"Mileage Runs"

"My Mom is Doing a Mileage Run" is blogger Mark Ashley's latest post on Upgrade Travel Better, whose subtitle is Living the First Class Life...at Coach Prices. He explains, "For those who don’t know, a mileage run is the process of taking a trip just to get the miles. (Usually this means elite-qualifying miles, and not redeemable miles.) For the mileage-running purist, your destination is irrelevant. You might not even stay there — you just fly there, and fly back, to collect the miles."

I'm ambivalent about this. I think of the hassle of flying somewhere just to collect miles with the increasing likelihood of getting stuck at some airport you or I have no reason to be at in the first place. I am assuming that such mileage runners (or mileage accruers) seek out bargain fares to less popular places, and I'm not sure it's worth it to be one of them.

When Continental hubbed in Denver, I was a OnePass Silver Elite flyer. I hardly ever fly that airline anymore, because the only nonstop destinations from Denver are Houston, Cleveland and Newark. It was easy to stack miles on Continental, because Elite membership automatically doubled and tripled the points. When my son was in school in New Hampshire, or when he went to his dad and stepmom's in Maine, I bought tickets when there was a fare sale and used his and my mileage when fares were higher.

I now have premier status on United's Mileage Plus and also on American's AAdvantage. I do like being seated in the front of the plane. I like the express lane through security that a premier card accesses. I'm short, so legroom is not of prime importance to me, but I know it's an issue for tall passengers. How much extra flying would I do to maintain that status if I weren't flying enough as is? I don't know, but I do wonder...

Mark Ashley was evidently pondering the same thing. He mused, "is a mileage run really worth it? Elite status is still worthwhile, if you travel enough with one airline (or within one alliance) and if you’re going to take advantage of the perks. If the price is right, and it gets you the perks you want, that mileage run may be an investment worth making. "

Five-Star Skiing at Beaver Creek

This weekend goes down in my personal ski history as one of the best. I was invited to the Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch at Beaver Creek for the grand opening of the first Rocky Mountain outpost of Wolfgang Puck's fabled restaurant, Spago. The original Spago is in Los Angeles, and two others have popped up in Las Vegas and on Maui. But I wouldn't trade this past weekend of powder skiing right outside the hotel's door for all the palm trees on the planet.

For a few blissful days, I lived Beaver Creek's slogan, "Not Exactly Roughing It." I stayed in a luxurious residential suite at the fabulous hotel, dined at its stellar new restaurant (you can read about that on my food blog) and skied great snow. I'm a typical Coloradan who often day-skis, changing into boots in the parking lot, then shouldering skis and trudging to the lifts. That makes a weekend like this an especially appreciated indulgence.

At the Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, they do everything but ski for you. When you sit down to put your boots on (or take them off at day's end), an attendant comes over and asks whether you'd like help with your boots. I declined, because I didn't want to allow myself to get too spoiled. When you walk out the door, another ski valet puts your skis down on the snow, with a pole on each side. When you get set to board the lift in the kind of heavy snow we enjoyed this weekend, the well-padded seat is swept clear before you sit down.

The luxury and service are lovely, but best of all were the snow and the skiers with whom I shared the day. The light fluffy snow fell and fell and fell and kept on falling. Friday was the first day this season of operations for the Bachelor Gulch Express right behind the hotel, but the connecting trails to Beaver Creek Village were not yet open. Therefore, when a group of us went skiing, it was like having our own small (three trails), private ski area.

One of the three had been groomed, one was split groomed and one was left untouched. We made run after run after run in powder that welled over our boot tops. By the time we called it quits for a late-ish lunch, we still hadn't tracked it all out. Not only were the conditions extraordinary and liftlines non-existent, but the company was exceptional. In our group with people joining in and dropping out, I found myself skiing most of the time with two famous Austrians, Wolfgang Puck and Franz Weber. Wolf is a household name, thanks to TV cooking shows, cookbooks, restaurants, including casual ones bearing his name at every airport around and food products from soup to pizza with his likeness. (Photo shows Wolf, Claire and Franz -- and a lot of falling snow)

In skiing circles, Franz Weber is as revered as Wolfgang Puck is to foodies. Franz is best known as six-time consecutive World Speed Skiing Champion, who dominated that thrilling sport from 1980 to 1985. He won more than 80 percent of the races he entered, is the former world record holder and still holds the US speed-skiing record set at Velocity Peak near Silverton, CO, in 1982. He retired as World Champion in 1985, but "unretired" seven years later for the 1992 Winter Olympics at Albertville, France. There, he clocked his fastest personal time of 138.112 mph (222.222 kph), average speed. After that, he hung up his speed boards for good.
Therefore, when Franz Weber -- the Franz Weber -- told me that I am a solid, smooth skier with good form, my head swelled. I wished I had a recorder with me. Never has anyone of that stature paid me such a compliment about my skiing -- ever. He said it a couple of times on the slopes and again during cocktails that evening. Skier's euphoria set in and hasn't lifted.

