I'm looking at buying skis this time. I'm an intermediate level skier and am astounded by the wide range of options out there. I think I'm going to get rocker skis with a bit of camber and a waist width around 90 or so. That way I'll be able to go off trail form time to time.

I'll be skiing in the PNW area.

12/14/2016 3:02:10 PM

Haven't been in over 10 years. I'm going at some point this winter.

12/14/2016 7:44:57 PM

after a very slow start, Targhee is up to a 63" base and a large storm (2+ feet) lingering all this week

but I won't get to go until after Christmas

12/14/2016 8:32:32 PM

Great start to the season here in VT after a disasterous 2015-2016 season.

12/17/2016 2:48:44 PM

Woops I'll post in the right thread.

Crested Butte just closed due to too much snow!!!!

https://twitter.com/skicrestedbutte

1/9/2017 5:26:25 PM

I want to go snowboarding but I think my core is the weakest it's ever been.

Gonna be in Pennsylvania this weekend, any good spots?

1/9/2017 11:31:13 PM

Going to Park City in 10 days; fingers crossed that the great weather conditions continue.

1/10/2017 12:02:37 PM

7 feet in the last week at Crested Butte. Headed up next weekend and they're calling for more snow!!! Going to try and hit up Winter Park tomorrow.

1/12/2017 2:14:56 PM

where are you in Colorado Neodata?

I just moved out to boulder in October. Went to eldora last week after they got about 3 feet and that was fun as hell.

I have the RMSP+ pass. What pass did you buy this season?

1/12/2017 10:00:43 PM

Denver and the RMSP+! Just got back from Winter Park. Unfortunately I was traveling earlier in the week and didn't get a chance to get a good powder day in. Hopefully next weekend! Will probably hit up Winter Park again on Monday.

[Edited on January 13, 2017 at 4:48 PM. Reason : s]

1/13/2017 4:47:52 PM

Well the VT season is now once again turning ugly with a warm period coming and a lack of any new snow ahead of it.

1/14/2017 2:39:02 PM

Quote :

"Denver and the RMSP+! Just got back from Winter Park. Unfortunately I was traveling earlier in the week and didn't get a chance to get a good powder day in. Hopefully next weekend! Will probably hit up Winter Park again on Monday."

Nice! I just got back from eldora today. Mostly groomers out there today but the weather was nice. I'll be hitting up Abasin and Copper next weekend.

1/14/2017 6:57:45 PM

Well that was pretty epic. Got over 36 inches of fresh snowfall while I was in Park City for 5 days. Biggest powder conditions I've ever skied in. Some of my buddies complained that it was too much snow, but I think they were just bitching because they didn't condition their legs enough in the gym

I do, however, think it's a bit lame for Park City to claim the title of biggest ski resort in North America (since they merged with The Canyons) but to only have one link between the two former resorts, the Quicksilver Gondola, which wasn't operating for over 75% of the time I was there. If you're gonna shut that down frequently the resort should provide a free direct shuttle over to The Canyons area. Taking the city transportation bus takes 30-45 minutes, meh.

[Edited on January 27, 2017 at 11:22 AM. Reason : ]

1/27/2017 11:22:11 AM

Going in NC somewhere tomorrow, any ideas?

Just a random trip with the GF, she's never been skiing so I figure Itll be good for me to get back in the routine too.

1/27/2017 1:20:33 PM

^^How do they claim that? I thought it's only 7,300 acres. Whistler/Blackcomb is 8,171. Vail is still larger than all four if you look at them as single resorts that you can ski around.

1/27/2017 1:40:40 PM

I'm going to take three day trip to Breckenridge in three weeks. It will be the first time I've ever been out west. I have a few questions.

* Any tips on getting gear through the airport? Could I get away with bringing more than one board by taking the bindings off and stacking boards like pancakes?
* Anything I can do to prep for the lack of air up there?
* Is there any must see or must do runs at Breckenridge?
* I'm open to any other tips you might have. My buddy is going to be sharing his buddy pass so my lift tickets should be $49.

Thanks!

1/29/2017 10:34:38 PM

Flying into Denver with ski/snowboard gear is very common. Most airlines (I usually fly United) consider 1 boot bag + 1 ski/snowboard bag as one checked bag. Not sure about the 2 boards.

As far as altitude goes just breath more haha. I think the highest lift at Breck is 13k. Luckily you're only going down and not hiking up (unless you plan on going into the back country). They sell oxygen bottles I see some people with but I've never used them. I typically prefer whisky on the lift.

