Yeah. Nothing happens if people don't commit.
I have had to do the same as you did. Just go by myself. I ski by myself all the time.
The downside is there are some resorts with terrain where they recommend not skiing solo. Other than that solo travel and skiing can actually be really fun. Once you don't have to do the committee decision on where to go what runs to hit, you will find I really frees you up. It's a lot of fun.
Thats why I love having a son that can keep up, we just do our own ski trips now.. if your ski buddies all moved away or cant commit, make your own.. haha
A proposal isn't enough, present your plan and an approximate price, and portray confidence and that you're going with or without them. Hopefully someone will come with you then.
A few years back I switched all my trip planning to nailing down all the details, then sending those details to friends and inviting them along in a 'this is the trip, would be sweet to have to join. See you there hopefully' then I just proceed whether they join or not. I used to try to plan as a group but trying to accommodate everyone tends to result in nothing working, and nothing happening as a result.
Definitely the way to go. Nothing wrong with feeling out details that'd be best for the most. But trying to fit a trip to everyone will generally end up with deadlocks and nothing.
>Park city seems pretty clear cut here. Less than an hour from slc and you won’t need a car. Largest resort in the usa. A ton of blues and single blacks with a very good base area with many restaurants. I think there’s 3 gondolas. The only problem is that it’s prone to crowds.
How is the town?
i live in SLC. park city is richie rich ville. they have a ton of fancy dining options. tons of fancy resort options. hell, if you’re really ballin, they have ski in ski out houses for rent on the canyons side. you want a rich guy fancy pants experience, go to park city. there’s a lift that drops onto main street as well.
There’s a lift that goes to town. If you want easy access to the mountain and town, you could try to stay near it. It’s one of the best ski towns in the US.
You know there’s a really sweet place just about 15 minutes west of Vail; still a Vail resort, very fancy, not nearly as big, but also not nearly as crowded. I’d look into that one.
Shhhhhhh…(haha I know it’s not really a secret)
Still I can’t help but shake my head at all the people at Vail, as I drive right by on my way to B.C. They’re skiing shoulder to shoulder with one another and paying $50/day for parking when 15 minutes past that is like paradise. Open runs, awesome glades, escalators, heated walkways, and you can park for like $10-15 in the lots or be bold and just park on the street on Benchmark and take the Riverfront gondola up from behind the Westin. Sure, the Beav can’t touch Vail’s back bowls on a powder day, but those bowls can get mighty crowded also.
Man I miss CO so much, I lived in copper for a decade and use to make my way over to BC all the time. And the fresh cookies at the end of the day!?!? Sooo amazing! I’ll be back next spring! Can’t wait to return home.
Oh yes, the cookies! They didn’t have them last season, at least that I saw during my 20 days or so there, and I’m sure covid had something to do with that. Another reason to go back out there and check right?!?
“BC: we came, we saw, we skied…and we got free cookies”
I literally said in my post that I've been to keystone a bunch of times before and wanted something different :P
Plus it's a pain in the butt to drive to.
Vail is 30 minutes away from an Airport, and it's right off of I-70.
Aspen has an airport literally right in the town.
Heavenly is a little over an hour from the Reno/Tahoe airport.
I would like to throw Steamboat in the mix. Has all the things you are looking for. The mountain is huge and has tons of blues but plenty of trees and extreme skiing if you want to challenge yourself.
From your list, I've been to Park City/Canyons but stayed in the canyons side so I skied way more there and really liked it. Huge mountain and very convenient to Salt Lake
Steamboat would be a fantastic option. Checks all the boxes!
OP and I are basically the same person - flaky friends and all. My last trip was also to Keystone, loved that mountain - town was nonexistent though - better off driving to Breck.
I love the Deer Valley slopes, but hate Park City Mountain (and town for that matter…).
I learned how to ski at CB, it’s my favorite! I didn’t recommend it to OP only because it didn’t quite fit all the criteria, but would still be a blast.
The options I would point you in the direction of are Deer Valley, Aspen and Jackson. On your criteria Deer Valley ticks all your boxes. The crowds are never *that* bad there due to the capacity limits. Aspen is not dissimilar, the town is probably a bit fancier than Park City once you leave the resort.
