You could argue that one or two more East Coast ski resorts should have made the cut, but there's no doubt that Jay Peak belongs on Outside Magazine's list of North America's 16 best ski resorts.

The Vermont resort was the only ski area east of the Mississippi to make the magazine's list, featured in this month's edition. In the category, "perfect for off-piste," local expert Chris Young, a principal at Craftsbury School, wrote:

It's not your typical warm, wet East Coast snow. The storms stick around for a few days. We might not get Utah's four-foot dumps, but the glade system maintains the snow longer—there are skiable pockets for days after the storm if you know where to go. People divide the mountain into two sides: Tramside and Stateside. The Tramside runs tend to have longer vertical and get more traffic. Two epic Tramside glade runs are Staircase and Everglade—they go on forever and have steep, tight lines. I ski Stateside; it's easier to get farther out of bounds. Local knowledge comes in handy. I'm going to get killed if I give you any more information.

The other resorts to make the list were Alta/Snowbird, Snowmass, Whistler-Blackcomb, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Jackson Hole, Alyeska Resort, Silverton Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City, Power Mountain, Bridger Bowl, Crested Butte, Steamboat, Taos, and Mammoth Mountain.

Boyne Resorts has really made its frequent skier card an attractive option heading into this season.

For the same price as last year’s card ($89), skiers and riders can save $25 on midweek, non-holiday, and $15 on weekend and holiday tickets at Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon Mountain. This season, however, the card includes a lift ticket good at one of the resorts. Consider that a regular season lift ticket at Sugarloaf is $75 ($77 at Sunday River; Loon has yet to announce its rates this season), and that can add up to big savings at the window.

The cards can be purchased online, or you can simply upgrade your one-day lift ticket purchase at the ticket window.

Leaves are still clinging to the trees in my backyard, but that hasn't stopped ski resorts from getting the word out on the upcoming winter season. Most of the time, they boast about the latest changes, like a new trail or quad chairlift. Big whoop. But now and then something catches my eye. This year it's the latest developments at Northstar-at-Tahoe in California. The
same Ritz-Carlton team that helped transform Colorado's Beaver Creek from Vail's forgotten little sister into one of the finest family-friendly mountains in the country has descended on Northstar. A new Ritz will make its debut this December mid-mountain, surrounded by a greatly expanded teaching area and a new Burton Snowboard Academy. If it sounds strikingly similar to Beaver Creek, you're right. Ritz knows how to focus on the family market. And if they have the same success as their Colorado cousin, expect Northstar to rise out of the shadows and challenge Squaw Creek and Heavenly as one of Tahoe's premier ski areas.

Posted by Steve Jermanok, Globe correspondent

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Steve Jermanok blogs daily at www.ActiveTravels.com.

Sunday River and Sugarloaf have teamed up with three smaller Maine ski areas to launch a unique – and what we expect to be wildly successful – way to encourage and create new skiers and riders this winter.

The new "Maine Learn to Ski and Ride Card" will allow novices the opportunity to experience skiing or snowboarding over a two-day period at one of the state’s less-intimidating mountains - Lost Valley, Titcomb, or Camden Snow Bowl - before graduating for a day at one of Maine’s larger resorts, Sunday River or Sugarloaf. At $89, for three days of skiing, rentals, and a lesson, it’s a great deal.

The card will provide the following:

Day 1: Ticket, rental, and lesson at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 2: Ticket and rental at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 3: Ticket and rental at either Sugarloaf or Sunday River.

The cards will be available for purchase at Camden Snow Bowl, Titcomb or Lost Valley. For more information, visit www.sugarloaf.com or www.sundayriver.com.

Here’s a way to keep cool: Think snow.

Granted, for even for the most avid skiers, it’s tough to think about mid-winter snowstorms in late August, a month that has shifted this summer from one of constant rain to oppressive heat. But Killington is doing its best to get you ready for skiing with the first deal of the preseason. With the K50 ticket, you can ski the Vermont resort for $50 (including tax) up to four times this season. That's a $32 savings per day off the regular ticket window price. Tickets are on sale through Oct. 15 and do come with 17 blackout dates.

