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Help me decide where to ski this year. (Read 713 times)

pitrunner


    Morning everyone! I know there are some fellow skiers on this board and I'm hoping to tap into some personal reviews and experiences to help inform my decision this year. Right now I can't decide if I should try something new or go back to one of my favorites.

     

    What we're looking for:

    Intermediate mountain

    fun town with lots of bars and restaurants

    airfare less than $600 - so Telluride and Whistler are out Sad

    reasonable rates for condos / hotels - so Aspen is out Sad

     

    Where we've gone in the past:

    Breckenridge - we've gone a lot and got married here. Will probably go again for our 5 year anniversary so don't want to go this year.

    Steamboat - one of my favorites, might go back this year if I can't find somewhere new and exciting

    Winter Park - LOVED the mountain, didn't love the town. Probably won't stay there again.

    Chamonix - incredible, but not in the budget this year

    Tremblant - so fun, but I was 19 and able to drink there...kind of a blur. Might be fun to go again.

    Tahoe, Heavenly - fun, but had terrible luck with snow and weather last year

    lots of East Coast places...not interested in skiing East Coast this year

     

    What I've considered so far:

    Jackson Hole - I'm worried the mountain might be too difficult for my husband

    Copper Mountain - worried about the nightlife and town being too small

    Keystone - same as above

    Park City - just don't know

     

    So does anyone have any comments on the places I'm considering of have any new contenders I haven't even thought about? Thanks!

    Jill_B


    I fly.

      We go to Snowmass every year, but the airfare might be too high if you want to keep it below $600.  

       

      Vail has a lot of hotels and condos, so you might be able to find something reasonable.  And it's got a lot of bars and restaurants.  I'm an intermediate skier and I found Vail to be fun.  Personally, I'd go back to Breckenridge with your list (but I'm a big fan of Breckenridge).

       

      MTA:  When are you thinking of going - the prices swing wildly depending on the week/day of the week you arrive.  If we moved our arrival date by two days the prices jump a lot.  If you can be flexible, you can probably go anywhere.

      Bring it on.

      pitrunner


        We go to Snowmass every year, but the airfare might be too high if you want to keep it below $600.  

         

        Vail has a lot of hotels and condos, so you might be able to find something reasonable.  And it's got a lot of bars and restaurants.  I'm an intermediate skier and I found Vail to be fun.  Personally, I'd go back to Breckenridge with your list (but I'm a big fan of Breckenridge).

         

        MTA:  When are you thinking of going - the prices swing wildly depending on the week/day of the week you arrive.  If we moved our arrival date by two days the prices jump a lot.  If you can be flexible, you can probably go anywhere.

         

        Hmmm, I forgot about flying into Eagle. That could be an option...it's about the same as Jackson and Steamboat.

         

        Another thing I was considering was staying someplace inexpensive like Keystone and taking a day trip to Vail or Snowmass. But that could be annoying. And it will suck if the nightlife is bad there since we like to go out drinking and WALK back to our place.


        A Saucy Wench

          Not Oregon this year.  Our snowpack sucks.

          I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

           

          "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

          pitrunner


            Not Oregon this year.  Our snowpack sucks.

             

            I've heard the same thing about Colorado this year. When I become independently wealthy and don't have to worry about putting in for vacation time, I'm just going to sit at home and monitor snow reports. When I hear it's dumping somewhere I'm going to book for the next flight in. Ahhh, to be a jet-setter.

              Vail?  It's expensive and kind of foofy but the nightlife is good and the mountain is ridiculously awesome and almost anyplace you stay you can walk to the lifts.  I ski bummed there so I am partial to it and know it from an insider's view which I know is probably not what you'd experience if you were just there a week...but man it is a great mountain.

               

              Jackson Hole is awesome and the mountain is so big that there is plenty of terrain for an adventurous intermediate so I wouldn't worry about it being too difficult.  The town is cool, but it's not exactly right at the foot of the mountain if I recall.  Of course there is also plenty for the super expert.  The only in-bounds run I ever backed down from is at Jackson--can you guess it's name?

               

              What about North Lake Tahoe?  I've had some of the best days of my life at Squaw and Alpine meadows...but the snow is not as consistent.

               

              Some people like Park City--not me.  In Utah, Alta and Snowbird are great but nightlife...not so much.

               

              Copper mountain is good but there's no town.  You can stay in nearby Frisco but it's not really going to have much nightlife...if I were that close I'd just stay in Breck and get a car so I could hit Copper and Alta from there.