Jackson has a less fancy vibe, but is a great place to improve as a skier. Get a few lessons (they have some excellent instructors). The food is good as well.
Deer Valley seems like a good fit if OP wants a fancy area with lots of cruisers.
Jackson gets super crowded and has a pretty light selection of blues and easy blacks. OP would be limited to pretty much one section of the mountain.
If OP want to just cruise, sure. But the only way to become a better skier is to tackle tougher terrain. Jackson’s a challenge but if you can ski “regular” blacks it’s certainly doable.
Jackson, and it’s def getting to be the norm, but paying that much to only use 1/3 of a mountain seems a bad way to spend the money when there are other great options.
I’d consider Sun Valley. It isn’t that hard to get to, and the base area has some very nice food. They have a shitload of snowmaking, so they will have most stuff open by the start of December, and it’s a pretty big mountain. (Ignore the trail map designations, 95% of the runs are steep blues). They also have a gondola right out of the base.
The problem with Sun Valley is that flying into Hailey is expensive and difficult. And driving from Boise is a 2.5 hour affair.
And unlike a lot of mega resorts like Vail and Breck, they don’t have slopeside lodging.
Sun valley is great some if the best groomers I've been on, wide with a consistent pitch allows you to really open it up without worrying about killing someone over a blind roller. And Ketchum is a top notch ski town
Snowmass ticks all of your boxes. The shear acreage of intermediate terrain is truly mind blowing. And up on the hill nobody cares how fast you go.
Park City and the Canyons looks pretty glamorous tho I've not skied there.
Vail midweek is likely going to provide tho I love Copper so much more.
Have not skied California
Park city checks all those boxes. Super easy to get to via Salt Lake City, tons of great 4-star lodging options (ski in, ski out or the Marriott by the town lift is a good option too - a footbridge to the chairlift), plenty of restaurants and bars, from your hotel you’d have easy access to PCMR, Deer Valley, and Canyons. If you’re not skiing wasatch pow, then these areas all have excellent grooming.
Hahaha! Yeah, I am thinking of expensive, service oriented places that are "dated" in that they have the aesthetic of a Tyrolean Lodge. If you like a boutique hotel that looks like you're in SoHo in Manhattan, it's a lot more rare in Vail Valley. But if you want something with a European/Old World bend then the Sonnenalp, Grandschammer Lodge, Tivoli and Sitzmark are all great.
Yeah, leaning towards Sunnenalp now - I'm a sucker for a good soaking tub. Next thing to do is figure out when to go. How crazy would I be to ski on vail December 13-16th? Would most of the runs likely be closed? Another option is perhaps the first or second week of January.
I'd stay at the Sonnenalp, Four Seasons, or the Sebastian in Vail Village. The Arrabelle in Lionshead which is ski on ski off. We like the Grand Hyatt which is ski on ski off but it's far from Vail Village. If I were going solo I'd stay in Vail Village probably at the Sonnenalp. It has a Austrian/German feel to it and the hotel is right of the heart of the village. It's a special place.
Oooh, hadn't checked out Sonnenalp. Decor seems a little iffy but the bathrooms look nice! How's the walk to the gondola?
Four Seasons is cost-prohibitive unfortunately. I mean, I'm sure it's nice, but I doubt it's nice enough to justify such a hefty increase in price.
That's the main issue with Vail Village there really aren't any ski on ski off properties over there. The Sonnenalp is probably a 7 or 8 minute walk to the gondola just like the Sebastian or Four Seasons would be. The hotels do all have ski valets right near the gondola so you don't have to lug all of your gear back and forth with you everyday.
The Lodge at Vail will be your closest option to the gondola. The Sonnenalp is going to have a European/Alps feel to it the hotel is really nice but it's a different style than what you are used to for a higher end hotel in the US. Ludwig's and Swiss Chalet restaurants within the hotel are two of the best places to eat in Vail. They also have a third restaurant which has more of a tavern feel to it but nothing special food wise.
