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Getaways: Ski Vacations

Aired November 10, 2003 - 11:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, shoot, it's Monday morning, time to think about getting away. How about a ski vacation? We have the ticket for you, the lift ticket. The November issue of "Town and Country Travel" magazine that highlights some of the best slopes you may want to hit this season. Melissa Biggs-Bradley is an editor at "Town and Country Travel" and she joins us from New York this morning.
Melissa, good morning.

MELISSA BIGGS-BRADLEY, EDITOR, "TOWN AND COUNTRY TRAVEL": Good morning.

KAGAN: Let's hit the slopes. Let's start in Whistler, Canada.

KAGAN: OK, Whistler is in British Columbia in Canada. And I think it's actually one of the best deals for U.S. skiers. The Canadian dollar's improved in the last year, but it's one of the most consistently ranked the best ski resort in all of north America, and it's two mountains, Whistler and Black Comb, have the largest vertical drop of any mountain on the continent. You can actually ski seven miles from top to bottom.

And there's still great deal. I was on the Web last week. They had a deal. You could stay at the best hotel at the resort, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler for fours, get four days of lift passes for under $400.

KAGAN: Wow, that is a deal.

BRADLEY: It's a great deal.

KAGAN: Some of those lift tickets are so expensive right now, it feels like they're $400 a day.

BRADLEY: Well, some of them in the U.S. are.

KAGAN: Well, let's go to the U.S. How about Utah? Lots of choices there.

BRADLEY: Utah I love, because not only is it incredibly easy to get to. Most major cities in the U.S., you can fly directly into Salt Lake City, but There are 11 ski resorts within a 60-mile radius of that airport. Three of my favorites in the Park City area. There is Park City, which is known for its film festival, but also has lots of great restaurants. In the current issue of "Town and Country Travel," we've got a story on Deer Valley, which has long been known for pampering its skiers, but it's great for young families. KAGAN: But very expensive, right. We're talking some big bucks here.

BRADLEY: It is. It's definitely the most luxurious. But then another one in that same area is the canyons, which is the newest and biggest of all of the Utah ski resorts. It's got more than 144 trails, over eight mountains, and a lot of it was built for the Olympics. The 2002 Olympics brought a huge amount of capital into that area, and yet, despite all the television coverage, it's primarily state skiers who are skiing there. I think they get a quarter of the skiers in Utah that Colorado gets out of state.

KAGAN: Quickly, I want to head to -- sorry, we want to get in as many. I want to France and Courchevel.

BRADLEY: Courchevel we have in the November issue of "Town and Country," currently on the newsstands, a story on the best chalets to rent. And Courchevel is really a spectacular place, part of the largest ski network in the world, Le Twave L.A. (ph), which is bigger than Vale, Telluride and Aspen combined. But what really makes it special is how French it is. You've got -- you'll see people at the restaurants on the mountain where you can have foi groi (ph) and fresh oysters. They've got wine cellar that are as the good as the best restaurants in Paris, and you see women coming in where they're carrying their poodles and fur coats, or stripping out of their Chanel skisuits to go sun bathing. It's a really French -- the art of living well exists in Courchevel, as well as great skiing.

KAGAN: Topless skiers and oyster.

OK, let's keep it in the west. I want to finish it up. Quickly, a word on Telluride, and also Taos in New Mexico.

BRADLEY: Well, Telluride, I think, is a great place. It's hard to get to, but you are rewarded with fantastic scenery and a great Old Western mining town, the kind of place where cowboys still actually ride into town on horses, and there's a wonderful laid-back kind of Western charm.

Taos is the southernmost ski resort in the U.S. So I always say it's a great place to go if you want to get a suntan or play golf in the afternoon after skiing. It's at the -- 9,000 feet above sea level is the base of the ski resort. So it's very high up there, but they have 300 days of sun, and you also have an arts colony right by in Taos, which is where Georgia O'Keefe lives. So there's a thriving arts community, a lot more to do there than just go skiing.

KAGAN: Boy, some people have a great job. And, Melissa, I would say you are one of them. Thanks for sharing.

BRADLEY: Thank you.

KAGAN: Appreciate it. Melissa-Biggs Bradley, from "Town and Country Travel," thank you for giving us at least a two minute and 30 second getaway.

BRADLEY: Thanks a lot.

