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***Official Skiing Thread*** (2 Viewers)

Glad you are ok.  Take it easy and get your grove back. Lay off of the cornices and chutes for a little bit.
👍

Thanks man.

For what it's worth, I think I hit an ice patch. Afternoons would hit 50s, overnight low teens. It was my second run of the day on a groomer. I snowboard, so maybe a caught an edge hard.

 
Packing for next weekend. Looks like my brand new Goretex Hestra gloves didn't make it back with me last year. I am devastated.
That's the worst.  They ended up cutting my wife's clothes off.  Coat, ski pants, undies, everything.  Between buying her new skis as a get well gift and all the gear they cut off we essentially had to completely gear her out again outside of gloves, boots, and poles.

 
Happy to have ikon. I’ve only experienced one staff related issue. A chair was closed at mammoth due to lack of staff. So I had to take a catwalk back to the main lodge. Meh. 


I want to go ikon next year for a-basin. Although, I am worried that all of epic's bad press will drive more people to ikon next year.

 
I want to go ikon next year for a-basin. Although, I am worried that all of epic's bad press will drive more people to ikon next year.
Good point. I hope not. If my sister ever invites me to her dude’s ski in/out place in telluride, I’m gonna have to get an epic. But with ca and ut being my primary destinations, ikon is a no brainer.  

 
So, timely bump for this thread.  Could use some advice - the family is going to Breckenridge early April for Spring Break.  I've not been skiing since I broke (well, shattered) my collarbone skiing in college 20 years ago, and have never been skiing in the Rockies.  What do I need to know about Breckenridge in early April?  Runs to exploit/avoid?  Places to stay/eat?  What gear is best to buy vs. what to rent?  The rest of the family has never been skiing (wife, 3 kids ages 10, 9, 7) so we're all doing lessons, but could use some advice past that.  TIA.

 
So, timely bump for this thread.  Could use some advice - the family is going to Breckenridge early April for Spring Break.  I've not been skiing since I broke (well, shattered) my collarbone skiing in college 20 years ago, and have never been skiing in the Rockies.  What do I need to know about Breckenridge in early April?  Runs to exploit/avoid?  Places to stay/eat?  What gear is best to buy vs. what to rent?  The rest of the family has never been skiing (wife, 3 kids ages 10, 9, 7) so we're all doing lessons, but could use some advice past that.  TIA.


How good were you in college? Did you tear down the double blacks or did you cautiously ski blues/blacks.  I think that matters more than the time off.

I took essentially 7 years off and was able to jump back in no problem.

I will say, if you were good I would strongly suggest start doing lunges, squats, and biking. Getting some leg strength is the best thing you can do to help you on the mountain if you are already a strong skier.

 
So, timely bump for this thread.  Could use some advice - the family is going to Breckenridge early April for Spring Break.  I've not been skiing since I broke (well, shattered) my collarbone skiing in college 20 years ago, and have never been skiing in the Rockies.  What do I need to know about Breckenridge in early April?  Runs to exploit/avoid?  Places to stay/eat?  What gear is best to buy vs. what to rent?  The rest of the family has never been skiing (wife, 3 kids ages 10, 9, 7) so we're all doing lessons, but could use some advice past that.  TIA.
One little thing:

Breck is especially high altitude. Do some recon on altitude sickness prevention. Most people are ok, but when it hits you, it'll ruin a vacation. Make sure everyone hydrating before and during the trip, go super light on booze when you get there. 

I would sniff around AirBnb or VRBO for places to stay with a whole family. 

 
So, timely bump for this thread.  Could use some advice - the family is going to Breckenridge early April for Spring Break.  I've not been skiing since I broke (well, shattered) my collarbone skiing in college 20 years ago, and have never been skiing in the Rockies.  What do I need to know about Breckenridge in early April?  Runs to exploit/avoid?  Places to stay/eat?  What gear is best to buy vs. what to rent?  The rest of the family has never been skiing (wife, 3 kids ages 10, 9, 7) so we're all doing lessons, but could use some advice past that.  TIA.
#1  pray for snow.  it's thin out there.

#2  do what the 2 above said.  

you will probably regain your abilities pretty quickly.  whatever they were.  i haven't been to breck in years.  it's an easier mountain as a whole, so should be great for everyone.  have fun!!!

