"This has the feel of a great season.  With our early opening, El Nino looming, and the economy recovering, we feel very positive about the upcoming winter," said Karl Kapuscinski.

Thursday will be open to season pass holders only.  Mountain High's $299 Anytime Season Pass is a great way to save money.  Regularly $599, this pass is good any day or night during the season, including holidays, and pays for itself in just five visits. 

Guests can get more information along with snow reports, live cams and text alerts at mthigh.com. 

 Beginning Friday, early season prices will be $25 for children ages 7 to 12, $30 for Night tickets from 5pm to 10pm, $35 for a 4-Hour ticket, and $40 for an 8-Hour ticket.  Prices are subject to change without notice.

 Operating hours will be 9 a.m .to 5 p.m.on Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

 Up to two lifts will be available accessing four trails which consist of predominately beginner to intermediate terrain.  Six to ten terrain features will also be on the mountain including several of Mountain High's brand new jibs.

 A full line of rental and retail products will be available along with repair services and food & beverage.  The Winter Sports School is not yet offering lessons but will begin as soon as the necessary beginner terrain comes on line. 

 Cold temperatures and aggressive snowmaking are what lead to this early opening and Mountain High will continue to make snow whenever possible, even during the day, so guests are advised to dress warmly. 

Daily events begin at 11 a.m. with the Big Ollie contest where skiers and snowboarders see who can ollie the highest.

At noon the Tug-O-War begins and at 1 p.m. contestants must break a t-shirt out of a block of ice and put it on before their competitors do in the Frozen T-shirt Contest.

At 2 p.m. Get Ready to Rock...Band puts wanna-be rockers in the limelight as they play the video game Rock Band on the main stage in front of adoring fans.

To finish the day guests skim across a 50 foot pond of freezing cold water in the ever-popular Pond Skimming at 3 p.m.

All activities are free and open to anyone with a Mountain High lift ticket. Prizes go to standout performers in each Spring-A-Ma-Jig event.

Winner of the bikini contest receives a 2009/10 Season Pass, commemorative t-shirt, Fresh Peaches bikini, and a page in the 2010 X103.9 calendar. Tune into X103.9 for entry details. X103.9 will be broadcasting live from 9am to 12pm. 

Easter Celebration

Bring the kids and the kids at heart to Mountain High's annual Easter celebration. There will be two Easter Egg Hunts (one for adults and one for kids) and both have a GOLDEN EGG hidden with a free 2009/10 Season Pass inside.

The adult Easter Egg Hunt begins at 8 a.m. with eggs located throughout the West resort. Children 12 and under can take part in a children's Easter Egg Hunt beginning at 10 a.m. in front of the Children's Academy.

 To check out Mountain High's Spring-A-Ma-Jig video spoof, please visit mthigh.com/video or get additional Spring-A-Ma-Jig details at mthigh.com.

Mountain High West is open today from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with night skiing tonight night from 5-10 p.m. Up to six lifts will be in operation accessing 22 trails with terrain for all levels and abilities.

Please note that lifts and trails are subject to change without notice. All trails at West have been groomed and we currently have a 12 to 36 inch base of firm machine groomed snow.

For more information please visit mthigh.com.

If you want to feel like you are king or queen of the mountain, head to Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort.

That's the way my daughter and I felt on a recent day in February. We stopped midway through a run and stood under a mostly sunny sky - a rare occurrence in Oregon in winter - looking down the snow-covered slopes of Mt. Hood, across the fog-shrouded valley and took in the sweeping vista of the Cascade Range.

Miles of pine tree-covered mountains and snow-capped peaks stretched as far as the eye could see. If we weren't so focused on enjoying our first ski trip of the season, we could have spent the afternoon parked mountainside savoring a cup of hot tea and the fabulous view.

Stopping frequently to take in the views is one of the joys of skiing at Mt. Hood Meadows on a good day. And with a solid 12-foot base and six inches of fresh snow this week, those good days should last well into April.

Mt. Hood Meadows, a little over an hour's drive from Portland, is the largest and most popular of the several ski resorts around Mt. Hood. It's also an intermediate skiers dream. With 50 percent of the mountain labeled intermediate, skiers at that level have the run of the place. That leaves 35 percent of the mountain for experts and 15 percent for beginners.

Experts can hike the peak's Superbowl ridge and make their way through Clark Canyon - all double black diamond terrain. For the less adventurous, a jump off into Heather Canyon from the Cascade and Shooting Star lifts offers a smorgasbord of double black diamond choices.

Beginners have a quiet little edge of the mountain all to themselves. Tucked on the resort's west side off the Vista Express is a selection of green runs offering a fun variety for the novice skier.

Being so close to Portland, Mt. Hood Meadows can get crowded on the weekends, with the biggest crush at the Main Lodge and the Mt. Hood Express in the mountain's central ski area.

To get away from the crowds, skiers can head to the more remote Shooting Star Express on the mountain's east end. Here, my daughter and I felt like we had the place to ourselves - even on a Saturday. Many times we could look 50-plus yards in all directions and not see a single person. This portion of the mountain is quiet, peaceful and perfectly suited to immediate skiers.

There is no lodging at Mt. Hood Meadows. Several hotels in Hood River on the Columbia River about 30 miles from the ski resort offer ski and stay packages, including room, hot breakfast and lift tickets for two.

For those staying in Portland, bus service direct to Mt. Hood Meadows picks up at locations throughout the Portland Metro area. Or shuttle services are available through private companies.

Visitors can find information on lodging in Hood River and bus service from Portland on the Mt. Hood Meadows website.

MT. HOOD MEADOWS SKI RESORT

Lift tickets: $54 adults, $44 college students 18-24, $35 juniors age 7-14, $9 children age 6 and under; $99 unlimited spring season pass

Information: www.skihood.com

Correspondent

When you cruise down a long run, hitting the base of the mountain at the end of the day and a ski valet politely takes your skis and poles for the night, saving you the schlep to the ski check, you know you're being pampered.

And when you kick back in your room wearing a thick robe enjoying a cup of tea and après-ski snacks, gas fireplace glowing, you know this is the luxe life.

That luxury is what defines a ski vacation at the Resort at Squaw Creek, the premier on-mountain lodge at Squaw Valley USA in North Lake Tahoe.

The ski-in/ski-out resort opened in 1990 and completed a $53-million renovation a few years ago that converted its 405 guest rooms into privately-owned luxury residential units with gas fireplaces, huge king-size beds with plush down comforters, resort kitchens with a stovetop, mini-fridge and coffeemaker, and large flat-screen LCD televisions.

The resort, however, continues to operate as it did, with owners choosing to place their resort home in the hotel rental program.

Skiers have a choice of a standard deluxe room, one-, two- or three-bedroom suite, or even a penthouse. And now through April 30, guests can experience this luxury for 20 percent off for a stay of two nights or more. Or skiers can opt for the resort's 3-day Ski Gourmet Getaway package, which includes deluxe lodging, lift tickets and $100 per day dining credit. Rates start at $289 per person per night.

One thing skiers need to be aware of is that the ski-in/ski-out access at the resort is for intermediate skiers and above. Beginning skiers must take the shuttle from the resort to the Squaw Valley ski area - only a few minutes drive. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes throughout the day.

Recent storms have dropped several feet of fresh snow at Squaw Valley, making conditions ideal for spring skiing. And for skiers, what's better than fresh snow and on-mountain lodging - with a bit of pampering thrown in.

And what's a bit of pampering without a spa treatment?

Spa prices at Squaw Creek are in line with other resort hotels. A 50-minute Swedish massage is $125, a firming seaweed body wrap is $185 and facials are $80-$145. The resort's signature Tahoe hot stone massage, a rhythmic massage using various sizes of heated basalt stones from the shores of Lake Tahoe, is $135.

If a spa treatment isn't in your budget, perhaps a few turns around the resort's ice rink might be. Or just enjoy an après-ski soak in one of the resort's three outdoor hot tubs or a swim in the outdoor heated pool.

For dining, there are two restaurants (Montagna and Six Peaks Grille), Sandy's Pub and Sweet Potatoes Deli. The deli is great for light - and less expensive - dining. The homemade soups and sandwiches are prefect lunch and light dinner fare and the breakfast burritos ideal for a quick meal. For those wanting a full breakfast, a buffet or off-the-menu selections are available in Six Peaks Grille.

RESORT AT SQUAW CREEK

(800) 327-3353; www.squawcreek.com

Correspondent

"There's a lot of poling involved."

That was the warning my friend and I received from a passenger on the ski bus from Salt Lake City to Brighton. We had not skied there before and he was offering some advice.

"You have to watch out for the flat areas; you need to keep up speed."

That, we later discovered, was good advice.

Brighton, a good-size ski area about an hour's bus ride south of Salt Lake City in Big Cottonwood Canyon, is divided into three distinct areas, and it takes a bit of effort with your poles to get from one to another and back again. Plus, a large, flat beginning area mid-mountain will have you working up a sweat unless you heed our friendly passenger's advice and "keep up speed."

With 66 marked trails and several off-piste runs, Brighton's terrain is approximately 20 percent beginner, 40 percent intermediate and 40 percent advanced. All areas are accessible by high-speed quads.

The central area of the mountain is where most of the resort's beginner runs are located along with its terrain park. Beginning skiers can ride the slower Majestic Express quad to mid-mountain and hit a few groomed runs. More advanced skiers can take the Crest Express to the top of the mountain, where several short runs lead back to the mid-mountain beginner area.

A ski-through at mid-mountain takes you to the Snake Creek Express to the top of the other side of Preston Peak. From here, advance skiers can blast down several chutes or beginners can take a long track back to the base.

Though the mountain was not crowded midweek following a fresh snow, this was the most popular area with longer lift lines.

But over on the east side of the resort, it was practically deserted. Here, it's so open that you can go off the groomed trails and choose your own path through areas of powder. With the exception of maybe two runs, this is all intermediate to advanced skiing.

The third ski area on the mountain's west end is for experts only and is accessed by the Great Western Express up to Clayton Peak. This combination area of groomed and not groomed has several chutes coming off a long ridge. From here, you can ski a track at the top of the mountain back to the central area of the resort. But if you decide to ski to the bottom, it will take a bit of speed and a lot of poling to get there.

Brighton, with its location in Big Cottonwood Canyon at 8,500 feet elevation, gets more than 500 inches of snow a season. The latest snow report shows an 8-foot base with two feet of fresh snow in the last two days.

Brighton, and three other ski resorts - Solitude, just minutes from Brighton, and Snowbird and Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon - can all be accessed by bus from Salt Lake City. Ski buses pick up from about 10 downtown Salt Lake City locations and take skiers to any of the four ski areas. The ride takes just over an hour.

BRIGHTON

Lift Tickets: $58 adults, $25 children 7-12; free for children 6 and younger; $20 seniors age 70 and over

Mountainside accommodations: The 20-room Brighton Lodge has excellent family ski packages. (800) 873-5512, Ext. 120.

Information: www.brightonresort.com; (800) 873-5512