The Gradual Greening of Ski Country

No, I'm not referring to low snow in some mountain regions (notably the Alps and New England) for much of this winter (though I could be), and I'm not referring to the greenbacks that skiers and snowboarders leave at ski resorts (though I could be as well). I'm talking about the "green" movement that has swept across snow country as more and more enterprises that rely on white winters are responding to the global warming crisis.

In Switzerland, the resort of Andermatt began covering its Gurschen Glacier two summers ago with plastic sheeting to slow down melting. In the the US, Jiminy Peak, MA, has replaced four energy-gobbling air compressors used for snowmaking with two newer efficient models and is heating buildings with "waste heat" from those compressors -- and is planning to install its own wind turbine this summer. In Colorado, the Aspen Skiing Company has installed the ski industry's largest photovoltaic array, reducing its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2.3 million pounds.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, 19 US ski areas are now offsetting 100 percent of their energy use by purchasing renewable energy. These are Alpine Meadows and Sugar Bowl, CA; Heavenly, CA/NV; Grand Targhee, WY; Okemo and Middlebury College Snow Bowl, VT; Mt. Ashland, OR; Shawnee Peak, ME; Mt. Sunapee, NH, and Aspen Highlands, Aspen Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Buttermilk, Crested Butte, Keystone, Snowmass, Vail Mountain and Wolf Creek, all in Colorado. All told, as of last October, these 19 resorts are purchasing 258,574,498 kWh of green energy, reportedly eliminating 309,383,234 pounds of CO2 emissions -- the equivalent of planting nearly 12 million trees or avoiding more than 120,000 round-trip flights between New York and San Francisco.

Now, Destinations Resorts & Hotels, a group of ski country properties, has rolled out out what is believed to be the ski lodging industry’s first Green Guest program to support renewable energy. Lodging guests who purchase 10 or more Mini-Green Tags at $2 each receive a 10 percent discount off their lodging at one of five participating properties in Aspen, Telluride and Vail, including the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, above right. Each property will also match the total number of Mini-Green Tags that guests purchase between March 1 and April 7, 2007 (or when the ski season ends) -- and presumably next season as well.

Each tag purchases 100 kilowatt-hours of new renewable, wind-generated electricity to offset the environmental effects of burning coal, gas and other fossil fuels. Destination Resorts figures that a typical spring vacation to Colorado usually entails four guests flying into Denver International Airport, renting a car and driving to the resort for a four-night stay, which translates between 23 Mini Green Tag equivalents for people arriving from nearby states to 123 Mini Green Tag equivalents for guests flying in from the East Coast. Each Mini Green Tag represents 100 kilowatt-hours of wind power entering the energy grid and creates a savings of 140 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. For details and reservations, call call 866-831-3222 or of go to the Destination Resorts' website.


What more can be done? There are four suggestions on my wish list. I wish that hotels would cut down on their night-time illumination -- miles of hallways lit 24/7, often still with incandescent lights -- and too many of them. (Many European hotels have on-demand hall lighting, either through sensors or switches near the elevators, stairs and room doors.) I wish that the housekeepers who do the nightly turndown service didn't turn on practically every lamp in my room -- and often the TV or radio as well. I wish I were confident that when I hang up my towel or put the little sign on my bed volunteering to reuse my linens, housekeepers honor that request and don't automatically send everything to laundry. I wish that in warm-weather resorts, the rooms were not air conditioned to the point of refrigeration. Everything I'm hearing about equals a good start, but there are certainly more steps -- large and small -- that ski resorts could take toward environmental responsibility.

Global Cell Phone Coming

What do you think of when you hear "National Geographic"? A magazine with a distinctive yellow border, fabulous photography and a global view on culture, history, archaeology, paleontology and the natural world? A legendary not-for-profit "society" that has underwritten breakthrough expeditions all over the world? Perhaps a travel company specializing in expedition-type trips? A series of television specials? A cell phone company?

You probably said "yes" to the first four and chuckled at the fifth. But the last laugh might be on you, because the renowned scientific and educational institution has teamed up with Cellular Abroad, a California-based company, to develop the National Geographic Tralk Abroad Travel Phone. With a launch planned in March, it is intended to function across boarders in more than 100 countries.

The phone is $199 to purchase. That includes free incoming calls in most countries and 30 minutes of free outgoing talk time, with additional minutes 90 cents per outgoing call minute. The phones can also be rented for $49 per week. A $79 SIM card is good 30 for minutes of free outgoing talk time. Other pluses are 24-hour, seven-day toll-free support, and no contracts to sign. Information is available at www.cellularabroad.com/travelphone and 800-287-5072.

