By John Marshall, AP

SNOWMASS, Colo. — The rustic ski lodge has been a staple of ski towns pretty much since the first resort was erected on the side of a mountain.

A drastic design shift has taken place the past few years. Chandeliers made of antlers, animal trophies on the wall, paintings of cowboys and snow-covered buffalo are out. Clean lines, contemporary art and open floor plans are in.

The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek kept the deer above the fireplace even after the remodel this year. Photo/Provided

After decades of rustic traditions, the ski lodge is getting a modernist upgrade to keep up with the new breed of traveler.

“Things are changing so fast in our business world that even keeping up in the hotel world is very difficult,” said Hugh Templeton, general manager of the Viceroy Snowmass in Snowmass, Colo. “That younger person is expecting to have something in their travel experience that reflects who they are, not who the hotel wants them to be. I think that’s been a very big change.”

The transformation has been relatively recent in the ski resort industry, following a generational shift in clientele. Baby boomers grew up with rustic, chalet-style ski lodges, so ski resorts stuck with those designs because that generation was where the money was coming from.

But over the past several years, there’s been a shift in demographics as so-called millennials came of age and started spending money. They’re more tech-savvy than their parents, and so plugged-in at home that they expect fast Internet connections in hotels and just as many cable channels.

Their tastes in design are different too, often preferring clean, minimalist decor over quaint and cozy. In response, some ski resorts feature stone floors instead of wood, contemporary lighting and furniture, and art and decorations that are not necessarily themed on winter scenery.

Hotels like Viceroy Snowmass, Hotel Terra in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek are examples of U.S. resorts that have gone a more contemporary design route. The trend is taking off internationally as well, seen in places like The Omnia, Chedi Andermatt and the W Verbier in the Swiss Alps, and the Hotel Altapura and Hotel Le Kaila in the French Alps.

Viceroy Snowmass and Hotel Terra also sometimes offer a twist on the rustic look, encasing the typical-for-a-ski-lodge wooden beam in steel, painting rock walls in a variety of colors, and featuring artwork with wildlife — but as abstract images instead of the typical moose standing next to a pond in the snow.

Some resorts are updating in sections instead of a major overhaul to keep from overwhelming their returning guests.

“The aging baby boomers who are now retired, semi-retired or the empty nesters, they have a little bit more of an old-fashioned design desire because of when and where they grew up,” said David Kingston, general manager of Hotel Terra. “I think the millennial population, which is large and starting to spend money, is going to dictate how seriously or deeply that design concept goes.”

Some of the older design concepts were the result of necessity. Resorts and lodges built on mountainsides had to be made from wood and small stones because it was too hard to get materials or machinery up winding roads and too difficult to build with large, bulky materials on the slopes.

Advances in technology have made construction easier these days, even in tight mountain spaces. Builders can now take a pair of 10,000-pound (4,500-kilogram) concrete walls and piece them together with relative ease instead of building wooden frames with enormous cedar or oak I-beams across the ceiling.

The new designs are not only “stylish and contemporary,” said Templeton, but they allow hotels to be more energy efficient with easier upkeep. “You try to maintain an all-wood building, it’s very difficult,” he added.

And because skiers expect the familiar rustic look, anything different makes an impact.

“Not having that, we create a lasting memory,” he said, adding, “You can’t wait to get back because it’s so different.”

Winter increases the risk of the silent killer known as carbon monoxide.

CO detectors are the only way to detect this poisonous gas. Common flu-like symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, nausea and vomiting.

Here are tips from Truckee:

• Install alarms on every level of the home and near each sleeping area for maximum protection. Test alarms monthly and change batteries every six months.

Exit the home and call 911 if alarm sounds.

• Run kitchen vents or exhaust fans anytime the stove is in use. The kitchen stove is among the most frequent sources of CO poisoning in the home. To help eliminate danger of overexposure, always run exhaust fans when cooking, especially during the holidays when stoves are left on for longer periods of time. Also periodically open a nearby window when cooking to allow fresh air to circulate.

• Never use generators indoors. In the case of a power outage, portable electric generators must be used outside only. Never use them inside the home, in a garage or in any confined area that can allow CO to collect, and be careful to follow operating instructions closely. Also refrain from using charcoal grills, camp stoves and other similar devices indoors.

