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Utah's ski resorts spring into the sports spotlight

In addition to great powder snow and a long winter, Utah's ski industry is blessed by the lingering buzz of the 2002 Winter Olympics, plus a major nearby airport that makes getting to Salt Lake City easy from other parts of the country.

The Olympics brought international acclaim, dozens of new and faster lifts and thousands of more acres of skiable terrain. Traffic on the slopes was up by 37 percent in the six years after the Olympics, before the economy soured, making Utah skiing a $1 billion industry.

``That was our coming-out party,'' said Nathan Rafferty, president of the trade group Ski Utah. ``We were always in the shadows of other resorts, like Colorado's. But hosting the Olympics put us on the map.''

Americas offer surprises for seasoned visitors

If you've traveled to Central and South America, you've probably visited the spectacular Iguazu Falls on the Argentina-Brazil border, sophisticated Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, and the natural beauty of Costa Rica. But have you walked among penguins? Skiied during our summer? Immersed yourself in colonial splendor? Small cities and less-known attractions aren't crowded and are more manageable on short visits. Consider these on your next trip.

COLONIA, URUGUAY

Just inside the walls of this 330-year-old city is a passage known as the Street of Sighs, slanting down to the Rio de la Plata. Legend has it that condemned men drew their last breaths there before being thrown to their death in the river. It's a good story, but not true. The condemned were deported to Rio de Janeiro.

Whistler's got game -- and it's the big one

The ski area that will be the focus of the world's attention this season is Whistler-Blackcomb in Vancouver, Canada, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Olympian or not, you'll be able to ski there before and after the Games -- and even during.

``We have 200 trails and only 10 percent will be used for the Olympics. Ninety percent of the ski areas will be open to the public during the Games,'' said Whistler's Amber Turnau.

Of course, the problem is that lodging will be scarce and expensive during the competitions. The Olympics take place Feb. 12-28, followed by the Paralytic Winter Games March 12-21.

Lake Placid: winter and summer playground

Jim Shea paused for more than a moment, almost unable to imagine the thought of Lake Placid without the legacy of hosting two Winter Olympic games, in 1932 and 1980.

``We'd just be a sleepy little Adirondack town, just a small little Adirondack resort,'' said Shea, an Olympic skier whose father helped bring the games back to Lake Placid for the second time. ``It certainly would not have grown like it's grown. We have built our lives basically around the five Olympic rings. It kind of put us on the map.''

Indeed.

Sleepy little Canadian town gets a big lift from skiing buffs

At the top of Red Mountain, British Columbia, 2,900 feet above us, wind-driven snow sculpted trees into pure white creatures out of Dr. Seuss. Down at the base lodge, gentler flakes drifted in front of my goggles.

The four of us had spent the morning carving silent tracks on Granite Peak, the higher of Red's two lift-served summits in the West Kootenay region just over the border from eastern Washington and Idaho. I say silent, because ski edges make sounds on snow depending on the texture of the surface: clattering sounds on ice, whooshing and slicing sounds on packed snow, zipper sounds on hard corduroy. This snow -- a dusting of powder as fine as talc -- made no sound at all. Skiing through it was like frosting a huge cake with your feet.

A cold, gray sky kept the snow perfect hour after hour. (Warm temperatures are the enemy of silent snow.) By midday, we needed a break and took one at the Paradise Lodge, high on the mountain's backside. We had the bacon/mushroom burgers from the outdoor grill (thick