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The Mountain Medium

KIRKWOOD RESORT, CALIFORNIA
Claim to Fame: Kirkwood is considered in the boonies–35 miles from South Lake Tahoe and well off the main Nor Cal pavement veins of I-80 and U.S. 50. But it’s as close to San Francisco as Squaw Valley–and skiers and snowboarders flock there because the cirque-shaped area is an unpretentious snow magnet. Cornices make steep, pine-lined chutes like
Shaeffers, Cliff, and Jim’s even more challenging. After a dump you have two options–Palisades Bowl or one of the many routes off Sunrise. You just can’t do both–the cross-resort trip is hell. Beginners have their own area and lodge, and there’s an intermediate route down nearly every lift.

What’s New: The 19-condo deluxe Lodge at Kirkwood should be finished near the end of the ski season, part of a six-year plan to create a village with more lodging and shops. Also on track this year is top-to-bottom snowmaking.

Snowboarding: In the new snowboard center you can rent gear, sign up for lessons, and buy lift tickets. The mountain is full of gullies like Snowsnake and Hully, or you can veer toward the wide-open spaces under the Sunrise chair. The terrain park has quarter-pipes, table tops, and spine jumps.

Where to Party: The Cornice Cafe is the best on-mountain site, with local microbrews. Or out on California 88 is the 130-year-old Kirkwood Inn.

Where to Stay: On weekends and holidays lodgings are filled, so reserve early (Kirkwood Central Reservations, 800-967-7500). One of the newer condominium complexes is Sun Meadows (doubles, $125-$200; 800-967-7500), with big-windowed, high-ceilinged rooms. Two miles away is the Caples Lake Resort (doubles, $60-$100; 209-258-8888), with rooms
overlooking the lake, and seven kitchen-equipped cabins ($100- $260) that sleep two to six.

Off-Slope Action: There are 80 kilometers of groomed trails with warming huts. Telemark gear and lessons are available, as is snowshoeing.

How to Keep Costs Down: Pick up your ticket for $5 off at Taco Bell. With a free Avid Skier card, each fifth day is free. After Easter, Kirkwood slashes lift-ticket prices by up to 50 percent.

Kid Stuff: At the new 4,300-square-foot children’s facility you can park on one side, drop off your four- to 12-year-old, and walk out the other and onto the slopes. For $55 kids get a lift ticket, rentals, food, and lessons.
Information/Reservations: 209-258-6000/800-967-7500

Andrew Tilin

MOUNT BACHELOR SKI AND SUMMER RESORT, OREGON
Claim to Fame: This 9,000-foot symmetrical cinder cone in the high desert of Central Oregon offers a rare combination: lots of premium ski terrain and some of the industry’s more progressive management. The mountain has plenty of high-speed lifts
and an eclectic terrain menu; you can ski three sides of it virtually from summit to parking lot, but most people head for dozens of long, fast runs cut through the lower slopes, which make Bachelor a favorite of aggressive intermediate skiers. Reliable dumps of dry, waist-deep snow are the icing on the cone.

What’s New: The Northwest Express high-speed quad lift, Bachelor’s sixth, will dump skiers out at 8,000 feet, where several new groomed runs and more than 450 acres of deliciously nasty backcountry skiing await.

Snowboarding: Bachelor was one of the first ski mountains in the West to open its own board store and rental program. A half-pipe complements large amounts of board-friendly natural terrain, including the new Northwest outback area.

Where to Party: Deschutes Brewery in Bend, where free-flowing Obsidian Stout eases pains and cleans drains, is the main hangout for skiers and locals.

Where to Stay: No slopeside lodging, but rooms and condos are available at Inn of the Seventh Mountain (doubles, $69-$119; condos, $139-$299; 800-452-6810) or mountain-village-style Sunriver Resort (packages, from $54 per person per night; 800-547-3922).

Off-Slope Action: Cross-country skiing through the towering white pines, either at the groomed facility across the parking lot from the ski area or at one of many public “Sno-Park” areas, is a treat. But you haven’t lived until you’ve injected yourself into a fast-paced broom hockey game at the outdoor rink at Inn of the Seventh Mountain.

How to Keep Costs Down: Skiers on a week-long package should buy reusable “point tickets,” which are good for up to three years. You’re charged by the lift ride, so you can use up the rest of your ticket later if two trips up the Summit Chair leave your thighs begging for mercy.

Kid Stuff: Good ski school, ski rental, and other kids’ programs.