 
How good were you in college? Did you tear down the double blacks or did you cautiously ski blues/blacks.  I think that matters more than the time off.

I took essentially 7 years off and was able to jump back in no problem.

I will say, if you were good I would strongly suggest start doing lunges, squats, and biking. Getting some leg strength is the best thing you can do to help you on the mountain if you are already a strong skier.
Thanks - I was a pretty poor skier.  I think I've been twice in my life, and it was all on the East coast - once in Snowshoe in college and once outside of Asheville somewhere (this one was so long ago I don't even remember exactly where).  Plenty of leg strength - I ride bikes a lot.

 
One little thing:

Breck is especially high altitude. Do some recon on altitude sickness prevention. Most people are ok, but when it hits you, it'll ruin a vacation. Make sure everyone hydrating before and during the trip, go super light on booze when you get there. 

I would sniff around AirBnb or VRBO for places to stay with a whole family. 
This sounds like good advice.  I've been high in the mountains before and never had a problem, but my wife is relatively sensitive so I'll be sure to mention.

 
Thanks - I was a pretty poor skier.  I think I've been twice in my life, and it was all on the East coast - once in Snowshoe in college and once outside of Asheville somewhere (this one was so long ago I don't even remember exactly where).  Plenty of leg strength - I ride bikes a lot.


You will want to make your reservation pretty quick, I booked my spring break trip ~4 months ago and i would imagine most places are starting to fill up.

I find it cheaper to get a package deal at a resort. I am going to steamboat for my spring break and the discounts on lift tickets and ski lessons I got by staying at the official resort saved me money when compared to going the airbnb route. This does depend on the mountain though. For example if you wanted to go to Vail it is cheaper to stay in Frisco and drive over for example. I am not sure what the cheapest approach in Breckenridge is, but you may want to research the package deals.

Any rental equipment will be good. Technology has improved alot and even budget gear is much better than top of the end equipment 15 years ago. I have a new pair of budget skis this year and they are great. If you do want to purchase I would suggest putting all of that money towards custom fit boots and then rent skis. If you decide to go 1-2 times a year for the rest of your life you will thank me. Those custom boots will still be great ~15 years down the road.

As far as food goes I like the Breckenridge brewery and I also like the Dam Brewery over in Frisco if you are looking for bar food. If you want high end food there are numerous other places. It will be difficult to find a bad place to eat. Drunken knight was a chef in Breckenridge, so if you are extremely interested in high end food he would be your best resource.

 
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While I have not been back to the mountains for about 10 yrs, I primarily cooked in vail: larkspur, la tour, cascade, sonnenalp.

2 years I was at the lodge at breckenridge.  I’ll list some favorites tomorrow for you.

 
Looks like last year the IKON pass for the following (and current) season went on sale March 11th.  

Any idea when the '23 pass will be available?  We've waited this long, due to Mammoth not getting ONE INCH of snow THIS YEAR.  Yeah, 6 straight weeks since an inch of snow fell on 12/29, so at this point, might as well wait until next year's pass becomes available and get the ol' 2 for 1 deal.  

Then hope for some late season dumps this season.

 
Looks like last year the IKON pass for the following (and current) season went on sale March 11th.  

Any idea when the '23 pass will be available?  We've waited this long, due to Mammoth not getting ONE INCH of snow THIS YEAR.  Yeah, 6 straight weeks since an inch of snow fell on 12/29, so at this point, might as well wait until next year's pass becomes available and get the ol' 2 for 1 deal.  

Then hope for some late season dumps this season.
Mid March and you can use it mid april, at mammoth, if they get late snow. At least that’s how they’ve done it before. 

 
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Mid March and you can use it mid april, at mammoth, if they get late snow. At least that’s how they’ve done it before. 
So you can't use it after purchase, there is a waiting period?  Did not know that.

Here's super weather nerd Howard Sheckter's weather forecast.  No snow anytime soon but he is saying models look good longer term.  More reasons to hold off I guess....

Mammoth Weather

 
Breckenridge:

Relish

south ridge seafood

briar rose

hearthstone

eric's

Columbine cafe for breakfast

ember

traverse

Keystone:

ski tip

alpenglow stube

kickapoo tavern

Frisco:

Bagali

dillion: 

Chimayo

Pug ryan's

 
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So you can't use it after purchase, there is a waiting period?  Did not know that.

