Liftopia hopes to be just the ticket

Discount service adds more resorts

Liftopia.com, the online discount lift ticket service, has more than doubled its list of ski resorts as the business enters its third full season of operation. Co-founder Evan Reece, who grew up in Topsfield, reports that his San Francisco-based company now features discounts at 88 mountains, up from about 35 last year.

The tight economy is forcing more skiers and snowboarders to search for deals, so this could be the year that Liftopia.com's dynamic pricing model catches on. Resorts are willing to drop prices as long as customers agree to commit in advance.

Prices change day to day, but Reece pointed out a few local examples of discounts that are valid this weekend.

On Saturday, Gunstock is $34 (compared to $64 on-mountain), Wildcat is $38 (compared to $65), and Ragged is $47 (compared to $59).

On Sunday, Wildcat is $29 (versus $65), Waterville Valley is $35 (versus $65), and Bolton Valley is $39 (versus $59).

Liftopia.com is also expanding into discounted lodging and ski gear.

Going up?

Sugarloaf will host its first Holiday Hill Climb ski race Dec. 27. Racers can compete using randonnee, telemark, or Nordic equipment. There will also be a snowshoe division.

Randonnee skiing, also known as Alpine touring, is a traditional backcountry style developed before the advent of chairlifts. Competitors will begin at the bottom of the SuperQuad lift at 4:30 p.m. and race a mile up the mountain to Bullwinkles Restaurant, a climb of nearly 1,200 vertical feet.

People can attend a clinic the morning of the race, and demo equipment will be available to those who pre-register. For registration information go to www.sugarloaf.com

Read all about it

A pair of books that delve into the history of New England skiing are available for the holidays.

"Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains" by Jeremy Davis traces the rich lore of defunct and near-forgotten community ski hills and rope tows that once dotted northern New Hampshire. Davis's detailed blast-from-the-past chronicle is an offshoot of his popular Internet endeavor, the New England Lost Ski Areas Project. Books are $19.95 and can be requested with inscriptions from the author at www.nelsap.org.

"A Mountain Love Affair, The Mad River Glen Story" by Mary Kerr is a 224-page, full-color, commemorative coffee table book whose release coincides with the 60th anniversary of the opening of one of Vermont's most popular old-school ski mountains. Order online ($49.99) at www.madriverglen.com.

Growing stable

The Florida company that owns some of New England's top resorts has added a few more to its portfolio. CNL Lifestyle Properties, a real estate investment trust in Orlando - which owns Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine and Loon Mountain and Bretton Woods in New Hampshire - has purchased Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vt., the Granite State's Mount Sunapee, and Crested Butte in Colorado.

Triple Peaks, owned by Tim and Diane Mueller, owned Okemo for 26 years and Crested Butte for four years, and leased and operated Mount Sunapee. CNL will lease the properties back to Triple Peaks to manage.

"There will be no change whatsoever," said Okemo spokeswoman Bonnie MacPherson. "Tim and Diane will still be here and still be as involved as they ever have."

Feeling festive

Killington and Sugarbush are turning 50 this weekend. As part of its upcoming three-day commemoration, Killington offered 1,958 - the year the mountain opened - $50 medallions good for two days of skiing. "We knew it would sell out, it was just a question of when," said Killington's communications manager Tom Horrocks. "So they sold out right before Thanksgiving." Donna Weinbrecht, the gold medalist in moguls in the 1992 Olympics, and Vermont governor Jim Douglas plan to attend part of the festivities. Sugarbush opened on Christmas Day in 1958, and charged $5.50 for lift tickets. The resort features a 12-person Pisten Bully to transport early birds up the mountain on select powder days before the lifts open and to Allyn's Lodge . . . Jiminy Peak is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend. The Berkshire resort is doling out commemorative baseball caps Saturday with the first 1,000 lift tickets purchased while Sunday will be a Potter Brothers Demo Day . . . When Vermont's Pico Mountain opens, ski it on the cheap (non-holidays) with $10 tickets for kids 6-12 (up to four per paying adult) on Family Sundays. College Carload Days are Monday, Thursday, and Friday with up to four students for $100. Vermonters pay half-price Monday, Thursday, and Friday.