Information/Reservations: 800-829-2442/800-800-8334

Ron C. Judd

TELLURIDE SKI RESORT, COLORADO
Claim to Fame: The place first became famous for bone-crushing moguls and low prices. Telluride still possesses what are probably the best bumps in the business–especially along the Local Loop, which slashes through parts of the Mammoth, Spiral Staircase, and Lower Plunge runs on its way to Mine Shaft. But nowadays Telluride is just as well-known
for Aspenesque features that attract the less fanatically inclined: While adventure-seekers rattle teeth and pop ACLs up on the slopes, the more sedate sip lattes, window-shop for fur coats, and snap Funsaver photos of Oprah and Sly.

What’s New: An eight-passenger gondola goes into operation this season, connecting the Mountain Village with the town of Telluride.

Snowboarding: Telluride has two natural half-pipes, cultivated snowboard terrain, and great instructors. Take a surf down the Bushwacker or Gold Hill runs, look toward the glades off Lift 6, or just follow anybody with a board and a knowing look.

Where to Party: Check out the Swede-Finn, an 1890s-vintage watering hole where locals go for billiards and two-handed margaritas. Or sip martinis at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant.

Where to Stay: If you want soft beds, soft carpets, and soft water, try the ski-in/ski-out Hotel Columbia (doubles, $150-$350; 970-728-0660). Telluride Resort Accommodations (970-728-6621) can usually rustle up a one-bedroom unit for around $50 per person.

Off-Slope Action: Call Glider Bob for a glider ride over the town ($80 for a half-hour, $130 for an hour; 970-728-5424). There are also more than 20 kilometers of cross-country trails.

How to Keep Costs Down: Book November 27-December 20 or March 31-April 13 and most local lodges will pick up your lift ticket.

Kid Stuff: There’s nursery care for kids two months to three years old in the Mountain Village, and an �����ԹϺ��� Club offering free child care before and after ski-school sessions. The ski school has half- and full-day programs for three- to 12-year-olds.

Information/Reservations: 800-525-3455

Dave Plank

STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT,VERMONT
Claim to Fame: No other New England ski area is as unabashedly romantic as Stowe. Its seven-mile-long access road, pungent with woodsmoke, is lined with stage-set-worthy inns and snug, candlelit restaurants. There’s tangible romance on the hill, too, with more than 60 years of tradition carved into craggy Mount Mansfield in the legendary Front
Four–Goat, Starr, National, and Liftline–and in the rolling cruiseways like Perry Merrill and Gondolier under the gondola. Given all that, it’s easy to forgive Stowe its sometimes creaky lifts, worn base lodge, and its two annoyingly unconnected hills. Who needs convenience when you have such killer charm?

What’s New: Stowe is close to completing a land-swap deal to acquire 25 acres at the bottom of Spruce Peak. In the works: a base lodge and a much-needed transfer lift to move skiers from Mount Mansfield to Spruce.

Snowboarding: The Jungle, a terrific terrain park on Mount Mansfield known for its challenging jumps, hits, and obstacles, is a favorite with hipsters from Burlington.

Where to Party: After the lifts close, head for the Den in the Mansfield base lodge for pitchers. Later, drive down the mountain road a mile or so and stop in at the always-chaotic Matterhorn.

Where to Stay: The only on-slope lodging is the deluxe Inn at the Mountain (doubles, $110-$145; condos, $200-$385; 800-253-4754), which has its own fitness center. The pretty stone-and-timber 18-room Butternut Inn (doubles, $85-$130; 802-253-4277) serves Tex-Mex and New England fare; no children allowed.

Off-Slope Action: There are four fine ski touring centers, including the Trapp Family Lodge (802-253-8511), with 100 kilometers of trails and a complete retail and rental shop; and the secluded Edson Hill Touring Center (802-253-7371), with 40 kilometers of wooded trails. There’s indoor ice skating at the Jackson Arena in Stowe.

How to Keep Costs Down: The Stowe Card ($20-$45) gets you 20- to 25-percent discounts on single-day lift tickets Sunday through Friday. The Stowe Vacation Card, free when you book lodging packages, shaves ten percent off multi-day tickets.

Kid Stuff: Good day care and Mountain �����ԹϺ��� programs for kids ages three and up.