Of course, if that doesn’t fix your snow jones, head on over the web site for Loveland, where the Colorado ski area is counting down the days until the season’s first snowmaking (1 month, four days, and counting).

In the market for a ski resort?

No real surprise, as it was bound to happen sooner or later, but embattled American International Group is finally putting Stowe up for sale, according to the Burlington Free Press.

AIG spokesman Peter Tulupman confirmed that the company is indeed looking for a buyer for the Vermont resort.

There is no estimate on when the sale will occur, but the Free Press estimates the resort is worth at least as much at Killington, which sold for $85 million in 2007.

AIG has owned Stowe since 1988.

After a long winter, April has finally arrived. And that means it’s the start of football season! Well, not in Boston, but in Australia where the seasons are reversed. April is the beginning of autumn down under, and the Australian Rules Football season kicked off at the end of March.

Anyone traveling to Australia between now and the Grand Final (Australia’s answer to the Super Bowl) in September should try to take in a game. (Think bar fight over a funny colored-football. Check out the video.) While Vegemite is a bit of an acquired taste, taking in the sights and sounds of a “footy” match while surrounded by tens of thousands of passionate fans is instantly addictive and the best way to feel Australia's heartbeat.
While the ball looks similar, Aussie Rules football is nothing like the American version. There are 18 players on each team, and the field is much larger than an American gridiron. Players score by kicking the ball between the posts on either end of the field. There's constant action, high scoring, and full contact. Despite the extremely physical nature of the game, the players don't wear any pads or helmets, which may have you rethinking just how tough NFL players are.
Melbourne is the birthplace of Aussie Rules, and the best place to catch a game. Nine of the country's 16 professional teams are based in Melbourne, which is just as sports-crazy as Boston, and up to five footy matches are played in the city each weekend. Games are played at 60,000-seat Etihad Stadium, whose retractable roof can provide welcome protection from the elements, and at the hallowed ground of the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which seats more than 100,000 people.
Perth and Adelaide are both home to two Aussie Rules teams, so travelers are ensured of a home game in those cities each week. Brisbane, Sydney, and Geelong—about an hour from Melbourne—are each home to one Aussie Rules team a piece. (While Sydney is Australia’s largest city, rugby, rather than the country’s indigenous sport, is the game of choice.) For tickets and schedules, check the website of the Australian Football League. 

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Globe travel correspondent Christopher Klein writes his own blog, HubTrotter, and is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Die-Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston."

President Obama may be a big college basketball fan — although the president’s tournament bracket is just as busted as most hoops fans — but it’s college hockey that will take center stage in the nation’s capital on April 9-11. The Frozen Four — college hockey’s answer to basketball’s Final Four — will be played in the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, and it will have a distinctly New England feel.
Boston University and the University of Vermont will square off in one semifinal on Thursday, April 9, and one of those Hockey East powers will play the winner of the other semifinal between Miami (Ohio) University and Bemidji State University on Saturday April 11. Boston University has partnered with Anthony Travel to provide packages with hotel accommodations, transportation, and airline reservations. Call 877-284-2254 or visit the Anthony Travel website for more information. Game tickets are not included in packages.
If you want to put together your own travel plans, non-stop airfares between Boston and either Dulles, Reagan Washington National, or Baltimore-Washington airports can be found for less than $200. Tickets to games are available on StubHub and other online ticket sites, and they are being distributed to students and season-ticket holders at the four participating schools. The only tickets being sold on Ticketmaster at the present time are for the Frozen Four Skills Challenge on Friday, April 10. Practices will be open to the public on Wednesday, April 8 and Friday, April 10. For more information on Frozen Four events, click here .

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Globe travel correspondent Christopher Klein writes his own blog, HubTrotter, and is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Die-Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston."

Josh Gibney/Associated Press photo

For those who are dreaming of more snow next winter, Vermont’s Pico Mountain is offering an adult (ages 19-64) My Pico Pass for 2009-10 for $299 if bought by April 30. Pay in advance, instead of on a payment plan, and ski the rest of the current season for free. The price reflects a 28 percent cut in the current season’s prices. My Pico Pass Youth (6-18) and Senior (65+) passes are $199, a 42 percent reduction off current prices.
Visit www.picomountain.com, call 800-887-3257, or stop in at the ticket office.

Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

I was just about to tell you about a great event at Sunday River Ski Resort in Maine when I came across their March deals and steals. So first things first. If the skiing is not yet out of your system, consider these this month:

1. Today! On St. Patrick’s Day Wear Green, Save Green - March 17: Skiers and riders who wear green can purchase a lift ticket for $39.
2. Kids Pay Their Age - March 15, 22, 27, 29 and April 12: Kids ages 6 to 18 pay their age for a day of skiing.
3. Sunday River Affair – Show a valid 2008-09 season pass from anther resort and you can purchase a lift ticket that day for $39, Sunday through Friday, for the rest of the season.
4. 80’s Weekend – March 28-29: Purchase a two-day lift ticket for only $89. 80’s fun all weekend with concerts, parties, prizes and more. So find your leg warmers, skirt belts and mullets!
5. Mount Washington Valley Days – On Thursdays for the rest of the season, Mount Washington Valley residents can purchase a lift ticket for $39. [Must be a resident of one of the following towns: Albany, Pinkham Notch, Dummer, Chatham, Bretton Woods, Chocorua, Cawford Notch, Eaton, Hart’s Location, Madison, Berlin, Snowville, Gorham, Conway, No Conway, Randolf, Bartlett, Shelbourne, Intervale, Milan, Jackson and Silver Lake. Must show proof of ID.]
6. College Tickets: During the month of March, 2009 midweek lift tickets price will be only $39.
7. Military Discounts: $10 off lift ticket rates is offered to US military personnel.

Spring might be just around the corner (7:44 a.m. EDT on March 20, for those who can’t wait), but there’s still time to get in some cross-country skiing.
The Carl Johnson Memorial 5K at Great Glen Trails on Saturday March 14 will let you glide and give a hand to a good cause at the same time. The $8 race fee benefits the ALS Association, which helps the search for a cure for the progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, that claimed Carl Johnson in 2006.
Johnson volunteered frequently as a timer for competitions at Great Glen, and the event celebrates his irrepressible sense of good fun. Besides vying for fastest times (men’s and women’s) in both classic and skate skiing, participants also guess their finishing times. The closest guess wins the ‘‘Mystery Time’’ prize. (The 2008 winner was off by only 11 seconds.)
Johnson was a great fan of flamboyant outfits, so the race includes a prize for loudest racing tights. ‘‘This doesn’t look like your usual field of racers,’’ says Mary Power, Great Glen event coordinator. With times that typically range from 20 minutes to more than an hour, participants need not be top athletes.
To get to the race head to Pinkham Notch, Route 16 at Mt. Washington Auto Road in Gorham, N.H. For info, call 603-466-2333 or go to www.greatglentrails.com. Registration begins at noon on March 14, with the racers sliding out of the blocks at 1:30.

Posted by David Lyon, Globe correspondent

A number of New England ski resorts are running $17 lift ticket specials on Tuesday for St. Patrick's Day, including Sugarbush's Mt. Ellen, Waterville Valley (including the option to stay overnight at the Golden Eagle Lodge for another $17), and Mad River Glen (if you were your green, of course). Not bad. But here's the deal of the season if you act quickly.

Liftopia.com is offering $1 lift tickets to Jay Peak on Monday. Quantities, however, are limited to the first 50 customers. Alas, the 57-cent child passes have already sold out.

Add it up. One dollar for Jay Peak, Tuesday for $17, and $9 Friday at Wildcat Mountain (also tomorrow), and it's by far the most inexpensive week of skiing this season.

The 34th annual North American Telemark Festival is the oldest and largest gathering of telemark skiers and it’s been taking place at Vermont’s Mad River Glen resort for more than three decades.

The event, which runs March 7-8, draws hundreds of practitioners of the Norwegian free-heel skiing technique and is sponsored by the North American Telemark Organization and Mad River Glen.

Among the main attractions are the World Championship Berserkebeiner Race (the NATO website describes it as ‘‘a real all-mountain ski race; climbing skins required’’) and the World Championship Bump Buffet (‘‘a radical terrain, free-heel, free fall contest’’).

