Travel

DOWNHILL

FROM GREEN-CIRCLE TO BLACK-DIAMOND SKI RUNS, THE SNOWBOWL HAS IT ALL FOR LESS The chair lift shuts down, the last draught beer is drawn, and diehards among the day's skiers and “kowabunga, dude!” snow boarders hang around like reluctant children who've been called home for dinner. Most of them are men in their 20s, and they stand in groups laughing and trading I-can-top-that stories about the day's most dramatic “crash-and-burn” tumbles. Soon their voices trail off as they grudgingly gather up their skis and boards and trudge toward the slushy parking lot. It's dusk, and the colors of the falling sun settle on the snow in neonlike patches of rose and turquoise. The slopes are quiet.

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Then the earth trembles. A faint rumbling grows into a monster's roar, and the slopes are splashed with flashes of pulsing yellow light.

The snow Cats are here.

It's March, and this is the Fairfield Snowbowl north of Flagstaff. Today, alone, more than 2,500 skiers carved their way down its 32 runs, and the numbers of skiers are expected to increase daily, owing to a marathon storm that dumped 34 inches of snow more than northern Arizona residents have seen in a 36-hour period in eight years.

Skiers and resort workers are ecstatic. Only five days ago, the outlook for the Snowbowl was dismal. The verdict by management was that the resort would have to close for the season. In fact, today Sunday was to be the final one of the season, and the announcement had been broadcast throughout the state on radio and television stations. Now yet another big storm is expected by midweek. At this rate, the Snowbowl will make it through spring break, and the slopes will be overrun by college students - especially from Northern Arizona and Arizona State universities and parents treating their kids to one more trek to the snow.

Buz Fleming snaps the binding releases on his green Rossignols, stands the skis up in the snow, and sits down on a picnic table on the barbecue deck of Agassiz Lodge. Despite the recent storm, it's warm and sunny today, and his face glistens with sun block. He takes a swig of beer and massages his knee.

"I did a face plant on Upper White Lightning." He grins. "I blew out of one ofmy skis." He laughs. "The fall didn't hurt me. The snow's deep and heavy up there. No, what got me is how I fell. The other ski, the one that stayed on, somehow it got stuck, tip first, deep in the snow. There I was: head planted in the snow, body buried, and ski sticking straight up backward, dug in so deep I couldn't lift it out."

Fleming, an expert skier from Phoenix, has been to the swankiest, most highly rated resorts in the western United States. He's been to the Swiss Alps and Austria. You'd think he'd be one of those Phoenix slope snoots who wrinkle their noses at the mere thought of "skiing Flagstaff."

"Well, Snowbowl isn't Park City or Aspen," Fleming agrees. "But think of it like this: I can take a day off work midweek, leave Phoenix early in the morning, be here by 9:00 A.M., ski all day, and drive home the same day. It's a bargain; it's close; there are some challenging runs here; my seven-year-old daughter can take ski lessons all day. There are bigger places than Snowbowl, but it has a lot to offer."

A group of skiers call down from the Agassiz Chair Lift No. 1 to Fleming. "Hey, Buz! We'll meet you up on top. We're gonna ski Upper Ridge. Come on!"

The Fairfield Snowbowl is located on a paved road off U.S. Route 180. With Agassiz as its beacon, it is nestled on the northern slopes of the majestic San Francisco Peaks.

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Opened in the late 1930s by several locals who used an old cabin on Hart Prairie as a ski base, the area soon was purchased by the Arnal Corporation. It was minimally developed and resold twice until it ultimately was acquired by Fairfield Communities, Inc., in 1982. The area, on 702 acres within the Coconino National Forest, still is operated through a specialuse permit granted by the Forest Service.

Since 1982, the Snowbowl, which employs 350 people, has expanded more than 30 percent to include two triple chair lifts and two doubles, two full-service day lodges, a 70-instructor ski school, a fulltime ski patrol, and a rental shop.

The area offers ski trails ranging from eight green-circle easy runs such as Hart Prairie to 10 black-diamond challenges like Upper Ridge.

From 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M., these big yellow diesel monsters run continuously, moving and smoothing snow so the slopes are in top condition for the next day's runs. Slope Maintenance Manager Dale Haglin is examining the hydraulic pump system under the cab of one of his three $170,000, 260-horsepower, LMC 3700 C Caterpillar diesels.

"I got 13 operators running five shifts a night," Haglin says as he lowers the cab on the Cat frame. "Generally, I hire guys who've never been in a Cat. I start the rookies out on the easier stuff like Hart Prairie. In three seasons, I can get them to where they can operate the Cat on the steeper runs."

There's not a machine at the resort that Haglin can't run. Yesterday, he got out of bed at 3:00 A.M. and was at the Snowbowl by 4:30 A.M. He got into a hauler, loaded cinders, drove down the paved road that leads to the ski area, and dumped the cinders on dangerous ice slicks. He drove back to the equipment yard, got into a Cat, and headed up the mountain to specially groom a run for ski races. He parked the Cat, got into a 966 Loader, and shoveled slush and snow off the parking lot. Then his "workday" began.