Information/Reservations: 802-253-3500/800-247-8693

Meg Lukens Noonan

CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN RESORT, COLORADO
Claim to Fame: “Extreme” is an overused word–until you’re standing atop The Headwall and you’re “gripped” by the 40-degree slope. About 550 acres of this lone, lopsided peak that’s surrounded by central Colorado’s West Elk Mountains have been deservedly painted double-black, but you don’t have to chest-beat with the ragtag locals. Instead, work the
thighs with struggling Texans on bump runs like Twister and International under one of the two high-speed quads, or coast the cruisers off Paradise. When you depart the hillside condos and concrete of the resort for the quaint, historic town three miles downhill, you can fib about the day’s exploits in gnarly Third Bowl over a meal at Bacchanale. Don’t worry–it’s unlikely anyone
else at the table got there either.

What’s New: With the proposed 11-lift, Crested Butte North expansion onto Snodgrass Mountain temporarily dead in controversial wetlands water, 1996-1997 will see few changes.

Snowboarding: The snowboarders are as good as the skiers, and can be found in the same dicey places. If you’re not up for Body Bag Glades in Phoenix Bowl, consider the manicured, blue-square Forest Queen off the Paradise quad. There’s also a terrain park with two quarter-pipes, two gap jumps, and a 20-foot rail slide.

Where to Party: The Avalanche at the foot of the mountain lets you warm your toes by the fire and down pizza by the slice; at the Artichoke, a big deck faces the slopes, and there’s beer from the Crested Butte Brewery.

Where to Stay: Fanciest of all is the Grande Butte (doubles, $110-$300; 970-349-4000), a full-service hotel at the slopes with private balconies. You also can walk to the lifts from the Manor Lodge (doubles, $65-$135; 800-544-8448), which has rooms with fireplaces. In town, check out The Last Resort bed-and-breakfast (doubles, $85-$100;
800-349-0445).

Off-Slope Action: The new No Limits Center is a clearinghouse for those interested in ice climbing, winter mountaineering, and winter survival courses (970-349-6130).

How to Keep Costs Down: Free lift tickets can be had from November 27 to December 21 (you must show proof of lodging at Thanksgiving) and April 7 to April 20.

Kid Stuff: The all-day child care or ski school takes kids from six months to 17 years. You can shadow your little one during an innovative but expensive ($115 an hour) Tag-A-Long lesson.

Information/Reservations: 800-544-8448

A.T.

BIG SKY SKI AND SUMMER RESORT, MONTANA
Claim to Fame: Thanks to its remote location–tucked between Yellowstone National Park and the Spanish Peaks Wilderness–and its wide-open, sunsplashed slopes, Big Sky was one of the West’s best-kept secrets until last year, when the opening of the new Lone Peak Tram gave the mountain the nation’s highest vertical drop (4,180 feet). Lost in the commotion about the new lift–which
accesses an extreme-skier- only front face of 11,166-foot Lone Mountain–is the peak’s suddenly accessible backside, where a new expert and intermediate cruiser’s paradise is served by the Shedhorn double lift. Despite Big Sky’s massive terrain and testosterone-stirring vertical drop, the mountain’s relatively small base development and remote location–the closest “big” town is
Bozeman–leave it firmly in the “medium” camp. Which is exactly where its fans hope it stays.

What’s New: A new high-speed quad replaces one of two small, slow gondolas on the front side of Lone Mountain, speeding access from the base village to the tram.

Snowboarding: There are hundreds of acres of long, often very steep groomed runs for the hard-boot crowd; hundreds more of open-bowl cruising or packed crud-blasting for soft shoes.

Where to Party: Slopeside Whiskey Jack’s is a good unwinding spot where you can fill up on beer and burgers and listen to live music. Head for the deck– if it’s above 30 degrees outside.

Where to Stay: The spacious, Western-style Huntley Lodge (doubles, $160-$200; 800-548-4486) and adjacent Shoshone Condominium complex (one-bedrooms, $240-$350; 800-548-4486) are slopeside units at the base of Lone Mountain.

Off-Slope Action: Take a winter tour to see Yellowstone’s geysers, hot springs, and wildlife (guided snowcoach and ski trips, $60-$85 per day; 800-858-3502). Also, more than 65 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails await at nearby Lone Mountain Ranch (406-995-4644).

How to Keep Costs Down: Ski and Stay Free package deals at slightly off-site accommodations such as the Best Western Buck’s T-4 Lodge in town (406-995-4111) can save you up to $100 a day. Lodging prices throughout the region are slashed between opening day and the week before Christmas.

