It's ski season

[BigN8]

 

[KXCam22]

My son has about 1o days in so far. I should be able to get out in Feb. After 3 hip replacements, this will be my first time back on skis in 4 years. Prior to that I skied the previous 45 years. Looking forward to it. We have decent snow at the hill (Sun Peaks) but not much in town. Some new Armadas just showed up at the door. Cam.

 

[RiverRat]

I'm headed up to Mt. Bohemia in the UP tomorrow. Pretty excited, as it will be my first time up there. Staying in a trail side Yurt for the weekend.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Guys trip. 4 days at Snowshoe coming up in 3 weeks. Pumped! It's not like out west but perfect for a 6 hour drive.

 

[Johmas50]

Is anyone familiar with the area around Breckinridge CO? We are headed there in a few weeks, I have skied at Breck once, but I would really like to avoid Vail owned resorts as they are so darn expensive. So, that leaves Copper, A Basin, and Loveland. I am curious if anyone has been to any of these and has a favorite among these.

 

[Ronnie]

No first hand experience but my coworker just went to Breckinridge two weeks ago, $300 for a single day adult lift ticket! Doesn't sound like I will ever ride there. She went on to say that Copper was less expensive but just as good if not better because of the price.

 

[swatski]

Is anyone familiar with the area around Breckinridge CO? We are headed there in a few weeks, I have skied at Breck once, but I would really like to avoid Vail owned resorts as they are so darn expensive. So, that leaves Copper, A Basin, and Loveland. I am curious if anyone has been to any of these and has a favorite among these.

I would say Breckenridge rocks. Hit the Imperial Express, the highest lift on the continent I believe. I have skied there 3 or 4 times over the years, importantly - few years back (when I could still move, hehehe). That one lift drops you off at like 13,000 feet or so and, if you are still breathing at that point (and are NUTS as I used to be), you can walk/climb another 100 feet to the top. Getting down from there, you must jump off a small cliff first, but that is going to be okay if you got that far. It is an experience!

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[swatski]

And here is my motley crew, earlier today.

Shredding the slopes in Sundown, IA, a Christmas tradition.

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[BigN8]

My buddy just invited my wife and I on a couples trip to Breckinridge the weekend of Super Bowl Sunday. Free 5 bedroom cabin! Of course we're going! Another 3 days of skiing scheduled!!!! Flights booked.

 

[Bill D]

Is anyone familiar with the area around Breckinridge CO? We are headed there in a few weeks, I have skied at Breck once, but I would really like to avoid Vail owned resorts as they are so darn expensive. So, that leaves Copper, A Basin, and Loveland. I am curious if anyone has been to any of these and has a favorite among these.

Copper Rocks! A Basin is great too. I haven't been to Loveland.

 

[MattFX4]

Is anyone familiar with the area around Breckinridge CO? We are headed there in a few weeks, I have skied at Breck once, but I would really like to avoid Vail owned resorts as they are so darn expensive. So, that leaves Copper, A Basin, and Loveland. I am curious if anyone has been to any of these and has a favorite among these.

Breckenridge is awesome! The town is great too. Plenty of cool restaurants and bars there. The altitude is bad though. Didn't really affect me, but my mother got pretty sick while there last year. I have been several times and really liked it. Head over to Keystone for the night skiing while you are there. I recommend driving up and over the Loveland Pass also. We stopped for pics when we first arrived and I thought I was going to pass out when I stepped out of the car. Being 12,000 feet above sea level will do that to you! Here are a few pics from our trip there last February. We are planning on going to Park City Utah next.

 

[Mainah]

Perhaps check out Big Sky. Big acerage and vertical drop plus won't have a hard time finding drinks around the resort. Montana does have tight hours on their state run package stores but beer and wine are readily available at the grocery stores. Like most ski resorts dining is a bit pricey but I would not call it gouging like I have seen elsewhere.

We ski the two big mountains in Maine most of the season but always take one trip out of the state each year. Skiing out west is worlds better than the east and the east is still very expensive. Austria, Germany, France, and Switzerland also have great skiing. You might be surprised at the cost for Austria in particular.

 

[Ronnie]

The local Tahoe/Sierra resorts just got 3 feet of snow and Mammoth east of Yosemite just got 5 feet. Never been to Mammoth and am planning a trip there with family from S. cal. If anyone has skied Mammoth I'd appreciate some tips on where to stay, eat, ski, etc. it's a 6 hour drive (maybe I should fly in?) so I'm likely to only ski/snowboard here once.

 

[Bill D]

@Ronnie If you have never been, Kirkwood is awesome. We boarded all the Tahoe resorts, and it was my favorite. Not nearly as touristy as Heavenly and Squaw, and there were some epic backcountry runs. I haven't made it to Mammoth yet, but I've heard it's good.

 

[swatski]

Perhaps check out Big Sky. Big acerage and vertical drop plus won't have a hard time finding drinks around the resort. Montana does have tight hours on their state run package stores but beer and wine are readily available at the grocery stores. Like most ski resorts dining is a bit pricey but I would not call it gouging like I have seen elsewhere.

We ski the two big mountains in Maine most of the season but always take one trip out of the state each year. Skiing out west is worlds better than the east and the east is still very expensive. Austria, Germany, France, and Switzerland also have great skiing. You might be surprised at the cost for Austria in particular.

I still like the northeast the best, on a good day. "Good day" being a keyword .

Jay Peak, VT is ALWAYS amazing.

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[Mainah]

I still like the northeast the best, on a good day. "Good day" being a keyword .

Jay Peak, VT is ALWAYS amazing.

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We did a week at Jay Peak during February school vacation last year. Got a couple of good days of sking before rain and warm temps came in the third day and destoryed half of the already thin cover. Having the indoor waterpark was great for the last couple of days with very little snow cover. Book a cabana in advance during the busy season so you don't have to fight for space.

This is one resort where the on mountain condos aren't outrageous but dining out is more expensive than most in the northest. Everything close by is resort owned so you are trapped.

Killington is my favorite in Vermont as they have the most vertical drop. Got crazy lucky two years ago when the northeast got a weekend snow pounding that prevented many folks from ever making it for February school vacation week. Skied right onto the Gondola whenever we wanted. Great powder all week and a seemingly half empty resort made for a wonderful trip. Gotta love grabbing a belly warmer in front of the fire at the peak lodge when you go to Killington.

 

[BigN8]

I've skied a lot of areas but by far Steamboat is my fav!

 

[malibu Dan]

This morning

 

[Ronnie]

@Ronnie If you have never been, Kirkwood is awesome. We boarded all the Tahoe resorts, and it was my favorite. Not nearly as touristy as Heavenly and Squaw, and there were some epic backcountry runs. I haven't made it to Mammoth yet, but I've heard it's good.

Headed to Kirk wood this weekend with my son. We like it there but the ride up and back is scary so we plan to take the ski bus.

I need to do more research before i head to mammoth, I just read that it get more snow than the Tahoe resorts because its higher in elevation (they recently got 20 something feet of new snow), also it's so far that I'd like to stay an extra day to go snowmobiling.

 

[Ronnie]

Kirk wood via the ski bus was awesome today, they got lots of new snow last week and today was sunny and relatively warm. Wish we could have stayed longer. Got on the bus at 530, hit the parking lot at 9 but took almost an hour to get into the lot and another 1/2 hour to get our lift tickets. Got back on the bus at 4.