Used to be that the first week of April was the traditional time to hang up the skis, store away the boots, and dust off the summer recreation equipment. Not so much nowadays.

Resorts all over the West put gravity mountain biking on the top of the summer attractions. Those who crank up the lifts in the off-season put on bike racks and bring riders to great heights.

Build your skills with an affordable and fun lesson. (Alyeska)

Ever have a friend with whom you’d love to hit slopes, but he or she has never skied or ridden before? If so, the annual Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month may just be the ticket.

Tetons loom over Jackson Hole airport. (Jackson Hole Airport/Facebook)

Vacationing skiers and snowboarders can be an anxious lot. They want to get the most runs possible in the time they have, so getting out of the airport quickly and onto the slopes as soon as possible is paramount.

No worries. Indulge. Then, work it off, as nearly 200 of the nation’s ski resorts – coast to coast – will be open for skiing and riding Thanksgiving Weekend.

Snow is beginning to pile up in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. That means skiing and riding this weekend (Nov. 23-24) at several areas.

Alaska's Alyeska Resort welcomes four new members to the management team this summer, Director of Marketing Jessica Pezak, Director of Human Resources Jaci Ohayon, Mountain Manager Eric Teixman, and Director of Retail Sales and Guest Services Melissa LaRose. Alyeska Resort’s staff peaks at almost 700 employees during ski season, with a large amount of seasonal employees. The four new hires are all year-round full-time positions.

“I am thrilled to have Eric, Jessica, Jaci and Melissa join the Alyeska team.” said Di Hiibner, ski area general manager, “I could not be happier to have their inspired energy and many years of ski industry experience joining our team. I am confident they will be a great asset to the resort for many years to come.”

Originally from New Jersey, Jessica Pezak went to high school in New York State and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Communications. She began her employment with Hunter Mountain in the Northern Catskill Mountains in New York as Director of Communications in 2006 and was promoted to Hunter’s Marketing & Communications Manager in 2010, where she oversaw all marketing activities for Hunter, including their social media platforms, online marketing efforts, web programming, collateral development, media buying and many other facets of the resort marketing.

“I have always been in love with the far north,” Jessica said, “I’ve returned time and time again to Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska over the years. I can’t really fathom a better opportunity for me. I feel very much at home in Alaska. Alyeska has an outstanding executive team and I can’t wait to get back there and get the ball rolling.”