Plan Now for Your Christmas Ski Trip

Christmas may be months away, but it's not too early to start planning if you have your heart set on a ski vacation this holiday season.

There are only so many skiable mountains, so the days around Christmas and New Year's -- the peak of skiing season for the year -- have always required early booking. But this year is set to be even more competitive.

The reason: "airline industry turmoil," says Dan Sherman, spokesperson for Ski.com, a full-service travel agency specializing in ski vacations. For many vacations, the challenge is finding a place to stay, but the single biggest problem with a holiday ski vacation is arranging the air transportation.

"Think about where you're going skiing, these are remote destinations like Steamboat, Aspen, Telluride," he says. "They have small airports, served by small planes with a limited number of seats, and they sell out quickly," he says. ...