Even though the phone and the service are not cheap, a high price is sometimes worthwhile -- and I say this as someone who has not yet succumbed to cell phonitis in this country. A year ago, I went to France on ski trip. The original plan was for everyone flying in from various North American gateways to meet at Charles de Gaulle Airport and take the high-speed TGV train to Lyon. I stupidly booked through Chicago, a regrettable mistake in winter. My flight was badly delayed, and by the time I arrived at CDG in Paris, went through passport control and retrieved my luggage, my companions were speeding toward Lyon.

I had the trip organizer's US cell phone number, and her phone service also worked in Europe -- or at least in France. My first task was getting some Euros, because I knew there would be a fee for changing my TGV reservation and I had very few Euros left over from my previous trip. There were long lines at all the change offices in the terminal, and the airport appeared to have one ATM. It's downstairs, next to the post office, if you ever need it.

I finally got a couple of hundred Euros from the slo-o-o-o-ow cash machine, rebooked my TGV ticket and had to call the organizer to tell her when I would be in Lyon. The good news is that I found several pay phones quickly. The bad news is that although one phone company's devices claimed to accept Visa and MasterCard, they didn't. All they would take was a French phone card. So off I went, looking for a magazine/candy/tobacco shop to buy a phone card. I returned to the pay phone and used my new French phone card to call her -- on a US number.

By that time, I had taken the bus from Boulder to Denver International Airport, flown to Chicago, changed terminals there, endured a long flight delay, flown overnight to Paris and seen much more of CDG that I really cared to. After a couple of hours on the train, I connected with the group in Lyon, which graciously waited for my arrival for the bus ride to Alpe d'Huez. That resort is known to Tour de France aficionados for the grueling 21-hairpin ascent of one of the most challenging mountain stages. I didn't pedal, but by the time I arrived there, I was pretty tired too. If one-call cell service had been available last year, and if I'd had the foresight to rent one, it would have been worth a $49 one-week fee.

The Call of Kilimanjaro

A bit over a year ago, my heart sank to my knees when I read the news about three Colorado trekkers killed and five people injured (three tourists, two Tanzanians) on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Among those injured was Jessica Post, a student at the University of Colorado. They were victims of a rock slide that hurtled down to their camp from the Western Breach, the upper route that my then almost-14-year-old son, a friend and I climbed in August 1996. (My husband, the most experienced climber among us, got nipped by the altitude at about 15,000 feet and did not attempt the summit.)

Jessica's femur was broken in the accident, and guide Sharif Bakari carried her down the mountain. A feature in today's Boulder Daily Camera reported on Jessica's recent return to summit Kilimanjaro with her father, who had also been with the 2006 party. The tragedy was underscored for me because I mentally and emotionally connected the 2006 father-daughter experience with our 1996 mother-son one. Bakari, who had not ascended Kili either since the accident, returned with Jessica and her father.

We hiked the Machame Route up the the south side of the mountain, starting at the Machame Gate into Kilimanjaro National Park. We slogged through the deep and muddy rainforest, camped at about 10,000 feet and continued through the magical "heather zone" to the Shira Plateau at about 12,500 feet, where we camped for two nights to acculimatize. We day-hiked along the stark and desolate plateau, where sturdy plants grew out of cracks in the lava, and marveled at the summits bracketing the vast plateau (Kibo Summit shown above). On the second to the last day, we ascended to Lava Tower at about 15,000 feet. There, we camped amid volcanic rocks and sand, where not even rugged high-altitude plants grow and where it gets really cold as soon as the sun sets, even though Kilimanjaro lies close to the equator.

The final pull up a rough trail threaded through the harrowing Western Breach was an arduous climb that began shortly after midnight. It is not a technical climb with ropes but very challenging nonetheless. We were fortunate to ascend under a full or nearly full moon. The scene was eerie and beautiful, as silver rays played on rock and small snowfields. We only needed our headlamps shortly before daybreak. "It's always darkest before the dawn" is an old saying that was true that evening. From our camp at Lava Tower to the summit to the Great West Notch, which we reached at daybreak, is some 3,000 vertical feet, give or take, and from there, it is another 400 or 500 feet to the Uhuru summit -- the roof of Africa at 19,340 feet above sea level.

