Slim down on summer slopes: mountain resorts can heat up your calorie-burning efforts on the cheap - Brief Article

Imagine the perfect alpine backdrop: Mountain peaks surround you as far as the eye can see. Brisk breezes undulate tall pine spires. A chairlift hums quietly overhead, and the ski lodge a thousand feet below looks like a miniature from a toy train set. You plant your poles firmly and get set to point yourself downhill and start carving up some pristine ... grass?

That's right, grass. And maybe rocks and dirt and moss and mountain flowers. Because this is August and you're not sporting skis--you re wearing hiking boots. And the nearest thing to snow is the ice on a glacier somewhere in Nova Scotia. You've entered the summerized version of winter ski resorts. Today, mountains stay open year-round, attracting business long after the skiers and snowboarders have put away their gear, and the snow has become part of some underground aquifer.

"The same slopes you ski on in the winter are great in the summer for mountain biking and hiking" explains Jeffrey DeKorte, America Online's travel advisor. Not to mention tennis, golf, rock climbing, and, often, rafting or kayaking. You could spend another Saturday pounding the treadmill or trudging along the same streets around your house, but for a change of pace, why not take your cardio to a resort? The inspiration factor alone is enough to reenergize your aerobic efforts big time.

Unlike the shoulder-to-shoulder camaraderie of winter ski holidays, summer outings of this sort provide generous space to be alone. And because ski lodges are up where the air is thin, you'll be burning a lot of calories (see "High-Altitude Calorie Burn," page 98) amid generally pleasant summer temperatures.

You can go easier on your wallet if you head to lesser-known ski destinations that feature plenty to do in summer, but offer pricing that is user-friendly. There are dozens of strong candidates, almost certainly including a few resorts near you. Here are five, chosen for their aerobic, calorie-burning potential.

TAOS SKI VALLEY, NEW MEXICO

Location: Rugged, remote Rocky Mountain territory (about 150 miles from Albuquerque).

Elevation: High, high, higher. Base elevation is 9,200 feet, and some peaks hit 12,000 feet.

Lodgings: In August you'll pay as little as $50 to $75 per night for a room that in peak season costs three or four times that much (www.skitaos.org).

Activities: It can get lonely up on the mountain in summer, as quite a few restaurants and hotels take the season off. But you won't find more scenic--or more strenuous--hiking and biking trails anywhere. Tramping up any of these hills, you'll be huffing and puffing and growing tougher by the second. Watercooler-boasting bonus: Trekking with llamas is available.

Miscellaneous: If you find yourself craving more action, or you just want to take a break from your aerobic efforts, venture down into the nearby town of Taos (roughly 20 miles away), where summer is high season and tourists throng the streets and pack the bars and restaurants.

STRATTON MOUNTAIN, VERMONT

Location: About 100 miles from Burlington, Vt.

Elevation: The summit is 3,900 feet, where you'll find a stretch of the historic Appalachian Trail (which meanders all the way to Georgia). From that vantage point, the view of the Green Mountains is unbeatable.

Lodgings: Room rates dip as low as $59, about one-third of peak-season rates (www.stratton.com).

Activities: Take advantage of the ideal summer temperatures--highs around 80 degrees, lows near 55--and play tennis, attend golf school, fly-fish, and, of course, partake of all the mountain biking and hiking your thighs and lungs can handle. And you can always top off your day with a visit to the resort's sports center, which includes an indoor pool.

Miscellaneous: The first major ski resort to allow snowboarding (in 1983).

SNOWBIRD, UTAH

Location: Twenty-nine miles from Salt Lake International Airport.

Elevation: 11,000 feet

Lodgings: The going rate at press time for summer rooms was $69 per night (breakfast included), but shop around at online travel sites and you may find deeper discounts, a result, say the experts, of Salt Lake's creation of thousands of new hotel rooms for the Winter Olympics. This oversized capacity may make Snowbird a great bargain come summer (www.snowbird.com).

Activities: Access the mountain on an aerial tram that accommodates mountain bikes and affords you a vast and spectacular vista. Explore by foot on guided nature hikes and polish your rock climbing on a climbing wall.

Miscellaneous: If you're the competitive type, the resort features a mountain-biking race in August and a running race in September. Both races end at the top of 11,000-foot Hidden Peak, about 3,000 feet of vertical climbing.

SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT, IDAHO

Location: Just outside Sandpoint, Idaho, around 85 miles from Spokane, Wash., and 20 miles from the Canadian border.

Elevation: 6,400 feet

Lodgings: Rooms start at $99 (at Selkirk Lodge), $60 less than winter rates (www.schweitzer.com).

Activities: The resort makes up for its remoteness by offering abundant summer activities, including mountain biking (two separate race series are held in July), horseback riding, and kayaking and canoeing. There's also sailing and fishing on nearby Lake Pend Oreille (at 1,150 feet, the deepest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi) and hiking that takes you through huckleberry patches.