Here's super weather nerd Howard Sheckter's weather forecast.  No snow anytime soon but he is saying models look good longer term.  More reasons to hold off I guess....

Mammoth Weather
Shekter is kind of a knob. I’ll post what what my guy gives me this week for mammoth. But they will most likely get dumped on in March/april.  
 

the waiting period is brief, but it’s there. March is still prime time. Especially mammoth. I caught a nice storm last year in the 2nd week of March. One of my best days last year. 

 
@Harry Frogfish I’m a supreme member, 🤣🤣🤣 so I’ll have more info tomorrow. 
 

We may not get skunked on back to back months with an inside slider coming in around the 14th-15th. Models are staying pretty persistent with some moisture entering the area and leaving 1-5" of snow. It's nothing serious but it will definitely be nice to have a change of pace. The sunny weather then returns after that and could continue into the 22nd or so. Models are then in a disagreement with the high breaking down and allowing a true winter storm to take over the Sierra's! I'll have an update in a few days so stay shreddy!
Supreme members your update will come tomorrow! 🙌🌨❄🤙

 
While I have not been back to the mountains for about 10 yrs, I primarily cooked in vail: larkspur, la tour, cascade, sonnenalp.

2 years I was at the lodge at breckenridge.  I’ll list some favorites tomorrow for you.
At  Vail now - staying at the Hyatt (who bought Vail Cascade) and ate at three of those places 😋

 
Terminalxylem said:
At  Vail now - staying at the Hyatt (who bought Vail Cascade) and ate at three of those places 😋
iirc- larkspur is only servicing events now (weddings, etc).  They were my favorite place to dine.

 
iirc- larkspur is only servicing events now (weddings, etc).  They were my favorite place to dine.
That may be the case, as that was the one place we didn’t eat. But we have eaten there previously.

We’ve stayed at Cascades multiple times over the years. The old restaurant was definitely better than the current one (Gessner). We always go to La Tour, which is consistently excellent.

It was our first time at the Swiss Chalet. We’re near vegetarian, so I wasn’t expecting to find a lot amongst the meaty/cheesy offerings. But it was rated number one on Trip Advisor, so we gave it a chance.

Holy cr@p it was delicious. Along with Sweet Basil, possibly my favorite restaurant  in Vail.

 
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Novice skier here, taking my 14 yo grandson to Breckenridge to snowboard.  

What should I know - or be prepared for - or plan ahead for - for him to have a great trip?  Trip is the first weekend in March.

Thanks a ton

 
Novice skier here, taking my 14 yo grandson to Breckenridge to snowboard.  

What should I know - or be prepared for - or plan ahead for - for him to have a great trip?  Trip is the first weekend in March.

Thanks a ton


be mindful of skiers and boarders around you.

try to understand the natural differences in turning mechanics for each

try to visualize 2-3 turns in advance (plotting your course)

many easier runs are more populated and crowded

stay hydrated 

 
Novice skier here, taking my 14 yo grandson to Breckenridge to snowboard.  

What should I know - or be prepared for - or plan ahead for - for him to have a great trip?  Trip is the first weekend in March.

Thanks a ton


Does he know how to snowboard? If so then listen to DrunkenKnight, if he does not, then lessons, lessons, lessons.

 
definitely getting lessons.  Am I just bringing standard outdoor cold weather gear?


You will need to dress to the weather. I am actually at the airport right now to go skiing tomorrow.

The weather is awful tomorrow with up to 50 mph winds.

I will be dressing extremely warm and the standard gear that I wear would leave me pretty cold.

 
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So you can't use it after purchase, there is a waiting period?  Did not know that.

Here's super weather nerd Howard Sheckter's weather forecast.  No snow anytime soon but he is saying models look good longer term.  More reasons to hold off I guess....

