Wednesday Travel Ticker: Ski season ramps up

Texting, emailing or chatting on a cellphone while driving is simply too dangerous to be allowed, the National Transportation Safety Board said this week. The safety investigators urged all states to impose total bans except for emergencies. The recommendation would apply even to hands-free devices, a much stricter rule than any current state law . . . . Kirkwood Mountain Resort, near Tahoe, opens daily operations Saturday. The resort will offer skiing and riding on chair No. 5 Solitude, chair No. 11 The Reut and chair No. 1 Snowkirk. Note that kids 12 years and younger ski and ride free Monday through Friday . . . . Local snow reports: Bear Mountains, 4 inches; Mountain High, 6 inches. All bode well for holiday skiing . . . . La Quinta Resort & Club hosts John Tesh and his big band New Year’s Eve. Tickets start at $150. For reservations, please call (760) 564-4111 . . . . The Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix is featuring a special exhibit of images by Pedro E. Guerrero, the personal photographer of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Dec. 15 through April 29. The exhibit is free and open to the public . . . . “A swath from the central Plains to the central Great Lakes could have a white Christmas where some fresh snow will fall next week. This depends on where a storm tracks and where cold lasts behind the storm,” says AccuWeather’s Alex Sosnowski . . . . Travel quote of the day: “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” (Garrison Keillor)