Thursday Travel Ticker: There’s snow somewhere

The Alaska National Guard has sent 60 troops, mostly to wield shovels, to the tiny fishing town of Cordova, which has been socked by 15 feet of snow, and with more on the way. The storm has already caused avalanches along Seward Highway, cutting off Anchorage from neighborhoods to the south and the ski area of Girdwood . . . . After six years, Las Vegas’ version of “The Phantom of the Opera” is winding down. Show officials said this week that the last performance at the Venetian Hotel will be Sept. 2 . . . . Big Bear is staging a “Battle of the Sexes Winterfest” Feb. 3-4, featuring live entertainment, carnival-type games, food vendors and a snowboarding competition. Daytime admission is free; nighttime admission is $25. For info, go to www.xosproductions.com. . . . A five-night wine cruise from San Diego to Vancouver is set for May 27 aboard the Celebrity Cruise Lines ship the Millennium. Stops in San Francisco and Victoria, British Columbia, are included. Rates start at $509 plus taxes of $107. For details, call (661) 949-2873 . . . . Chef John Murcko has opened Slopes by Talisker, in Park City’s Waldorf Astoria . . . . For the first time during the Bellagio’s annual Chinese New Year display, the Las Vegas hotel’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens will feature live entertainment. Traditional folk and pop music with authentic Chinese instruments takes place daily from 5-6 p.m. On view through March 4, the Chinese New Year exhibit is free and open seven days a week, 24 hours a day . . . . Funjet Vacations is kicking off the new year with a contest offering a free vacation. In 140 characters or less, entrants should submit their goals for the new year. One person will be randomly chosen to win a vacation that will help complete the resolution. To enter, click here (by Jan. 26) . . . . Travel quote of the day: “The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage” (Mark Russell)