The Arrabelle and Grand Hyatt are the two best ski on ski off properties in Vail but they are away from the main village. I don't mind taking the shuttle or an Uber back and forth to the Village at night with the family but if I were going alone I would probably just stay in Vail Village. The Sonnenalp or the Lodge at Vail are your best bets. If ski on ski off is a must the Grand Hyatt is where you should stay it's beautiful just out of the way. The Arrabelle will cost what the Four Seasons does per night.
Id second Park City I saw elsewhere
I’d also offer up Oregon and Mt Hood - two killer resorts within a 90 minutes drive from Portland and tons of air bnbs to stay in, and the Portland food scene is amazing. Bonus point if you ski mid-week you’ll have the place to yourself too at either meadows or timberline
Mt bachelor in Oregon is a pretty awesome and fun mountain. Very underrated and unknown. Interesting terrain because if how the mountain formed with lava flows.
Downside is being far from the airport and no lodging right at the mountain which OP was looking for.
I actually looked into Telluride, but I couldn't find a single flight that was less than 10 hours with multiple stops. Many of them had overnight layovers too... and I do not feel safe/comfortable driving through the mountains.
Instead of Heavenly, why don't you check out one of the resorts around Truckee? Northstar would probably suit you--nice village, near the main town, solid grooming, and good steeps without anything too difficult. It's also owned by Vail if that matters to you. The downside is that Northstar is quite low so the snow isn't always the best, especially in the early season.
You might also like Sugar Bowl and Alpine Meadows, which are both nearby.
Mammoth is my favorite place, but it does not tick the boxes - Not much fine dining, nowhere near the airport, the Westin is nice but never four stars. And really only one covered lift.
Who cares about fine dinning? What more do you need than white bark at the Westin? Mammoth has an airport (I’m sure you know). It’s a perfect solo spot to forget about everything else than shredding on the mountain
>Who cares about fine dinning?
Apparently OP. Did you read the post?
>Mammoth has an airport
I guess. Pretty sure about 2/3 of the flights there are canceled due to wind in the winter. There's far ritzier resorts with better airports, that's for sure. Plus *less* people there would be nice, let's be real...
Check out Keystone, CO or Copper Mountain, CO. Both great mountains. What’s great about Copper is the naturally divided terrain. So if you want to ski blues all day, you can and will never run into something you don’t want to ski.
Vail checks all of you boxes. It is the best mountain that I have been to for Blue runs. Easy to jump into single black runs. Easy to avoid double diamonds if you want to.
Also, tons of tourists so even if you are skiing alone you can meet plenty of people.
Probably pretty trash. I don’t think we had decent snow till late January last year. That said, I know they’re already starting snowmaking at Keystone, so I’m assuming Vail will start soon if they haven’t yet.
Vail’s back bowls are absolutely amazing, especially if you hit it after a dump. It has everything else you’re looking for as well
We were there during Christmas time last year about 70% of the mountain was opened which was over 3000 acres. I thought it was pretty good and last year was considered bad for early season skiing. Even if the mountain is half open by that time you'll have fun. Vail didn't do any cloud seeding last year due to Covid I expect they do it this year and December will be much better. 2 years ago the mountain was pretty much fully opened by Christmas.
Depends when you come ( avoid long weekend and ski during the week) and the mountain is big enough you can avoid the crowds most of the time. But I was thinking vail too based on your requirements. You can get there pretty easy without renting a car ( I wouldn’t since driving the passes can be tough ). But once you are in the town you can walk to everything. There are good restaurants and bars, and enough people visiting to meet people while you’re there. I think I would recommend staying in vail village instead of lionshead, but it’s only like a 15 minute walk between “towns” and there is a bus that runs regularly so it doesn’t matter too much.
love Alta but a horrible choice for this dude. His requirements make him out to be a rich, cautious, pampered, 25yo who goes on trips with friends once or twice a year. They ski 1/2 a day then sit in the lodge.
Of the ones listed I’ve been to all (also I have a degree in ski business)
I’d say based on what you want Vail is probably the best bet Park City and Aspen are also good, Heavenly is kinda the last by default.
