Evening star., 1949-01-30
By Jacques FutreIle, Jr.
The Stor's Travel Editor

The prospect of ski.able snow in
the East comes as Sun Valleys first
1949 session of Learn to Ski" weeks
closes. 1t will be April before they
are resumed, with bargain rates.
Eastern skiers, with spirits damp
ened by fickled weather, might make
a note Of the dates, April 3 to 8
and 10 to l6. In fact, it is not toe
early to clinch reservations. Learn
to Ski" week, a "packaged" vaca-
ton, usually finds the resort heavily
booked.
Sun Valleys packaged arrange
mept includes room, meals, ski
lift tickets and ski instruction. The
special rate, starting as low as
s75, offers beginners the same priv
ileges as other guests, including
use of the two outdoor swimming
pools, Baldy's giant lift or the
l, 1,200-foot line on tanner Dollar
Mountain. Special-rate guests stay
at one of the resorts picturesque
Swiss chalets and eat in the Skier's
dining room. The packaged price
Is based on four in a room.
A variation of the plan was in
itiated this year. w. P. Rogers, gen.
eral manager, broadened the choice
of accommodations by offering rooms
in the Challenger Inn. With two
in a room and sharing a shower,
the all-expense program costs each
occupant $50 per week. Sharing a
bath is slightly higher, $s6 per
person.
During the Learn to Ski" weeks,
guests are given "a hours Of instruc-
ton.
Preparatory, perhaps, to next sum-
mer's brisk travel to Europe, the
French Line is pushing efforts to
get passengers aboard its boats
IN time.
Why not use the gangplank?"
it asks. And the question can be
illustrated with several amusing but
undignifled pictures Of women pas
sengers scrambling aboard departed
liners from harbor tugs. The gang
plank" adds a spokesman. rs still
the most convenient way Of board
ing a ship: saves time and trouble
hot to mention rips in their stock
ings."
In a more serious vein, a state
ment by the line says:
la
modating. we do not intend to con-
tinue this tugboat service. Pas
sengers arriving late will be left
on the pier"
Line officials pointed out that
three out Of four consecutive sail
ings of the Decrease were inter-
rupted by transferring latecomers
from tugs in midstream. Plus, Of
course, their baggage. The line
thinks such Q business" is risky
all around.
There have been more valid rea-
sons for missing a boat, but one Of
the French Lines women passengers
candidly confessed, on being hoisted
aboard, that she was at home, list
ening to a particularly beautiful re-
cording of Aida" Suddenly she
realized 1t was 10 minutes to sailing
time.
II
All too gradually, airlines are be-
ginning to do something to satisfy
the natural curiosity of passengers
about where they are and what
they are seeing from the air. The
woaderment of the customers, as a
plane drones over the landscape
hour on hour, Is perhaps more uni
versal than operators suspect. And
asking the stewardesS, as has been
pointed out on previous occasions,
often is of no help.
I'VE are 20 minutes out OF Pitts
burgh" is no answer to What river
is that of to the left?"
That This persistent and pester-
ing little annoyance of flying blind"
will be corrected is indicated by an
announcement that American Air
lines has taken the public address
cvefepo o1nft Tn thic the limo ie