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Show ' ? :?- 5 The Daily Herald Sunday, January 28, 1SS6 Americans in France: an odyssey of skiing By JENNIFER MERIN For AP Special Features VAIL, Colo. A class of all beginning skiers, came to a teetering halt at a sign on the gentle slope known as Elk Trail. It is illustrated with animal footprints and asks what made the By JEAN O. PASCO Orange County Register Ske-Colog- y, Ske-Colog- "Excuse me," he said v X 1 xijkf" By PAUL GRIMES sign at the top, strapped on the AP Photo deer migrate? one of the Do according to the plaque on Yes, trails at Ske-Colo- Vail certificate and a pin. Those who finish the course become members of the area's Team. During hot cocoa breaks, the kids ecology-relate- d played games, such as "Camouflage,"a board game that teaches how animals survive in the wild. The program was developed by Beth Van De Water and Ruth De Muth of the U.S. Forest Service, along with the Colorado Division of Ske-Colo- Associates Colorado. The program is designed to teach youngsters to ski and to respect the environment. in Wildlife; Vail Associates, which owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek and Arrowhead ski areas; and John Alderson, Vail Associates' (NSAA) which would franchise the program to other resorts. As part of a franchise pilot, was introduced at Utah's Alta manager of youth skiing programs. In its first season last year, received high marks from the 10,000 children enrolled and their parents. and Snowbird resorts this winter, along with supportive studies at six Salt Lake City schools. Ske-Colo- Ske-Colo- Vail currently is negotiating "Nature is a key part of the ski experience, and we want to share our appreciation for nature with the kids and their parents as they learn the sport," Alderson says. a partnership with the National Ski Areas Association non-prof- it Failure Stuns "InterPacific's "Regency Cruises' Shutdown Takes Industry by Surprise," said the rival Travel Agent magazine a Retail Trade," blared a huge headline in the Nov. 23 issue of Travel few weeks earlier. In the aftermath, however, persistent trade gossip began to make one wonder whether the disasters were so surprising, after all. Pamela Waddell of Seven Seas Cruises and Tours in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., told Travel Weekly that three months before Regency closed down, she began having trouble collecting commissions it owed her. Richard L. Bifulco of Snug Harbor Travel in Amityville, N.Y., reported similar problems with Regency, plus clients' complaints of disappointing cruises and mechanical break- r OURS u Federal SCTVWG WE Second-guesse- noted rs Association tors Commission (USTOA) 1, June Branson Tours 3-1- July 0, 8-1- 4, Oct. Dec. 14-2- 0, Israel Tour 10-2- 5 July ESCORTED ,o y ts-- e WHITE r.-- iTyears M.f PBOVO, OT 84B04 m Jr 41 JJ FEB. 22 Webb Tours Thousands travel because their friends recommend us. 1 Call us at or to New Orleans and home from Nashville. Fly Delta non-tto- p Include New Orleans, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Nashville & much more. Excellent lodging (including Opryiand Hotel) and 15 meals Included. I SHOW HOLLAND. A WINTER WONDERLAND WITH ABUNDANT WILDLIFE FEB. 23 ALSO FEB. PORTLAND ROSE t 93 MARCH 11 .MARCH 14 NORTH m, PRIZES uaa OPEN HOUSE DISCOUNTS 2122 WEST 5400 SOUTH SLC, UT 84118 7 Nts. Puerto Vallarta tromZSQ i 29; Mar 9, 16, Departs Feb. 3, 10 & 30 f SUNBJRD JAM. X Y 1st Class Tour In The Holy Land Includes Superior First Class hotel, luxury buses and 17 great meal Knowledgeable LDS Escort, plus Local Jewish uulcte tnji sjij,l MM Mt. Carmcl . Siol -- vwsr-t-l P Athens Ephcsus Delphi from 0ahu...trOJ499 7 Nt. Pkg to Mcsscnia ISMAEL Philadelphia, Gettyaberg, Washington D.C. Cacsarca pm 23 12:15 TOUR PREViFWS 25 4242 NYC, 3 LDS Temple) Germany, Switzerland, France ft England (Inc. Excellent lodging, transportation and 22 meals Included. 