• Have fuel-burning appliances inspected regularly. Arrange for a professional inspection of all fuel-burning appliances (such as furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, clothes dryers and water heaters) annually to detect any CO leaks.

• If you have any work done on your residence for the heating systems (furnace, wood stove), make sure that you have the proper permits from the county or town authorities and be sure that the worked being performed is by a properly licensed and bonded contractor.

Truckee Fire and the town of Truckee have carbon monoxide detectors for free while supplies last. Stop by any of the staffed stations during normal business hours or at the building department located at 10183 Truckee Airport Road during normal business hours Tuesday-Friday.

Frigid temperatures can cause one of winter’s worst woes – frozen water pipes.

Property owners and residents can take some simple precautions to prevent the inconvenience and expense of frozen water pipes.

Here are recommendations from Placer County:

Insulate pipes and faucets outdoors and in unheated areas. Wrap pipes with pipe-insulating materal, which is available at hardware and plumbing supply store, or use insulation. Be sure to protect all pipes in unheated areas, such as crawl spaces and garages.

Do not attempt to put anti-freeze into any water pipes. Antifreeze is toxic to humans, pets, wildlife and landscaping and is harmful to the environment. Antifreeze shouldn’t be used unless specifically called for by a manufacturer.

Make sure you know the location of your master water shut-off valve. The frozen pipe may already be broken and will leak when the water is thawed. In this case, you will need to shut off the water in your home or business until the leaking pipe is fixed.

Thawing frozen pipes. If you locate the frozen section of pipe and try to thaw it yourself, be sure to take the following precautions to protect yourself and your property.

• Do not use a torch with an open flame.
• Open the faucet first. Start by warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible working toward the coldest section of the pipe. Water running through the pipe will help to melt the ice in the pipe.
• Place a warm towel or rag around the pipe. Pour hot water over the cloth. Repeat several times until the pipe is unfrozen.
• If water is not available, you may use a hair dryer but be careful to avoid getting it wet causing a shock.

By Reuters

Buying a set of the gifts named in the classic holiday carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” will cost a true love $27,393 this year, up 7.7 percent from the 2012 price tag, according to an annual tongue-in-cheek analysis released on Monday.

Prices for most of the items in the song, including the partridge, two turtle doves, three French hens and five gold rings, remained steady from last year.

But the cost for 10 lords-a-leaping jumped 10 percent to $5,243 and nine ladies dancing increased by 20 percent to $7,553, PNC Wealth Management’s Christmas Price Index showed.

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By Matt Richtel, New York Times

More and more, cats and dogs get the human treatment. There are pet spas, pet therapists, pet clothes. And as it goes in life, so it now goes in the twilight. The latest phenomenon: pet hospice.

Around the country, a growing number of veterinarians are offering hospice care, and marketing it as a way to give cats and dogs — and their owners — a less anxious, more comfortable passing.

The approach, in the spirit of the human variety, entails ceasing aggressive medical treatment and giving pain and even anti-anxiety drugs. Unlike in hospice care for humans, euthanasia is an option — and in fact, is a big part of this end-of-life turn. When it’s time, the vet performs it in the living room, bedroom or wherever the family feels comfortable.

That’s a big part of the job, the vets say, relieving pet owner guilt, giving them an emotional bridge to a pet’s death, and letting them grieve at home — rather than in a clinic or animal shelter. The intimacy carries a premium, sometimes costing 25 percent or more than euthanasia in a clinic. Vets, and their customers, say it can be worth it.

“They’re in their own environment, not only the pet but the owners,” said Dr. Mary Gardner, co-founder of Lap of Love, a Florida-based company that is one of the leaders in a small but growing market. “They’re allowed to have other animals present, other cats or dogs present, other children,” added Gardner, who refers to a pet’s owner as its “mom” or “dad,” and has since relocated her own practice to Los Angeles. “I’ve been to some homes where they had barbecues for that dog, and invited me and the neighbors, and the dog was the man of the hour.”

Lap of Love’s business has blossomed since 2010 from two providers to more than 68 vet partners in 18 states. The International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, a group started in 2009, now has 200 members, mostly vets, but also several family therapists, lawyers and an animal sanctuary in Northern California that takes in and provides holistic healing and hospice for terminally ill and elderly pets.

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Ralph

Ralph (aka Wreckit Ralph) is a young whippet mix who’s had a rough go of it so far. He’s only about 6 months old, but he’s already been in several shelters, through no fault of his own.

