Snow skiing

[djetok]

 

[viggen]

Whistler is awesome. One thing that I have found in my years of skiing Colorado is, Vail resorts tends to dumb down their ratings. Since they are a tourist magnet, they rate a blue that very well could be rated a green elsewhere. It sounds like you were on the southside of peak 9. They have the run that a blue dumps into a green that is like 2 miles long and if you don't carry speed you pole for 1.5 miles. One thing I didn't like about park city was the short runs but a blue is a blue. Hell I went down a blue that I would have sworn it was a black, but it was slushy and cut up. You can see a vast difference in ratings 5 miles each way on I-70 from Frisco. Copper has some nice long wear you out blue or blacks on the east side all the way to the bottom. I typically ski on the east side and the rest stay on middle and west side.

We spent time on peak 6, 7 and 9 with the majority on peak 6 and I completely agree with how the trails are labeled. The guys I went with wouldn't do groomer blacks at breck

Blacks in Ohio are bunny hills out west with lots of slush and ice mixed it. I think the local hill has a 200-250ft vertical

 

[Ronnie]

Here in Northern California my son and I snow board not ski. This past season we tried to visit a different resort every time we went up and we started using a ski bus service as well. My favorite by far is Squaw Valley. Heavenly is also nice but more expensive. Both of these are near Lake Tahoe. If we want long but flatter runs we head to Northstar or Sugar Bowl on the way to Reno. One out of the way place that is also awesome is Kirkwood its kind of between Tahoe and Reno but the road up is mostly a twisting and turning two lane.

 

[AndyD]

Here in Northern California my son and I snow board not ski. This past season we tried to visit a different resort every time we went up and we started using a ski bus service as well. My favorite by far is Squaw Valley. Heavenly is also nice but more expensive. Both of these are near Lake Tahoe. If we want long but flatter runs we head to Northstar or Sugar Bowl on the way to Reno. One out of the way place that is also awesome is Kirkwood its kind of between Tahoe and Reno but the road up is mostly a twisting and turning two lane.

When we go out west we go to Heavenly in Lake Tahoe. We stay at the Harrahs so we get ski action during the day and some gambling action at night. Best of both worlds.

 

[BigN8]

My badges include........Taos, Wolf Creek, Breck, Ajax, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Crested Butte, Vail, Beaver Creek, Jackson Hole, Lake Tahoe, White Fish, Sun Valley, and last but not least....Steamboat. I have skied many days in the Aspen chain, Vail, and Beaver Creek. And I have skied a bunch in Steamboat, but with out a doubt Steamboat has got to be my favorite mountain. It's not to upper crust like Aspen and Vail, it has good night life and food, and the mountain just kicks ass in my opinion. During Spring break or other holidays we usually try and go to Steamboat because it's harder to get to, further from Denver and other big cities and doesn't seem to draw the crowds like the other places. The people on the mountain and off the mountain that work there are just about the nicest people I have ever met. They truly are glad to see you visit there town and mountain.

My kids learned to ski at Wolf Creek in their Wolf Pups program. That was freakin awesome. I think back when they learned the full day lesson, lift ticket, and lunch was like $55 or something!

 

[BigN8]

My kiddos in some good Wolf Creek powder back in 2006!! I think we got close to 30" the night before and throughout the day.

 

[RightStuff]

And I have skied a bunch in Steamboat, but with out a doubt Steamboat has got to be my favorite mountain. It's not to upper crust like Aspen and Vail, it has good night life and food, and the mountain just kicks ass in my opinion. During Spring break or other holidays we usually try and go to Steamboat because it's harder to get to, further from Denver and other big cities and doesn't seem to draw the crowds like the other places. The people on the mountain and off the mountain that work there are just about the nicest people I have ever met. They truly are glad to see you visit there town and mountain.

I loved Steamboat too, but it was a really long time ago when I was there last. Now you have me thinking about making a detour from our Winter Park trip one of these years and go up there for a couple year. Off to Google Maps to figure out how to make that work!

 

[djetok]

View attachment 43878 My kiddos in some good Wolf Creek powder back in 2006!! I think we got close to 30" the night before and throughout the day.

View attachment 43877

Love me some wolfie . Its a PIA to get there when it snows like it does there. For those that are unfamiliar with Wolf creek. Its rustic, from their cafeteria style food to the buildings. Its cheap, has the best snow in Colorado sans silverton and some great terrain. Silverton is a guide mountain with no trails and all extreme.

 

[djetok]

I loved Steamboat too, but it was a really long time ago when I was there last. Now you have me thinking about making a detour from our Winter Park trip one of these years and go up there for a couple year. Off to Google Maps to figure out how to make that work!

From Fraser to Steamboat is not a bad drive if your going from wp. From Denver you can go 70 to frisco then N to steamboat. A lot less passes than from Fraser.

 

[djetok]

My badges include........Taos, Wolf Creek, Breck, Ajax, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Crested Butte, Vail, Beaver Creek, Jackson Hole, Lake Tahoe, White Fish, Sun Valley, and last but not least....Steamboat. I have skied many days in the Aspen chain, Vail, and Beaver Creek. And I have skied a bunch in Steamboat, but with out a doubt Steamboat has got to be my favorite mountain. It's not to upper crust like Aspen and Vail, it has good night life and food, and the mountain just kicks ass in my opinion. During Spring break or other holidays we usually try and go to Steamboat because it's harder to get to, further from Denver and other big cities and doesn't seem to draw the crowds like the other places. The people on the mountain and off the mountain that work there are just about the nicest people I have ever met. They truly are glad to see you visit there town and mountain.