Mammoth Weather
Models are still fluctuating with the high breaking down around the 22nd of February. In my opinion things won't get going until the last day of February going into March. That inside slider is still on track for Mammoth on V-Day night (14th) into that Tuesday (15th). A couple inches could fall in town and on the hill so it's something to be excited about considering we haven't seen snow in 6 weeks. March is looking eventful but nothing truly Miracle about it right now. We could see 30-50" which is better than nothing but we really need the +100" to avoid another serious drought. I'll have an update for you in 4-5 days. Stay shreddy! 🙌🌨❄🤙

 
We decided to go to Ski Cooper yesterday, it is about 30 minutes south of Copper Mountain. I went with a college buddy who lives in Auora and my brother. We decided to go to it because Loveland had a forecast of 12 degrees and 40-50mph winds where as Ski Cooper had a forecast of 25 degrees and 20 mph winds.

The forecast was correct, we had a beautiful day with no wind.

Ski cooper is extremely small, I took a selfie of myself on the lift and you can see the base lodge. I have a second picture of the restaurant at the top of the hill. They sold things like reheated frozen pretzels and hot dogs.  This place feels like it would be more at home in remote wyoming or montana instead of off the i-70 corridor of ski resorts.

https://imgur.com/a/Q5BgyRU

https://imgur.com/a/cCpUsRG

There are only 3 lifts of note, there is the first lift you have to take to get you to the top of the hill, it only services greens and easy blues, however you need to take it to get to the other lifts.

There is a triple which has mostly blues, a couple easy black diamonds, and a couple tree runs.

Then there is the t-bar which covers the backside of the mountain. This lift only services double black tree runs. Almost all of the runs were steep and moguly in addition to the trees. A couple of the runs had snow cover issues, but most of the runs were in pretty good shape snow wise.

Ski Cooper is probably not someplace you want to go more than once every 5-10 years, but it does have its place.

  • If you want to escape the crowds and ski difficult tree runs.
  • If you want to take someone who has never skied and you want to go to a place that does not have any crowds.
  • If you have a season pass that gets a free day here and the conditions at the other place really suck.

 
We decided to go to Ski Cooper yesterday, it is about 30 minutes south of Copper Mountain. I went with a college buddy who lives in Auora and my brother. We decided to go to it because Loveland had a forecast of 12 degrees and 40-50mph winds where as Ski Cooper had a forecast of 25 degrees and 20 mph winds.

The forecast was correct, we had a beautiful day with no wind.

Ski cooper is extremely small, I took a selfie of myself on the lift and you can see the base lodge. I have a second picture of the restaurant at the top of the hill. They sold things like reheated frozen pretzels and hot dogs.  This place feels like it would be more at home in remote wyoming or montana instead of off the i-70 corridor of ski resorts.

https://imgur.com/a/Q5BgyRU

https://imgur.com/a/cCpUsRG

There are only 3 lifts of note, there is the first lift you have to take to get you to the top of the hill, it only services greens and easy blues, however you need to take it to get to the other lifts.

There is a triple which has mostly blues, a couple easy black diamonds, and a couple tree runs.

Then there is the t-bar which covers the backside of the mountain. This lift only services double black tree runs. Almost all of the runs were steep and moguly in addition to the trees. A couple of the runs had snow cover issues, but most of the runs were in pretty good shape snow wise.

Ski Cooper is probably not someplace you want to go more than once every 5-10 years, but it does have its place.

  • If you want to escape the crowds and ski difficult tree runs.
  • If you want to take someone who has never skied and you want to go to a place that does not have any crowds.
  • If you have a season pass that gets a free day here and the conditions at the other place really suck.
Sounds fun!  I skied mt  rose last year in Tahoe. Fun little hill. They have one expert area that has no lift service. You either have to catch a ride or walk a mile? To the lift. I didn’t partake. 🤣

 
Breckenridge:

Relish

south ridge seafood

briar rose

hearthstone

eric's

Columbine cafe for breakfast

ember

traverse

Keystone:

ski tip

alpenglow stube

kickapoo tavern

Frisco:

Bagali

dillion: 

Chimayo

Pug ryan's
How long ago where you working in the area?  My grandparents owned a restaurant in Frisco until around 1990.

 
We moved back to San Francisco in 11
I figured it was way before your time but worth a shot.  It was called the Blue Spruce.  The coolest thing was when Dan Reeves was the coach of the Broncos he had a charity golf tourney up there and would have all the players/coaches go to dinner there.  It was awesome.