               

              Keystone is a pretty good place to go with a big group because there are tons of reasonably priced condos (its overbuilt if you ask me) and the mountain has lots of intermediate terrain.  It's lacking in an actual town though and whenever I have been there I have always only skied at Keystone when were doing the big group skiing thing or it was "ski with the wives" day and I did my big-boy skiing at nearby Alta.  We also got a car so we could go into Breck for some real nightlife.  A couple of pregnant wives meant built in designated drivers.

              Runners run

              Trent


              Good Bad & The Monkey

                How do people afford to go skiing?

                  I did 95% of my life's skiing before kids, another 3-4% without the kids on the rare boys or couples weekend or boondoggle, and have done maybe 10 ski days at the local hills with the kids.

                   

                  I'm hoping to make shit tons of money and become a skiing family but so far it has not fully panned out.

                  Runners run


                  Why is it sideways?

                    Ski the 'ghee! (My brother is on ski patrol there.)

                      How do people afford to go skiing?

                       

                      I thought skiers were Doctors by profession.  Or no kids. 

                      pitrunner


                        Vail?  It's expensive and kind of foofy but the nightlife is good and the mountain is ridiculously awesome and almost anyplace you stay you can walk to the lifts.  I ski bummed there so I am partial to it and know it from an insider's view which I know is probably not what you'd experience if you were just there a week...but man it is a great mountain.

                         

                        Jackson Hole is awesome and the mountain is so big that there is plenty of terrain for an adventurous intermediate so I wouldn't worry about it being too difficult.  The town is cool, but it's not exactly right at the foot of the mountain if I recall.  Of course there is also plenty for the super expert.  The only in-bounds run I ever backed down from is at Jackson--can you guess it's name?

                         

                        What about North Lake Tahoe?  I've had some of the best days of my life at Squaw and Alpine meadows...but the snow is not as consistent.

                         

                        Some people like Park City--not me.  In Utah, Alta and Snowbird are great but nightlife...not so much.

                         

                        Copper mountain is good but there's no town.  You can stay in nearby Frisco but it's not really going to have much nightlife...if I were that close I'd just stay in Breck and get a car so I could hit Copper and Alta from there.

                         

                        Keystone is a pretty good place to go with a big group because there are tons of reasonably priced condos (its overbuilt if you ask me) and the mountain has lots of intermediate terrain.  It's lacking in an actual town though and whenever I have been there I have always only skied at Keystone when were doing the big group skiing thing or it was "ski with the wives" day and I did my big-boy skiing at nearby Alta.  We also got a car so we could go into Breck for some real nightlife.  A couple of pregnant wives meant built in designated drivers.

                         

                        Yeah, I've heard really good things about Vail and I know I need to get there one day. But it will be on the top side of our price range as far as lodging goes. That's sort of why I was considering staying at Keystone / Copper. Based on your comments re: the town, I'm now leaning away from that.

                         

                        It seems Jackson Hole is going to be an adjustment from what we're used to. You're right, the town is 6 miles from the mountain so it's going to be a lot of shuttle riding. Not a deal breaker for us, but different.

                         

                        We had such shitty snow last year at Heavenly (it was 65 degrees!) that I'm a little turned off by Tahoe right now. I seem to have bad ski luck in general so I should try to pick places with better track records.

                         

                        I'm only "meh" on Park City anyway. I figure if I'm going to spend money, I should at least make it someplace I really want to go.

                         

                        I think my new short list is Vail, Jackson Hole, or back to Steamboat.

                        pitrunner


                          How do people afford to go skiing?

                           

                          No kids. I believe we're DINK's.

                          Jill_B


                          I fly.

                            Hmmm, I forgot about flying into Eagle. That could be an option...it's about the same as Jackson and Steamboat.

                             

                            Another thing I was considering was staying someplace inexpensive like Keystone and taking a day trip to Vail or Snowmass. But that could be annoying. And it will suck if the nightlife is bad there since we like to go out drinking and WALK back to our place.

                             

                            Day trips from one mountain to another are super expensive and not worth the trouble (we did a day at Vail when we were at Breckenridge and it wasn't worth the hassle).  Even in Snowmass, where you can use your lift ticket at Aspen, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk and there is a free shuttle we never bother.  I'd just pick a place and go there.

                            Bring it on.

                            Jill_B


                            I fly.

                              How do people afford to go skiing?

                               

                              Easy, we don't feed our kids the rest of the year.  A week skiing makes up for it.

                              Bring it on.

                              pitrunner


                                Day trips from one mountain to another are super expensive and not worth the trouble (we did a day at Vail when we were at Breckenridge and it wasn't worth the hassle).  Even in Snowmass, where you can use your lift ticket at Aspen, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk and there is a free shuttle we never bother.  I'd just pick a place and go there.

                                 

                                Good point. As many times as I've been to Breck, I've never taken advantage of also going to Keystone. But that may also be because Breck is AWESOME.

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