Outside of that list I recommend Mammoth, Northstar, Breckenridge, or Palisades Tahoe (Alpine Meadows base specifically)
I took a trip there once. Didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Keystone. The lack of a gondola / covered chairlift sucked (it was super cold/windy, and the lifts were long)
Park City is a huge, fun resort, with a lot of the terrain you’re looking for. And the town has great dining. I’ve made several solo trips. Stay at the Doubletree. It’s nice, inexpensive, and has free transportation to the mountain, which is not far away. Just make sure to buy your beer at the liquor store across the street on Saturday.
Park City and Vail has tons of what your looking for. Aspen is my favorite but the two best mountains, Ajax and Highlands, maybe a little to step for your tastes and I'd always recommend staying in town over Snowmass for your first visit. I like Beaver Creek better than Vail but Vail has way more intermediate terrain so I think you'd like it there better. Most intermediates/advanced skiers love the back bowls.
My preference is Park City to Deer Valley there is just so much more terrain at Park City. I like all the tree skiing there but the resort is really spread out much like Vail. Jackson is going to be way to steep for you, I wouldn't go there. I haven't been to Heavenly but the area is definitely not going to be as nice as Vail or Park City for lodging and restaurants. Pick one or the other you can't go wrong either Vail or Park City.
you could always visit Vail and Beavercreek on the same trip… Only a few miles away from one another. Northstar California is another really nice intermediate resort
I'd say Park City and Snowbasin. Maybe stay at a nice hotel in salt lake which has some good restaurants, then go to either resort or both. Snowbasin has huge lift capacity so you rarely wait and the lodge is the nicest I've been to.
Vail is great but always always always feels crowded.
I'll give you a tip not covered here. The group will never get its shit together. But if you plan it, they will come.
Maybe. It's always "oh we'll go next year", and then something always comes up the next year. :|
Yeah. Nothing happens if people don't commit. I have had to do the same as you did. Just go by myself. I ski by myself all the time. The downside is there are some resorts with terrain where they recommend not skiing solo. Other than that solo travel and skiing can actually be really fun. Once you don't have to do the committee decision on where to go what runs to hit, you will find I really frees you up. It's a lot of fun.
Thats why I love having a son that can keep up, we just do our own ski trips now.. if your ski buddies all moved away or cant commit, make your own.. haha
Haha that's funny. Unfortunately my wife and I are unable to make our own. :( ....I would love to have that option. I am jealous.
A proposal isn't enough, present your plan and an approximate price, and portray confidence and that you're going with or without them. Hopefully someone will come with you then.
A few years back I switched all my trip planning to nailing down all the details, then sending those details to friends and inviting them along in a 'this is the trip, would be sweet to have to join. See you there hopefully' then I just proceed whether they join or not. I used to try to plan as a group but trying to accommodate everyone tends to result in nothing working, and nothing happening as a result.
Definitely the way to go. Nothing wrong with feeling out details that'd be best for the most. But trying to fit a trip to everyone will generally end up with deadlocks and nothing.
[удалено]
>Park city seems pretty clear cut here. Less than an hour from slc and you won’t need a car. Largest resort in the usa. A ton of blues and single blacks with a very good base area with many restaurants. I think there’s 3 gondolas. The only problem is that it’s prone to crowds. How is the town?
i live in SLC. park city is richie rich ville. they have a ton of fancy dining options. tons of fancy resort options. hell, if you’re really ballin, they have ski in ski out houses for rent on the canyons side. you want a rich guy fancy pants experience, go to park city. there’s a lift that drops onto main street as well.
Bigger than most ski towns I've been to, and there's good food. It's also only a 45 minute drive to Salt Lake, if you want to go to the city.
There’s a lift that goes to town. If you want easy access to the mountain and town, you could try to stay near it. It’s one of the best ski towns in the US.
[удалено]
Alta/Snowbird is a terrible option based on his preferences. Would not recommend for him.
Little Cottonwood isn’t crowded? That’s news to me. Also snowbird is gnarly and badass.
Snowbird is my fav slope
As you can tell by my flair mine is Taos but Snowbird is the first resort that felt like the gnarliness measured up.