400 EAST REFRESHMENTS-DOO- ANCIENT MEXICO IN ALL HER SPLENDOR 966 4242 Optional: 3 OREM, UTAH FRIDAY, FEB. MARCH Church history from Independence to Sharon, VT. Plus... Niagara Fall. Hannibal, Chicago. Boston ft More smsos mmiismp CEmn VEGAS 270 tv.3zat.an starting at Two 1996 Tours: Oct. 19 30 May 4 IS Trace the journeys of the apostle Paul on a 12 day Tour and Cruise Corinth ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE "MAGIC, MEMORIES & ME" 28 departs Feb 2 - Mar 15 Acts of the Apostles Activities Include Northwestern U.S., Victoria, Banff, Waterton, Glacier Park More Calgory Stampede, 9 LDS Templea (optional), Excellent meal ft lodging MAY JUNE FESTIVAL f tdnnc$ furchtsi. Setting $ United. nay apply. Fires change without notice. ll-dl- Other restrictions Per person, fciserf on availability. Friday departures. Departure taxofS28not included. Seating is limited. Package prices are based on double occupancy and valid Feb 2 June 7, 1996. Some restrictions may apply. LDS Ml. Hon -nlunHiM "'aEa, APRIL FESTIVAL $7 Q fb Rourtdtrio Air only to Honolulu We are proud of our Branson reputation: 100 of our Branson travelers tours to their friends. (appro. l.OOO) said they would recommend Webb AU Branson Tours Include: 7 Davs6 Nights in Branson April 15-2Nauvoo. Hannibal. Branson April 19-2Excellent bums a Driven St. Louis, Branson May Experienced Guides 13-16 Days5 Nights In Branson May 'All Shows JUNE 4 TOUR ,roms76 Chicago Rr air to Maul...fromS449 APR. 25 r""?T TULIP Los Angeles Oakland Phoenix 'Seattle Portland .KansasCity fr0ms58 irom Vi Iiscnln sSi. Hlonstop from SLC! SPRINGS APRIL 28 MAY 1 MAY 14 MAY 19 WITH EUREKA SPRINGS THE LAKE WITH 0ZARKS OF MAY 28 JUNE 2 JUNE 12 JUNE 21 WITH NASHVILLE AND MYSTERY w Eua JLIJ Boise JV DENMARK. SWEDEN, FINLAND, NORWAY INCLUDES COASTAL STEAMER FJORD CRUISE SPRING tfif sFsfil Departs Feb. 23 March 15 D0LLYWOO0 FEB. 27 f SLC and complete travel by June 4, 1996. rar Howard !aOTBIf RitnirtwoinonbtsKliHKiiizlKcUmttttlspaxmiiblt UploKf (KsoirocnOlriointeXarioffcftifsii starts) ri Mlom timet 131 95mm tKUXitM til ilmmiintli!iymitt PrKitimW'KroKwsMntutwctooisijnwxotf notm Various ctnomtiai pttiaXm. prpnrn' ntiinments art IwtnUf surcfurgii mty ipgfr Sim funSum nut ootctv controutt and m ao-iKt to limited jWiiy At Han una prantt AUtvo At it Sun Country, oix itt lo hum rfcwm M Ogftts Mr am tna commons. WiTH EUREKA t in 3 night pack3g8 Trusted Travel Partner 1968 Since with ft ALSO PALM SPRINGS, MESOUITE LAUCHLIN (See FRANCE, Page E8) 278-310- SINCttMJI BrJ.lllJ,l;l.'l:U.f:W4JjliZgl I 3 His. I doesn't Family Fiesta Vacation Package prices are per person, based on quad occupancy: 2 adults & 2 children (ages 3 -- 17) traveling together 10-2- 6 OH CALL BEACON TOiJHS 414 L 22S0 er MEXICO) Los Cabos Scandinavian Spectacular June Deluxe Church History Tour mid-Apri- er two-wee- off-pis- te Ticket by January 31 CI I milC Uli LUUIC 2-- 8 l. to The best time to go is during the annual French holidays, a month of vacations in k February split into chunks, the first for Paris and the second for southern France. The beauty of the French Alps hit home one sparkling blue afternoon when we stopped for lunch after several runs down a thigh-bustcalled Cime de Caron, reachable by a cable car built specially for the 1992 Olympics. Just past the village of Les Menuires, we found an open-pati- o restaurant with a rich house red wine and a daily special of spaghetti bolognese. The restaurant an overlooked ancient stone cottage nearly covered with snow. Nearby, a row of creamy white sled dogs romped, snapping at snow balls thrown by their owner, dressed in colorfully embroidered leather. It was easy to imagine how Hurry tor these Ores! Deals! 