Having scrambled up the Western Breach route, I was not surprised that there was a rockslide. Of course, I was shocked at the tragedy because a party happened to be camping below, but not really surprised that something slid, especially in view of the precipitous global warming over the last decade. When we were there, we stepped gingerly as we climbed the steep Western Breach route, mindful of loose rocks underfoot that we did not want to kick away and cautious that someone above might dislodge some. In fact, so dicey did we find the footing that I convinced our head guide, Daniel Fundi, to return via the Marangu Route -- the smoother "tourist route" -- and my son opted to come with me.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is one of the physically hardest things I have ever done and also one of the most satisfying. It was thrilling to share the experience with my son, and I was delighted to read that Jessica, her father and Sharif Bakari were able to return and triumph. While I vicariously celebrate their achievement, I also rue recent report that four bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles recently held up five tourists in Ngorongoro Wildlife Park. The bandits, thought to be Somali, for a time kept the visitors captive and robbed them of cash, photographic equipment and other valuables. We visited Ngorongoro (also Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara and Taranjire National Park) after our Kili climb. So did Jessica Post and her dad.

Havana, Here We Come -- Hopefully

A very few years ago, a friend who travels extensively in developing countries invited me to join her on a trip to Cuba. I was tempted, but the Bush administration's punitive attitude toward tourism to the Latin American outlyer to the "axis of evil" had me concerned. American tourists could be fined heavily ($15,000 sticks in my mind) upon their return to the US. There were, of course, ways around this charade which seemed to me mostly an effort to appease the hardliners among Miami's Cuban-American citizens, because after all, Bush's brother Jeb is Florida's governor. My friend went via Cancun, Mexico. Cuba did not stamp her passport. She had a fabulous experience. And of course, I regretted chickening out.

Now, there is hope on the horizon for normal travel to Cuba with the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress and with Cuban President Fidel Castro showing fraility after six-and-a-half decades in power. Things finally appear to be shifting. HR 654, submitted on January 24 by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel, states, "The President shall not regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by United States citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions incident to such travel." It has reportedly gained bipartisan co-sponsorship from more than 60 Representatives, and a similar bill is to be considered by the Senate at the end of this month.

The limited travel currently permitted requires US travel agents booking trips to Cuba, to have a license as a “Travel Service Provider” -- and that seems to go just to organizers of medical or religious travel and trips for various other approved purposes. The new legislation, if approved, would also permit the use of US credit cards for travel to Cuba. It does not, however, lift the trade embargo, so don't expect to see Cuban cigars at US tobacconists in the near future.

America's obsessive blacklisting, blackballing and isolation of Cuba is a case of this country going it largely alone. Many countries (and most who count, economically) already have normal relations with Cuba. Their citizens happily vacation at resorts along the Cuban coast. American citizens who wish to do so take the risk of punishment by our government. Americans who want to travel there do so via Mexico, as my friend did, Canada or even Spain. The US public does seem to seems ready to resume normal relations with our neighbor to the south, with some two-thirds of Americans in favor of a major policy shift, according to CNN, Gallup and Associated Press polls. About half of all Cuban-Americans, painted by politicians with an agenda of continued isolation of Cuba, reportedly support ending all travel restrictions.

The Travel Committee on Cuba (TICC), a group of travel agents, lusts after the opening of a new tropical destination so close to American shores. No longer totally put off by government accusations of being unpatriotic, travel professionals now are talking about "direct contact between people," "understanding" and "goodwill." Most In truth, hordes of American tourists carrying American plastic and American greenbacks do more to "open" a country than any political posturing about "anti-Communism." Vietnam and even China prove that tourist and trade dollars are the most effective way of "opening" a country considered to be hostile.

JetBlue Passengers Sing the Blues

The New York Times reported on a colossal collapse of the flight plan of well-respected, award-winning, low-fare carrier, JetBlue, stranding passengers all over the route map. According to the Times, the airline's CEO David G. Neeleman, "said...that his company’s management was not strong enough. And he said the current crisis, which has led to about 1,000 canceled flights in five days, was the result of a shoestring communications system that left pilots and flight attendants in the dark, and an undersize reservation system...

"The crisis began Wednesday when an ice storm hit the Eastern United States. Most airlines responded by canceling more flights earlier, sending passengers home and resuming their schedules within a day or two. But JetBlue thought the weather would break and it would be ale to fly, keeping its revenue flowing and its customers happy.

"On the contrary, JetBlue’s woes dragged on day after day. On Saturday night, for instance, the airline said that the 23 percent of flights it had canceled on Saturday and Sunday would also be canceled Monday....Its systems to deal with the consequences of bad weather did not keep up with the growth, Mr. Neeleman said. The company’s low-cost operating structure may have been a contributing factor."

JetBlue is not the first airline to strand passengers because of weather or other factors, nor will it be the last. But given the carrier's high level of customer satisfaction, it seems particularly sensitive to the problem and has promised compensation.