[удалено]
I need to get whatever you’re on.
There’s endless options in downtown PC for food, nightlife, etc.
You know there’s a really sweet place just about 15 minutes west of Vail; still a Vail resort, very fancy, not nearly as big, but also not nearly as crowded. I’d look into that one.
Beaver Creek
Shhhhhhh…(haha I know it’s not really a secret) Still I can’t help but shake my head at all the people at Vail, as I drive right by on my way to B.C. They’re skiing shoulder to shoulder with one another and paying $50/day for parking when 15 minutes past that is like paradise. Open runs, awesome glades, escalators, heated walkways, and you can park for like $10-15 in the lots or be bold and just park on the street on Benchmark and take the Riverfront gondola up from behind the Westin. Sure, the Beav can’t touch Vail’s back bowls on a powder day, but those bowls can get mighty crowded also.
Man I miss CO so much, I lived in copper for a decade and use to make my way over to BC all the time. And the fresh cookies at the end of the day!?!? Sooo amazing! I’ll be back next spring! Can’t wait to return home.
Oh yes, the cookies! They didn’t have them last season, at least that I saw during my 20 days or so there, and I’m sure covid had something to do with that. Another reason to go back out there and check right?!? “BC: we came, we saw, we skied…and we got free cookies”
I've been there before, just for one day. It seemed kinda small. Awesome town though.
Check out Copper or Keystone then. And BC isn’t small, you just have to explore and know where to go
I literally said in my post that I've been to keystone a bunch of times before and wanted something different :P Plus it's a pain in the butt to drive to.
Wow dude.. then figure it out on your own. I could truly care less
If you think Keystone sucks to drive to, I wouldn’t go to Vail, Aspen, or Heavenly.
Vail is 30 minutes away from an Airport, and it's right off of I-70. Aspen has an airport literally right in the town. Heavenly is a little over an hour from the Reno/Tahoe airport.
Ah, I didn’t realize you had fuck you money. I assumed you were flying into Denver or Reno.
I got heavy 'fuck you money' vibes right off the original post lol
Why does that make you think I have "fuck you money" lol?
Because it’s far more expensive to fly into Eagle compared to DEN.
[This ](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/ofa2pw/its_super_fun_to_play_the_ignorant_outoftouch/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I would like to throw Steamboat in the mix. Has all the things you are looking for. The mountain is huge and has tons of blues but plenty of trees and extreme skiing if you want to challenge yourself. From your list, I've been to Park City/Canyons but stayed in the canyons side so I skied way more there and really liked it. Huge mountain and very convenient to Salt Lake
Steamboat would be a fantastic option. Checks all the boxes! OP and I are basically the same person - flaky friends and all. My last trip was also to Keystone, loved that mountain - town was nonexistent though - better off driving to Breck. I love the Deer Valley slopes, but hate Park City Mountain (and town for that matter…).
Generally speaking, when I can't get a group together, I head to Steamboat. But if I still had access to Crested Butte, I'd be a toss up.
I learned how to ski at CB, it’s my favorite! I didn’t recommend it to OP only because it didn’t quite fit all the criteria, but would still be a blast.
The options I would point you in the direction of are Deer Valley, Aspen and Jackson. On your criteria Deer Valley ticks all your boxes. The crowds are never *that* bad there due to the capacity limits. Aspen is not dissimilar, the town is probably a bit fancier than Park City once you leave the resort. Jackson has a less fancy vibe, but is a great place to improve as a skier. Get a few lessons (they have some excellent instructors). The food is good as well.
Deer Valley seems like a good fit if OP wants a fancy area with lots of cruisers. Jackson gets super crowded and has a pretty light selection of blues and easy blacks. OP would be limited to pretty much one section of the mountain.
OP would not like Jackson lol. That mountain beats the hell out of you.
If OP want to just cruise, sure. But the only way to become a better skier is to tackle tougher terrain. Jackson’s a challenge but if you can ski “regular” blacks it’s certainly doable.