KAGAN: Appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 10, 2003 - 11:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, shoot, it's Monday morning, time to think about getting away. How about a ski vacation? We have the ticket for you, the lift ticket. The November issue of "Town and Country Travel" magazine that highlights some of the best slopes you may want to hit this season. Melissa Biggs-Bradley is an editor at "Town and Country Travel" and she joins us from New York this morning.
Melissa, good morning.

MELISSA BIGGS-BRADLEY, EDITOR, "TOWN AND COUNTRY TRAVEL": Good morning.

KAGAN: Let's hit the slopes. Let's start in Whistler, Canada.

KAGAN: OK, Whistler is in British Columbia in Canada. And I think it's actually one of the best deals for U.S. skiers. The Canadian dollar's improved in the last year, but it's one of the most consistently ranked the best ski resort in all of north America, and it's two mountains, Whistler and Black Comb, have the largest vertical drop of any mountain on the continent. You can actually ski seven miles from top to bottom.

And there's still great deal. I was on the Web last week. They had a deal. You could stay at the best hotel at the resort, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler for fours, get four days of lift passes for under $400.

KAGAN: Wow, that is a deal.

BRADLEY: It's a great deal.

KAGAN: Some of those lift tickets are so expensive right now, it feels like they're $400 a day.

BRADLEY: Well, some of them in the U.S. are.

KAGAN: Well, let's go to the U.S. How about Utah? Lots of choices there.

BRADLEY: Utah I love, because not only is it incredibly easy to get to. Most major cities in the U.S., you can fly directly into Salt Lake City, but There are 11 ski resorts within a 60-mile radius of that airport. Three of my favorites in the Park City area. There is Park City, which is known for its film festival, but also has lots of great restaurants. In the current issue of "Town and Country Travel," we've got a story on Deer Valley, which has long been known for pampering its skiers, but it's great for young families. KAGAN: But very expensive, right. We're talking some big bucks here.

BRADLEY: It is. It's definitely the most luxurious. But then another one in that same area is the canyons, which is the newest and biggest of all of the Utah ski resorts. It's got more than 144 trails, over eight mountains, and a lot of it was built for the Olympics. The 2002 Olympics brought a huge amount of capital into that area, and yet, despite all the television coverage, it's primarily state skiers who are skiing there. I think they get a quarter of the skiers in Utah that Colorado gets out of state.

KAGAN: Quickly, I want to head to -- sorry, we want to get in as many. I want to France and Courchevel.

BRADLEY: Courchevel we have in the November issue of "Town and Country," currently on the newsstands, a story on the best chalets to rent. And Courchevel is really a spectacular place, part of the largest ski network in the world, Le Twave L.A. (ph), which is bigger than Vale, Telluride and Aspen combined. But what really makes it special is how French it is. You've got -- you'll see people at the restaurants on the mountain where you can have foi groi (ph) and fresh oysters. They've got wine cellar that are as the good as the best restaurants in Paris, and you see women coming in where they're carrying their poodles and fur coats, or stripping out of their Chanel skisuits to go sun bathing. It's a really French -- the art of living well exists in Courchevel, as well as great skiing.

KAGAN: Topless skiers and oyster.

OK, let's keep it in the west. I want to finish it up. Quickly, a word on Telluride, and also Taos in New Mexico.

BRADLEY: Well, Telluride, I think, is a great place. It's hard to get to, but you are rewarded with fantastic scenery and a great Old Western mining town, the kind of place where cowboys still actually ride into town on horses, and there's a wonderful laid-back kind of Western charm.

Taos is the southernmost ski resort in the U.S. So I always say it's a great place to go if you want to get a suntan or play golf in the afternoon after skiing. It's at the -- 9,000 feet above sea level is the base of the ski resort. So it's very high up there, but they have 300 days of sun, and you also have an arts colony right by in Taos, which is where Georgia O'Keefe lives. So there's a thriving arts community, a lot more to do there than just go skiing.

KAGAN: Boy, some people have a great job. And, Melissa, I would say you are one of them. Thanks for sharing.

BRADLEY: Thank you.

KAGAN: Appreciate it. Melissa-Biggs Bradley, from "Town and Country Travel," thank you for giving us at least a two minute and 30 second getaway.

BRADLEY: Thanks a lot.

KAGAN: Appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com