Kid Stuff: There’s a noted ski school and “Ski Day Camps”; plus, kids ten and under ski free (two kids per paying adult).

Information/Reservations: 406-995-5000/800-548-4486

R.C.J.

COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT,COLORADO
Claim to Fame: Copper is an interstate ski resort: On any weekend, the parking lots next to I-70 swell with Explorers and Suburbans hailing from nearby Fort Collins, Longmont, and Colorado Springs. Well-heeled locals come here for three reasons: obvious convenience (75 miles from Denver), great deals (we’ll get to that), and probably the best skiing
in the Summit County neighborhood. Grab the American Eagle quad out of the disappointing, charmless base area–or do as the insiders do: Park in the lots closest to the off-ramps and take the A and B lifts to get within sniffing distance of Spaulding, Resolution, and Copper Bowls.

What’s New: The tape was cut on Copper Bowl and Western Union last season, adding 900 ski-acres to the resort. This year the new Blackjack lift will let you ski farther down-valley into Copper Bowl without having to hike to catch the Bowl’s only other chair.

Snowboarding: One of the best lines is directly below the American Flyer run: The open-tree terrain below has natural obstacles that make a designated run superfluous. Beginners who want to ward off base-area traffic jams can practice underneath the upper-mountain R lift.

Where to Party: Grab a local microbrew at Kokomo’s bar and sit out on the big deck, or hang inside and listen to ex-pro-racer and general Copper legend Mo Dixon strum on his guitar.

Where to Stay: The cedary Foxpine Inn (doubles, $84-$286; 970-968-2600) has hotel rooms and condos with ski-in, ski-out access. The Woods and The Legends (three bedrooms, $300-$600; 800-458-8386) offer hotel services in town-house digs.

Off-Slope Action: There are 25 kilometers of groomed nordic trails and gobs of backcountry on Arapahoe National Forest land. There’s also an outdoor ice-skating rink in the Center.

How to Keep Costs Down: Lift tickets for children six to 14 are $19, but go down to $12 a day for a three-day pass that’s good all season. Ask about the ski-free programs during off-peak times on the K and L lifts serving beginner terrain.

Kid Stuff: Kids ages five to 14 are provided with all-day lessons and lunch for $56, which goes down to $46 on consecutive return visits. The Belly Button Bakery is Copper’s cookie-creating child-care center for kids ages two months to four years ($49 per day).

Information/Reservations: 800-458-8386

A.T.

MOUNT HOOD MEADOWS SKI RESORT, OREGON
Claim to Fame: Hidden on the far (eastern) side of Mount Hood above Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge, this resort is a longtime favorite of weekend Seattle and Portland-area skiers drawn to its 2,800 vertical feet of deep, dry snow. But the addition of three high-speed quad chairs in three years moved Meadows into the ski-mountain big leagues.
The terrain reflects the up-and-down, violent-and-smooth topography of Mount Hood, an 11,235-foot volcano. Upper-mountain runs–rolling, acres-wide snowfields–are a cruiser’s paradise. The lower mountain is a series of scenic, tree-lined glades. And adrenaline addicts can try snowcat skiing in experts-only Heather Canyon, a boulder-studded ravine near the north resort
boundary.

What’s New: The resort is catching its breath this year after a three-year building spree. However, they are installing a new double chairlift at Heather Canyon.

Snowboarding: Mount Hood and the midmountain snowboard town of Government Camp were snowboard magnets before the sport went mainstream. New lifts and better access to Heather Canyon are luring even more riders.

Where to Party: A major skiers’ crossroads is the Mount Hood Brew Pub, 12 miles west in Government Camp. For a world-class coffee drink in a WPA-built structure, venture an additional six miles up the mountain to Timberline Lodge.

Where to Stay: The closest rooms are in Government Camp, where the Mount Hood Inn has comfortable, chain-hotel rooms (doubles, $105-$165; 800-443-7777) that offer the added option of skiing at nearby Timberline.

Off-Slope Action: There’s great cross-country skiing on the east slopes of Mount Hood, and polar-fleece shopping in Hood River.

How to Keep Costs Down: Twenty-dollar lift tickets are an incentive to book lodging at a Hood River hotel or bed-and-breakfast (800-929-2754).

Kid Stuff: The KidSki center next to the South Lodge has a children’s lessons area. Alas, no day care is available.

Information/Reservations: 503-337-2222/800-929-2754

R.C.J.

