT-TAHOE to make reservations if
you know where you want to stay.

Alpine Meadows:  Family Pak lift tickets include a variety of combinations.
For example, one adult and one child, $57; two adults and one child, $95;
and two adults and two children, $114.  New Skier Club for beginner skiers
offers a three-day package for $135, including all-day beginner lift
tickets, equipment rental and a three-hour lesson -- plus a fourth day of
skiing free.  New skiers can pick the days and they do not need to be
consecutive.  An added plus: skiers 70 and older ski free.

Bear Valley: This is the only resort that actually cut the price of lift
tickets, from $32 to $25 on weekend and $20 on weekdays.

Boreal: This resort is offering what it calls Gold Rush Days on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning Jan. 5 - lift tickets for $19 instead of
the $31 it charges on weekends.

Heavenly Valley: Safeway shoppers can get a $9 discount on lift tickets,
among other savings.  The resort also offers mid-week getaway packages.

Kirkwood: This destination resort on Highway 88 offers a mid-week package
for $207 per person, double occupancy, that includes three nights in a
studio condo, three days of lift tickets and three group lessons.

Mammoth and June Mountains:  Multiple-day lift tickets that are good over the
weekends are available at a 10 to 20 percent discount.  For example, if you
ski five days you get one day free.  There also is a new ski/lodging
package at Mammoth Inn that includes four nights lodging and four days
lift tickets for $272 per person, double occupancy.

Mount Rose:  If you buy an adult, full-day lift ticket on Tuesday, you'll
receive a free, two-hour group lesson.  On Wednesday, an adult lift ticket
entitles you to free equipment rental.

Northstar: To tout its 20th anniversary, Northstar is offering a package
that for as little as $56 a day a skier receives one night's lodging, one
day's skiing and a commemorative fanny pack.  The minimum for this
package is two nights.  It is in effect from Nov. 20 through Dec. 24, and
from March 21, 1992, until the end of the season.

Squaw Valley:  Here's where one will find the best deal for "kids" 13 and
under or $65 and older - $5 a day with no strings attached.  (Also, Squaw
has a "first one is free" deal, where equipment rental, lift ticket and
first-timers lesson is absolutely free - kurtray)

-- 

Kurt J. Raymond     Engineering Services  The Santa Cruz Operation
408-427-7427        Sr.  Account Manager  email: kurtray@sco.com