Winter wonderland not far off

The coffee at Mount Charleston Lodge seems curiously strong on a recent Sunday afternoon. Maybe it's the altitude; the lodge sits at 8,000 feet above sea level. Maybe things just taste better away from the city. Or maybe it's because a fresh snowfall has lightly powdered the nearby yucca plants, and such a tangible sign of winter so close to the desert makes everything seem surprising.

Most likely, though, it's Mount Charleston Lodge's "special recipe" for coffee: a lot of brandy, plenty of Scotch liqueur, a little vanilla milk, a dollop of whipped cream and -- oh yeah-- some coffee.

Inside the lodge, just 35 minutes northwest of Las Vegas, locals and tourists gather around the open fireplace and listen to the music and comedy of the Dummkopfs, who will play all afternoon.

Outside, not far from the log cabins available for rent, a pair of Belgian horses stands ready to pull a carriage full of people through the snow. Doug and Heather Gould and their two-year-old daughter, Rebecca, bundled in a thick winter coat, watch the horses.

"We're in (Vegas) from California for Christmas," Heather said. "But if I lived here, I'd come up all the time."

"You'd take it for granted," Doug said.

At the bottom of Kyle Canyon, a few minutes southeast of the lodge, the Mount Charleston Hotel isn't quite as bustling. A few people are eating lunch in the restaurant. No one is taking advantage of the glass bar, through which a view of the snow-dusted spring mountains is visible.

But the hotel isn't hurting for business, general manager Richard Mann said.

"We're a very busy hotel," he said. "We have five banquets this weekend."

The nearby Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort in Lee Canyon also stays busy this time of year. "It's been excellent," general manager Brian Strait said. "We opened pre-Thanksgiving, and that's perfect in the ski business."

Strait has only been managing the resort a few weeks. He moved from Park City, Utah, where he worked for 26 years at another ski resort.

"Where else but here can you golf in the morning, ski in the afternoon?" Strait said.

Unlike the Mount Charleston Lodge, the resort doesn't get all that many tourists.

"We're not a destination market," Strait said. "Our market is definitely people who live in the valley. We're 45 minutes away from the fountains at Bellagio."

Currently the resort has just under two feet of natural and man-made snow in which skiers and snowboarders can play.

"We do the best we can to counteract mother nature with snow-making," Strait said. "Mother nature can be your best partner or worst enemy."

The resort has a restaurant, full-service bar and gift shop. There's a ski school and equipment and clothing rentals.

"We get customers who come up here with absolutely nothing," Strait said. "There are those who come up Lee Canyon who've never seen snow in their lives. Anyone who lives nearby should come up to visit us, that's for sure."

To get to Mount Charleston, take U.S. Highway 95 north to Kyle Canyon Road (Highway 157) and turn left. To get to the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, take U.S. Highway 95 north to the Lee Canyon exit (Highway 156) and turn left.

Cabins adjacent to Mount Charleston Lodge rent for $125 to $220 per night. For more information, visit www.mtcharlestonlodge.com.

To learn more about Mount Charleston Hotel, where rooms start at $79 per night, visit www.mtcharlestonhotel .com.

The Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort is open November to April. All-day ski passes are $30 for adults, $23 for children and seniors. Call 593-9500 for a snow report.


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