You ever drive Loveland Pass is dicey conditions? It's the pass off 70 that cuts you right to A Basin. That'll get your nerves going.Originally Posted by DCDeac
You ever drive Loveland Pass is dicey conditions? It's the pass off 70 that cuts you right to A Basin. That'll get your nerves going.
This thread has turned my jealous meter up to 11. My wife (who sort of tolerates skiing) and I made a deal that we would alternate "big" vacations - beach one year, ski the next. This year is the beach year. The trip is going to be awesome, but I'm paying for it by skiing NC snow all winter. Booooooo.
We are using this site for our trip to Breckenridge this year - http://www.riverridgerentals.com/lod...y=Breckenridge. Looks like solid housing with good ski in/out options.
I looked around a lot and there looked like the best option. They have been great to work with and I didn't find any negative reviews / issues online.
I have only been to Breckenridge once, and love it, but the temp meter at the top of the lift stayed pinned at -70 wind chill, or something like that. It was cold. My wife was with my on that trip and she basically stayed inside for a lot of the day based on the temp.
Yes I have. Family of 5 in a rental car and we ran into whiteout/blizzard. Car slid off the road...we left it there and climbed into an SUV with a ski bum stranger and his gf. He drove us to DEN and wouldn't accept any $. Called Hertz and told them where they could find their car.
Not if you live west of the Mississippi. Did a 12-13 hour drive from Austin to Pagosa Springs last February with some friends and skiied Wolf Creek (which apparently gets the most snow of any CO mountain) for three days. The whole trip probably cost me under $400.
Go West, young man.
For those of you that are flying with gear, do you use a hard or soft ski bag? Any suggestions? Bought skis this year so I am looking to buy a bag with an eye on flying out West (probably next winter).
soft bag.
I go soft bag, but wrap the skis with all my ski clothes, also throw my boots in there and whatever else will fit. I have friends who wrap the tips in newspaper or bubble wrap.
It's not the flights that are an issue. It's the rentals, the lift tickets and lodging. Maybe if I had a big group of people going it would be different.
Hungry
Fair enough, but from what I was told lift tickets and rentals are much cheaper at places like Wolf Creek that are dominated by East Coast, Californian and international tourism. Pretty sure I got my skis for $20-25/day and lift tickets were $40/day or around $100 for three days. So maybe go to a non-bougie skiing area? I don't know.
As for lodging, having six of us definitely helped. We split a two bedroom suite in some old school lodge and inn that looked like it was from 70's and it was actually really fun. Ended up just hanging out there and hitting up the town's brewery and local watering holes at night. I think I personally paid $50-60 for my share of the room.
Fair enough, but from what I was told lift tickets and rentals are much cheaper at places like Wolf Creek that are not dominated by East Coast, Californian and International tourism. Pretty sure I got my skis for $20-25/day and lift tickets were $40/day or around $100 for three days. So maybe go to a non-bougie skiing area? I don't know.
As for lodging, having six of us definitely helped. We split a two bedroom suite in some old school lodge and inn that looked like it was from 70's and it was actually really fun. Ended up just hanging out there and hitting up the town's brewery and local watering holes at night. I think I personally paid $50-60 for my share of the room.
One thing I have enjoyed doing is staying in a condo in Dillon and then going to different ski areas on different days. Keystone, Copper, Breckenridge, A-Basin, Vail, and Beaver Creek are all close by. When I was in undergrad a group of buddies and I would drive Cannonball Run-style out to Steamboat over spring break (one of the guys' parents had a condo that they'd let us use, which was awesome). Have also been to Snowmass many times--it is my favorite mountain in Colorado. Like Park City the best in Utah.
You can stay in a regular motel/hotel in Salt Lake City, and drive to 7 great areas in 30-40 minutes.
I've never stayed at the Grand Summit but I imagine it's pretty similar to the Westgate. And between Deer Valley and Park City, I would highly recommend Deer Valley (as noted no snowboarding there). It's a blue skiers paradise, they groom a very high percentage of their trails, and they have the best food you will ever get at a ski resort.
Another factor is that Canyons and Park City multi-day lift tickets are I believe interchangeable now that Vail Resorts operates Park City. So if you get an EpicDay card and load it up with however many total days you need online, you don't need to decide in advance how many you will spend at Canyons and how many at Park City. I would highly recommend buying lift tickets online in advance, they are 20-30% cheaper. https://onestore.snow.com/pc/eStore....d=639340185173
But still, if you are a family of all skiers (or if you can talk your snowboarders into skiing for a day), you HAVE to do at least one day at Deer Valley. There's a reason why it's been the #1 or #2 ranked resort in the West for like 8 years running
ETA: If you're renting a car and staying at the Canyons, Park City Mountain is no more than 10 minutes away and Deer Valley is no more than 15
Deer Valley is a wonderful place.
I'm about to take a group of 4 on a 3 day trip. It's going to cost us less than $400 per person.
The problem is, the other three people are my wife and kids, and I'm the only one putting money in the kitty. Kind of changes the calculus.
I did the total opposite this year - skiied A basin in the last week of May in a t shirt. It was still better than anything in NC.
When I was in 1st grade (1978), I went on my first ski club trip. It was pre-Eisenhower tunnel so we had to take the pass. The bus that we rented almost slid off the mountain - the bus driver intentionally (allegedly) flipped the bus onto its side to keep us from sliding off the road. That was scary as hell.
Got to bring this thread back. I'm heading out to Snowmass in the middle of February. This will be the first time I've skied out there since '02 (law school, got married, having kids got in the way of my western trips). My daughter is 7 now, and my wife has never been to the Rockies before, so it will be a first for both of them.
We're staying with a larger group at The Crestwood, which is ski in-ski out. My parents have stayed there a bunch and love it. Can't wait.
Headed to deer valley in two weeks. So pumped. We have 4 day lift tickets so we have one day off to tour around park city. Recommendations on stuff to do in park city for a family of four, including an 8 and a 10 year old?
Also ski packing tips welcomed. I'm bringing out 2 pairs.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote