jpb1999 said:

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Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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jpb1999 said:

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oldag941 said:

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10th year in a row with family Spring Break to Steamboat. Getting ungodly expensive. But only have a few years left with kids at home so will keep the tradition.

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Want to do a spring break ski trip this year with the kids (10 and 12). Went to Wolf Creek this past year, during an off week/weekend so spoiled with no crowds.

How bad are the crowds in Steamboat during spring break? Is it any better during the week, lke Monday through Thursday?

Don't mind flying somewhere, but would like to avoid having to rent a car... any other ideas for places we can go to for spring break that fits that criteria?

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I say this to anyone in Texas that isn't sure on where to go for a ski trip.
If driving go to Wolf Creek.
If flying choose one of the many resorts in Utah.

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Thanks!

Where in Utah would have good ski in/out but also close enough to some shops/restaurants to avoid needing a car? Any recs?

Steamboat seems like a good option with those things as well as close to the airport.

What about Whistler/Blackcomb?

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Park City and Deer Valley fit that. My recommendation for Utah for people flying is based off of the assumption that if people were flying to Colorado it would be into Denver. If you were going to fly into the Steamboat airport (can't remember its actual name) then that changes things and I'd go with that.
I know little to nothing about whistler/blackcomb.

I just booked Beaver Creek for after Christmas. I usually try to go the week before but the schedule just didn't work out that way this year.

oldag941 said:

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All about what you want. My wife grew up in W. Texas and they always drove to Wolf Creek. Didn't need restaurants. Didn't need shopping. Just a couple of cabins and 30 minute drive to the base area. All depends. Here is a good rundown on some of the resorts and different qualities. https://www.switchbacktravel.com/info/best-colorado-ski-resorts

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It is about what you want, but typically people asking that broad of a question are starting at step 0. I default to Wolf Creek for them due to proximity to Texas (closer than any other CO resort), some of the cheapest lift tickets and lodging options of anywhere in CO (might be the cheapest), and less risk of no snow or bad snow since it often leads all CO resorts in snowfall.

Pagosa Springs is also a good town as far as amenities.

Edit to add that I don't think the rankings in that link are very good.

Possibly Purg again, whichever weeks have the bargain basement any 4 of 5 deals.

I didn't even look at the rankings. Was just reading the content of each resort. His original post / question said that he has been to Wolf Creek and said he didn't want to rent a car. So I guess he either drives or flies somewhere more convenient than Wolf Creek. Also not sure what part of Texas he's in. Houston or Amarillo. Big differences, obviously.

I will be taking the initial plunge into skiing at Breck for Spring Break. I was always jealous of kids growing up who went on a yearly skiing trip. I have two girls at ages 9 and 7, so I want to try it out this year and see if they enjoy it. If they do maybe we can make skiing a yearly thing while they are at the house.

ccard257 said:

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44mAG said:

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I will be taking the initial plunge into skiing at Breck for Spring Break. I was always jealous of kids growing up who went on a yearly skiing trip. I have two girls at ages 9 and 7, so I want to try it out this year and see if they enjoy it. If they do maybe we can make skiing a yearly thing while they are at the house.

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Put them in lessons, I cannot stress this enough. Not some 2 hour giant group crap with the whole family, you want multiple days of real kids ski school.

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Currently I have full day age specific lessons booked for them as well as my wife and I on our first day. We will se how it goes.

Yeah the first time with young kids is very difficult. But it gets better fast.

I didn't grow up skiiing either and was always jealous of my buddies that did - and I quickly learned that I'd probably never be as good as them. So we've taken our kids at least once/year since they were old enough (4 ish). It's been 5 years and we've already got many great memories that are invaluable.

Echo what others have said. Lessons are a must. They will learn faster from an instructor and you will keep your sanity and everyone will actually enjoy skiing. It's expensive as hell but will pay off long term. I skied some in high school (once per year) and then a couple of trips in college. Then I was stationed (as a single guy) at Ft. Carson Colorado and bought season passes for a few years. As a kid, you will improve a lot faster than learning older. I have a son and daughter and like water skiing, I want both to end up in college able to do all of the good stuff well. Camping, skiing, water sports etc. So when they are invited, they can show up and have fun. Especially my daughter. She's 16 and can ski double blacks (so can my 14 year old son). I want her to be invited to a college trip and be able to show up the boys, which she will. Anyway, my philosophy.

By the way, 8 years of required lessons. Then we finally quit making them do 1-2 days of lessons on year 9. Now they want lessons more of as a ski guide to show them parts of the mountain they haven't been.

I live 20 mins from Snowbird/Alta so that's where I'm headed again.