The other thing that made this perfect day even better was that these famous, accomplished men who hobnob with other famous, accomplished people were truly a pleasure to ski with. We shared liftline laughs, compared notes on mutual acquaintances and continued to marvel at the great snow. Austrians have a noun for locations or situations that are comfortable, casual and congenial: Gemütlichkeit. My extraordinary skiing experience combined Gemütlichkeit, the reflected glory of skiing in such company and the five-star luxury of Beaver Creek's Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch. It'll will be tough to beat that -- ever.

Abundant Snow Heralds Real Start of the Ski Season

I'm at Beaver Creek, CO, right now. It was snowing when I drove up on Thursday, and it has been snowing steadily ever since. Beaver Creek reported 8 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, 16 inches in the last 48. In Colorado, the least 24-hour snow accumulation was 5 inches at several mountains. The most was a mind-boggling 32 inches in 24 hours and 52 inches in 48 hours at Crested Butte. Twenty inches in 24 hours and 28 inches 48 hours fell on nearby Aspen (left), and the ski areas of the San Juans in southwestern Colorado have recorded phenomonal snowfall accumulations as well.

Colorado is not the only state where skiers and snowboarders are wallowing in snow. After a scarily slow start, ski areas in the Sierra Nevada and Utah have been welcoming 20 inches or more of new snow, and conditions are good in the Midwest, Northeast and across the pond in the Alps as well. Zermatt, Switzerland, reported 48 inches of new snow. If it keeps up like this, it will be one of those rare winters with good snow in all the world's prominent ski places.

I'm heading out to play in all that powder as soon as I post this and pull on my ski clothes.

Air Travelers' Complaints

When I have a gripe about air service, I tend to vent on this blog. Other people complain to higher authorities. Several hundred people a month are sufficiently incensed to complain to the US Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection Administration about lost luggage, flight delays and other incidents. Considering the tens of millions of passengers who fly every month, I view these numbers as trivial -- even considering that most people with gripes never officially complain to authorities. But for what it's worth, here are the most-complained-about airlines in October:

US Airways, 122 complaints
American Airlines, 115
United Airlines, 113
Delta Air Lines, 113
Northwest Airlines, 49
Continental Airlines, 46

Bargain Winter Package to Sicily

As it has for decades, alluring Italy draws Americans by the thousands -- but mosly to a handful of places. Rome, the Eternal City, is eternally popular. Art lovers, and those who think they should be art lovers, visit Florence to gaze at the unsurpassed Renaissance masterpieces. Venice's crumbling beauty continues to enchant. Foodies flock to Piemonte. Cinque Terrae on Liguria coast in the northwest and the Amalfi Coast in the Campania area in the southwest retain their scenic punch. They are beguiling, to be sure, but peak tourist season in these places are crowded, expensive (especially in light of the puny dollar) and hot.

But what of the less visited regions of Italy -- and what about off-season? Prices are lower to begin with, crowds are absent and temperatures are kindly. TourCrafters' Sicily Hot Deal caught my eye. In winter, this Mediterranean island off the toe of Italy's boot is comfortable (highs in the low 60s), so the "hot" part refers to the package price, not the temperature.

Seven days and six nights (three in Palermo, three in Catania) caught my eye. Accommodations in three-star hotels include breakfast, and the package includes a seven-day car rental and air from New York or Boston. It starts at $929 per person, double occupancy. Add $49 for Chicago departures. Upgrading to four-star hotels adds from $16-$44, but why bother? The weather is usually Mediterranean-mild, and there's so much to see that you probably won't be spending much time in your hotel anyway.

If the foods and wines of Sicily hold special appeal, TourCrafters' eight-day, seven-night Taste of Sicily package starts at $1,560 per person and includes four-star hotels, wine tastings and some additional meals. TourCrafters also packages winter bargains to other European destinations, but the Sicily offer seems especially seductive, because it includes significant air miles -- and because unlike much of Europe, this southern island is not blanketed in gray during the cold, short days of winter.