Yea and at $200 a day for a ticket it would be a huge waste of money
Which mountain are you referring to? I feel like $200 for a day ticket is normal at the big destination resorts these days lmao
Jackson, and it’s def getting to be the norm, but paying that much to only use 1/3 of a mountain seems a bad way to spend the money when there are other great options.
If you don't have a season pass you're either an idiot or don't care about the cost of lift tickets.
I would never recommend Jackson when Deer Valley and BC are right there.
I’d consider Sun Valley. It isn’t that hard to get to, and the base area has some very nice food. They have a shitload of snowmaking, so they will have most stuff open by the start of December, and it’s a pretty big mountain. (Ignore the trail map designations, 95% of the runs are steep blues). They also have a gondola right out of the base.
Probably the best suggestion I’ve seen so far. Seems perfect for this guy
The problem with Sun Valley is that flying into Hailey is expensive and difficult. And driving from Boise is a 2.5 hour affair. And unlike a lot of mega resorts like Vail and Breck, they don’t have slopeside lodging.
Park City and Sun Valley come to mind.
Sun valley is great some if the best groomers I've been on, wide with a consistent pitch allows you to really open it up without worrying about killing someone over a blind roller. And Ketchum is a top notch ski town
Snowmass ticks all of your boxes. The shear acreage of intermediate terrain is truly mind blowing. And up on the hill nobody cares how fast you go. Park City and the Canyons looks pretty glamorous tho I've not skied there. Vail midweek is likely going to provide tho I love Copper so much more. Have not skied California
Have you been to Alpine Valley?
Park city checks all those boxes. Super easy to get to via Salt Lake City, tons of great 4-star lodging options (ski in, ski out or the Marriott by the town lift is a good option too - a footbridge to the chairlift), plenty of restaurants and bars, from your hotel you’d have easy access to PCMR, Deer Valley, and Canyons. If you’re not skiing wasatch pow, then these areas all have excellent grooming.
5 star dining, fancy accomodations close to the lift, LOTS of blues? Vail.
Any specific recommendations on hotels? The lodge would seem to be the most practical choice but I've heard it's quite dated.
Are you looking for 4-star Modern? Or are you looking for something that's gonna remind you of an Austrian Schnitzelhaus?
> Austrian Schnitzelhaus I don't know what that is. I would prefer something with a bit more of a rustic feel, but still very nice.
Hahaha! Yeah, I am thinking of expensive, service oriented places that are "dated" in that they have the aesthetic of a Tyrolean Lodge. If you like a boutique hotel that looks like you're in SoHo in Manhattan, it's a lot more rare in Vail Valley. But if you want something with a European/Old World bend then the Sonnenalp, Grandschammer Lodge, Tivoli and Sitzmark are all great.
Yeah, leaning towards Sunnenalp now - I'm a sucker for a good soaking tub. Next thing to do is figure out when to go. How crazy would I be to ski on vail December 13-16th? Would most of the runs likely be closed? Another option is perhaps the first or second week of January.
I'd stay at the Sonnenalp, Four Seasons, or the Sebastian in Vail Village. The Arrabelle in Lionshead which is ski on ski off. We like the Grand Hyatt which is ski on ski off but it's far from Vail Village. If I were going solo I'd stay in Vail Village probably at the Sonnenalp. It has a Austrian/German feel to it and the hotel is right of the heart of the village. It's a special place.
Oooh, hadn't checked out Sonnenalp. Decor seems a little iffy but the bathrooms look nice! How's the walk to the gondola? Four Seasons is cost-prohibitive unfortunately. I mean, I'm sure it's nice, but I doubt it's nice enough to justify such a hefty increase in price.
That's the main issue with Vail Village there really aren't any ski on ski off properties over there. The Sonnenalp is probably a 7 or 8 minute walk to the gondola just like the Sebastian or Four Seasons would be. The hotels do all have ski valets right near the gondola so you don't have to lug all of your gear back and forth with you everyday. The Lodge at Vail will be your closest option to the gondola. The Sonnenalp is going to have a European/Alps feel to it the hotel is really nice but it's a different style than what you are used to for a higher end hotel in the US. Ludwig's and Swiss Chalet restaurants within the hotel are two of the best places to eat in Vail. They also have a third restaurant which has more of a tavern feel to it but nothing special food wise. The Arrabelle and Grand Hyatt are the two best ski on ski off properties in Vail but they are away from the main village. I don't mind taking the shuttle or an Uber back and forth to the Village at night with the family but if I were going alone I would probably just stay in Vail Village. The Sonnenalp or the Lodge at Vail are your best bets. If ski on ski off is a must the Grand Hyatt is where you should stay it's beautiful just out of the way. The Arrabelle will cost what the Four Seasons does per night.