 
I want to go ikon next year for a-basin. Although, I am worried that all of epic's bad press will drive more people to ikon next year.
Good point. I hope not. If my sister ever invites me to her dude’s ski in/out place in telluride, I’m gonna have to get an epic. But with ca and ut being my primary destinations, ikon is a no brainer.  
Having just skied 3 weeks at epic resorts (Vail, Telluride and Park City), I definitely noticed some major changes this season:

1. The resorts were more crowded. On average, we waited a couple minutes at the base lifts and popular areas, but never more than 5-10 minutes, except at the beginning of the day. There were less areas where we could ski directly onto the lifts than years past, though it still happened at the upper mountain. Parking and apres ski reservations were harder to find, too.

It helped to have "six-pack" lifts at Vail and PC, but those can be a cluster#### to load, especially if lifties aren't coordinating groups. Plus you can count on occasionally having the bar being lowered prematurely, and (if you're like me) against your will.

For better or worse, they're planning on installing an 8-person lift at Park City next season  :yucky:

Granted, snow conditions were pretty poor (less terrain available), and we skied the week after Presidents' Day (didn't realize UT schools give students a "ski week" in addition to spring  break). I definitely won't make that mistake again.

2. A few lifts were shut down, but it seemed to be due to poor conditions, rather than understaffing. Either way, that didn't help with lines, and some lift attendants were a little salty. I also noticed several gondola cars at PC weren't operating, due to broken doors or other mechanical problems.

3. Understaffing was evident in other areas, especially the on-mountain facilities. Dining areas were largely limited to grab-and-go, seating was cordoned off, and bathrooms were a mess - paper towel and soap dispensers were empty, trash cans overflowing, and some toilets were clogged with sh!t/tp. This was most apparent in smaller buildings, as they probably prioritized staffing at the major lodges.

4. There were a ton of Hispanic people skiing. While hard-core South Americans skiers have always spent their summers in the northern hemisphere, it seemed like every other person spoke Spanish. This didn't negatively impact anything, but I'm wondering if Vail marketed in a way that promoted the influx of (presumably) Central and South Americans? Alternatively, covid restrictions may have kept other international guests away (especially places like Australia).

Overall, the changes were most evident at PC, followed by Vail, then Telluride. But that also corresponds to the best to worst snow conditions, with the confounder of crowding due to "ski week."

I've been loyal to the epic pass, and was pleasantly surprised when I received a refund for lost ski days the first year of the pandemic. But skiing isn't cheap, and some of the changes are unacceptable. I'll probably keep Epic one more year (receive a discount on pass renewal), to give them a chance to clean up their act, but I'm considering getting Ikon as well. Planning a trip next year with classmates to Revelstoke anyway, and Jackson Hole is probably my favorite resort, so I can ski a couple weeks and still get my money's worth for the epic with a week at Vail.

For those that have Ikon, are there any downsides to the pass? How much does it cost? Looks like a week at Revelstoke costs $5-600, so I'm already spending that much next season.  

 
@Terminalxylem

i think ikon was 899 this year, with renewal discount. i think i paid 2300, with insurance, for the 3 of us.  our yearly week at deer valley would be nearly 4k, just in lift tickets.  absolute no brainer.

i'm in a few online ski groups and i've heard that epic resorts are really suffering this year.  the ikon resorts that i've been too throughout the pandemic have been more or less fine.  mammoth, bear, DV, solitude, brighton, JH, squaw.  all multiple times.  there's been a little bit of a staffing shortage, but that seems to be across all low paying jobs, everywhere.  the ski industry has the added issue of very limited affordable housing available to its workers.

essentially, if you ski 5 days, anywhere, the pass pays for itself.

p.s.  i'd like to *officially* invite myself on your revelstoke trip.  i've always wanted to go. :pickle:  

 
Having just skied 3 weeks at epic resorts (Vail, Telluride and Park City), I definitely noticed some major changes this season:


That is quite a bit of skiing already this year and that is too bad it is not better. I like having clean bathrooms at the ski hill and i would find what you described pretty disgusting.

My season pass has limited me to loveland and cooper this year, but I have been happy with the service. Food was quick during the middle of the day, bathrooms were clean, and everything appeared fully staffed.

I hope the snow was good at least, a bad day at vail still beats a good day at work.

 

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