Florida's `Sunbirds' Flock To Ski Slopes

MIAMI - Deep in the tropics, where a cold front means the temperature has dropped below 80 and the highest slope is a causeway overpass, live some of the country's most dedicated skiers.

Snow skiers, that is.

While so-called "snowbirds" flock from the North to the sun and sands of Florida, thousands of "sunbirds" follow their own winter ritual: trading their swim trunks and golf clubs for ski poles and snow boots.

"It's just a great pastime," says Ed Smith, who helped found the Miami Ski Club 26 years ago. "There's a certain camaraderie about skiing that everybody's friendly."

The Miami club boasts about 2,500 members, making it the largest non-snow area ski club in the country, with the Tampa Ski Club running a close second. The Florida Ski Council, a coalition of 13 state clubs, includes more than 15,000 skiers.

The question inevitably comes: Where do you snow ski in Florida?

"Any Floridian skier will tell you they're asked that all the time," said Pauline Borovicka, of North Miami, co-founder of the Florida Ski Council. "People are very, very surprised to find out there's that many skiers in Miami."

It's no surprise, however, to the nation's top ski resorts that make a killing off skiers from warm-weather states.

According to a study by Colorado Ski Country USA, a nonprofit trade organization that represents the state's resorts, Floridians make up 3.5 percent of all out-of-state visitors to Colorado, or fifth nationally.

Another Sunbelt state, Texas, ranked No. 1 with 7.1 percent of Colorado's visitors, said Ski Country spokeswoman Sara Esau. California followed with 6.6 percent, then Illinois with 3.8 and New York with 3.5.

Al Desilet, Florida Ski Council president, said many who live in Florida grew up in cold-weather states, making them perfect ski-club candidates.

"Club skiing is a real kick," says Desilet, 65, a former budget director for the city of Tampa. "Most people who come from the North are surprised there are so many skiers down here, so they go to the ski clubs and they get caught up in it."

The Tampa club has planned 19 trips for this season - to Montana, Colorado, New Zealand and Europe. In the first week of sales, the Tampa club sold 1,000 one-week ski trips, Desilet said.

The Miami club has planned 11 trips, including a summer excursion to South America. The cost of the trips ranges from just under $1,000 to more than $2,000 per person, plus lift tickets.

Less expensive trips are available through travel agencies and other groups, but they are not of the same quality, said Miami club President Sal Geraci.

"Because of our buying power, the facilities and the amenities are the very best you can purchase in that price range," he said.

This year, the Florida council has planned its annual trip for about 1,300 skiers to Vail, Colo., the nation's largest single ski mountain.

"That's a large group for us, no doubt about it," Vail spokesman Paul Witt said. "It's a boon for the whole town."

Witt said the ski groups, especially those from warm-weather states, make up a large part of the 10,000 to 12,000 people who ski Vail each day.

"They're out here to have fun and they're in a good frame of mind," he says.

It's not always easy to think snow if you live in South Florida. Early in the ski season, daytime temperatures rarely dip below 80 degrees in Miami, and one of the city's highest peaks is at the top of the Rickenbacker Causeway leading to the island of Key Biscayne.

Miami-native Penni Stroud said she'd never survive living in cold weather, but she proudly wore a homemade lapel pin declaring "It's Snowing in Colorado" to one of the club's weekly Happy Hour gatherings in October.

Most members go on about two trips a year, which at more than $1,000 each can get expensive. Stroud, a legal secretary and single mother, said it's worth saving for.

"I just kind of tuck the money away every year," she said..

In the offseason, the Miami Ski Club remains active with weekly cocktail hours, monthly dinner parties and several sailing, tennis, canoeing and bike outings.

"What an opportunity to meet successful, young, mostly professional people that you can share common adventures with," said Geraci, 48.

The average age of Florida club skiers is late 30s, but they range from 18 to the late 70s.