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CNN Live Saturday

Where Can You Find Great Ski Vacations?

Aired December 06, 2003 - 12:41   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.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: When the snow stops, the skiing should be really good in the Northeast and New England and family ski vacations are really popular this year. With tips on a ski vacation is Paul Hochman, he is contributing editor of "Ski" magazine. Paul is at the center of the storm in Boston, but he is warm and dry indoors today.
Paul, good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

PAUL HOCHMAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "SKI" MAGAZINE: It's my pleasure.

SAN MIGUEL: I have to ask you, I imagine the skiing in Vermont and all the other places in the Northeast will be pretty good, they will be pretty happy about the snow on the slopes there. What about projections for slopes in the rest of the country, though? What kind of season is it going to be?

HOCHMAN: I'm no weatherman. I just got back from Vail (ph). The snow is fantastic. So, I had a great time out there. I'd say the West is traditionally a great place to go if you are interested in wide open skiing.

SAN MIGUEL: I imagine more skiers are using the Internet these days to find the good deals and good packages. Where do you like to look? And how should folks go about doing that?

HOCHMAN: That's a great question. The answer to that question, first of all, is if you have a resort or you have maybe even an airline that you like the most, a lot of times the best deals are where those guys get together. And online this best place to find it.

An easy example, Vail and United Airlines teamed up and they now have a package, if you ski between January 4th and I think mid- February, you get a free all-day ski lesson or a free all-day snowboard lesson or a free lift ticket. And if you look at that, that is like saving 300 bucks. So, there's a savings right there.

So, bottom line is if you're looking for your favorite resort and your favorite airline. Usually they'll have packages. Most people think they can only find packages at travel agents.

SAN MIGUEL: All right, the websites for airlines themselves, in addition to place like Orbitz and Expedia and Travelocity?

HOCHMAN: Yes, I would steer people away from bigger ones, only because when I say bigger I mean more general ones, because they're not necessarily tuned into the ski lover or the snowboard lover. Bottom line, if you're looking for something specific, especially a ski vacation, the guys who are interested like snow.com is a good place to go for example, or skivacations.com, places like that

SAN MIGUEL: OK, the ones that are targeting the niche.

HOCHMAN: Exactly.

SAN MIGUEL: If I'm looking to take the family on a ski vacation, is there anything special to look for here, any special packages for taking the kids along?

HOCHMAN: Absolutely. The best advice I can give somebody. Make sure the ski area, place you want to go to have a vacation has multiple activities waiting for you. A lot of people don't realize but ski areas have put millions of dollars into multiple activities. Because on a week-long vacation a lot of times family members will start to want to do different things. You might get tired of skiing everyday.

There are a lot of areas now that have sledding parks, for example, or even laser tag or snowmobile rides. And in a nutshell, there's multiple activities. If somebody says look, I want to take a day off, they don't have to get off the hill. So, if you're looking for a great place for a family, look for multiple activities in one place.

SAN MIGUEL: And finally, I'm hearing the technology has done a lot for the manufacturers. The skies now are so much better that maybe beginners aren't going to be as intimidated as they used to be?

HOCHMAN: That's right. I'm a ski test director for "Ski" magazine, which basically means I get the benefit of trying new stuff all the time and even I get a little bewildered.

However, the simple answer to that question is, systems where bindings and skies are combined together are the new thing, allowing a ski to flex freely, meaning it can't carve, meaning beginners canned get carved turns, which is really the ideal and frankly what was reserved for experts for a long time. So, in a nutshell, look for a system where the binding and a ski work together. And even you beginners out there will have a great time on the hill. It's a lot of fun awaiting for you.

SAN MIGUEL: Maybe they won't be ready for the black diamonds after one run, but you know...

HOCHMAN: Give it two runs.

(LAUHGTER)

SAN MIGUEL: Maybe two runs, OK? Well, you said it, not me. We'll leave it there.