He was home by 10:00 P.M.

What aficionados seem to like best about the Fairfield Snowbowl is the economies, relative to costs at some other Southwest ski resorts. At larger resorts, such as those in Colorado, a half-day private ski lesson is approximately $150. At the Snowbowl, a three-hour private lesson is $75. Lift tickets at other nearby resorts are $35 a day and more. At the Snowbowl, the cost is $25.

In ski areas such as Colorado's Purgatory and Telluride, you easily canpay more than $200 a night for a cramped condominium. If you're skiing at the Snowbowl, you can stay in Flagstaff hotels and motels where winter room rates are off-season and as low as $35 a night.

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These rates are nearly unbeatable for families, says J. R. Murray, the Snowbowl's manager.

"When you're skiing in areas like those in Colorado in the winter, this is their high season, so rates are at their peak," Murray says. "But winter is low season for Flagstaff. The rates are bargain basement, compared to what they are in summer, the high season. Plus, because it's low season, you don't have to call weeks in advance to make reservations for accom-modations. You just come and stay where you want for as long as you want."

The best deals at the Snowbowl are the instructional ski packages. If you're a beginner, you pay $40 and receive an allday lift pass, equipment rental, and four hours of professional instruction. The skier who is trying to improve skills pays $30 for an all-day lift pass and two hours of instruction.

Also, it's a great place, bargainwise, for kids to learn to ski. Children from 4 to 12 years old can enroll in SKIwee, which includes all-day care, several hours of instruction, lunch, a goody bag, progress card, and rentals all for $42. Half-day is $30.

"Some of the other nearby resorts, they're bigger, sure, but that doesn't make them better," Murray says. "I think the Fairfield Snowbowl has some of the best beginner terrains around. Hart Prairie, for instance, has more than 50 acres, two chair lifts, and long, easy beginner's slopes. They're not mixed up with advanced and intermediate slopes, so the beginners don't have people coming at them off black-diamond runs, scaring them. It's really an ideal area for learning."

Experts have their own challenges at the Snowbowl. These include ungroomed, thigh-burning mogul runs such as Casino and Tiger, and groomed but steep and harrowing black-diamond runs including Upper Bowl, White Lightning, Ridge, and Ambush.

Then there are the out-of-bounds runs which aren't listed on the Snowbowl's trail maps but can be found nonetheless, especially with directions from local ski experts. These include Upper White Lightning, a through-the-trees adventure; the Inner Basin, a seven-mile run on the other side of the mountain; and South Side, which takes you from an elevation of 11,500 feet just below Agassiz Peak chair lift No. 1 down to 7,600 feet, four and a half miles from the ski area.

WHEN YOU GO FAIRFIELD SNOWBOWL

Getting there: Located off U.S. Route 180 about 30 minutes from Flagstaff and two and a half hours from Phoenix, the Fairfield Snowbowl Ski and Summer Resort is open December through March. Actual dates for opening and closing depend upon snowfall.

What's available: Chair lifts open at 9:00 Α.Μ., and close at 4:00 P.M. Lift tickets can be purchased at Hart Prairie and Agassiz lodges. Ski school for children and adults is on the second floor of Hart Prairie Lodge.

Ski rental and repair also is available on site. Skiers can eat breakfast and lunch cafeteriastyle at either of the area's two day lodges: Agassiz and Hart Prairie. Picnic facilities also are available for skiers who bring their own food.

Accommodations and services: Hotels are plentiful in Flagstaff as are restaurants, ranging from fast-food to fine dining.

For more information about Snowbowl skiing and snow conditions, call (602) 779-1951.

SUNRISE PARK RESORT

Getting there: With 11 chair lifts and 60 trails on three mountains - Sunrise Peak, Apache Peak, and Cyclone Circle - Sunrise Park Resort is one of the largest ski areas in the Southwest. Operated by the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the area is approximately 30 miles from Pinetop off State Route 260. Other nearby communities are Greer, Alpine, and Whiteriver.

What's available: In addition to Alpine ski instruction for children and adults, Sunrise offers snow-boarding lessons and cross-country or Nordic instruction. The area also maintains more than 10 miles of trail groomed for crosscountry skiing.

Accommodations and services:

Sunrise Resort Lodge is minutes from the ski area and offers complete accommodations from single rooms to suites, as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Accommodations also are plentiful in nearby communities such as Pinetop, but reservations should be made in advance during ski season.

There are two day lodges on the mountain, as well as snack bars, lounges, and ski-equipment shops.

The area is open December through March. From December to February, night skiing is featured on Friday and Saturday nights, and it's free to Sunrise Resort Lodge guests.

For more information about the Sunrise ski area, call (602) 735-7600.

MOUNT LEMMON SKI VALLEY

Getting there: It's hard to imagine that a ski area could be located in southern Arizona just 30 minutes from downtown Tucson in the picturesque Santa Catalina Mountains. But it's true.

