By Kathryn Reed

Prices are plunging at Homewood Mountain Resort faster than one can schuss down the face of this West Shore resort.

This year it has some help from its sister resort Alpine Meadows. The Homewood-Alpine combo college pass for $299 allows skiers-boarders access to both resorts.

In these economic times, Homewood Mountain Resort is positioning itself to be even more friendly to a rider’s wallet than it usually is. The resort on Highway 89 is billing it as nine ways to save on lift tickets. Some of those ways are:

• An online exclusive where Homewood has randomly selected days throughout the season when skiers may purchase adult, full-day lift tickets for just $39, which equates to a savings of up to 30 percent.

• A guest who uses the Tahoe Area Regional Transit to and from the mountain receives $5 off an adult, full-day lift ticket. Restrictions apply and proof is necessary.

• Starting Jan. 7, passholders from any mountain may present their 2009-10 season pass at any Homewood ticket window to receive an adult full-day lift ticket for $25.

• Active duty military ski for free any day, including holidays.

It’s with good reason that Ski magazine has raved about the views from Homewood. No resort is closer to the edge of Lake Tahoe. It’s billed as skiing from peak to shore.

The 1,260-acre mountain has something for everyone. Don’t let the views from the highway deceive you – there’ s much more to the mountain than what one sees driving by.

“Snow – and lots of it – is something that interests any skier or snowboarder. Considering that 09/10 is forecast to be an El Nino winter in Tahoe, there is more eager anticipation than usual,” said resort spokeswoman Rachael Woods.

Even though powder days are phenomenal at Homewood, the resort can’t open until the entire mountain is covered in white stuff supplied by Mother Nature. The resort is targeting Dec. 18 to open.

Check the website to know for sure – www.skihomewood.com.