Single-ride lift tickets a good idea

Reduce the cost of skiing? Here at last is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Keystone/Arapahoe Basin in Colorado's Summit County has a new single-ride ticket for $1.50.

Now you can pay just for what you ski--as much or as little. (The areas will continue their regular all-day tickets too.) The tickets are good through Keystone's April 25 closing and at Arapahoe Basin until that resort closes in late May or June.

Actually, Keystone has been a leader in bringing the cost of lift tickets down. The resort has been flirting with the idea of bringing back the single-ride ticket for some time.

''The single-ride plan, which we expect to continue next season if successful , is for people who like to take a couple of leisurely runs, then sit out on the deck and collect solar energy,'' said a spokesperson.

Now, if only more ski areas will follow suit! The single ride ticket could do much to bring skiing and a winter holiday back within reach of many people forced out of the sport because of the expense.

A few other springtime deals worthy of note: Jiminy Peak in the Massachusetts Berkshires will give a $5 discount off a full-price lift ticket for anyone handing over a can or box of food, which will be given to a charity. . .Tenney Mountain, N.H. is offering its 1,500-foot vertical for $10 a day on weekends . . . and now that TWA has lowered its fares from the East Coast to Denver (e.g. from Boston or Washington round trip for $258), Easterners can have a week of Rocky Mountain spring skiing for around $500.