Take It or Leave It

They made commuting a nightmare, but two recent winter storms also created a dream situation for the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort. It received 38.5 inches of new snow.

"It's a dry, light powder, and as it begins to settle and pack up, it's just going to get better and better," said Craig Baldwin, base operations manager at the 700-acre facility.

The resort went from 20 percent open to 100 percent in less than a week. And while Baldwin would not disclose numbers, he said it hasn't been this busy since 2004.

"The economy doesn't appear to be slowing us down," he said.

Not more than 45 minutes from most of the valley, up Mount Charleston at the end of state Route 156, Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort offers 11 trails of skiing and snowboarding from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Adult lift tickets are $45 for a half-day, $50 for a full day; 12 and younger, and 60 and older, pay $25 and $30 respectively. (Season passes also are available, ranging from $270 for a child 12 or younger to $600 for an adult full season pass.) Skis, boots and poles, or snowboards and boots, can be rented in $35 packages.

The new snow also has drawn locals and tourists to Mount Charleston for more dangerous pursuits. Sledding down the mountain is not illegal. But it's not advised, either. Snow hides a multitude of deathly perils from sledders, imparting the appearance of safety to anything underneath -- including ice, rocks, tree trunks and out-and-out holes.

The last reported sledding fatality occurred in January 2006, when an out-of-control Echo Canyon sledder struck and killed a 3-year-old boy. However, according to Nevada Division of Forestry Battalion Chief George Gonzalez, "a lot" of sledding accidents and deaths go unreported each season.

"Most of the accidents we have, we fly them out of here, and if they pass away at the hospital, it's not reported," he said.

Last year, according to Gonzalez, one person died in an unreported sledding accident. (He refused to provide any further information.)

"I wish Big 5 didn't sell sleds," Gonzalez said.

For sledders who plan to ignore his advice, Gonzalez strongly advised that they at least confine their activity to two designated areas on the mountain: Foxtail Snowplay Area and Lee Canyon Meadows.

Just driving up the mountain can be an extreme sport, too -- for the ill-prepared. Within the first four hours of the season's first major snowfall, on Dec. 15, no less than five cars skidded off the road and into trees or ditches.

"They either didn't have the right skill or vehicle equipment," said Sgt. Eric Fricker of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.