As of today, skiers in Taos, New Mexico will know the joy of sharing the mountain with one-planking snowboarders. After years of deprivation, skiers at this southwestern ski resort area will, like their two-plank brethren around the nation, spend their days dodging snowboarders huddling in groups in the middle of groomed runs, avoiding sad sack beginners as they bounce tail bone-over-wrist down the mountain and envying the cool snowboard graphics lacking on their own skinny rides.

After years of being a ski-only mountain, Taos has finally decided to allow snowboarders to share the slopes. It’s a smart move, regardless of what the opposition (and there is one, a vocal one) says, for a resort as isolated as this one. The few remaining ski-only resorts in the country (Alta, Mad River Glen, Deer Valley) are located near competing mountains that allow both sports. That gives families and groups with both skiers and snowboarders choices. But instead of the ban at Taos attracting more visitors with its exclusive policy, it had the effect of sending more and more people, skiers included, out of state for fun in the snow.

The resort is kicking off the new policy with a celebratory weekend of events sponsored by Red Bull.

If you’re going to be in New York this weekend and you love travel, consider checking out the New York Times Travel Show, a veritable smorgasbord of travel information from resorts, hotels, spas, cruise lines, tour operators, tourist agencies and adventure travel companies from around the world. Along with vendor booths and live entertainment performances representing a vast array of cultures, the show features a Taste of the World Pavilion filled with international cuisine and cooking demonstrations, a Spa Pavilion offering sample treatments and discounted packages at spa resorts, travel author appearances and special travel deals offered to folks brave enough to book their next vacation on the spot. And with travel experts Rick Steves, Arthur Frommer, Ian Wright and Stephanie Abrams - among many others - leading seminars, the show offers a rare chance for face-to-face learning from leading peeps in the industry. Cost: $15.

Yup, you heard right. A mere three weeks remain before the deadline for Burton’s Poach for Freedom Contest, which will award $5,000 for the best video of snowboarders riding terrain at each of the four remaining North American ski resorts where snowboarding is not allowed:

Mad River Glen, VT

Alta, UT

Deer Valley, UT

Taos, NM*

Video entries have started to come in. I’m personally a fan of the vid featuring a nerdy, Napoleon Dynamite-esque duo - fanny packs and all - who get their calisthenics on before taking Vermont’s Mad River Glen by storm early one morning.

* Taos has announced that it will begin allowing snowboarders for the first time beginning on March 19, 2008.

Boy, am I stoked to go skoarding this weekend! Hmmm. Sounds like an old lady with too many snowmen in her yard. What about, we’re planning to hit the slopes for a little planking! Hmm. No, sounds like something Dr. Phil would tell you never to do to your children. There’s always the obvious and more benign term snurfing. As in, snurf’s up, dudes!

Each of the above words has been entered in Ski Utah’s 2008 Ski-Snowboard Lingo Contest, a month-long search for a new term to replace the cumbersome compound noun “skiing and snowboarding.” The contest, which runs through March 4, has two winning categories:

- The best new catchall term for skiing and snowboarding

- The best new skiing and snowboarding lingo or term related to the sports, but not necessarily a catchall phrase

The winner in the catchall category will win a two-day ski trip hosted by Ski Utah in April. The winner in the best new lingo category wins two lift tickets to the Canyons and 10 t-shirts sporting the new word. Clearly, for everyone who does not happen to live in Utah, concentrating on the catchall term makes more sense.

Contest judges include pro skiers Julian Carr and Kristen Ulmer, as well as editors from Transworld Snowboarding and Powder magazines.

To participate, submit your word online. Make sure to select the Ski/Snowboard Lingo Contest before you submit.

We know a good deal on cool travel gear when we see one. Today, I spotted the Burton AUDEX iPod AK Backpack for sale at the Snow Shack for $90. The pack retails at $279.95, though I found it for less on several web sites that I checked and available on eBay for $115. Still, Snow Shack is offering the best deal I can find.

Made for skiers and snowboarders with fun features like external pole and shovel storage spots and a panel for holding snowboards horizontally across the back, the Burton AUDEX iPod backpack would be ideal for frequent travelers who like to keep their tunes at the ready. An iPod storage pocket keeps your little white bundle of musical joy safe, while an iPod controller on the shoulder strap lets you, uh, control your music from the, uh, shoulder strap. No surprises there. The strap also has a headphone port. Plus, it just looks cool.

Looking for a last-minute Pacific Northwest getaway near Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor this weekend or next? I ran across what I think is a great deal this morning while perusing the last-minute offerings on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner), a site that allows property owners to rent homes and condos directly to travelers. I’ve used it many times in the past and, each time, had good results. It’s a great resource when you have a large group that wants to stay in the same location, especially near beaches and ski resorts. Here’s the deal:

Sunriver Vacation Rental A 3,500-square-foot five-bedroom, four-bath house with sleeping arrangements perfect for five couples or two families with kids in Sunriver, Ore. for $300/night ($200 cleaning fee will be added for stays shorter than 7 days), though the listing says last-minute deals are available, so make sure to ask about rate reductions for this weekend if you call.