0ns Wsy Airfare rem Albuquerque March 25 - April 3 rs MAY 20 6-1- 1 from slopes easily accessible literally anywhere the gaze falls. For moving skiers up the V May and al vertical feet. That include ungroomed, gggg that because of bonding requirements -- all supposed indicators of deficient cash flow. Other second-guesserecalled that Regency had been badly battered by bigger competitors in a Caribbean cruise price war. But Norma Torello of Holiday Travel in Burlingame, Calif., who chairs the consumer affairs committee of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), viewed these indicators cautiously. "Some of the most stable suppliers in the business are sometimes slow in paying commissions," she said. "Sometimes a steady lowering of prices is simply competition, not a sign that a company's in trouble. A travel agent WASATCH FRONT RAVEL Maritime (FMC) have bonding or other programs to protect prepayments, but they are restricted, voluntary or too modest. By all means, ask your travel agent about the affiliations of whatever cruise line or tour company you're considering. You may find, however, that the small company with the finest reputation for exploring maharajahs' palaces in I & - you, the traveler, to protect yourself. Several states, led by California, have helped somewhat by passing laws to regulate travel sales. USTOA, ASTA, the National Tour Association (NTA) and the within the last two years Domenico Tours had shifted its marketing focus, sold off its fleet of company-owbuses and dropped out ned of the United States Tour Opera- APR. 23 i Rajasthan or Whitewater rafting down Idaho's Salmon River the that company you're yearning to travel with -- doesn't have very good financial credentials. So try to pay by credit card, because you can get your money back from the card company or bank if the tour company doesn't deliver. In reality, however, many companies, including some of the finest, insist on cash. also Ask about escrow accounts. ASTA, for example, endorses a program of the First of America Bank Corp. of Birmingham, Mich., that holds prepayments in escrow until a tour is completed. But despite widespread publicity, only a handful of tour companies have signed up. anything." Ultimately it's largely up to downs at sea. ALSO LAS VEGAS DINNER i has to be very careful about saying skis dropped off the other side onto a untracked rush called Mount du Vallon. Welcome to the Three Valleys in Savoie, France, the largest interlinked ski area in the world. Put five Mammoth Mountains together and you start to get the idea. But forget skiing from warming hut to warming hut: in France, you ski from village to village, from the trendy chic of Courchevel to the quaint hamlet of Saint-Marti- n de Belleville. Skiing here makes stateside resorts look like the local mountains. Consider the stats: More than 275 marked and groomed runs, or pistes. More than 1,200 snow blowing machines. Two hundred ski lifts, with a. capacity of 220,000 skiers per hour. About 63,000 vertical meters of downhill roughly 196,000 near-vertic- per. - kind of beer espresso that locals drink in liqueur glasses. The valley draws more than million visitors a year, mostly the "caution, experts only" Weekly, a leading trade newspa- Estelle Block was lucky, in a way, when InterPacific Tours International abruptly went out of business in November. Block, a travel agent in Albany, N.Y., had organized 34 relatives, friends and friends of friends for a three-wee- k IPI tour of China next fall. She had been impressed by the company's solid reputation, but nevertheless resisted its requests for substantial money up front. That was smart and lucky. She had put all her tour members' deposits in an escrow account and paid