SILVER STAR MOUNTAIN RESORT, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Claim to Fame: This self-contained ski village in the North Okanagan Valley seldom fails to draw parental raves. The Victorian-style village has all the essentials–seven hotels, eight restaurants, four bars, 50 vacation homes, and an aquatic center. The mountain’s 2,200 acres are nicely distributed across the talent scale, with great cruiser runs on
the front side and some surprisingly nasty steeps in the powder-collecting Putnam Creek area on the mountain’s north side. Three quad lifts make it all easy to negotiate. The real draw, however, is the snow. Dry white stuff falls unusually early, making mid-November openings common.

What’s New: One of Silver’s more charming touches, Brewer’s Pond ice-skating rink, was recently expanded and fitted with night-skating lights.

Snowboarding: Silver Star’s snowboard park is designed and maintained by competitive riders. The largest in Western Canada, it has a half-pipe and a wide variety of challenging hits, jumps, and obstacles.

Where to Party: The Vance Creek Saloon is the hot spot, with live music Wednesdays through Sundays. Quieter parties convene at Putnam Station Hotel’s wine cellar.

Where to Stay: Try the ski-in, ski-out Putnam Station Hotel (doubles, $71-$96; 604-542-2459), or Vance Creek Hotel (doubles, $71-$124; 604-549-5191). Privately owned slopeside vacation homes are also available (call central reservations, 800-663-4431).

Off-Slope Action: The resort is a major cross-country skiing center. Canada’s national team trains here, drawn by the early opening season (mid-November), a major training facility, and the extensive trail system (37 kilometers, with another 50 at nearby Sovereign Lake). There’s also a tube and toboggan run.

How to Keep Costs Down: Lift tickets come with lodging during ski-free weeks in early December and mid-January.

Kid Stuff: The Starduster Children’s Center offers day care for kids 18 months to eight years old. Nine- to 18-year-olds can take lessons, and participate in various programs.

Information/Reservations: 604-542-0224/800-663-4431 R.C.J.

STRATTON MOUNTAIN, VERMONT
Claim to Fame: Good grooming is essential to Stratton skiers. You can see it in their careful coiffures, in their late-model Bogner ski suits–and especially in the trails they ski. It’s no wonder that Stratton feels obliged to massage its signature wide supertrails like Standard and Sunriser. There are some good bump runs–Bear Down and Free Fall in
the Sun Bowl area, for instance–and not much competition for the deep stuff, since most Stratton skiers prefer their snow rolled. Somehow, though, the resort has managed to integrate the legions of snowboarders who come to ride the hallowed slopes where the sport was invented by local boy Jake Burton Carpenter.

What’s New: A 150-million-gallon pond, constructed last summer, will feed snowmaking guns and provide coverage for 80 percent of the terrain. In addition, 50 acres of glade skiing, for all abilities, have been opened.

Snowboarding: With a park surrounding a 380-foot half-pipe (groomed with a Pipe Dragon), 25 instructors, rental gear for kids as young as five, and some of the country’s best riders attending nearby Stratton Mountain School, Stratton is snowboarder heaven.

Where to Party: The Bear’s Den in the base lodge has live music every afternoon. Later, check out the lengthy beer list at Mulligan’s in the village.

Where to Stay: Stratton Mountain Villas (one- to four-bedroom units, $170- $530; 800-843-6867), some ski-in, ski-out, allow guests access to the Stratton Sports Center. The Equinox (doubles, $169-$299; 800-362-4747) in Manchester is a lavishly restored grand hotel.

Off-Slope Action: The Stratton Nordic Center (802-297-4114) offers skiing and snowshoeing on 20 kilometers of groomed golf-course trails, and 50 kilometers of backcountry skiing in the Sun Bowl area. Lessons and guided tours are available. You can skate outdoors near the base lodge until 10 p.m.

How to Keep Costs Down: Pay $25 for a Frequent Skier card; you’ll save $10-$17 every time you buy a ticket (except holidays). Thursdays are State Days: Depending on which state is designated, residents of New England, New Jersey, or New York can ride the lifts for $27.

Kid Stuff: There’s a kids’ learning park and children’s ski school, where even two- and three-year-olds strap on nordic skis for snow-play.

Information/Reservations: 802-297-2200/ 800-787-2886

M.L.N.