Kids learn fast. I think I was 10 or 11 my first time, went with my family and my cousins to Red river. 1/2 day of pie wedge lessons and 1/2 day of learning to Christie and parallel and then we skied a green from top to bottom of the hill, and they basically turned us loose on day 2 with me in charge of my cousin and two little brothers and we were doing all the blue runs we could find on the mountain. Kids that are motivated by challenge and a bit of adrenaline will take right to it and learn fast. We were trying a couple of short mogul black runs and off piste trails through the trees by the end of the trip. It helps that kids are light weight, flexible, and have very fast reaction times.

Anybody know a good bootfitter in Denver?

I bought a new pair about a month ago at the Epic store in Park Meadows and was very impressed/surprised by how thorough of service I received. Think it can vary by how busy the store is though and what employee you get. Guy that fitted me was early - mid 20s and really skinny, can't remember his name.

What are your favorite Utah resorts? Can fly from Houston, Austin, or Dallas.

Wife and I only for a long weekend?

Or…

4-5 days with kids?

All intermediate to advanced skiers. Thanks!

Planning to go back to Park City and Telluride in mid January and late Feb again this year. Last year was my first time back on skis in 15 yrs and picked it back up like riding a bike. I won't be missing another year anytime soon, I had forgotten just how much I love getting to the mountains, cold weather, and skiing. Also, got my own boots and skis last year which made it so much easier and enjoyable than rentals back in my HS and College days.

I haven't skied enough of the resorts in Utah to give a list worth much. My recommendation of going to Utah if flying from Texas was based off the fact that there are numerous different resorts within 30ish minutes from the SLC airport (I think there are 6 less than 40 miles away) as opposed to a minimum 1 hr 45 minute drive to a decent resort if flying into Denver. On top of that the Utah resorts are typically more affordable, less crowded, and generally just fewer people that are going to hate you for simply being from Texas compared to if you somewhere in Colorado.
Sorry for the lack of specific recommendations, but there are better resources for narrowing down your list in Utah than I.

Little Cottonwood: Snowbird & Alta
Big Cottonwood: Solitude & Brighton

Closer to SLC: PC Canyons

Utah is usually more feast or famine than CO. They get hit hard or they go bare. The snow quality is on average better than CO but lower than the Tetons. On good years they are great but when they miss, they miss badly.

For a long weekend it's hard to beat PC/Canyons. Even on down years they have the snow making capabilities through Vail to keep the snow at a level that most Texans can't tell the difference from natural snow. Solitude has very limited snow making capabilities. Overall, more snowfall in the cottonwoods but a more packaged consistent and easier travel experience to PCC.

Big and Little CC can become a real ***** when it snows. LCC may close more than any other ski road in the country. When it closes it's for a long ass time too. Roll over etc.

If you don't mind a little drive, you can fly into Victor ID or Jackson WY or Idaho Falls and ski Grand Targhee. It's empty compared to UT/CO and an amazing hill across all levels unlike JH which is mostly expert.

Anyone see that Bachelor is up for sale from POWDR?

Everyone around here is pretty nervous that Vail is gonna buy them.

Vail isn't looking to expand in the US. They have enough issues as is with their shareholders. International is a different story. In the US, Vail is still trying to incorporate the peaks acquisition.

I'm still waiting for someone to come join me in Switzerland!
Beyond local resorts in Switzerland and Austria, I have Bulgaria on the pond this year with a co worker. Really looking forward to that one.

Bayou City said:

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Vail isn't looking to expand in the US. They have enough issues as is with their shareholders. International is a different story. In the US, Vail is still trying to incorporate the peaks acquisition.

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That makes sense. I don't think it matches Vail's portfolio either since there is no on mountain lodging and likely never will be. I think the fear is the headache that comes from a vail resort… would make it even more crowded than it already it is by offering super cheap season passes (and incredibly expensive day lift tickets).

Would be cool if a local group could buy it. Our local mountain (Mt Ashland) is a non-profit, which has some downsides and politics, but overall is run pretty well for serving the local population of skiers. Bachelor is big enough that the group that buys it will need money from visitors in addition to the locals.

6th largest hill in the country. 4500 acres of skiable terrain with the longest single mountain season in the country with average annual snowfall of 400+ inches. I think it tracks top 15 in skiers per day as well. I'd be interested in seeing their books. Sounds like a great opportunity to turn it into a EOSP and try to keep it locally owned.

I'd be super concerned with them getting bought by Alterra. That would be my completely uneducated guess. It fits their portfolio well except for the one mountain lodging but they own several resorts with very limited on mountain lodging (Solitude etc). KSL and the estate of Henry Crown have more money than they could ever spend and it's well known that they are looking to expand their footprint into OR and they would love to lock down LCC w the addition of Snowbird. I worked for The Crowns in 2017-2018 when they incorporated Alterra and went on the original purchase spree. I was working PT for Alterra and PT for the family that owned Solitude. I'm 99% positive it's going to become an Alterra resort but you never know. They already let go of Killington and Pico in August. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they package Bachelor with Snowbird and send them both to Alterra. That a great double pickup for the Ikon Pass and helps them move skiers from the more value resorts to their more premium resorts in CO and CA. It sounds like POWDR wants to focus on the Woodward Brand and Copper Mountain/Eldora and KSL would love to pickup the largest hill in OR and supplement their UT territory w the addition of Snowbird. That would give them a strong hold between LCC and BCC in UT and a solid start for OR. It would also be a great value add as they already own Deer Valley and Solitude so from an operation standpoint they know what they're getting into w Snowbird.