Besides the competitions, there will be clinics for various skill levels from beginners to veterans. Equipment makers will be there to give skiers a chance to try all the latest equipment and ask questions.

While it might sound as if the event is all telemark and no play that would be wrong. On Saturday night, Magic Hat Brewery will host an après-ski Tele-Dance Party, and the weekend wraps up Sunday with the annual world record attempt for group telemark skiing.

Festival passes are $54 one day, $104 for weekend pass. Price includes lift ticket, demo equipment use, clinics, contests, and the Telemark Dance Party.

For more information call Mad River Glen at 802-496-3551, North American Telemark Festival Organization at 800-835-3404, or online at www.telemarknato.com.

Posted by Kimberly Sherman, Globe correspondent

Shell Vacations Hospitality has fireplaced suites at Crotched Mountain Resort in Francestown, N.H., for $109, which is $50 off the regular rate. The price is available until March 31.
Visit www.shellhospitality.com or call 603-588-2000 or 866-729-7182.

Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

Too broke to pay for a lift ticket? Want to win a season's pass to one of Maine's best secrets? Try Randonnee. Saturday, that's tomorrow, folks, Saddleback is hosting the Mountain Challenge. The route traces the Rangeley, Maine, ski area's boundaries. It covers more than seven miles and rises 18,000 feet, taking in terrain ranging from beginner blues to Saddleback's gnarliest black. Competitors will race up the mountain on Hudson's Highway to America using ski mountaineering equipment (metal edges required), then jockey for position as they traverse the area's summit ridge before descending double-black Muleskinner.
First prize is a season's pass for the 2009-2010; second prize is pair of Black Diamond adjustable poles; third prize is SmartWool accessories. No lift ticket is required, but the entry fee is $25, which icludes a tee shirt and spaghetti dinner. Advance registration isn't required, but more information and online registration is available at www.SaddlebackMaine.com.

Posted by Hilary Nangle, Globe correspondent

March may yet come in like a lion (and a potential storm at the tail end of this weekend is doing its best to assure us of that), but Wildcat Mountain is roaring into the month with some of the best deals of the season thus far.

On consecutive Fridays next month, March 13 and 20, the Jackson, N.H. is offering lift tickets for just $9. As per usual, your next day at Wildcat is $39, should you choose to upgrade by 3:30 p.m., which means you can ski Friday and Saturday for $48, or $24 a day.

After last week's storms, Wildcat is in the best shape it's seen all season (Saturday was among the best days of the year) and with March - historically the Northeast's snowiest month - on the horizon, it seems only to get better.

Vancouver, British Columbia, launched its one-year countdown to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games last week with a concert headlined by Grammy award-winner Sarah McLachlan, and it plans to hold many more special events throughout the year. (The Olympic Winter Games officially begin on February 12, 2010, with the Paraolympic Winter Games starting on March 12.)
From now through March 21, the city’s Cultural Olympiad 2009 celebration offers hundreds of free and ticketed events, including photo exhibits, dance and circus performances, concerts featuring artists from across Canada and beyond (any fans of Australian cult band The Necks?), and stage productions like the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s creative rendition of Peter Pan.
If you happen to be in the city this weekend (Feb. 19-22), head to the Winterruption festival on Granville Island, where you can forget about your below-freezing blues and enjoy free music, theater, film, visual arts, and culinary events. As of this week, you can also tour the new Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, which will be the venue for Canada’s other most popular ice sport: curling.
Go to Vancouver2010.com for more info on all things Olympic-related.

The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel has an escape for both parents and pint-sized travelers: the Kids Just Wanna Have Fun package. Included are room-service delivery of root beer floats for all the family, two adult and two children’s tickets to the Boston Children’s Museum, free dining for youngsters under 12 at the 606 Congress restaurant with two paying adults, an in-room movie, and use of the health club and lap pool. Rates start at $199 a night and the package is available through April 5. Reservations must be made 72 hours in advance.
Visit www.renaissanceboston.com or call 617-338-4111.

Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

Almost everyone’s heard of Robert Redford’s Sundance film festival, but mention the ski resort of the same name, and the response is often a quizzical one eye raised, huh? If you’re a skier or snowboarder, put this Utah gem on your must-visit list. Sundance is the yin to Park City’s yang, the antidote to overdevelopment and mine’s-bigger luxury.
With only three lifts, none of which are high speed, it’s easy to overlook Sundance in favor of its bigger neighbors. Don't. Sundance skis much larger than its stats indicate. Not that those stats aren’t impressive enough: 450 skiable acres on a 2,150-foot vertical drop from the 8,240-foot summit. Most of it is sustained vert, too. Unless you’re moving across the mountain on a cattrack, you’re making turns.
Now here's the sweetest part, Sundance is a bargain-hunter’s friend. Lift tickets are only $40, about half the price of those at other resorts. But wait, it gets even better: Become a Facebook friend, and ski Sunday through Thursday for $20 (subject to change, although plans were to continue it for a while). Better yet, visit between March 23 and April 5, book three nights, and stay in one of the cozy cabins for $189 per room, including a full breakfast in the Foundry Grill and daily lift tickets (based on double occupancy, tax extra, blackout dates may apply).

Photo by Hilary Nangle for The Boston Globe

Instead of shoveling snow to the side of the road, volunteers and town crews will move it to downtown Millinocket Friday night for the annual snowmobile parade that kicks off the week-long Katahdin Area Winterfest Feb. 13-22 in northern Maine.
More than 100 snowmobiles, many of them vintage, will travel the mile or so from Stearns High School to the Veterans Memorial Park gazebo and back beginning at 6 p.m. The evening also will feature a bonfire with plenty of hot chocolate and fireworks to cap things off in the wintry shadows of Baxter State Park.
Besides the parade, another marquee event of the festival is the ski plane fly-in and antique snowmobile display on Feb. 14 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Millinocket Municipal Airport. Various other events planned in Millinocket and surrounding towns include poker runs, family movies and games, a documentary film screening, pancake breakfasts, and community suppers.
For more info, contact Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce, 207-723-4443.
Posted by Marty Basch, Globe correspondent

Attitash ski resort in Barlett, N.H., is saluting men and women serving in the armed forces with free lift tickets for active duty and retired military personnel and discounted tickets for their families Feb. 7-8 (valid IDs required -see the website for details). There will be a flag parade Saturday starting at the top of Attitash that includes the Marine Corps Honor Guard and ends with the National Anthem at the base area. Military personnel biographies will be exhibited in the resort’s lodges on both days. At each display, guests will be invited to write messages in journals, which will be sent to the respective soldiers. Non-military guests, who are encouraged to bring flags to participate in the parade, can get $10 of a lift ticket by bringing three approved donations to be sent to soldiers overseas. (Check this list of approved items.) In addition, Attitash Grand Summit Hotel is offering military personnel a 25 percent discount on slopeside lodging this weekend. Call 800-223-7669 for details.

Snow again. And it's supposed to go on for a while. I am officially tired of it, but no one ever asks me what I think before they let the white stuff go.

Salt, sand, shovel, and school cancellations. I guess we'll just have to live with it. Or maybe even try to find some ways to enjoy it. Like sledding.

South of Boston, where I live, we hit places like the Milton Academy, President's Golf Course in Quincy, Kelly Field in Milton, or parts of the Blue Hills.

But there are no shortage of great places in the area. Here are more than 40 suggestions for local places I've found from around the Web and from recommendations by Globe staffers. Please feel free to add to the list.

Flagstaff Hill on Boston Common (near the baseball diamond)

The Bowl in Boston next to Jamaica Pond

Larz Anderson Park in Brookline which offers both huge and more modest hills and parking.

Weld Hill at Arnold Arboretum, corner of Walter and South streets in Roslindale with parking on South street and various side streets.

Cory Hill Park in Brookline

Dorchester Park off Adams Street in Dorchester

Spy Pond Park in Arlington

Oakley Country Club in Belmont

Prospect Hill Park in Waltham which features some long runs.

Tufts in Medford. A nice hill in the back of the school.