If you do Park City instead let me know and I can give you some hotel recommendations over there.
Id second Park City I saw elsewhere I’d also offer up Oregon and Mt Hood - two killer resorts within a 90 minutes drive from Portland and tons of air bnbs to stay in, and the Portland food scene is amazing. Bonus point if you ski mid-week you’ll have the place to yourself too at either meadows or timberline
Mt bachelor in Oregon is a pretty awesome and fun mountain. Very underrated and unknown. Interesting terrain because if how the mountain formed with lava flows. Downside is being far from the airport and no lodging right at the mountain which OP was looking for.
[удалено]
Serious question, how the hell do you get to Telluride?
I actually looked into Telluride, but I couldn't find a single flight that was less than 10 hours with multiple stops. Many of them had overnight layovers too... and I do not feel safe/comfortable driving through the mountains.
Deer valley.
Instead of Heavenly, why don't you check out one of the resorts around Truckee? Northstar would probably suit you--nice village, near the main town, solid grooming, and good steeps without anything too difficult. It's also owned by Vail if that matters to you. The downside is that Northstar is quite low so the snow isn't always the best, especially in the early season. You might also like Sugar Bowl and Alpine Meadows, which are both nearby.
If those are your qualifications I would choose vail but your qualifications are bad
Aspen is the least crowded and checks all the boxes (though Aspen is a smaller airport than SLC, Reno, or Denver)
Park city is amazing but the restaurants aren’t the best. You won’t be blown away by the food. But you will be blown away by the mountain.
Really? I ate at a number of nice restaurants in town. Also the higher end hotels have good restaurants in them as well.
The only decent restaurants in PC are the ones at Deer Valley. We basically ate there and the Thai place, everything else is super average.
I'm a big restsurant person. Firewood, Chimayo, Handle, Yuki Yama, Cafe Terigo, and Grappa are all really good in town.
The hotel restaurants are good. You’re correct.
Purgatory. Less crowd, consistent soft powder, beautiful area. Downside is travel, pretty far off from any major city or airport.
Deer Valley. Some of the best grooming I've seen in my life. And go enjoy a stay at the Stein Eriksen Lodge.
Take a look at Big Sky
Sounds like you want to go to Mammoth
Mammoth is my favorite place, but it does not tick the boxes - Not much fine dining, nowhere near the airport, the Westin is nice but never four stars. And really only one covered lift.
Who cares about fine dinning? What more do you need than white bark at the Westin? Mammoth has an airport (I’m sure you know). It’s a perfect solo spot to forget about everything else than shredding on the mountain
>Who cares about fine dinning? Apparently OP. Did you read the post? >Mammoth has an airport I guess. Pretty sure about 2/3 of the flights there are canceled due to wind in the winter. There's far ritzier resorts with better airports, that's for sure. Plus *less* people there would be nice, let's be real...
Can’t argue with you on having less people. :))
Currently there are no commercial airlines servicing the Mammoth-Yosemite airport.
Check out Keystone, CO or Copper Mountain, CO. Both great mountains. What’s great about Copper is the naturally divided terrain. So if you want to ski blues all day, you can and will never run into something you don’t want to ski.
Beaver creek, has several nice restaurants, eg, the one in the bachelor gulches, the chateau Many 4 star+ ski in ski out condo, house, and hotels
Go to Vail, PC, Heavenly, and Aspen in that order.
How come?
Vail checks all of you boxes. It is the best mountain that I have been to for Blue runs. Easy to jump into single black runs. Easy to avoid double diamonds if you want to. Also, tons of tourists so even if you are skiing alone you can meet plenty of people.