Paul Hochman is contributing editor of "Ski" magazine. Thanks for being with us and enjoy the season. HOCHMAN: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

SAN MIGUEL: And there is skimag.com, the website, if you want more information on 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 December 6, 2003 - 12:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: When the snow stops, the skiing should be really good in the Northeast and New England and family ski vacations are really popular this year. With tips on a ski vacation is Paul Hochman, he is contributing editor of "Ski" magazine. Paul is at the center of the storm in Boston, but he is warm and dry indoors today.
Paul, good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

PAUL HOCHMAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "SKI" MAGAZINE: It's my pleasure.

SAN MIGUEL: I have to ask you, I imagine the skiing in Vermont and all the other places in the Northeast will be pretty good, they will be pretty happy about the snow on the slopes there. What about projections for slopes in the rest of the country, though? What kind of season is it going to be?

HOCHMAN: I'm no weatherman. I just got back from Vail (ph). The snow is fantastic. So, I had a great time out there. I'd say the West is traditionally a great place to go if you are interested in wide open skiing.

SAN MIGUEL: I imagine more skiers are using the Internet these days to find the good deals and good packages. Where do you like to look? And how should folks go about doing that?

HOCHMAN: That's a great question. The answer to that question, first of all, is if you have a resort or you have maybe even an airline that you like the most, a lot of times the best deals are where those guys get together. And online this best place to find it.

An easy example, Vail and United Airlines teamed up and they now have a package, if you ski between January 4th and I think mid- February, you get a free all-day ski lesson or a free all-day snowboard lesson or a free lift ticket. And if you look at that, that is like saving 300 bucks. So, there's a savings right there.

So, bottom line is if you're looking for your favorite resort and your favorite airline. Usually they'll have packages. Most people think they can only find packages at travel agents.

SAN MIGUEL: All right, the websites for airlines themselves, in addition to place like Orbitz and Expedia and Travelocity?

HOCHMAN: Yes, I would steer people away from bigger ones, only because when I say bigger I mean more general ones, because they're not necessarily tuned into the ski lover or the snowboard lover. Bottom line, if you're looking for something specific, especially a ski vacation, the guys who are interested like snow.com is a good place to go for example, or skivacations.com, places like that

SAN MIGUEL: OK, the ones that are targeting the niche.

HOCHMAN: Exactly.

SAN MIGUEL: If I'm looking to take the family on a ski vacation, is there anything special to look for here, any special packages for taking the kids along?

HOCHMAN: Absolutely. The best advice I can give somebody. Make sure the ski area, place you want to go to have a vacation has multiple activities waiting for you. A lot of people don't realize but ski areas have put millions of dollars into multiple activities. Because on a week-long vacation a lot of times family members will start to want to do different things. You might get tired of skiing everyday.

There are a lot of areas now that have sledding parks, for example, or even laser tag or snowmobile rides. And in a nutshell, there's multiple activities. If somebody says look, I want to take a day off, they don't have to get off the hill. So, if you're looking for a great place for a family, look for multiple activities in one place.

SAN MIGUEL: And finally, I'm hearing the technology has done a lot for the manufacturers. The skies now are so much better that maybe beginners aren't going to be as intimidated as they used to be?

HOCHMAN: That's right. I'm a ski test director for "Ski" magazine, which basically means I get the benefit of trying new stuff all the time and even I get a little bewildered.

However, the simple answer to that question is, systems where bindings and skies are combined together are the new thing, allowing a ski to flex freely, meaning it can't carve, meaning beginners canned get carved turns, which is really the ideal and frankly what was reserved for experts for a long time. So, in a nutshell, look for a system where the binding and a ski work together. And even you beginners out there will have a great time on the hill. It's a lot of fun awaiting for you.

SAN MIGUEL: Maybe they won't be ready for the black diamonds after one run, but you know...

HOCHMAN: Give it two runs.

(LAUHGTER)

SAN MIGUEL: Maybe two runs, OK? Well, you said it, not me. We'll leave it there.

Paul Hochman is contributing editor of "Ski" magazine. Thanks for being with us and enjoy the season. HOCHMAN: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

SAN MIGUEL: And there is skimag.com, the website, if you want more information on 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