Ski free with Alaska Airlines

Ski or snowboard for free when you fly Alaska Airlines to top Western resorts in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, California, Montana and Alaska. Plus, the airline is offering additional steep discounts if you take a second trip this winter season. Here are the deals:

With the “Fly Alaska, Ski Free,” promotion, just show your boarding pass for free skiing and other deals. Participating mountains include (alphabetically – you downhill diehards know where they are located): Alyeska Resort, Big Sky Resort, Big White Ski Resort, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Mammoth Mountain, Mt. Bachelor, RED Mountain Resort, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Snowbasin Resort, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows Resort, Steamboat Ski & Resort, Sun Valley Resort and Whitefish Mountain Resort.

With Alaska’s “Fly 2, Get 1 for the Tax” offer, winter sports enthusiasts can make the season last longer with this popular program. Simply fly two roundtrips to a qualifying ski destination this winter, and get a discount code good for a third round-trip ticket to any of those destinations. You just have to cover the taxes and fees, starting from $21.

The links also have tips for traveling with your ski and snowboard gear, and how to get through the airport and to the slopes faster.

My tip for getting through the airport faster is to spend the bucks for a Global Entry card, which gets you a fast pass through the TSA Security lines when you travel domestically and US Customs lines when you travel internationally. I consider it one of the best $100 investments I’ve ever made, for all the time and stress it has saved me.

Also, never leave home without travel insurance, which can protect you from missed planes and misplaced baggage thanks to winter storms that delay planes. Here’s everything you need to know about travel insurance.

Alaska launches its new seasonal route between Los Angeles and- Gunnison/Crested Butte, Colorado on Dec. 16. Other ski destinations from Southern California include Mammoth, Sun Valley and Salt Lake City. Los Angeles to Gunnison / Crested Butte flights run on Wednesdays and Saturdays until March 26.

The Sun Valley and Gunnison flights are operated by Alaska’s sister carrier Horizon Air, which offers passengers 21 and older complimentary Northwest wine and microbrews. Make mine a hefeweizen. The Steamboat Springs flights are operated by SkyWest Airlines.

Ecoxplorer Evelyn Kanter loves Crested Butte and has skied there often. It’s one of the resorts I recommended as a best place for beginners to learn to ski or snowboard, in this article I wrote for the Orbitz Travel Blog.

Some legalese about the Fly 2, Get 1 for the Tax offer:

• Offer is valid for Mileage Plan(TM) members. Registration is required prior to the first qualifying flight and must be completed by February 5, 2016. Once registered, member must fly four qualifying nonstop flights from any Alaska Airlines city (excluding Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Prudhoe Bay) to SUN, GEG, MMH, HDN, GUC, RNO, BZN, YYC, YVR, SLC, FCA, YLW, ABQ, RDM, or ANC by February 23, 2016 and travel must be credited to your Mileage Plan(TM) account by March 1, 2016. Flights must be marketed and operated by Alaska Airlines. Not valid on free or award travel.
• Qualifying members will receive a Discount Code for a round-trip ticket (taxes and fees from $21 apply) valid for travel between any Alaska Airlines city (excluding cities in Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Prudhoe Bay) and SUN, GEG, MMH, HDN, GUC, RNO, BZN, YYC, YVR, SLC, FCA, YLW, ABQ, RDM, or ANC from February 1, 2016, through April 30, 2016. Travel with the Discount Code must be ticketed on or before March 30, 2016. Maximum of one Discount Code per Mileage Plan member will be issued. No changes are allowed once ticket is issued. Seats are limited and may not be available on every flight. Discount Codes are non-transferable. The recipient of the Discount Code must be the traveler. Not eligible for Mileage Plan or other frequent flyer program miles. Discount Code cannot be applied to tickets that have already been purchased and issued. Discount Code is relinquished at time of ticketing and void for future purchases.
• All terms and conditions of the Mileage Plan(TM) program apply. Offer subject to change without notice.