The operative word in these prices, as in all sales, is "from" when it appears before the dollar $ign. Airport taxes and fuel surcharges add more than $300 to these prices. You'd end up paying those no matter what, but they are a hefty percentage of these bargain deals. These offers are valid from January 8 (January 1 for the Taste package) through March 20. Departures on on Thursdays. Packages must be booked no later than December 31 and paid for within 72 hours. TourCrafters reservations, 800-482-5995.

Hotels and the Environment, II

A year ago, after a stay in a luxurious but stunningly wasteful hotel, I wrote about two-faced hotel energy-saving practices. I noted that many hotels offer guests the option of reusing towels and sheets, which I always opt for. However, I have never been confident that my request was honored. And the waste of electricity in the hotel industry is enormous. My dismay resulted from my stay at Utah's Hotel Park City astonishing waste of electricity. During evening housekeeping, turndown service was turn-on service, as housekeepers switched on most of the lights in my room -- and they weren't the new energy-efficient bulbs either. Since then, I've paid special attention to what hotels that claim environmental consciousness are doing.

I am currently at the hip Adara Hotel in Whistler, BC. The decor is mod, gorgeous but not as weird as some I've seen. The mattress, comforter, pillows and bed linens are first-rate (upper right). The folks who work here are attentive as can be. The Adara also has some fabulous amenities. A Sharper Image Sound Soother on a bedside table can produce 20 white-noise options from heartbeat to rainforest to dockside to help overcome sleep problems or cancel out a partner's snoring. There's a French press on the counter for making in-room coffee (right) -- along with directions on how to do it. On the shelf above it is a cool retro martini shaker. In the bathroom, in addition to the SugarBath line by Fresh, is a personal oxyen cannister by Oxia. Breaking the seal to take whiffs of O2 to help combat jet lag or altitude problems or help cure a hangover costs $14.95, a small price to save a vacation day.

However, once again, I strongly suspect that the towels that I hang on the rack to indicate that I am willing to reuse them are sent to the laundry anyway. And if my suspicion is wrong, I can't tell which towels had been used and which are clean, because the housekeeper meticulously refolds used and unused in exactly the same way and hangs them on the same bar.

Also, partially used SugarBath toiletries are replaced with unopened ones. Are the half or two-thirds full plastic bottles discarded? I hope not. On the plus side, the housekeepers only turn on a couple of lights in the evening. On the minus side, they also turn on a bedside audio thing that I can't figure out how to turn off (I unplug it) and they also turn on the faux fireplace, whose holographic flame is more energy-efficient than gas and certainly nonpolluting but neverthless uses some electricity. So while I have been out at dinner, several lights, music and an electricially dancing flame have entertained and illumininated the emptiness. The Adara is at 4122 Village Green, Whistler, BC; 604-905-4009.

I recently stayed at (and posted an item on this blog) that really gets it, environmentally, is the Óscar in Madrid, one of two design hotels I stayed at in Europe. The dark-walled hallways are equipped with sensors, so that the lights come on only when someone comes out of a guest room or steps off the elevator, and they turn themselves off after a reasonable interval. And Europeans are famously parsimonious with shampoos, soaps and lotions.

For Skiers, 12 Months, 2 Continents = A World of Difference

One year ago, I was in the snowless Alps. My report focused on the brown slopes and an unproductive sky. Resorts in Colorado and other Western states and provinces ultimately had successful ski seasons, while the Alps and the East Coast of North America limped along until late-season snow. This year, it has been just the opposite. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the Alps have been covered, the East and Midwest have had been cold enough for snowmaking ,but the West has unchracteristically been limping along with minimal snowfall and above-normal temperatures -- except at Whistler, BC, where I arrived yesterday evening. It's still early. I have yet to set skis on snow. But the mountains and the village is covered with white. On the patio beneath the sill of my window at the Adara Hotel has about five inches on snow. And the air smells as if another storm is coming in.

The CBC news just reported that due to the weather system called La Nina, Canada can expect coast-to-coast seasonlong cold. A winter storm system is supposed to hit Ontario later today and continue to Quebec and the Maritimes. Another system is due to dump snow on Vancouver Island this afternoon, and that means Whistler should be getting it a few hours later. White Christmas is anticipated across the country. Canadian skiers and snowboarders are loving it, and I am too but also hoping that some of these systems track south.