What's available: Open from December to April, the resort offers 15 trails, one chair lift, two rope tows (beginner lifts), and ski school for children and adults. Equipment rental also is available.

On average, the area receives about 150 inches of snow each season, although as much as 300 inches has been reported in past winters. The base of the resort is at 8,200 feet, and the highest summit, off its main chair lift, is 9,100 feet. Mount Lemmon Ski Valley offers a restaurant and snack bar, and nearby bed-and-breakfast accommodations are available, as are a myriad of hotels and motels in Tucson.

Accommodations and services:

For more information about Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, call (602) 576-1321.

The experts warn that these trails are challenging and should be attempted only by advanced skiers. Also, don't try them unless you know where you're going, and let someone know when you go. Because these trails are out-of-bounds to the ski area, they are not routinely patrolled. If you're injured, you could be on your own for a long time.

The Cat moves up and down Sunset Boulevard run, pushing and leveling snow. Operator Mike Jacobs uses a “D” handle to maneuver the Cat's blade in 12 independent directions. It's like using a razor on a face covered with shaving cream, only this face belongs to a steep mountain, and there's no cream, just tons and tons of powdery, heavy snow.

Jacobs says there's really no danger to this except if the Cat gets sideways to the slope and into an uncontrollable slide, or if the Cat gets to pushing so much snow that it starts riding it like a surfer on an avalanche.

There's the vertigo, too. Sometimes the wind blows 90 miles an hour, especially on the prairie. You're in a whiteout, and you can't tell the sky from the ground. You get dizzy and don't know where you are. You gotta shake it off.

Sometimes vertigo attacks while you're on the steeps. Then you open your window, look for the tree line, and try to stay parallel to it, hoping there's nothing up ahead that your addled mind forgot like a ridge you might drive off.

Otherwise, no problem.

Fleming and his daughter, Alex, take their last run on long and easy Hart Prairie. Skiing since she was four years old, Alex is all bundled up, looking like a lavender teddy bear in sunglasses. She glides along easily, changing directions in neat, little wedge turns. Insisting she lead the way, she wants Dad to see what she Learned earlier in the morning at SKIwee. Now she slows to ask if they can get hot chocolate in the lodge.

It's getting cold, and the sun is setting on the rosy prairie. The skiers are calling it a day.

Then the earth trembles.

ARIZONA ROAD ATLAS

Plan your next weekend getaway or family vacation with this invaluable traveler's aid. An easy-to-use, take-along book, the newly revised state road atlas includes 17 detailed, fullcolor regional maps, mileage-distance grids, and street maps for 27 Arizona cities. Major points of interest also are highlighted.

The 56-page, softcover edition of Arizona Road Atlas is $4.95, plus shipping and handling. Order through the attached order card, or write or visit Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. You can place telephone orders by calling toll-free nationwide 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.

DOWNHILL TRAVEL WITH THE FRIENDS OF ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Ponder the wonders of Arizona and learn photography from the best. Whether you are a casual point-and-shoot photographer, a serious amateur, or just someone who wants to experience Arizona in a unique way, the Friends of Arizona Highways auxiliary has a trip for you.

Excursions vary from one-day Shutterbug Safaris and twoto six-day Photo Tours, led by our photographers and technical representatives (from Fuji, Kodak, AGFA, and Tamron), to twoto five-day Scenic Tours of the state's most spectacular locales, guided by premier photographer Ray Manley.

PHOTO TOURS:

Grand Canyon; February 6-9: Visit the South Rim of the Canyon with Gary Ladd and experience the superb grandeur of the incomparable chasm, its drama, color, and ever-changing light.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; March 12-14: Jerry Sieve will lead a trek to Organ Pipe, a pocket of spectacular desert where the many-armed organ pipe cactus coexists with desert plants found only there and in some parts of Mexico. A bonus is the possibility of a profusion of spring wildflowers.

Lake Powell; April 21-25: Jerry and Lois Jacka will lead a houseboat trip on the waterway with more shoreline than the Atlantic Coast. You'll discover multicolored sandstone cliffs and mysterious narrow side canyons.

SCENIC TOURS WITH RAY MANLEY

Southern Arizona; March 31-April 4: Explore the wonders of southern Arizona, including a Hohokam Indian ruin at Casa Grande, the Biosphere 2 project, Saguaro National Monument, the colorful Lavender Pit Mine, Tombstone - "the town too tough to die" - and much more.

Havasu Canyon; May 1-3: Instead of hiking or riding a horse for nine miles, helicopter into the "Land of Sky Blue Waters" in just six minutes, then head on foot to a spectacular waterfall against a backdrop of red travertine.

Canyon De Chelly/Monument Valley; May 4-8 and October 26-30: See ancient cliff dwellings with a Navajo guide at Canyon de Chelly, and experience the awesome geologic wonders of Monument Valley.

Colorado River; May 11-18: Raft the Colorado River, discover Indian ruins, hike, and relax around the campsite.

For more information and to make reservations, telephone the Friends of Arizona Highways Travel Desk (602) 271-5904.