My favorite Breck areas are Peak 6, Horseshoe Bowl, and Imperial Bowl. It's all going to depend how good the conditions are. Independence SuperChair is fun if there's a lot of snow. Peak 10 is alright if there's a lot of snow as well.

I'm not sure which buddy passes he has but the current SWAF (ski with a friend) discount is $128/day for 1/17-2/17. I've never seen tickets to Breck for $49.

1/29/2017 10:47:41 PM

Quote :

"Could I get away with bringing more than one board by taking the bindings off and stacking boards like pancakes?"

If they both fit in one bag i don't see why not.

Quote :

"I'm going to take three day trip to Breckenridge in three weeks."

Seems like a waste imo. Why fly out there if it's only gonna be for 3 days? That's 3 days there, plus 2 travel days right?

Quote :

"Anything I can do to prep for the lack of air up there?"

Yes. Acclimate at altitude. The usual advice is to spend a day in Denver, then Breck, before skiing. Or you could just live in Colorado for a handful of years like neodata686 and brag about drinking whisky on the lift like that's the solution instead of the obvious.

Quote :

"My buddy is going to be sharing his buddy pass so my lift tickets should be $49."

Lemme know whose dick you have to suck to ski Breck for $49/day. It's usually more than twice that.

Quote :

"They sell oxygen bottles I see some people with but I've never used them."

The only people I've seen use them are the random 1/10 people on my trips out there. It's far from common, even for tourists.

Quote :

"unless you plan on going into the back country"

Quote :

" It will be the first time I've ever been out west."

1/30/2017 1:02:23 AM

If you're fairly young and in good shape then you really only need one day to somewhat get acclimated to the high altitude. Not sure why neodata686 is dismissing Breck for only being 13k feet up, as it is the highest altitude ski resort in all of the US (ski lift accessible). So it's not like you could go any higher. Personally I really enjoy the chutes off Peak 8 but you have to do a bit of climbing to access that and I always feel like my heart is going to explode, lol.

Quote :

"^^How do they claim that? I thought it's only 7,300 acres. Whistler/Blackcomb is 8,171. Vail is still larger than all four if you look at them as single resorts that you can ski around."

I misspoke; Park City claims to be the biggest ski resort in USA, not N. America. And Vail owns Park City resort so Vail apparently is not bigger. Otherwise it would be weird that they would lie about themselves? EDIT: I guess they're going off of the metric of slopes? Park City has 330 runs, Vail has 195.

And personally, I don't understand why anyone except for a casual skier would ever drink on the slopes. I prefer to keep my body and mind sharp when I'm whizzing by the trees.

[Edited on January 30, 2017 at 9:33 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on January 30, 2017 at 9:37 AM. Reason : ]

1/30/2017 9:32:25 AM

Quote :

"If you're fairly young and in good shape then you really only need one day to somewhat get acclimated to the high altitude."

Yeah I was always fine flying in one day and skiing the next, but not everyone on our trip (read: the older folks) were comfortable doing that. As you say it varies by person.

1/30/2017 10:56:16 AM

Quote :

"Or you could just live in Colorado for a handful of years like neodata686 and brag about drinking whisky on the lift like that's the solution instead of the obvious. "

That was meant specifically for you.

Quote :

"The only people I've seen use them are the random 1/10 people on my trips out there. It's far from common, even for tourists."

That's why I said some people. I haven't tried them myself.

Quote :

" Quote : "unless you plan on going into the back country" Quote : " It will be the first time I've ever been out west.""

Some people I know come visit and only do backcountry stuff. There's plenty of safe avalanche controlled snowshoe and cross country trails out there (e.g. RMNP). In fact some people come to the resorts and only go to the nordic ski areas because they prefer cross country to alpine. One of my best friend's family has a house and condo at Keystone and they literally only do cross country and rarely alpine in the resort.

Quote :

"Not sure why neodata686 is dismissing Breck for only being 13k feet up, as it is the highest altitude ski resort in all of the US (ski lift accessible)."

I meant that is was a high lift and you will feel the impact.

Also it's not the highest altitude ski resort in all the US. The East Wall at Arapahoe Basin is actually higher:

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/colorado-ski-resorts-elevation-51443.html

Quote :

"Thirteeners: 13,000-Plus Feet Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort has a top elevation of 13,050 feet in Dillon, Colorado. The resort offers the highest ski slopes in the United States. Loveland Ski Area features a summit elevation of 13,010 feet in Georgetown, Colorado. Twelvers: 12,000-12,999 Feet Breckenridge Ski Resort has a top elevation of 12,998 feet. Aspen Snowmass offers a summit elevation of 12,510 feet, and Keystone Resort features a top elevation of 12,408 feet. Moving downward in elevation, Copper Mountain Resort hits a summit of 12,313 feet, Silverton Mountain one of 12,300 feet, Telluride Ski Resort one of 12,260 feet, Crested Butte Mountain Resort one of 12,162 feet and Winter Park Resort one of 12,060 feet. Each of these Colorado resorts is in a town of the same name."