Ikon Pass would bring in the same headaches. Altera does make the most sense. Especially if they are wanting to get into Oregon. They'd then have mammoth/June, Palisades, Bachelor, and crystal for an epic West coast portfolio.
MCP (Purgatory) would be cool since we go to Willamette Pass a lot and they've got the kids 12 and under ski free thing. But that's probably too big of a mountain for them.

Books wise… they've got a lot of aging lifts that need to be replaced. They also are a huge mountain but because the weather is so much more hit or miss than resorts in Colorado and the Rockies, it's rarely got all lifts open (in my experience anyways). I know lots of people from Texas that are used to Colorado conditions come out here and have a bad time when the snow/wind isn't cooperating. It's a fun mountain when it dumps though.

That's what makes me think it'll go to Alterra. It really would set them up for a solid West Coast ikon and the CEO is a west coast CA guy. They just spent $217 in capex on upgrading the lifts across their portfolio. My guess is they will purchase Bachelor and do what the did at Aspen Snowmass: replace the high speed 4s w 6s at the flagship resorts (which they did this past season) and then ship the older high speed 4s from those hills to upgrade the lifts at their other properties. They then could do the same with the snow making capabilities. As they upgrade palisades and steamboat etc, those older technology guns can easily be shipped to OR and setup on Bachelor. I think between the lifts and the snowmaking, Alterra will find that it's a great investment. If they can drop 25-30 million on snowmaking and use hand me down lifts to upgrade the lifts, that a win win for them in that case and makes the permitting through the dept of agriculture much easier.

If they can gun enough snow to keep 15-20% more of the hill open w consistent conditions and move from the old Lietner Poma fixed 2s and 4s to high speed dual cable quads, that's increasing the number of skiers by 40% and skiable terrain by 700+ acres. That would be a huge step forward if you're a customer of the resort. Yeah the price will likely go up, but the upgrades will be salient on day 1.

Scuttlebutt in the industry is that they will use the additions to bolster their geographic footprint and to help push more skiers from Bachelor / Snowbird etc to the higher margin premium hills like Steamboat Palisades Deer Valley and Aspen/Snowmass. They want to get more people on the ikon and then if a small % of those skiers then decide that they want to try out Colorado or CA, they have the option and Alterra makes bank on the lodging and meals. The UT market is ripe for picking since Vail no longer has reciprocity at any UT resort that isn't a subsidiary (PC Canyons) and there's no competition from VR in OR and very little outside of Tahoe in CA. Meaning if you want a multiple mountain CA or UT pass, Alterra is the go. If they add Bachelor that would strength that position even more.

Anyone hear from our resident ski expert/Mexico expat? Someone send out the bat signal... Curious how the Mexico livin has been.

MAS444 said:

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Anyone hear from our resident ski expert/Mexico expat? Someone send out the bat signal... Curious how the Mexico livin has been.

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He got perma banned because he was too helpful or something. Lodge complaints with the mods.

rather be fishing said:

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MAS444 said:

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Anyone hear from our resident ski expert/Mexico expat? Someone send out the bat signal... Curious how the Mexico livin has been.

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He got perma banned because he was too helpful or something. Lodge complaints with the mods.

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Huh? Lodge complaints? Are you joking about the "too helpful" thing?

That is really annoying he is banned...

jpb1999 said:

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rather be fishing said:

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MAS444 said:

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Anyone hear from our resident ski expert/Mexico expat? Someone send out the bat signal... Curious how the Mexico livin has been.

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He got perma banned because he was too helpful or something. Lodge complaints with the mods.

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Huh? Lodge complaints? Are you joking about the "too helpful" thing?

That is really annoying he is banned...

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That's what I gathered. They decided he was running a commercial lodging thing without advertising and banned him.

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Anyone see that Bachelor is up for sale from POWDR?

Everyone around here is pretty nervous that Vail is gonna buy them.

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Yeah, hopefully for the better.

First snow on Bach today!

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Mt Ashland (season pass)
Mt Shasta (season pass)
Bachelor
Willamette Pass
Hoodoo

Then a trip to Tahoe (North Star and Diamond Peak)

Hopefully, I make it up to Mt Hood this season.

Should be a great season. My 6 year old is already doing her snow dances.

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Yoo, just spent a week at Tahoe and MTB'd at North Star. We're heading back this winter (and every summer, forever). It's so great. Hit me up if you're heading to Meadows. My 5 (will be 6 by ski season) year old daughter is ripping all over the greens at Meadows.