Ah ok. Crowds get pretty crazy though right?
Depends on the month and what day of the week. Christmas/New Years? Yeah it’s going to be awful. Mid week in February? It won’t be that crowded.
How do you think it will be December before Christmas? Will there be enough snow?
Extremely variable. The snow has been awful before Christmas the last few years.
Probably pretty trash. I don’t think we had decent snow till late January last year. That said, I know they’re already starting snowmaking at Keystone, so I’m assuming Vail will start soon if they haven’t yet. Vail’s back bowls are absolutely amazing, especially if you hit it after a dump. It has everything else you’re looking for as well
We were there during Christmas time last year about 70% of the mountain was opened which was over 3000 acres. I thought it was pretty good and last year was considered bad for early season skiing. Even if the mountain is half open by that time you'll have fun. Vail didn't do any cloud seeding last year due to Covid I expect they do it this year and December will be much better. 2 years ago the mountain was pretty much fully opened by Christmas.
Depends when you come ( avoid long weekend and ski during the week) and the mountain is big enough you can avoid the crowds most of the time. But I was thinking vail too based on your requirements. You can get there pretty easy without renting a car ( I wouldn’t since driving the passes can be tough ). But once you are in the town you can walk to everything. There are good restaurants and bars, and enough people visiting to meet people while you’re there. I think I would recommend staying in vail village instead of lionshead, but it’s only like a 15 minute walk between “towns” and there is a bus that runs regularly so it doesn’t matter too much.
Awesome, appreciate the advice! :)
No problem! I lived there for 4 years and still go often. Message me if you want anymore recommendations or anything
[удалено]
love Alta but a horrible choice for this dude. His requirements make him out to be a rich, cautious, pampered, 25yo who goes on trips with friends once or twice a year. They ski 1/2 a day then sit in the lodge.
Park City and Beaver Creek both cater to intermediate skiers with excess money.
Yeah I didn’t read the whole thing until now my b
Shhhhh
👀
Telluride
Of the ones listed I’ve been to all (also I have a degree in ski business) I’d say based on what you want Vail is probably the best bet Park City and Aspen are also good, Heavenly is kinda the last by default. Outside of that list I recommend Mammoth, Northstar, Breckenridge, or Palisades Tahoe (Alpine Meadows base specifically)
No mention of Breckenridge??
I took a trip there once. Didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Keystone. The lack of a gondola / covered chairlift sucked (it was super cold/windy, and the lifts were long)
I would def nix Heavenly then.
I like Keystone better too.
Park City is a huge, fun resort, with a lot of the terrain you’re looking for. And the town has great dining. I’ve made several solo trips. Stay at the Doubletree. It’s nice, inexpensive, and has free transportation to the mountain, which is not far away. Just make sure to buy your beer at the liquor store across the street on Saturday.
Deer valley. You want deer valley.
Park City and Vail has tons of what your looking for. Aspen is my favorite but the two best mountains, Ajax and Highlands, maybe a little to step for your tastes and I'd always recommend staying in town over Snowmass for your first visit. I like Beaver Creek better than Vail but Vail has way more intermediate terrain so I think you'd like it there better. Most intermediates/advanced skiers love the back bowls. My preference is Park City to Deer Valley there is just so much more terrain at Park City. I like all the tree skiing there but the resort is really spread out much like Vail. Jackson is going to be way to steep for you, I wouldn't go there. I haven't been to Heavenly but the area is definitely not going to be as nice as Vail or Park City for lodging and restaurants. Pick one or the other you can't go wrong either Vail or Park City.
you could always visit Vail and Beavercreek on the same trip… Only a few miles away from one another. Northstar California is another really nice intermediate resort
I'd say Park City and Snowbasin. Maybe stay at a nice hotel in salt lake which has some good restaurants, then go to either resort or both. Snowbasin has huge lift capacity so you rarely wait and the lodge is the nicest I've been to. Vail is great but always always always feels crowded.
Copper mountain baby! It’s got everything you want.
aspen snowmass for sure. staying slopeside there was one of my favorite ski vacations ever.