Mammoth will be open until May 26, but you know the snowsports season is winding down when people start talking about pond skimming contests.

Yesterday, a lively crowd welcomed springtime to Mammoth Mountain when about 75 hearty souls attempted to ski and snowboard across a 100 foot pool of icy water in the return of Mammoth's Pond Skim.

Air temperatures averaged a chilly 30 degrees outside Canyon Lodge where the Pond Skim took place. Skilled pond skimmers braved water temperatures that were decidedly frigid in an attempt to earn prizes and bragging rights. Less fortunate participants sunk their way into the icy depths of the pool after each unsuccessful attempt.

Dean Cardinale on the summit of Everest

SNOWBIRD, Utah - The season may soon be wrapping up for most of the ski and snowboard resorts in the Wasatch Mountains, but a new one is about to start for Dean Cardinale.

And much of this one will be on snow, too.

Cardinale, who joined the Snowbird Ski Patrol in 1993, will soon be headed to the Himalaya and other mountain ranges around the globe for another season of guiding and climbing.

"I can't wait," said Cardinale, a 39-year-old native of Lake Placid, NY, who summitted 29,035-foot Mount Everest in 2005. He's one of five current or former Snowbird employees who have climbed the world's highest peak, including owner Dick Bass, who did it in 1985.

(One of the patrollers, Willie Benegas, has ascended Everest an impressive seven times.)

Bass also was the first person to climb the seven highest summits on the seven continents, a feat Cardinale hopes to accomplish soon himself.

"I hope to do Aconcagua in South America this year and then be done with all seven in the next two years," said Cardinale, now assistant director of snow safety at Snowbird. After Aconcagua, the two remaining will be Carstensz Pyramid and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

Five winners of Ski Utah's "Ski In - Fly Out" promotion, plus a guest of their choice, will board the 6:15 a.m. Delta flight from San Diego to Salt Lake City tomorrow morning for what promoters are calling the ultimate one-day ski vacation.

The lucky dogs.

Once they get to the SLC International Airport, they'll be visiting one of five different Utah ski resorts. The pairs of skiers will enjoy Alta/Snowbird, Brighton/Solitude, The Canyons, Deer Valley or Snowbasin.

They will be provided with a complete ski package including rental equipment, a day of skiing, lunch and dinner. This crazy mad dash is the end result of the 'Fly in - Ski Out' campaign designed by Ski Utah and the Utah Office of Tourism.

No doubt about it, winter is winding down.

But there is still time to get in some late-season runs at Mountain High has a number of money-saving discounts to help keep them affordable.

Here are some examples:

Bounce Back Days - Guests who purchase an adult lift ticket will receive a voucher good for 50 percent off their next visit this season. This discount ends when the resort goes to official late-season rates and new vouchers will not be offered when redeeming a previous bounce-back coupon.

Spring Student Discount - Show your student ID and get an adult 8-Hour lift ticket for just $39.00 any day. Regularly $51.00. Eight-Hour tickets are good for eight hours from the time guests take their first run.

Rental Discounts - $20 Adult Ski Package, $25 Adult Snowboard Package, $15 Child Ski Package (ages 7-12), $25 Child Snowboard Package (ages 7-12).

Children's Academy Parent Special - Mountain High's Children's Academy is still going strong. Guests who purchase a Full-Day Children's Academy lesson will receive a FREE adult 8-Hour lift ticket to use while their kids are in school. This ticket is good the same day only.

None of these offers are valid in conjunction with any other discount or promotion. Visit http://www.mthigh.com for more information.

Tons of snow remain at Big Bear.

To celebrate all that white stuff, resort managers are bringing back discounted tickets of $25 for law enforcement, firefighters and active military through the end of the season.

Officials said this deal cuts more half of the regular lift ticket price. Participants need to present their military ID or badge at the ticket window to receive the discount.

Skiers and snowboarders may also want to check out the 2008/09 Screamin' Deal Season Passes that are on sale now.

Passes are good through the rest of this season and all of next season. Some passes pay for themselves in as little as 5 visits so pass holders can pay for a pass this year and ski and ride all of next year free. Prices will go up after May 31st.

