$ki or Skimp?

Winter in Dallas is that week in February when the mercury plunges into the 20’s (shudder, shudder) and it sleets a couple of times. The old saying, “No two snowflakes are the same” might as well be “No two snowflakes at the same time.” And considering the fact that the most rugged terrain in the city is majestic Flagpole Hill (elev. 551 ft.), there is something rather other-worldly about the realm of snow skiing to a Dallasite. Skiing is to Dallas as surfing is to Kansas City. Elsewhere. Another world.

Yet other worlds breed fantasy. In Dallas, there are over 4,000 area residents who are active members of local ski clubs (one of which is among the largest in the country). Local travel agencies offer a thousand and one ski travel packages. Hundreds of Dallas families own homes and condominiums in the Rockies. Dallas investors have put up substantial percentages of the capital in at least five of the major ski resorts in Colorado and Utah. Every year, beginning at Thanksgiving, the airport is overrun with multi-sweatered healthy-types, skis over shoulders, boot bags in hand. Last month, thousands gathered in Texas Stadium for an exhibition of ski equipment and skiing -on a scenic inclined carpet. This is fantasy. This is Dallas, Texas -Ski Capital of the Flat World.

Far be it from us to foil a good fantasy. In fact, we’d rather contribute to it: D’s Extremist Ski Packages for 1974-’75.

Ski as in $ki – The Rich Man’s Package

A modest proposal designed for the biggest of spenders or the wildest of dreamers.

A fashionable ski trip begins with fashion. A visit to Bifano’s Furs will start you in style with a made-to-order black diamond mink parka ($4,500) and, of course, matching hat ($300). For the gentlemen, may we recommend instead the wolf parka ($1,000). If either should strike you as impractical, remember the original wearers of these furs lived in the snow. Elegance beneath the fur is accomplished with a racing style hot doggers stretch jump suit ($195) and a color coordinated imported designer sweater ($215) in electric blue and green – the big colors this year. A must for the real stylist are down-filled leather gloves dyed to match your outfit ($45) plus a silk glove liner ($6). Skin tight luxury is yours with pure silk French long underwear ($50).

Equipment? Only the best. You’ll of course want different skis for different conditions. For skiing the moguls, moguls, try a pair of Olin Mark IV’s ($185). You’ll need The Mother Trucker ($185) short skis for that deep powder skiing. For your racing needs, go right to the top of the high performance lines with the Hexcel Super Comps ($265). Obviously you’ll want to purchase the most expensive Burt Competition bindings ($165) on all three pairs. As a well-heeled skier, don’t settle for less than San Marco Raspberry Float boots ($200). Your poles should be Scott Super Stars ($40). Carry your equipment in a new “SkiPak” ($165), a fiberglass case for skis and boots.

Vail, your destination, is one of the country’s most posh resorts (and as for status, You-Know-Who and his First Family have their condominium there). To get there, why not rent a Lear Jet – at $1.50 per mile, plus the one week layover fee while it waits for you, the round trip cost to Denver is $5,073. From Stapleton Airport in Denver you may exercise a special option: either a limousine to Vail ($106) or a helicopter ($195 per hour) to drop you right at the slopes.

As for lodging, why be squeezed by the cramped confines of a hotel room or condominium when you can rent a spacious private home for a mere $225 a day. After all, you’ll need some place to keep those three pairs of skis.

Lift tickets at Vail are as expensive as they come, $10 per day (of course, there are special 6-day rates that are less, but why bother?) For on-the-spot coaching and trail guidance, your private instructor/guide ($100 a day) will be there whenever you need him.

You’ll have no trouble whatsoever spending your dining and drinking dollars in Vail. Your first night on the town will be well spent at the Hilton Inn restaurant, the most expensive (though not necessarily the best) in town. A $60 dinner for two can be complemented with a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 1949 ($300). Live it up on succeeding nights at the Lord Gore, St. Moritz, The Left Bank, and the Gasthoff Gramshammer – you can easily average no less than $100 a night for dinner and wine.

TOTAL COST: $20,091 (one week for two).



Ski as in Skimp -The Poor Man’s Package

A penny-pinching proposal designed for inflation fighters and the unemployed.



A bit of pre-trip scavenging is a part of this package. Why buy ski clothes when you can borrow them? Prey upon old friends who don’t ski anymore or make friends with the people down the street who just moved here from Vermont (or track down people taking The Rich Man’s Package -they’ll probably give you last year’s fashions). Don’t be afraid to ask- borrowing ski clothes is an accepted custom. It’s especially important to secure a parka and ski gloves -you can improvise from there. Buy a can of Scotchgard aerosol waterproofing ($3.49) and spray a couple pairs of bluejeans; gather all your old sweaters, flannel shirts, and wool socks for styleless layered warmth; and buy a set of all-important thermal underwear from the Army-Navy Store ($3.98). You’re ready to go.

Destination: Wolf Creek, Colorado, a small and casual ski area with a “log cabin and chicken fried steak atmosphere” and the best annual snowfall (425 inches) in Colorado. Located in southwest Colorado near Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek is only a 13-hour drive from Dallas. This package requires four people to split the round trip gas cost (approx. $32 or $8 per person), so while you’re gathering clothes, gather a few companions.

Lodging is your option. If you’re the rugged type (and half crazy ) you can pitch a tent at the edge of the area parking lot – day lodge restroom facilities are left open overnight for campers’ use. But because camping equipment can run into great expense unless you have it all already (especially such items as goosedown sleeping bags necessary to beat the cold), we recommend the second option. Rent a kitchen-equipped cabin in the nearby town of South Fork at one of several places such as the Rainbow or Riviere Motels. The four of you can split the modest cost of the cabin (about $18 a night, $4.50 each person) and cook most of your meals in. As an added suggestion, stock up on groceries in Dallas before you leave. Go heavy on the canned goods and do your shopping at the surplus and unclaimed freight centers around town (a dent in the can doesn’t bruise the soup). Cook a big turkey or ham before you go and take it with you. You can munch on it all week. Pack wine and cheese picnics (Boones Farm and Kraft American?) for light lunches on the mountain. Splurge once in a while and have a hearty supper at very reasonable prices ($2-$3) at the Rockaway Cafe. A third option and another great deal is the Spruce Lodge in South Fork where $10 a day will buy you room and board (breakfast and dinner, served family style).

Wolf Creek has the lowest lift ticket prices of any major ski area in the West at $6.50 a day. But you won’t even have to pay that. By working as a volunteer trail packer for two hours each morning, you can ski the rest of the day for nothing. Equipment rentals are also cheaper than most other areas ($6 a day for skis, boots and poles). If you need a lesson or two, they’re only $8 for a full day.

There’s not much nightlife around to tempt your cash flow. Ray’s Fireside Inn has a juke box (25￠ for 3 plays) and an occasional mountain guitar picker (free). Or just watch the fire (also free).

TOTAL COST: $109.97 (one week for one).



The Cold Facts.

Not that it’s any surprise, but the cost of skiing has skyrocketed as dramatically as everything else. Maybe even more so.

An Aspen ski brochure from the winter of ’63-’64 proclaims in bold red letters, “ALL EXPENSES, 7 DAYS, $71.” The package deal included a week of lift tickets on Aspen’s world renowned slopes, 7 nights lodging in the accommodations of your choice, and 14 meals at any of 24 listed restaurants including the famous Red Onion and Crystal Palace. $71.

That same package today would cost no less than $275. And as for that $71 – today it will buy your lift tickets. Period.