Ask Susan,
Your Personal Travel Counselor
Tell me how you really feel about skiing steeps and trees. How about cliffs? I see. Do you need gourmet meals? Does your exhausted body require a comfy bed? Do you long to disappear into the wilderness to commune with the mountain? Are you an adrenaline junkie waiting to come out of the closet? Or are you perfectly content playing on the groomers all day? Lie back on your couch with a glass of wine and let me help you solve your trip planning problems.
I am a journalist with 15 years of experience researching and writing about travel, with special emphasis on “soft” adventure travel such as skiing, snowboarding, hiking, paddling, biking and camping. The Internet has made it infinitely easier to research and book travel, but with all the information resources out there, it’s difficult to sort through the conflicting messages and choose the right vacation. My “travel counseling” services can rescue you from the abyss.
Latest Trip: Ice Climbing
in Northern Minnesota
I’m afraid of heights, so what the heck am I doing dangling next to an icefall with an ice axe in each hand and crampons on my boots?
Oh, that’s right, now I remember. I came to ski at Lutsen Mountains and to fully immerse myself in the winter playground of Northern Minnesota. I’d heard you can’t fully appreciate winter here if you don’t at least try ice climbing.
The rugged landscape of Northern Minnesota, perhaps most well known for its 1,175 lakes that make up the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is carved by rivers flowing into Lake Superior. The resulting deep gorges are full of gorgeous waterfalls that freeze solid during the cold winter months and attract climbers looking for world-class walls of ice.
And so I found myself with my...
Big Red Cats Opens Luxury Lodge, Expands Terrain for 2009/10
Big Red Cats Snowcat Skiing & Riding has opened a new lodge for their guests at the base of Red Mountain Resort in British Columbia. The lodge is called “Big Red Lodge” and is ready for the 2009/10 winter season.
The cat-skiing operation also has expanded its terrain, adding two new mountains and about 100 new runs. The tenure area now covers about 19,000 acres.
Kieren Gaul, president of Big Red Cats, said, “The lodge will cater for groups of 12 people—one whole snowcat!—in the highest quality, comfort and style. It is perfect for our guests, as it allows the whole group to stay under one roof and all eat and socialize around one table. This is some of the finest ski lodging anywhere.”
The luxury lodge includes six bedrooms (each room has two beds), two living rooms, three full washrooms, and all the amenities, including: