Map Holder Helps Keep You On The Right Track Or Trail

If you’re one of those people whose ski maps always disappear under layers of clothing, consider the SkierSleeve Trail Map Holder.

This device makes it easy for alpine skiers, telemarkers and snowboarders to find their trails at ski resorts (or for cross-country skiers to follow nordic trail networks) without the usual hassle of removing gloves, unzipping a pocket, retrieving and unfolding a trail map, identifying where you are and where you want to go, then reversing the procedure before being able to ski.

With SkierSleeve, simply slip a folded map into the weatherproof plastic covering, wrap the adjustable clear plastic sleeve around your arm, and ski. The map is easily visible at all times.

The SkierSleeve is available for $14.99 (plus shipping and handling) by calling Launch Corporation, Denver, Colo., at (800) 322-2930.

Cheap flights: Southwest Airlines offers Fun Pack ski vacations throughout much of the West.

Flights into Salt Lake City, Utah, provide access to Alta, Brighton, Deer Valley, Park City, Snowbird, Solitude and Wolf Mountain. Popular Lake Tahoe resorts include Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar and Squaw Valley.

Air, ski and lodging packages also are available to Sandia Peak at Albuquerque, Santa Fe Ski Area near Santa Fe, and Taos Ski Valley and Angel Fire north of Taos. Vacation packages to Purgatory Resort north of Durango, Colo., also are offered.

The Fun Pack packages include round-trip air, hotel accommodations, transfers and lift tickets. Each participating hotel has its own dates when the discounted packages are available.

For a copy of the 30-page Southwest Airlines Fun Pack Vacations guide, call (800) 423-5683.

Deals of the week:

SkiLink, the bus transportation system for the greater Wenatchee area, offers free, daily skier service to Mission Ridge Ski Area and outlying nordic ski trail networks. The bus stops are located near most lodging facilities. (800) 851-5465.

Lift and lodging packages for Mission Ridge and Wenatchee accommodations start as low as $94 a person, based on double occupancy, for a two-day weekend/ holiday package that includes two nights lodging and two days of skiing. Midweek and early/late season packages also are available. (800) 57-APPLE.

The SunSpree Resort, in the mountain village at Apex Ski Resort near Penticton, British Columbia, offers ranch-style resort ambience at the base of the ski slopes. Winter Get-a-Way Ski Packages start at about $63 (approximate U.S. dollar equivalent) a person a night, based on double occupancy. (604) 292-8121 or (800) 387-2739.

Okanagan Reservations, based in Penticton, British Columbia, can put together ski packages for Apex Ski Resort, Silver Star Mountain Resort and Big White Ski Resort. If a long ski holiday is possible, I’d recommend skiing at all three locations, which are about 90-minute drives from each other.

The reservation service offers one-stop shopping for all budgets. Accommodation choices include B&Bs, condominiums and chain motels and hotels. Off-mountain lodging in local towns is cheaper.

Ski packages for Apex with lodging in downtown Penticton start at about $35 plus tax (approximate U.S. dollar equivalent), per person a day, based on double occupancy.

For Okanagan Reservation service and information, call (800) 663-1900. For general tourism information, call Tourism Penticton at (800) 663-5052 or Okanagan-Similkameen Tourism Association at (604) 860-5999.

This is the third season that Silver Mountain has held its full-day adult lift ticket price at $31. One of the spinoffs of this price freeze is affordable lift and lodging packages in the Silver Valley area.

The Super 8 Motel in downtown Kellogg provides quick, easy access to the base gondola terminal and is offering both lift and lodging packages for Silver Mountain and Peak Adventures snow cat skiing. Multiple-day discounts are available.

A typical ski package during the regular season (through March 31) costs $56 for two persons in a one-bed standard room. Cat skiing packages are $149 per person per day (taxes included), based on two persons in a one-bed standard room. This is a bargain, considering that snow cat skiing is priced separately at $125 per person per day. For details and reservations, call (800) 785-5443 or (208) 783-1234.

Mark your calendar:

Jan. 4: Ladies Day Thursday Program begins at Lookout Pass near Wallace, Idaho, (208) 744-1301.

Jan. 5: Baby Boomers Friday Program begins at Lookout Pass, (208) 744-1301.

Jan. 5-7: Jimmie Heuga Adult Race Camp at Schweitzer Mountain Resort near Sandpoint, (208) 263-9555.

Jan. 6: BCSA sanctioned Snowboard Cup at Whitewater Ski Area near Nelson, British Columbia, (800) 663-9420 or (604) 354-4944.