Seeking (and Finding) Healthy Airport Food

A couple of weeks ago, I had a several-hour wait at Boise Airport (BOI). I left Tamarack Resort at 7:00 a.m. with a light box breakfast for the almost three-hour ride. I was booked on a late flight but hoped to get on an 11-something flight on standby. That flight was full, so I was booked on one leaving after 1:00 p.m. Even with the welcome diversion of free WiFi at the airport, I got hungry -- but I wanted to find a not-too-unhealthy light meal. The smoothie place on Concourse B had a salad and sandwich cooler, but I didn't care for the sandwiches and they were out of salads. I to ask at the pub next door whether there were any salads left in the kithen. I did and was told no. Not much looked appealing until I stumbled upon a Hyde Park Market & Deli, tucked into a corner adjacent to the food court, and ordered a veggie panini. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was better than than airport pizza, the fried stuff at the sports bar, the scary-sounding Maui Tacos or anything passed across the counter at Mickey D's.
People get into that pickle at airports all the time -- in fact, we have houseguests right now who endured more than a three-hour delay at Denver International Airport (DEN), I share with you the Denver Post's recent list of (relatively) healthy food in an article called "Eat Right on the Fly":

POUR LA FRANCE (Concourse B): Smoked Salmon and Bagel Plate, $9.50 consists of shaved smoked salmon is served with a toasted bagel, chive cream-cheese spread, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and capers. It's high in protein, low in fat and a good source of veggies if you eat them all.

WOLFGANG PUCK'S EXPRESS (Concourse B): Tortilla Soup, $5.35, offers tomato and broth-based soups like this one are low-fat and filling.

LEFTY'S MILE HIGH GRILLE (Concourses B and C): Veggie Burger, $7, unlike most veggie burgers that are made from frozen patties that resemble hockey pucks, this one's made from brown rice, onions and mushrooms. It tastes great and is easy to eat on the run. High in fiber and protein, it's a good choice for sustained energy.

McDONALD'S (all concourses): Fruit and Walnut Snack Size Salad, $2, makes a snack or mini-meal that is has 210 calories, is a good source of calcium and vitamin C, and adds just the right amount of healthy fat and flavor from the candied walnuts.

CHEF JIMMY'S BISTRO (Concourse A): Shrimp and Pasta Arrabiata, $10, is a low-fat dish tossed in a spicy marinara sauce and topped with fresh basil that does not taste like "airport food."

CANTINA GRILL (all concourses): Burrito Bowls or "Naked" Taco Salads, $7.50, can be ordered "naked" (without the tortilla shells) to big on calories. A deep-fried taco shell adds a whopping 400 calories and 25 grams of fat to a salad, while oversized tortillas are low in fat but contain 350 calories. Black beans, veggies and salsa make the bowls and salads healthy ways to satisfy a craving for Mexican.

The Post also printed a list of the U.S. airports with the largest selection of healthy and/or vegetarian fare, according to a recent study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

1. Orlando
2. Detroit and San Francisco (tie)
3. Newark
4. Dallas/Fort Worth
5. Chicago/O'Hare
6. Denver
7. Philadelphia
8. Minneapols/St. Paul and Los Angeles International (tie)
9. Atlanta
10. Houston Intercontinental
11. Las Vegas

It means that Denver offers a relatively good selection of healthy food, but it certainly could do better.

Sun Valley Angling for Denver Nonstop Air Service

Eight representatives of Sun Valley, ID's business business, civic and political communities are coming to in Denver on February 27 to lobby Frontier Airlines, making a case for the carrier to inaugurate daily roundtrip service between Denver International Airport and nearby Hailey's Friedman Airport, according to Mountain Express, a twice-weekly newspaper serving the Wood River Valley.

Currently, SkyWest provides nonstop service from Los Angeles and Oakland, but anyone else flying to Sun Valley must connect in Salt Lake City via Horizon Air, an Alaska Airlines commuter partner. Another option is to fly to Boise and drive or take a bus or van for the 155-mile ride to Sun Valley. Denver, which is Frontier's home port and also a major United hub, would be the easternmost city with non-stop air service to Sun Valley.

This lobbying effort is a case of starting with marketing and web presence to grease the skids, or perhaps clear the runway, for such service. A new not-for-profit business group called the Sun Valley Alliance is prepared promote such service to the tune of $400,000. It also plans to launch a website, www.FlyToSunValley.com, to create a web presence for service from fast-growing Frontier. It is DIA's second-largest carrier, currently flying to 49 destinations (Memphis is the latest) and has ordered a new fleet of 70-passenger Bombardier Q400 turboprops (above), the type that Horizon is using.