Breck is slightly lower than Loveland or A-Basin.

Quote :

"I misspoke; Park City claims to be the biggest ski resort in USA, not N. America. And Vail owns Park City resort so Vail apparently is not bigger. Otherwise it would be weird that they would lie about themselves? EDIT: I guess they're going off of the metric of slopes? Park City has 330 runs, Vail has 195."

You're right I meant a single resort before Park City combined with Canyons. Vail is larger than either by itself but now that they're combined the single Park City is larger.

Quote :

"And personally, I don't understand why anyone except for a casual skier would ever drink on the slopes. I prefer to keep my body and mind sharp when I'm whizzing by the trees."

When you ski a lot resort skiing is "casual". Having a couple swigs of whisky on the lift helps relax me for moguls. Haha.

I certainly would not do it backcountry skiing unless I knew the terrain and it was easy with no avalanche danger (which you never want to assume).

^Yeah I've had incredibly in-shape people get altitude sickness 3 days into a trip whereas less in-shape people has no issues the day after they fly in. It seems to be highly varied by person.

1/30/2017 12:56:47 PM

Quote :

"Breck is slightly lower than Loveland or A-Basin. "

Man, come on! I said ski lift accessible And A-Basin's tallest lift doesn't come within 600 feet of the height of it's tallest peak, plus to get to that height looks like a good 30 minute walk or more along the ridge line. So probably close to an hour of climbing and hiking involved there to get to the peak. And over at Loveland the highest ski lift is 12,700 (which I admit is closer to Breck than I thought) and if you wanna top 13k you have to take a snow cat. That's hardly convenient and "ski lift accessible".



[Edited on January 30, 2017 at 1:45 PM. Reason : ]

1/30/2017 1:45:04 PM

Quote :

"Some people I know come visit and only do backcountry stuff. "

Wonderful. I doubt it's those people's very first trip out west tho.

Quote :

"Man, come on! I said ski lift accessible"

He's pretty good at ignoring details like that.

1/30/2017 2:09:52 PM

I skin up Loveland every now and then when I want some good in-bounds exercise. I think we're just emphasizing the point that arguing over lift elevations is silly. Sure technically Breck has the highest lift but what does that really mean?

I much prefer Winter Park and the Panorama lift to Breck though for bowl skiing. Breck is just super touristy. Make sure to go during the week!

1/30/2017 2:13:09 PM

Quote :

"Sure technically Breck has the highest lift but what does that really mean? "

I think that's fairly straightforward, especially given the context that led to him bringing up that fact.


Not everyone is jumping out of helicopters in the backcountry.

1/30/2017 2:16:48 PM

Going to Park City this week for a Bachelor Party. I am OK at skiing but only really ski every 3-5 years. I'll probably only Ski one day. We're staying in town within walking distance to a lift... anything I should know/protips? Any good reccomendatoinss for non-skiing things to do in Park City?

1/30/2017 2:37:03 PM

I haven't heli-skied yet but it isn't out of the question for next season. I have a friend who's been wanting to do it.

I'm wary to do a lot of backcountry stuff until I go through an official avalanche certification process. Currently I have all the gear and go with people I trust but I wouldn't lead something until I have a lot of continuing education (outside of non-certified REI classes or avalanche videos).

My cousin's BF has been backcountry skiing in Colorado for over 25 years and has never experienced an avalanche because he knows what to look for and knows when conditions are bad. I have a lot of respect for him and would like to eventually become that experienced but it's a slow learning process.

The big challenge is there's just too many things to do. My winter sports are currently split between snowshoeing, skiing, and hiking and getting practice in the backcountry takes a lot of time.

My next non-day trip is Steamboat in 3 weeks. Last year conditions sucked so I'm hoping for better conditions this year. Steamboat is an awesome resort!

1/30/2017 2:37:29 PM

^^I prefer skiing in The Canyons (right side of resort if looking at trail map) over the "Park City" side (left side, basically where your lodgings are). Though if you're an average skier you might just be happy staying local to your side. It's worth noting that a few of the ski lifts on the Park City side do stay open later, till 6pm (others close at 4pm) so you can get a few bonus hours in if you like, though only Greens and Blues, no Blacks serviced after 4pm.

