Skiers can find action outside Las Vegas

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Sliding down the hill, my skis were pointed right at the rocks, and all I could think was, "This ain't gonna feel good." Preoccupied by what could happen, my brain couldn't pigeon-toe my skis and snowplow to a stop. I just kept thinking about how the rocks would feel, how long it would take the rescue team to get to me and what a sunny, glorious, near-perfect day it was.

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And the rocks were getting closer.

So I did what every beginning skier does: I flopped to the ground and slowed to a stop, inches from a bed of jagged stone. I let out a little whoop, laughing at my cowardice and the thrill of escaping pain on the slopes.

Welcome to Las Vegas.

Here, you can risk it all: your paycheck, your mortgage or even your neck, if you're a thrill seeker like me. In previous visits to the Strip, I've floated in an indoor sky-diving center and leapt off an outdoor bungee-jumping tower. A nighttime helicopter ride over the city was a jolt. Someday I might make a parachute jump there, to compare it with my Chicago-area sky-diving experience, and one day I hope to make enough money to get behind the wheel of a race car at a Vegas driving school.

You don't have to gamble money to have fun in Sin City. For every tired-eyed gambler who has a scheme to beat the odds, Las Vegas has a way to pump your adrenaline.

But if you really want to let the chips fall where they may, ride down the mountain at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort in Lee Canyon. With a base elevation of 8,510 feet, these 11 trails are covered by snow and snowmakers. It's not Heavenly, but it's better than the Midwest hills I've hit, good enough to lure 50,000 to 75,000 visitors a year for about 120 days of skiing from Thanksgiving to Easter.

Many people are surprised that decent skiing is available a short drive from Sin City, but then Las Vegas is the home of the unexpected. After all, it's a worldwide travel destination that bloomed in a desert. Now, where tumbleweeds used to roam, you can see water dancing at the fountains of the Bellagio hotel.

You can drive 50 minutes northwest out of Vegas, snaking through the cactus-studded desert on lonely U.S. Highway 95, framed by hazy purple mountains in all directions. A left turn onto Nevada Highway 156 leads up the mountain, where snow starts appearing at about 6,000 feet. The two-lane road passes a sprinkling of campgrounds that offer gorgeous views of mountains and desert. The road dead-ends at the ski area.

Lee Canyon, as the ski area is also known, is great for beginners, intermediate skiers and snowboarders, with groomed, clearly marked trails and wide-open skiing and a not-too-scary vertical drop of 860 feet.

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Snowboarders can challenge themselves on the obstacles that spring out of the snow at Darkside Park _ rails, picnic tables and more to grind on.

It's hard to call this place a resort. It has the intimacy and friendliness of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and the prices aren't too hard to stomach.

All-day lift tickets go for $50, and equipment rental maxes out at $35 for skis/poles/boots or $35 for snowboard/boots. Lockers can be rented for 50 cents (bring a dry dollar bill for the automated changemaker).

Come during the week, and you'll feel as if you own the mountain; locals flock here on weekends. If you have to go on a weekend, wait till Sunday. That's when traffic out of Las Vegas is a breeze, and getting to Lee Canyon before it opens at 9 a.m. is the best way to beat the crowds. You'll get in a couple of runs before the mountain starts filling up. If you get there after 1 p.m., prepare for lines at the lifts.

The sun disappears behind the mountain about midafternoon, and the temperature plunges, so tuck a scarf and your goggles in your pocket, and wear layered clothes.

With daytime temperatures in the low 40s on the mountain _ and in the 60s in Las Vegas _ you'll be tempted to wear little more than a hooded sweat shirt. But dress warmly if you plan to ski past 2:30 p.m., or if you plan to fall a lot on the wet, chilly snow.

Save a few minutes for the Big Horn Cafe. Walk past the warmed-over pizza, and get the thick, juicy, way delicious, freshly grilled $6.50 burger-and-potato-chips meal (skip the cheeseburgers; the slice of American is added to the burger too late to allow it to melt). Jalapenos and hot sauce add tang. Vegetarians' only option is the nachos-and-cheese dish, and vegans are out in the cold. Alcohol is available for proper apres-ski sessions.

Everyone can take comfort near the Big Horn's fireplace, but this isn't Aspen; diners squat on low stools next to picnic tables. Big Horn is just like all of Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort: short on frills but big on charm.

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Eric Gwinn: egwinn@tribune.com

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