Popular Ski Resorts In USA
by Jez Rourke

There is no better rush than skiing down a mountain on fresh snow. For all you winter sports enthusiasts, we have compiled a list of the popular ski resorts in the USA to fulfil your craving for speed:

Breckinridge, Colorado
One of the better known Ski resorts in Colorado, Breckinridge totals 2,358 acres and has 155 trails. Its longest trail, Four O’clock, reaches a length of 3.5 miles and the resort spans over more than 10 peaks. Of the 155 trails this resort hosts, 36-percent are expert slopes, the largest percentage of slope difficulty, and 13-percent of the slopes have the easiest designation.

Aspen, Colorado
Located in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, Aspen, Colorado, is the Aspen Mountain Ski Resort. Aspen Mountain sits on 673 acres and is one of the smallest skiing resorts around. It utilizes Aspen Mountain and Bell Mountain which has an elevation of 11,212 feet.

Killington, Vermont
This ski resort is the largest resort in the eastern part of the United States. Utilizing Vermont’s second highest mountain, Killington Peak, this resort sports 200 trails and 33 ski lifts spanned over seven mountains. It is estimated that nearly 17,000 people will visit Killington Ski Resort on a good day.

Park City, Utah
This tourist destination is home to three different ski resorts, Park City Mountain Resort, the Canyons Resort and Deer Valley Resort. Park City Mountain Resort has over 100 trails and covers over 3000 acres. Canyons Resort is the largest of the three, with runs on 9 mountains, 155 trails and covers 3700 acres. Deer Valley Resort recently underwent a nine million dollars renovation to add 200 acres and nine new slopes

Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California Lake Tahoe
Located on the Nevada-California boarder is home to Heavenly Mountain Resort. It features 95 slopes over 4,800 acres. At an elevation of 10,067, this resort is host to Lake Tahoe’s highest peak. It is the largest ski resort in California, with a total of 33-percent of its land developed.

Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
The Pocono Mountains is home to more than ten different ski resorts. The largest one, Camelback Ski Area, has 33 slopes and covers 139 acres. At an elevation of 2,133 feet, its steepest slope is 800 feet. The Jack Frost Big Resort is located close to the ski area of Camelback. This ski area is two resorts combined into one with nearly 30 different ski slopes.

Use the search facility on http://www.directline-skiing.co.uk to find some great USA ski deals & offers on skiing holidays.

How To Book Your First Ski Holiday
by Jez Rourke

If you are looking to book your first skiing holiday, then it can be a daunting process for most people. You might have lots of questions you need answers to e.g What resorts are right for beginners?, what sort of activities do certain resorts have to offer?. By far the easiest and quickest way to get this information is via the internet. Most of the main ski resorts will have a web site that details what they have to offer. However, it is a good thing to know a little about what you should be looking for. Here are some top tips when booking your first skiing holdiay:

1. Base your choice on your ski ability
Since this is your first ski holiday, chances are you are not an expert skier. Since this is the case, it is important to keep in mind your skiing ability when choosing a ski resort. Resorts rank their slopes by their difficulty, from easiest to expert. The easier the slopes, the more fun you will have as a beginner.

2. Activities for the kids
If you have children, you know how important it is to keep them entertained. Many resorts will offer activities for children so that their parents can enjoy their own part of the vacation on the slopes. Your kids will have a lot more fun if they have activities aimed at entertaining them and you will have a more relaxed time as well.

3. Look for ski lessons
Because this is probably your first time skiing, it might be a wise idea to take a few ski lessons. Most resorts offer lessons to their skiers from experts. You’ll enjoy your time more if you know what you’re doing and are skiing more than falling. Check out the resort to see if they have group lessons or if you can get personalized lessons as well. If you’re looking for personal lessons and a resort only offers group ones, this might be a deal breaker

4. Check out their packages
Most resorts offer different packages to suit what type of skiing vacation you would like to experience. Resort packages range from family vacation packages to romantic get-a-ways for couples. Some resorts might offer specials along with their packages. Specials can include free skiing for children under a certain age or certain incentives and perks for booking early.

Just remember, when searching for a resort, it is important to keep fun in mind.

Search for all the latest deals & offers on ski holidays. Book skiing holidays online at http://www.directline-skiing.co.uk.

Aspen Colorado has long been known as the ultimate ski resort in the world as it boasts some of the best skiing on earth. With more than 4,500 acres of terrain spread over four main mountains, Aspen no doubt offers an expansive variety of skiing and other related fads for all levels throughout the winter season when a reliably great snow capped the mountains.

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If youre planning to visit the Oktoberfest for the first time, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Following these tips will help you to have a pleasant stay at Munichs famous beer festival.

Dos

1. Always take a friend or more with you
Even though most of the people are friendly and peaceful, there is the occasional drunk that can cause you trouble. Being with a friend makes your stay much safer (especially a woman should never go alone). Furthermore, its a lot more fun to celebrate with your friends than with strangers.