Elm Hill Preservation off Route 16 at Wellesley/Natick border

Severance Hill at Wellesley College behind Davis Museum

Warren Park at Wellesley Rec Dept, Route 16 Washington St

Schofield Elementary School, Park at 27 Cedar St. in Wellesley

Kelly Memorial Field om Elmwood Road adjacent to Bates Elementary in Wellesley

Hillview Country Club on North Street in North Reading

Mount Hood Golf Course in Melrose

Glendale Park in Everett

Seven Bump Hill in Malden

Cable Hill in Ipswich

Jericho Hills, Brigham off Clover Hill Rd, off Forest in Marlborough

DeNormandie Dairy Farm in Trapelo Road in Lincoln

Mount Hood in Melrose

Lynch Park in Beverly

Dane Street Beach in Beverly

Wheatlands Hill in Topsfield

Benjamin Hill on Benjamin Road in Acton

Woodsom Farm on in Amesbury

Norfolk Golf Club in Westwood

Pete's Hill in Sharon, located near Sharon center.

South Shore Country Club in Hingham

Coast Guard Hill in Marshfield

Gaffield Park in Norwell

First Parish in Norwell

D.W. Field in Brockton

Borderland State Park in Easton/Sharon (behind the Ames mansion)

Ponkapoag Golf Course in Canton

Higashi School in Randolph

Furnace Brook Golf Course in Quincy

Scituate Country Club in Scituate

Strawberry Valley Golf Course in Abington

Coakley Middle School, Norwood

Thirty-five appears to be the magic number if you’re looking to get in some mid-week skiing.

Tomorrow, $35 will net you a day on the slopes of Attitash in Bartlett, N.H. That’s a $27 savings off the regular $62 weekday cost.

On Wednesday, head up to Stowe, where the Vermont resort is hosting “Woodchuck Wednesday,” to celebrate the “beginning of the rest of winter.” Stowe is slashing its normally $89 lift ticket down to $35, and offering up free Stowe Points Cards (normally $75), which allow you to buy discounted passes for the rest of the season.

If that’s not enough, find a pair of Golden Goggles somewhere on the mountain Wednesday, and you’ll be entered in a contest to win a new pair of skis or snowboard.

There’s a chance of snow Tuesday in Bartlett, and another chance of it in Stowe on Wednesday.

Face it, skiing on Super Bowl Sunday hasn’t exactly been an attractive activity this past decade, what with the Patriots frequenting the big game four out of the last eight years. Sure, you could get back home in time for the 6:25 kickoff, but you’d be forced to miss 18 hours of predictions and player profiles. Or, at the very least, a few hours of pre-game snacking and imbibing.

But this year, with the Steelers and Cardinals set to face off, New England areas are doing everything they can to entice local skiers and riders to make the day about the mountains instead of the couch. With no Patriots on the horizon, check out Liftopia.com, which has released some of the deals it will be offering this Sunday, its second annual Super Bowl sale.

Here’s the list of deals for New England and Quebec:

Jay Peak Resort, VT - $32.50 - save 50%
Crotched Mountain, NH - $21.99 - save 57%
Wildcat Mountain, NH - $39.99 - save 38%
Jiminy Peak, MA - $36.99 - save 34%
Ragged Mountain, NH - $42.99 - save 27%
Black Mountain, NH - $29.00 - save 26%
Bolton Valley, VT - $43.99 - save 25%
Smugglers Notch, VT - $48.99 - save 21%
Sunday River 2-Day Pass, ME - $107.00 - save 20%
Wildcat Learn to Ski Package, NH - $55.00 - save 20%
Stoneham Resort, QC - $32.00 (USD) - save 21%
Mont Sainte Anne, QC - $39.00 (USD) - save 20%

For the skier-football fan who insists on both, we’d like to point out that Crotched is just 60 miles from Boston (65 from Worcester). For the skier who could care less about the game, Jay Peak at 50 percent off isn’t so bad, no?

If you thought Wildcat Mountain’s $9 lift ticket was a sweet deal last Friday, you might want to try and find a way to Mad River Glen tomorrow.

To celebrate the mountain’s 60th anniversary, Mad River Glen is offering lift tickets at the original 1949 price of $3.50. A high of only 19 degrees is predicted in Waitsfield, but at that price, there’s not much more to lose.

This offer, of course, is not applicable for boarders.