In town I would check out the High West Distillery and No Name Saloon. Oh, and be careful about buying beer at stores. If it's not a liquor store the abv is only 3.2%. If you want the normal strength stuff you have to go to liquor stores. Most bars have the normal stuff, but if you're not sure ask.

1/30/2017 5:03:30 PM

^Thanks for the skiing tips and the info about the lifts. We're all pretty much varying degrees of amateurs on snow so it should be fun at first anyway. I don't drink much anymore but those are also some good places to go with those who do. Thanks!

1/30/2017 6:23:40 PM

You're welcome! I'd also like to mention that there are things to do at the Olympic center as well if you're not skiing. I looked into taking a bobsled run but it's insanely expensive; too rich for my blood at least. Around $180 I think - but maybe you'd be interested.

Just thought I'd mention it.

1/30/2017 8:27:50 PM

Quote :

"no Blacks serviced after 4pm"

it is Utah after all

1/30/2017 10:58:27 PM

1/31/2017 8:09:07 AM

Headed out to Park City next week. Tell me somewhere to eat.

Skiing Alta/Solitude/Park and Deer Valley. Should be fun time

1/31/2017 11:09:42 AM

In my recent trip to Park City this poor guy was cleaning the windows on the house next door. My buddy heard the ice fall and he and a hot tub repairman found the body/called 911:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4908543-155/park-city-man-dies-of-injuries

Pretty shitty.

2/7/2017 4:18:06 PM

^^ We ate at Vinto Pizzeria (good but nothing special) and Butcher's Chop (pretty good).

Both places weren't that expensive IMO for being in Park City.

High West and No Name were both crowded as fuck -- get there early or be prepared to wait.

2/7/2017 4:21:42 PM

If anyone is heading out to Park City. I have 2 Deer Park lift ticket vouchers that I'm trying to sell. Make me a offer and ill mail them to you.

2/13/2017 10:34:15 AM

lol, what's the story behind that?

2/13/2017 11:47:55 AM

Drunk couple got into a screaming and physical fight in the hall at about 2 am. I had to call the cops.

Marriott handed me two passes trying to make it up to me.

2/13/2017 3:52:04 PM

That's actually more interesting than I thought it would be, lol.

GLWS

2/14/2017 3:54:07 PM

heading to Sacramento next week, driving up to ski on Thursday night. Any recommendations from Sacramento of best place to ski without a big crowd on fri/sat, nice condition runs, etc. Comfort/price/amenities would add to the enjoyment if there is something reasonable to do at night at said location...

I haven't ski'd in 4 years, never went more than 1 or 2 times a season, but I can handle all the runs at snowshoe reasonably well, despite the ice.

Hoping it will be non-icy, not crazy busy on friday, and comfortable temps.

2/16/2017 10:17:12 PM

When I skied at Lake Tahoe I flew into Sacramento. So if that's within your comfortable driving range, then you have a wide variety of excellent options.

2/17/2017 3:26:43 PM

Tahoe. It's 1.5-2 hours from Sacramento and they've been getting a lot of snow. Weekend will be crowded though.

2/20/2017 12:34:25 PM

Thanks guys for the tips ^x30. I'm flying out tomorrow!

2/20/2017 7:40:59 PM

The ski season has turned out to be very solid here in VT after a rocky start to the winter. It is a world better than last year's shit show for sure. Obviously it is nothing like the epic depths out west. Anyway on a side note it does appear Vail has purchased the Stowe Mountain Resort.

2/21/2017 12:02:54 PM

Beautiful bluebird day yesterday at Winter Park.

2/21/2017 3:10:05 PM

Fuck me. I knew i should have went yesterday. Didnt think that much snow fell.

2/22/2017 12:01:29 AM

Yeah it was 6-8" and more in some places. Copper got even more. Headed to Steamboat this weekend!!!

2/22/2017 11:04:05 AM

I'm thinking about buying some mittens before next season. My current gloves (with removable liners) are about 10 years old but no worse for wear and work fine in most situations. But below roughly 20° (when there's no sunlight) they just don't cut it anymore and my fingers get cold (I have horrible circulation in my feet/hands so this is a constant problem). I don't have much experience skiing in mittens so I'd love some feedback/input.

Leaning towards Burton [ak] Oven Mitts: http://tinyurl.com/mnhujyf

Or if I want to go the glove route again, considering these Swany X-Cell II's: http://tinyurl.com/kn5q8xd

5/24/2017 3:45:17 PM

I switched to mittens for skiing and got these:

https://www.rei.com/product/102200/outdoor-research-stormbound-mittens

They've been awesome for skiing this season.

Also got some great powder turns in this past weekend:

5/24/2017 5:02:45 PM