2. Drink a lot of water
The old rule “one beer, one water” also applies for the biggest beer festival in the world. The beer tents are hot and youll be thirsty. Drinking only beer makes you drunk much faster than you even notice, especially when youre not used to the strong German beer.

3. Be friendly to the waitress
Waitresses in the beer tents are the secret queens of the Oktoberfest. They decide if you can stay or have to leave. And they definitely decide if you get a beer or not. Remember that you can only order beer once you sit at a table. No beer is sold to persons standing in the alleys.

4. Do everything that requires coordination before the second beer
Its not funny to be trapped inside a roller coaster after the second or third beer. Owners of the attractions will not let you inside anyways, because they know what can happen.

5. Enjoy!
Dance and sing as much as you want and have a lot of fun.

Donts

1. Dont bring valuables
Bring only the amount of money youre planning to spend. Dont wear expensive jewelry. Wherever there are masses of people, there are also pickpockets. Be on the watch out.

2. Dont drink and drive
Use the public transport for your sake and the sake of everyone else who could be involved in an accident with you. Drunk driving will cause you to lose your drivers license and get you into a lot of trouble. Germans are very tolerant with alcohol but not in connection with driving.

3. Dont try to get into the tents at the main entrance
Despite their size beer tents fill up quickly and are closed for security reasons. Chances to get in through the main entrance are nil. Your luck will be better waiting at the side entrances where security sometimes lets people enter when someone else leaves. To avoid closed tents either have a reservation or come early, preferably during weekdays.

Marion Kummerow is the author of http://www.inside-munich.com/oktoberfest-2006.html . Shes been living in Munich for many years and has intimate knowledge of the city and the famous Oktoberfest.

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Travel Tips - Taking Your Camera on a Vacation With You
by Ziv Haparnas

Don’t you like going through your vacations photos? We all take pictures when we go on a vacation. It is a great way to perpetuate the experience and remember it for years to come. However sometimes taking pictures is not smooth. Unexpected problems pop up such as running out of film, running out of battery or just forgetting the camera in the hotel. In this article we will provide a few easy to follow tips that will help you in carrying your camera and taking pictures.

The first decision when taking a camera with you on a trip is which camera to take. One of the common mistakes people do when traveling is taking a camera that does not fit their needs. For example they take a high end heavy camera just to leave it in the hotel room since it is too hard to carry with them. It is important to take the right camera for the trip. For example if you are going to be walking a lot or trekking it is better to have a lighter weight smaller camera. If you are going to be driving a lot you can take heavier equipment and more accessories. You should also match the camera to the destination and to your photography level. If your goal is to capture memories a cheap small camera is more than enough. If your goal is to take high quality photos for future enlargements a professional high resolution camera is adequate.

Carrying the camera and its accessories is much easier with the right carrying bag. Most people are tempted to buy a bag specifically designed for their camera. These bags are easier to use and have the right compartments for the various accessories but they have a big drawback: they can draw the attention of a thief who is lurking for tourists. It is better to use a normal bag such as a backpack that does not look new or like a bag that holds an expensive camera.

Digital cameras have many accessories some are optional and some are not. It is a good idea to make a checklist and use it when packing for a vacation. Make sure that you take the battery charger, the right adaptors for the power outlets in your destination, lenses, memory cards and more.

Two very important things to remember when traveling are batteries and memory. Always carry a fully charged spare battery with you. One of the worst experiences is running out of batteries just before a great photo opportunity shows up. Charge both batteries at least every night when getting back to your hotel. Even if you did not take many photos that day and you think the batteries have enough power in them it is better to make sure by fully charging them rather than to take the risk. Also remember that batteries slowly lose their power even when not used so always recharge your spare battery too even if it was not used.

The equivalent of running out of film in old cameras is running out of memory in digital cameras. Make sure that you are taking enough memory cards for the whole trip. Unless you have a laptop with you to dump the photos to you will need the memory to last the whole trip. Try to guess how many photos you will take daily and then get enough memory to hold double that number. Remember that with digital cameras it is easy to take many pictures. It is better to take a few smaller capacity memory cards than one high capacity card. When a card is full you can leave it in your luggage in the hotel room. If worst happens and you lose your camera with the memory card in it you will at least have some memories in a safe place.

If you are an experienced photographer and want to take a tripod with you it is important to find the right compromise between a good tripod and carrying ease. If the tripod is too bulky and heavy you will end up leaving it in your hotel. You can also decide to carry two tripods a miniature one for when walking or trekking and a heavier one when driving around and stopping for photo opportunities.

Taking pictures when traveling is a great way to capture memories. When you get back home dump the photos to your desktop computer make backups and enjoy them for the rest of your life.

About Author: Ziv Haparnas is a technology veteran and writes about practical technology and science issues. You can find more information digital photo printing printing and photography in general on printrates.com - a site dedicated to photo printing