The house offers a slew of amenities. A few:

- 55″ big screen TV and 48″ big screen TV

- Deck with hot tub

- Stainless steel BBQ grill

- Garage game room with air-hockey, ping pong table and foosball

- DVD, CD, TIVO, VCR, Playstation 2, central sound system with controls throughout the house

- Sub-zero fridge, gas range, double oven

Not bad for a last-minute Superbowl weekend escape in Oregon, eh? Spend Saturday on the slopes at Mt. Bachelor, Sunday taking in the game with plenty of room for food prep and plenty of diversion for those who aren’t as keen on watching the pigskin.

The Liftopia blog (a.k.a. Gigasnow) reminded us today of a v. important point regarding snow, the Superbowl and cash. That little nugget is this: the Superbowl is to crowded slopes what sodium chloride is to ice. Of all the weekends during ski season, the one on which the Superbowl falls is notoriously a slow one at the lift ticket box office. And though I’m one of those people who will be watching the game instead of heading for the hill, that doesn’t mean part of me won’t be wishing I was kicking it in Tahoe instead of hanging out with a bunch of meatheads (you know who you are) who happen to have multiple televisions and a way with a deep fryer.

So for ye sports-averse among us, this weekend promises some good deals on lift tickets through lovely Liftopia, the discount lift ticket retailer based in good ‘ole San Francisco. You could, for example, find yourself riding Park City $66.99 (15 percent savings), Powder Mountain for $45 (15 percent savings) or Wildcat Mountain for the freakishly low price of $24.99 (58 percent off).

Check out the post below for more deals.

Superbowl Sunday - Fewer Skiers, Bigger Discounts

Outdoor retailer Peter Glenn is having an online post-holiday sale that could help you feel, perhaps, just slightly less guilty about buying winter sports gear midseason. So if you’re heading to the mountains in ‘08, you can grab brands like Spyder, Sport Obermeyer, Nils, Bogner and Orage for 30 to 50 percent off. Shipping is free for orders over $99. One of my favorite sale items: the Orage Kai Pinstripe Insulated Ski Jacket, pictured here. It features a highly functional waterproof hardshell with cool details like the offset zipper, windflap closures in a cheeky, faux-formal pattern. Regularly $370, the jacket is on sale for $299.

Sometimes, the best gifts are the small, cheap and simple ones. Case in point: the rubber water bottle holder with carabiner attachment. One of these little gizmos made its way into my stocking this year, and I’ve got to say that it’s one of my favorite new possessions. Perfect for frequent travelers, the rubber holder attaches to the neck of a plastic bottle and then clips onto the outside of a backpack, handbag, jacket, etc., where it keeps your fluids easily accessible and - now this is crucial - apart from water-averse items that might be living in said backpack, handbag, jacket, etc. It’s also a great option when for travelers hitting the slopes or hiking during warmer months - I’d much rather have my water bottle hooked to the outside of my gear than taking up valuable space inside. Cost: $3.99

We’ve got snow on the brain. The good kind. The kind that keeps us happy even when our fingers are threatening to freeze off. Fortunately for visitors to Northern California’s Lake Tahoe region, the temperatures rarely plunge as low as those in the Rockies, the Wasatch in Utah or the White and Green ranges in northern New England. But that’s hardly the only reason to opt for a Lake Tahoe ski trip over another region.

In North Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Valley, skiers and snowboarders alike get the benefit of some 4,000 acres of downhill fun in a part of the country that sees an average of 300 sunny, cloudless days per year. And then there are all the great places to eat, sleep and hangout while you’re there. One of our favorite places to bunk in for the night is the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, whose 61 rooms are a treat anytime of year. During the winter, ski-in, ski-out access to Squaw Valley lifts and onsite rentals and equipment storage sweeten the deal.

This week, we checked in with Mike Murphy, GM of PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn for his insider take on doing Tahoe like a local.

One plank or two?

Both. I enjoy snowboarding on a powder day and some fast GS turns on the skis on the groomer days.

The best place to fuel up before a day on the mountain?

Home. A greasy breakfast burrito waiting in line for the lifts to open doesn’t work for me.

Best run first thing in the morning?

Wherever hasn’t been tracked out by all the die-hards that get in the lift lines two hours before opening.

Geekiest piece of outdoor gear you own?

I have one of those GPS watches that tracks your distance, speed and altitude change. I bought one for when I actually thought I was going to start training for a triathlon. The watch is still in the box.

On the mountain, the gear you can’t live without:

Helmet. Helmet. Helmet.

Favorite non-downhill winter Tahoe activity:

Snow-shoe with the snowboard strapped to my pack for some great local back-country turns.

Best cheap eats in North Lake:

Tacos Jalisco in Truckee. You have to try the “Armadillo!”

After a day on the mountain, where to head for beer with buddies:

The bar at PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn is always fun and has a great location for those getting off the slopes. The Stone “Smoked Porter” is my personal favorite.

Most romantic spot at Squaw?

Table 8 at the PlumpJack Cafe. It seems to be where all of the wedding proposals and special anniversary dinners happen.

What should every visitor take home?

The tourists seem to love the pinecones. You would think that you can’t find them anywhere else in the country.

Whenever a friend visits, you always make sure they see:

Lake Tahoe. Any time of year it’s a pretty amazing site. I never get tired of it, and I have been here 13 years.

A day on the mountain wouldn’t be complete without:

Watching a touron hooting and hollering at the top of his lungs right before he yard-sales.