SUNDAY RIVER, MAINE
Claim to Fame: Sunday River, once a minor area in the middle of sleepy, rural western Maine, erupted under new ownership in the early 1980s into the prototype for the modern New England ski resort. With eight peaks’ worth of broad, fall-line-hugging boulevards linked by high-speed chairs, clusters of tastefully tree-obscured slopeside condominiums, a gleaming new base hotel, and a
maniacal commitment to making and raking snow, Sunday River is a model of efficiency. All that polish can come off as a bit antiseptic, but that doesn’t seem to bother the hordes of intermediate skiers who come here knowing that they will always find the best cruising conditions in New England–even when an authentic snowflake hasn’t fallen in weeks.

What’s New: Not a lot other than new double-diamond glades cut between Oz and Aurora peaks. After last season’s much-hyped opening of Oz, owner Les Otten spends his money elsewhere.

Snowboarding: Riders have their own park and half-pipe on White Cap Mountain, and share with skiers eight other playgrounds. Some patrollers and resort ambassadors are on boards.

Where to Party: First head for the Foggy Goggle at South Ridge Base Lodge, with its slopeside deck and local bands. Down the access road is the Sunday River Brewing Company, which gets jammed at twilight.

Where to Stay: The Summit Hotel (doubles, $80-$140 per person per night, including lift ticket; 800-543-2754) at the base of White Cap has 230 rooms, a health club, and an outdoor heated pool. For more Down East character, try the Bethel Inn (doubles, $75-$190 per person per night, breakfast and dinner included; 800-645-0125), a historic hotel and
nordic ski center.

Off-Slope Action: There’s free ice-skating outside at the White Cap base lodge (rentals are available). Ski 40 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails at the nearby Sunday River Inn (207-824-2410), or try dogsledding with Mahoosuc Guide Services (207-824-2073) in Grafton Notch, about 15 minutes away.

How to Keep Costs Down: The Ski Week Spectacular runs Sundays through Thursdays all season except for holidays. Pay $299 per person for five days of lift tickets and five nights’ lodging at a slopeside condo or the Snow Cap Inn.

Kid Stuff: The South Ridge Learning Area has four lifts and 12 trails for beginners. The area is convenient to the rest of the resort and offers day care, rentals, and lessons.

Information/Reservations: 207-824-3000/800-543-2754.

M.L.N.

TREMBLANT, QUEBEC
Claim to Fame: Intrawest, the outfit that launched Blackcomb at Whistler into the skiing stratosphere, bought this rundown mountain 90 minutes north of Montreal in 1991 and immediately instituted a five-year makeover plan. Now, $247 million later, Mont Tremblant, a tradition-dusted winter playground where Lionel Barrymore frolicked and Henry Fonda
honeymooned, once again may be best in the East. Most runs combine short, moderately steep gradients linked by long stretches of gently rolling terrain. Adrenaline junkies rush to Vertige and Zigzag for big drops off the summit, while tree lovers duck into steep glades on The Edge. For a mogul-dimpled run down a twisty trail, try the Flying Mile.

What’s New: Intrawest widened existing runs, blazed new trails, built five high-speed quads, and developed a third mountain face called The Edge.

Snowboarding: There are a quarter-pipe, half-pipe, ramps, and a new snowboard park on the south side.

Where to Party: After the day’s run, anglo and franco yupsters ski to The Shack for beers on the sundeck. Post-25-year-olds head to La Diable, a microbrewery in a traditional Quebec house.

Where to Stay: With its dormered copper roof and brick chimneys, Canadian Pacific’s new (opening November 18) slopeside Chateau Mont Tremblant (doubles, $180-$215; 800-441-1414) looks airlifted from Quebec City’s historic quarter. The 127 efficiency suites at the new Marriott Residence Inn (doubles, $70-$170; 888-272-4000), another new
ski-in/ski-out hotel, can stretch family budgets.

Off-Slope Action: There’s nordic skiing on 90 kilometers of trails, dogsledding ten miles southeast through woods and farmland to Br‹beuf, ice skating on Lac Miroir, and snowshoe trips to observe whitetails at winter “deer yards.”

How to Keep Costs Down: Come for 55-percent discounts before December 21 or after mid-March, and savings of 40 percent during January and early February. In low season, a five-night package at the resort’s bed-and-breakfast-style properties starts at about $210.

Kid Stuff: A new indoor water park (slides, kids’ beach, swimming and wading pools) is under construction, and the extended hours five nights a week at the Kids’ Club (for kids four to 12) lets parents dine sans enfants.

Information/Reservations: 800-461-8711/800-567-6760

David Dunbar

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