InterPacific only $300 of her own money. So that was all she lost when IPI went belly up. Other agents -- - and their customers suffered disastrously, with some reporting losses up to $30,000. Some agents personally paid refunds in costly gestures of IPI good will, but many would-b- e passengers got little or nothing. Such stories are frequent in the travel industry. Regency Cruises. Domenico Tours, Singleworld, Club America Vacations, the RFD Travel Corporation and Sea Safaris were major operators that suddenly quit in 1995, stranding thousands and depriving thousands more of prepaid trips. The obvious lesson for the consumer is caution, but sometimes caution is not enough. It's generally wise to book through a travel agent because a good agent has the broad knowledge and information resources, the trade connections and the computer software to find the best deals. But not even agents have a crystal ball. el Right. Ten minutes later, we'd hiked up a steep incline near the lift, edged our way around powder ' Ruitor, a gorgeously appointed inn built 17 years ago in Meri-bby the local Fenestraz family. The hotel bar was the destination each evening for many French ski instructors, who encouraged ample tasting of the region's hearty Mutzig, a just learning." special d w final- ly in syrupy, heavily accented English. "What are your skis?" Carol, one of several Americans knotted in a ski line inching its way to the frosty gondolas, smiled. She pointed to the wide "fat boys" we were carrying on our way up the mountain. "These?" she said. "We're iff high-spee- quad lifts and lifts with "moving sidewalks" to speed exits. There are also Pomalifts, delightful rope-tocontraptions that work like a slingshot on the unprepared; one petite member of our group was vaulted airborne after hitting a steep dip in the snow. The staging area for our trip of a lifetime was the Hotel Le ing. aution important when booking tours Universal Press Syndicate hop on gondolas, The distinguished gentleman with the gray goatee couldn't stop himself from star- tracks. ' It's a fox!" "No, it's a wolf." "Naaah, it's a rabbit." No it's not. It's Bambi!" Close," the ski instructor replied. "It's an elk." She uncovered a second sign, depicting a bull elk with big antlers, and read the legend: -Adult male elks weigh 300 to 500 pounds and stand 4 to 5 feet tall." Some 500 feet farther down the slope was another sign, this time about elk antlers. Elk Trail, with eight Q. and A. signs, is one of eight instructional wildlife trails on beginner to intermediate slopes used by the Vail, Beaver Creek and Arrowhead ski schools. The other trails are dedicated to porcupines, great horned owls, snowshoe hare, trout, black bears, gray wolves and trees. All are part of a training program that weaves ecology with skiing. Of the 1,400 ski instructors at the three resorts, 600 are trained to teach the program. While honing their skills on the slopes, the kids learn about the area's fauna and flora. A book recounting the adventures and wisdom of Jackrabbit Joe, a ski resort naturalist, accompanies the pro-ma"The Tale of is 55.95 from Vail Ski School. Each trail completed merits a highest mountain face, there's a cable car. Elsewhere, skiers can Shepherds Fields Capernaum Mykonos Rhodes Patmos Rome txtenskm availabk Three 1996 Tours: Apr. 25 - May 6 Mt. of Sunrise service on the Sea of Galilee Beatitudes Nazareth June 12-2- Megiddo The Dead Sea Oct 9 20 3 Massada Dome of the Rock Bethlehem The Garden Tomb Call for further details about this incredible journey! 1 Ask about these other exciting 1996 Tours: o Church History & American Heritage Nauvoo & Branson Book of Mormon South American Temples Tour European Temples Tour The Exodus v2 1 iiiimBllllluMisMls tLjis!ay iiisn in ns.jagfa.-n- .. ., .--J - |
