Wetaskiwin – Regional Airport

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Lake Tahoe Ski And Snowboard Guide

When the days are short and snow hides the dirt and makes the water of Lake Tahoe WAY to cold for swimming, you do the only thing you can do: Go SKIING!!! There are fourteen ski resorts in and around Lake Tahoe in both California and Nevada. There are thousands of hotel and motel rooms, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a gourmet, or deliciously funky restaurant, and there’s more music, theater, shows, gambling and amenities than you could possibly know what to do with.

But relax. It’s simple. Follow these two steps for the best winter vacation you’ve ever had: 1) go to Lake Tahoe. 2) go skiing! Everything else will come naturally.

Getting to Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is easy to find. If you’re flying (and you don’t have your own helicopter), the closest airport with good service is Reno Tahoe International Airport. All the major carriers fly in there including the beloved Southwest Airlines. From Reno the closest Tahoe ski resort are only 30 minutes away (Mt. Rose and Diamond Peak), and the farthest are barely over an hour. Flying in to Reno also puts you at an advantage as most of the traffic comes in from Sacramento and San Francisco, so tourist congestion is minimal.

From Sacramento or San Francisco take US Hwy 50 East to South Lake Tahoe, California and the casinos at Stateline, Nevada and Heavenly, Kirkwood or Sierra at Tahoe; or take Interstate 80 through Truckee to Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Donner Ski Ranch, Sugar bowl, Northstar or Homewood. Good weather info can be found at weather.com (http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCA0584?from=search_city), NOAA.gov (http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=rev&smap=1&textField1=39.25139&textField2=-119.97194), and snotel (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/California/california.html).

Check traffic and snow conditions before you go at CalTrans(http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/), NDOT (http://www.nevadadot.com/traveler/roads/) and Magnifeye(http://www.magnifeye.com/).

Tahoe Terrain and Snow

Lake Tahoe is big: 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. Along its 72 miles of shoreline ski conditions can vary from north (Northstar at Tahoe) to south (Kirkwood), so it helps to keep track of the weather and snowfall rates. If you’re into groomers and perfect corduroy, or neck deep powder in the trees, check the snow reports on each resort’s website and hit the one with the most new snow.

Most of the resorts have terrain parks, and usually more than one. Heavenly has several including beginner, intermediate and advanced jumps, rails and boxes for all skiers and snowboarders.

Which resort should you go to? Well that’s complicated. Since everything at Tahoe is totally awesome, it can be challenging to find the right resort for you. The huge resorts, Heavenly, Squaw, and Kirkwood, offer fancy dining, big vertical relief, and incredible on-mountain amenities. The small ones, Homewood, Diamond Peak and Mt. Rose, offer a more low key experience that might be great for beginners or people who want to experience everything Tahoe. Every mountain has its specialties, secret powder stashes and amazing views of the lake.

Backcountry Skiing

Though there are some of the best ski and snowboard resorts in the world, there are FAR more mountains to be skied around Tahoe than you can reach at the end of a chair lift ride. Any of the peaks around the Tahoe Basin, however, can be reached at the end of a hike.

Whether by snowshoe, crampon and ice axe or ski tour you can reach endless untracked ridges and couloirs from the Pacific Crest in the Desolation Wilderness on the West shore to the Carson Range above Reno on the east. Many resorts also have hikeable backcountry terrain, like the Milkyway Bowl, at Heavenly which gives you a few more feet of vertical for a little bit of extra effort. Always check for up-to-date avalanche, snowfall and weather forecasts for the entire Tahoe back country area from the Sierra Avalanche Center (http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/) before you go out of bounds.

Lifts, Trams and Gondolas

Tahoe is the land of the six-pack high-speed chairlift. We have gondolas, funitels, and trams along with a life time supply of high speed 6 person chairlifts. The resorts here are fully modern with the latest in technology and as rich skiing history, like the old Trams at Heavenly and Squaw Valley. Skiing around Tahoe is a fully modern, fast and fun experience. The astounding uphill capacity at the resorts keeps you skiing with a minimum of down time.