My kids learned to ski at Wolf Creek in their Wolf Pups program. That was freakin awesome. I think back when they learned the full day lesson, lift ticket, and lunch was like $55 or something!

@BigN8 Nate what did you think of Sun Valley. We thought it was a cool place that was plucked right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, with some good to great runs

 

[BigN8]

I got lucky as hell when I did Sun Valley. I was up there for work in Boise. I had some time so I decided to cruz over for the weekend. It snowed so much the night before they didn't open the lifts till 11:00 because they were Launching concussion grenades for Avalanche control. The skiing was epic! I don't remember much detail about the runs but I just remember hearing guys woohooing as they cruised through the trees when I was riding up the lift. I do remember that if they get heavy snow they close that pass from Boise so you have to go South then hook up to the North.

 

[BigN8]

Sounds like we need a jet boaters gathering at a ski slope

 

[KXCam22]

We ski at Sun Peaks in Kamloops BC. For us its only a 45 min drive, house to lodge. Early bird seasons pass pays off in 7 ski days. Decently steep and about 3000' vertical. Season is about mid-Nov to mid-April. Cam.

 

[Ronnie]

It feels like we are talking about going back to school during the middle of the summer. There is a lot of boating season left here in Ncal and I don't expect any resorts to open until November at the earliest.

 

[djetok]

It feels like we are talking about going back to school during the middle of the summer. There is a lot of boating season left here in Ncal and I don't expect any resorts to open until November at the earliest.

Its 100 plus here in oklahoma so i was dreaming about snow. It makes the week go by quicker til i get to the lake

 

[djetok]

Sounds like we need a jet boaters gathering at a ski slope

Im in !!! Already booked our condo for copper in feb

 

[Scottintexas]

@djetok I promised the youngest a ski trip this year and the snows not looking good,

We normally go to Santa fe or Angelfire, I'm considering Wolf Creek but the adding 3 hours onto a 9 hour NM drive from DFW is just about the breaking point.

Have you ever been to either of those to compare to Wolf creek to justify the extra time? We are very much greens and easy blues (she's still timid about skiing) but just don't want to be skiing on refrozen slush

 

[djetok]

Yes I love Wolfe. Depending on the skier , that's a moderate to expert mountain bit tons of fun. I would goto monarch it has it all. They both have a drive to the mountain. Pagosa to wc is 28 miles with a road that if it snows you will have to make sure it' clear. It is beautiful though. Monarch is a awesome little mountain. It has cheap lift tickets and salida has a lot of cheaper lodging that is nice like the hotels. We typically get a condo and eat there but we stayed at the monarch lodge 3 miles from the hill. This was good if we ate at the lodge. We drove to salida every night after skiing to eat. Salida is a awesome little town. In my opinion way better than pagosa. Pagosa is really spread out. Salida is also 28 miles from the mountain. They both have free parking and they are both minimalist as far as amenities. Monarch you can eat tamales at the sidewinder bar (kids too)

As I said wc is a little more difficult because of the trail width, it' a lot of fun though. I usually hike to knife ridge and make laps there. It is more heavily black than green.

Monarch has it all and is a great mountain.

We are just leaving for copper mountain right NOW!!!

 

[BigN8]

@djetok I promised the youngest a ski trip this year and the snows not looking good,

We normally go to Santa fe or Angelfire, I'm considering Wolf Creek but the adding 3 hours onto a 9 hour NM drive from DFW is just about the breaking point.

Have you ever been to either of those to compare to Wolf creek to justify the extra time? We are very much greens and easy blues (she's still timid about skiing) but just don't want to be skiing on refrozen slush

Scott,

Me and my daughter do Wolf Creek just about every year. It's an easy mountain with good runs. For the first few years we went we would stay in South Fork, but the lodging and restaurants are limited. The last couple years we have been staying in Pagosa Springs. There really isn't much difference in the drive time and Pagosa has so much more to do and places to stay and eat. We were planning on going right before Christmas, but I bailed on that trip because of the lack of snow. I'm still eyeing a Spring Break trip. The mountain will get fairly busy on holiday periods. If you plan your day right you can avoid long lift lines. Get there early, get first tracks, ski hard till 10:45, Go in for early lunch and beat the lunch crowd, then hit the slopes by noon, ski while everyone else is trying to eat. Around 1:30-2:00 you will see the lift lines get bad. That is usually when I call it a day.

 

[Ronnie]

Just curious, what do adult lift tickets cost at these places?

Ive only gone to heavenly so far this year and wasnt surprised by the $140 price but looked into sugar bowl with a lot fewer runs and lifts and nowhere near the view and was surprised by the $120 cost of the ticket which was under $100 last year. It seems like the end of the price range has gone up here in ca. I hope that is not the case everywhere but ive heard breckenridge in Co costs closer to $300 a day so maybe i should be happy in the $120 to $140 price range.