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Having more recently qualified for the elite status with Air Canada, I can attest to a significant step up with customer service once hitting the 25k threshold. i wonder if these ratings reflect reviews by the frequent flyer elites and not the average ticket holder.

I pay $500 per year for a premium credit card that gives me better service from the airline. This allows for priority checkin, priority phone, more bags, lounge access, eupgrades. To me, better service at the airport and on the phone when needed, carries more of a priority than a larger seat.

Its all about expectations. One can certainly have fun and a very enjoyable experience on smaller mountains with less snow.

One can still pay for better service and food. Looks like business class is similar in cost to an inflation adjusted 1965 ticket. Obviously there continues to be a small proportion of flyers who value and are willing to pay for that service.

by MCP seems to somehow run a business off of operating small to medium ski areas in regions with highly variable conditions. Most of their US market is local ski, and not destination, areas as well. I would imagine that they need to very carefully control expenses as to prevent one bad...

I am considering some skiing this summer. I am thinking of Chile (Valle Nevado/El Colorado/La Parva, Portillo +/- a day at Arpa) vs New Zealand. Can anyone share some personal comparisons between these 2 very different regions. Where am I likely to find some more steeper off piste terrain...

Could that perhaps have to do with skiing 60-100 days in the last 6 months and therefore you are in optimal condition? I have seen skiers who are out of condition struggle in corn snow especially when it was moved around a lot by skier traffic.

Corn snow can be fun. It happens when the snow repeatedly softens daytime and refreezes at night. It takes a few days of this cycle to get form properly. It is never the first day or 2 of the warmup. I start to find corn snow from late March and on. The snow takes on a unique fluidity...

As someone from the NH, considering taking a trip to SH winter, I am wondering why the hesitation to ski more locally?

I am envious. Abasin is one of my favorite places.

I live in Toronto. Typically drive time to Tremblant is 6 hrs. Therefore its not around the corner but a nice getaway for 2-3 days.

I just got back from Mt Tremblant. I got to experience all the seasons in 3 days. Arrived on Tuesday and it was warm (45-50F). A few showers with some distant lightning. They had to close the lifts in the afternoon for 1.5 hrs due to lightning in the area. After the lift reopened, got on the...

I think the NE US and eastern Canada are less geographically constrained allowing for a better mix of real estate. Also suspect there is some crossover from other season work including agriculture.

It sounds like the main key is flying in and out of the same location in touring location. I did not do this with Vietnam (flying into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City). However this is something that I can certainly do in the future.

Thanks for sharing. The cost of housing across North America has skyrocketed and it seems that low cost basic housing is no longer being built.

I have so far been hesitant to mix a major sightseeing trip with a ski trip. For those of you who do these kinds of trips, how are you finding the experience of dragging the ski gear around in the non skiing locations? This winter around New Years I was in Vietnam touring. We had multiple...

Blue Mountain, my home mountain on the shore of the Georgian Bay (Lake Huron)

I live in Toronto. Still finding US and Canada skiing preferred to European. I have family in Colorado, making that an easy choice while western Canada has both snow, costs and easy accce in its favour. I also have a better knowledge of the mountains and the weather patterns in NA. A...

It certainly seems to me that many chairs are being kept a long time and the high speed lifts have many more moving parts and likely more metal fatigue than the older fixed grips. At my local Altera owned blue mtn, they did a refurbishment of a lift 2 years ago. Kept the poles, and terminal...

I travel frequently with my son to ski. We have been able to keep the bags to one per person relatively easily. 2-3 pairs of skis can go into a double rolling ski bag. We check one full size suitcase for the bulky items. We can each take a rolling carry on suitcase. We put our ski boots...