He’s a nice guy who barks in the kennel and makes you think he’s not friendly, but as soon as you bring out the leash he’s all wags and wiggles.

Ralph is an energetic puppy who deserves a nice home where he’ll get lots of exercise, attention and training.

Ralph is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet. For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

Alpine Animal Hospital is having several photography sessions for people and their pets with Santa this month — and donations (suggested $5) will benefit the Animal Coalition of Tahoe. Dates: Dec. 4, 7, 11, and 12, from 4-6pm. Alpine Animal Hospital is at 921 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe. Call (530) 541.4040 for more information.

— Karen Kuentz

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times

After a nasty storm ripped through the East Coast on the busiest travel day of the year, you might think that buying travel insurance for holiday travel would be a no-brainer.

Not so much. The 114-year-old National Consumers League concluded recently that travel insurance is usually a bad deal because most policies are riddled with exceptions that allow insurance companies to reject claims for payoffs.

Most insurance companies won’t disclose their track record for paying out claims, making it nearly impossible to judge whether insurance is worth the money, the league says.

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Tahoe Players will put on “Shrek the Musical” on Dec. 14 at 2pm and 7pm.

Local actors, singers, and dancers will perform alongside a live orchestra.

The shows are at John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks, NV 89431

Cost is $18.

By Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee

There’s no half way with Bruce Dern. It’s why he’s worked consistently in show business for 55 years.

Dern said he passed on his strategy to Will Forte one day on set of their acclaimed new film “Nebraska”. Forte, who plays Dern’s character’s son, was battling an illness and struggling to get through the day’s shoot. He turned to his resilient co-star, 34 years his senior, for coping advice.

“I told him, ‘You want to give it all on every play,’” Dern said. “‘You are here 24-7 for all of us. If I let down, or you let down, or any of us lets down, the movie suffers.’”

This approach extends to interviews as well. Reached by telephone in Los Angeles, Dern doesn’t follow the question, answer, silence-in-between template of modern interviews. When he was coming up, stars engaged with the press.

Dern, 77, won the best-actor prize at May’s Cannes Film Festival for his “Nebraska” performance, and he’s on the short list for a lead-actor Academy Award nomination. He’s glad to talk about his career resurgence, but he also asks questions, and tailors some responses for The Bee’s local audience.

For nearly 25 years, Dern flew from Los Angeles to his second home on Fallen Leaf Lake so he could bet on sports, he said. Often, his flight would be diverted to Sacramento from Reno, and he would drive up Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe.

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By Corey Mintz, New York Times

TORONTO — In Canada, where I’m from, Thanksgiving is over already. We celebrated on your Columbus Day, and if it offers any solace as you grow increasingly (or maybe just a little bit) anxious in these final hours, ours turned out fine.

We ate pretty much the same things you will cook tomorrow. I’m sure your menu and your meal will be swell. But I am here to argue that it matters less than you imagine.

Over the last few years, I’ve held 201 dinner parties for a newspaper column up here (mine, actually) called Fed. I’ve learned that the food is less important than the company and a little bit of graciousness. Call it hospitality, or entertaining.

A generation of food television, with its ticking clocks and well-lit close-ups, has brainwashed us into believing dinner is a competition. Our manners have atrophied. We are now willing to put so much thought and effort into what we eat — making cronuts at home, name-checking the latest hot restaurants, leading a torch-and-pitchfork mob against gluten — that we’ve lost our understanding of how to eat with people.

We have been reduced to a society of boors by stripping dinner of joy in our attempts to reproduce complicated chef food in our homes.

If I were to offer Thanksgiving advice, it wouldn’t be about what kind of bird to buy or which dessert to bake. It would be to remember that you are hosting a version of a dinner party, and that the same etiquette — taking your guests’ coats and getting them a drink, making them feel comfortable, feeding them in a timely manner, serving food with confidence and ending the evening on a high note — is just as appreciated by your family as by anyone else you would bring to your table. Maybe more.

The focus should be on making your guests feel good. At Thanksgiving, you have two advantages: knowing everyone pretty well and the theme of expressing gratitude. It’s a good time to tell your sister not just that she looks great with bangs, but also that you appreciate her watching the kids.

Bottom line: make people feel welcome, appreciated and a little special.

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