2006 Ski Trends

THIS ski season, resorts are going more extreme: Their lifts are getting bigger and faster, the slopes they access are steeper and narrower, and their terrain parks are getting larger in number and size. With the expansion of lodges and time-share developments, and major overhauls of entire towns, resorts hope to lure more skiiers - and some nonskiers - to their properties. No matter whether the improvements are on- or off-mountain though, the key ingredient is a healthy dose of snow. Few businesses rely on snowfall as much as the ski industry, and some early-season storms and last year's hefty tallies (except in the Pacific Northwest) bode well for this year.

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The four-person express chair lift at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado.

2005-2006 Ski and Snow GuideA New York Times guide to the best spots for extreme skiing, luxury vacations, family fun and more. Forum: Travel in the News

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Here's a look at what's new - from on-snow playgrounds to boutique accommodations - across North America.

CHAIRLIFTS

Before Breckenridge, (970) 453-5000, www.breckenridge.com, in Colorado, put in its new high-speed Imperial Express four-passenger chairlift to the top of its renowned Peak 8, it took advanced and expert skiers and riders about 45 minutes to reach the 12,840-foot summit. That's because the runs were accessible only by slinging gear over a shoulder and hiking up the old-fashioned way. Now, the Imperial Express SuperChair, billed as the highest chairlift in North America, will shuttle them in under three minutes to 400 acres of Breck's most challenging terrain, including a number of wide-open bowls and the gut-checking steeps of the famed Lake Chutes.

For other new lifts, "high-speed" and "detachable" remain the buzzwords. In Colorado, at Aspen Highlands, (800) 525-6200, www.aspensnowmass.com, for example, the new Deep Temerity triple runs 1,700 vertical feet in just over seven minutes to reach 180 additional acres of terrain. Mission Ridge, (509) 663-6543, www.missionridge.com, in Washington, was one of the only resorts in the Pacific Northwest to make major improvements over the summer after last year's dismal snow season in the Cascades. The area increased its snow-making and installed a quad chair to the top that services most of its runs.

SLOPES

In Montana, the adjoining resorts Big Sky, (800) 548-4486, www.bigskyresort.com, and Moonlight Basin, (877) 822-0430, www.moonlightbasin.com, have had a relationship that could only be described as frosty since Moonlight opened for the 2003-4 season, when Moonlight broke off as a separate resort instead of continuing as a ski-in, ski-out property development company servicing Big Sky's terrain as it had since 1994. This year, they've put aside their differences. For , the full-day Lone Peak ticket will let skiers take advantage of the 5,300 acres that make up both resorts, creating one of the largest expanses of in-bounds terrain in North America. Advanced and expert riders will now be able to ski down the north face of Lone Peak from Big Sky into Moonlight Basin territory and gain access to a number of chutes on both sides of the ridge from Moonlight's new Headwaters lift. The ticket may also be attractive for less experienced skiers, who can make it their mission for a day to cover the expanse of green trails offered by both resorts below tree line.

BACKCOUNTRY

The Breckenridge and Big Sky/Moonlight Basin improvements also reflect a trend sweeping the industry: bringing backcountry skiing - going beyond maintained trails to neighboring sections where avalanches are a risk but the rewards of fresh snow abound - to the resort guest. Over the past few years, Sno-Cat skiing, avalanche beacon training sessions, weeklong backcountry camps and guided out-of-bounds skiing have popped up as options at ski areas across the map. In part, the trend can be attributed to advances in gear by which snowboards and shaped skis have made off-piste riding easier for the advanced intermediate, and many people have responded by willingly paying above the daily ticket price for the allure of fresh tracks.

This year, the new offerings continue - with Bolton Adventure Center (guided tours and instructional lessons at Bolton Valley in the Green Mountains of Vermont), a new Sno-Cat operation at Keystone in Colorado and Swissskisafari in Europe, an operation that wines and dines guests while zipping among the Alps' top resorts and backcountry stashes by helicopter to maximize on-ski time.

Silverton in Colorado, (970) 387-5706, www.silvertonmountain.com, which opened in 2002, provides chairlift access to its experts-only backcountry lines. Access is currently limited to 80 people per day, and skiers must be accompanied by a guide. But starting in April, the resort is expected to start allowing unguided skiers on the slopes.

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