Much of the rest of the economy may be struggling - can you say recession? - but skiers and snowboarders responded to the abundant snow this winter by whipping out their credit cards.

According to SnowSports Industries America, which tracks these things, consumers have spent $2.35 billion on gear this season, up 13 percent over the same period during the winter of 2006-2007.

"The subprime mortgage crisis, the falling value of the dollar, increasing prices for consumer goods, and the high price of petroleum have hit the economy very hard but when the snow is good nothing will keep people off the slopes," said Kelly Davis, research director for SIA, the non-profit industry trade group that represents manufacturers and distributors of snow sports products.

The top freestyle skiers in America will converge on Park City Thursday through Sunday for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships.

The events will be held at three of Park City's Olympic venues: the Utah Olympic Park, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort.

The Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships are an opportunity for top divisional freestyle athletes to compete against the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, which is coming off a strong season.

Writer Brian Clark makes turns in his new boots at Snowbird.

Photo By Mark Lorenzen
Story by Brian Clark

PARK CITY, Utah - After 10-plus years and perhaps 300 days, it was time to retire my trusty Dalbello ski boots. And what better place than Park City, one of the country's premier ski towns?

If shops there - and the folks who work in them - don't know boots, who would?

Truth be told, I felt a little guilty about retiring my old Dalbellos. Prior to buying them at a shop in Olympia, Wa. back in the mid-1990s, I'd gone through a string of uncomfortable boots.

In those days, I associated skiing with a little bit of pain.

Not that it stopped me from making regular trips to Crystal Mountain, White Pass, Whistler/Blackcomb, Alpental and other resorts in the Northwest and Canada. But, more often than not, my feet hurt when I skied.

In case you were off skiing or snowboarding - as I was - this past weekend, you may not have noticed that a 25-year drought in U.S. alpine skiing ended on Sunday.

That's when the outspoken Bode Miller and Lindsey Kidow Vonn took home the men's and women's overall World Cup titles. The last time Yanks took those crowns was in 1983, when Tamarra McKinney became the first American woman to win and Phil Mahre took his third title.

Few observers would have thought the U.S. would do so well this year, especially considering that Miller, who likes to do things his own way, all but divorced himself from the American team.

And few expected Kildow, who married former racer Thomas in 2007, to win by slowing down a wee bit.

But they did. And the U.S. can celebrate.

To see an excellent piece on their victories, go to: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0317/p01s01-woeu.html

Spring Jam, Mountain High's annual spring break celebration, returns this Saturday with a full line up of contests, activities and live performances. For three straight weekends, fun seekers can participate in events like Pond Skimming, The Frozen T-Shirt Contest, and Get Ready to Rock...Band.

Additionally each weekend is host to specialty events like the annual Easter Egg Hunt, Mountain High's Forum CLAIM Session, and a new team jib event titled The Montage. Students also receive a special $39.00 ticket (regularly $51.00) when they show their Student ID from March 17th to April 13th.

Bounce Back Days have returned to Mountain High.

Any skier or snowboarder who purchases an adult ticket now through the end of the season will receive a voucher good for 50 percent off their next midweek visit, officials said.

This offer can be applied to four-hour, eight-hour or night tickets but the discount must be used this winter. Bounce Back coupons expire at the end of the 2007/08 season so guests are advised to act quickly.

Mountain High's current projected closing date is April 20th.

By Brian E. Clark
Photo by Mark Lorenzen

To say Jim Engle is a huge fan of Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon would be more than an understatement.

That's because Engle, who could have his pick of the Beehive State's numerous stellar ski and snowboard areas, has been a season pass holder at Solitude for nearly a quarter century.

He knows there are bigger and fancier resorts not far away from his home in Sandy - a Salt Lake City suburb - but he chooses Solitude for its uncrowded feel, its north-facing slopes and its terrain.

He says he's more than happy to stick to the area's 1,200 acres, which boasts a vertical descent of 2,000 feet, 64 named runs, eight lifts, three bowls and a pedestrian-only storybook village. It also has a small terrain park, an ice-skating rink and a Nordic center that offers cross-country and snowshoeing gear.