On-mountain Amenities

What’s that? You want a little down time? Understandable. Skiing endless top to bottom mogul or powder runs can be tiring. You need a recharge now and then. No worries, no matter where you are at the resorts here you’re never far from a bite to eat. Mid mountain lodges, top of the mountain lodges abound with gourmet dining, and drinking, right off the runs with stellar views of the ski slopes and the lake and no shortage of wine and beer.

Tahoe Lodging

Sure, you could sleep in your car at the base of the runs after eating a ski-bum-gourmet meal of saltines and ketchup, but why now live a little? You want be good to yourself; that’s why you’re here.

As a year round vacation destination, Lake Tahoe has thousands of hotels and motels to choose from after a big day on the slopes. If you’re hungry there are enough dining establishments to feed tens of thousands! Great lodging rates can be found to keep your budget happy even at a hotel close to the slopes!

In a competitive vacation market such as Tahoe, resorts are always teaming up with hotels to offer ski and lodging packages to get you the best deal for your trip. Whether you’re skiing or snowboarding, you can bundle your lodging, lift tickets and equipment rentals into one great deal, so you spend less money and more time having fun.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, in California and Nevada, is a world class winter destination mentioned in the same breath as Vail, Park City, and Banff. The snow is falling. The lifts are running. Come hit the slopes!!!

Milan – Mini Travel Guide to Milan From Rhino Car Hire

Not only is Milan the second largest city in Italy but this industrial conurbation is financially the most powerful.
Milan is also an incredibly lively and vibrant city which has eight universities and the largest student population in Italy.

Among the many learning institutions to be found in Milan is the Politecnico di Milano which is one of the best in Europe for design and engineering.

At Italian saying compares the two main cities of Italy with Milan coming our favourably: “Rome is a like a voluptuous woman whose gifts are very apparent, while Milan is the shy, demure girl whose treasures are plentiful, but discovered in time.”

Although you might think that Rome trumps Milan in terms of historical buildings it is interesting to note that Milan is home to older churches than Rome.

Among these, you should definitely see the 14th century Gothic Duomo and the St Mary of the Graces Church. The Duomo is a magnificent structure which has wonderful views out over Milan while the St Mary of the Graces Church contains Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting. In the square known as Piazza Della Scala you will also see a statue of this famous painter, sculptor and designer. Leonardo Da Vinci also designed another one of the attractive sights to be seen in Milan, a bronze horse which can be found close to the racetrack.

Flying into Milan you will either arrive at Malpensa airport or Linate airport. If you have booked car hire with Rhino it is possible to collect your vehicle from both of these airports.

However, if you have flown in on a budget airline you can arrive at Orio al Serio airport and Parma airport in a relatively short time. You may wish to park outside of Milan and use public transport forms such as the bus, the train, the metro and the subway to get around the city centre as it can get very congested.

To drive from Milan to Turin you take the A4 westbound, the A7 goes to Genoa and the A1 goes to Bologna, Florence, Naples and Italy’s capital city, Rome. The A1 road is known as the highway of the sun (Autostrada del Sole).

Milan has two football teams who oddly enough share the same stadium, the San Siro. Inter Milan and AC Milan are both teams with a great footballing tradition, though AC Milan has been the more successful of the two.

Known as the ‘Rossoneri’, AC Milan have some incredible players in their current team such as Kaka and Ronaldinho and going to watch one of their games would be very worthwhile. Alternatively, if you prefer to watch Inter Milan, they are coached by Jose Mourinho at the moment, who became something of a cult figure during his time at Chelsea.

Because Milan is so famous for its fashion it is a great place to go shopping with flagship stores for designer labels such as Armani and Dolce e Gabbana located there.

If you want something a bit cheaper but just as trendy you should go to the flea market called Fiera di Senigallia.
Those who come to Milan wanting to try the best of Italian cooking will not be disappointed as there are plenty of restaurants, inns and trattorias to try. If you want classic Milan cuisine you should go to Il Brellin in Vicolo dei Lavandai.

Giacomo Benetti is a travel writer for Rhino car hire. Giacomo is based in Italy but covers stories about the entire Mediterranean area. Milan is his favourite city in the entire world.