It’s never too early to start planning next winter’s ski trips.

While the local ski season is winding down, the sale of three of Western Pennsylvania’s most popular resorts has opened up global opportunities for area mountain enthusiasts.

Vail Resorts’ recent acquisition of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and the Laurel Mountain Ski Area adds them to its international portfolio and, perhaps most importantly, the company’s Epic Pass program.

“As a company, we have been focused on acquiring resorts near major metropolitan areas as we know many skiers and riders build their passion for the sport close to home,” said CEO Kirsten Lynch.

“These great ski areas in Pennsylvania are a perfect complement to our existing resorts, creating a much stronger connection and compelling offering to our current and future guests in Pittsburgh as well as those in other critical markets.”

Epic Pass holders get unlimited access to most of Vail Resorts’ properties as well as discounts on rentals, hotels, food and more. The best part? Nonstop flights to many of those destinations can be found at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Want to hit the slopes at Vail Ski Resort, the country’s third-largest single-mountain ski resort? Or maybe Breckenridge, Beaver Creek or Keystone? Multiple daily nonstop flights on United and Southwest – and seasonally on Frontier – will get you to Denver, less than a two-hour drive from those popular destinations.

Is Northern California more your style? You can check out the Lake Tahoe views at Heavenly Ski Resort, Northstar California or Kirkwood after catching United’s daily flights to San Francisco, which resume next month.

And if you want to stay a little closer to home, Vail Resorts has eight properties located across Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, all within easy drives after you catch a flight to Boston on JetBlue or Delta, Hartford on Breeze or New York City on one of American and Delta’s numerous daily flights.

The purchase of an Epic Pass also gets you limited access to Telluride, one of the best ski resorts on the planet, and Snowbasin, Utah, which hosted parts of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Pass holders also receive access to discounted tickets to share with friends and family.

All of that adds up to a mountain of new opportunities for local skiers to seek new slopes and for skiers around the world to see what the Laurel Highlands have to offer, all of them just a nonstop flight away.

Pittsburghers can access Vail Ski Resorts in Colorado via nonstop service from PIT to Denver on Frontier, Southwest and United. (Stock image)