Fun Valley is located in Montezuma, Iowa, with 14 named runs and 5 trails, with only 30 inches of average snowfall a year. With 35 acres of skiable area, they use 100% of snowmaking for the winter enjoyment of their skiers and snowboarders. Catering to beginners and intermediates, the Fun Valley ski resort makes a great place for families with children and beginners to learn how to ski, or to learn how to snowboard. Snowboarders are also welcome, with a gentle terrain available. Eight paths are for snowboarders alone with no cross-country available. Unfortunately, no handicap accessibility is available but night skiing is there. Group lessons are in one-hour increments, for 6-years and older and private lessons are offered 5-years and under. Skiing and snowboarding are in both private and group packages with advance reservations preferred, so it would be a good idea to book in advance for the lessons. Snow tubing is also available as one of the winter activities, in addition to snowshoeing.

Fun Valley offers outstanding group rates for groups of ten or more. Birthday packages are also fun, exciting and wonderful for that special day for kids, and their friends and family, ages twelve and under. Every Wednesday and Thursday night the ski resort offers a student night with greatly reduced rates. Buddy Pass Friday’s are also popular - bring your friends and you will all save on lift tickets. Coca-Cola sponsors Sprite Saturday’s at Fun Valley, where you can participate in three activities for one flat affordable fee. Sundays are Family Four Pack Day. There is no doubt about it, today when family values are questionable, going skiing is a way for everyone to have fun with each other and also, by doing something different.

The top elevation at Fun Valley is 1,201 feet, with a vertical drop of 200 feet. There are six lifts, including three chair lifts and three surface lifts. The new learning Adventure Centre is something to see - and experience if you are a beginner. All students are allowed to develop their skills at their own pace, with seven stations providing a fun evironement for the development of mobility and balance, stopping, direction change, linked controlled turns, green stripe evaluation in a Slalom Course, introduction to chairlifts, and rhythmical turns on a green slope. Between the Ski Adventure Centre and the Snowboard Ride Centre, there is no reasons why teaching cannot be fun!

Check out http://www.winter-sportz.com/ for more articles on lake tahoe ski resorts and snow ski vacations.

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An Ontario Vacation

The uniqueness of Canada’s provinces makes each one worth visiting. Whether you like to ski or swim, fish or golf, visit national monuments or museums, Canada has it all in one beautiful, thirteen-province country.

One of the most popular travel destinations in Canada is Ontario, a metropolitan centre of industry and culture. With a population of more than 12 million, Ontario is home to about one in three Canadians, eighty per cent of which live in urban centres, largely in cities on the shores of the Great Lakes.

What is Ontario weather like?

Ontario weather varies greatly. In the summer, temperatures can soar above 30

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Called the “Ski Town of the Southwest”, Red River Ski Resort lies on Black Mountain, rising directly above the town of Red River, New Mexico. The historical town of Red River itself has an altitude of 8,750 feet, while Black Mountain has an altitude of 10,350 feet and a vertical drop of 1,601 feet. The resort offers six chair lifts and one surface lift, with 58 trails divided equally on 290 acres of skiable areas for skiers and snowboarders, with 32% beginners, 38% intermediates, and 30% experts. With an annual snowfall of 252 inches, the snow is 85% man made. With a ski school, group and private lessons available, even if you’ve never skied before, you will quickly be on the slopes after your first lessons. There are even lessons for snowboarders, who are welcome on the Red River slopes. You can rent all of your ski and snowboarding equipment for very reasonable rates.

Red River caters to families and children, with both children and their parents enjoying a separate, full-service facility on the slopes. The children’s programs offer ski, snowboard, and snow blade lessons. Both full and half-day programs come with an optional lunch. The ski and snowboard schools offer these lessons for all ages and levels, with a fun-loving staff of certified instructors. Special clinics are available upon request. Child care programs are available, provided by an attentive staff which provides for child care, lunch, and play for children ages 4-months to 4-years of age. Both full-day and half-day child care programs are available. For children who are over 4-years of age, the Youth Ski Center is offered to provide ski and snowboard lessons.

Many activates make Red River stand out from the rest of the ski resorts. Their history is very much alive and part of everyday life, not shoved away in a museum to gather dust. On Wednesday, a free program offers guests a free Wednesday night if they have already checked in Sunday or Monday. In addition, guests who purchase any Red River Ski Area 3-day lift ticket can get equipment rental or lessons, receiving the 4th day free of the same item. But most of all, good ol’ mountain fun is a primary activity here, with old-fashioned western traditions bringing visitors and their families back year after year. An annual party, “The Mardi Gras of the Mountains”, is part of the western tradition for everyone - enjoying a mouth watering Texas-sized steak, cooked to how you like it, and then some fancy two steppin’ with your honey to some good music. What more could you ask for?

Red River Ski Resort also has several excellent places to eat, in addition to excellent night life. Some places of interest are the Motherlode Saloon or the Bull -O- Woods Bar, Texas Red’s Steakhouse, the Chalet Cafeteria, and Capo’s Italian Restaurant. Of course, if you want to eat on the slope area - choose the Ski Tip Restaurant located at 10,350 feet up, serving lunch, beer and wine, with wonderful scenic views. The Lift House Bar, at the base of the main lift, is open for lunch and spirits, an “apres ski libation”. Going out on the town is great in Red River. After a day on the slopes, sometimes people wants to just kick back and relax at the lodge, or visit one of the taverns in the area. For the younger crowd, there is a great game room located right in the center of the town. One of the great things about Red River is that everything is within walking distance of the lodging areas, and shuttles are provided for transportation to and from the slopes.

Check out http://www.winter-sportz.com/ for more articles on winter ski resorts and ski resorts in colorado.

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