OT: Annual Ski Trip

stonewh · October 2016

We are in our late 20's and have begun an annual ski trip, last year we did Breckenridge and this year we have narrowed it down to Steamboat CO (which I have already been but was real young) and Big Sky MT, does anyone have any input on either, more importantly Big Sky? I have always heard great things about Big Sky and from looking at it the mountain it is absolutely huge and would provide a wide range of terrain for all skill levels.

Thanks,

kl8ton · October 2016

If you can change to Whistler\Blackcomb I don't think you will regret it. Awesome.

I have no experience at Steamboat or Big Sky.

stonewh · October 2016

I would love to do Canada but I feel like travel time would take up a lot of our trip, especially since we are only looking at 5 days, 3 to ski.

SmokeyPitt · October 2016

I went to Steamboat last Feb. It was really nice but definitely much smaller than Breck. I enjoyed it and would probably go back sometime, but I have some friends that were disappointed about the size of the resort. The town was cool but it is a short drive or bus ride from the mountain. It is not like Breck where the actual down is right at the bottom of the slopes.

I have not been to Big Sky but I have heard great things about it.

stonewh · October 2016

SmokeyPitt said:

I went to Steamboat last Feb. It was really nice but definitely much smaller than Breck. I enjoyed it and would probably go back sometime, but I have some friends that were disappointed about the size of the resort. The town was cool but it is a short drive or bus ride from the mountain. It is not like Breck where the actual down is right at the bottom of the slopes.

I have not been to Big Sky but I have heard great things about it.

Breckenridge is so commercialized now (as if they all aren't) but it was to over the top and it was extremely crowded, more waiting in lines than actual skiing. The setup in Breckenridge as you have pointed out is hard to be though, you can almost ski into the town square.

Eggcelsior · October 2016

I'd do Big Sky for the bowl and glade skiing. Plus, you are still getting that excellent powder compared to the sludge of the Wet Coast or the glass of over here on the Ice Coast.

tikigriller · October 2016

I would love to get out of Califvornia to Ski. I have done some snow mobile trips out of California and definitely noticed a huge difference in the snow.

For California though, Squaw Valley is my go to place!

Foghorn · October 2016

Big Sky rocks. Very big - reminded me of Vail. Shorter lines than at most of the Colorado resorts. It can be brutally cold - we skied one day when it was -28F in the morning and the high was 0. But we were dressed appropriately and very comfortable, which may seem inconceivable....

Given your time constraints, you might look into Park City. It's probably the easiest place to get to - many direct flights to SLC and a short shuttle to the mountains. They may still have a policy of allowing you to ski free on the day that you fly if you show them the boarding pass. We left San Antonio at 5:50 and were skiing by 10:30 and the lift ticket was free. It may allow you an extra day to ski - maybe two if they do it on the day you leave as well.

Otherwise, if you are committed to 2 days of travel and 3 days of skiing, Whistler may be a great option. It's not that easy to get to - but there's no altitude adjustment. The base is around 2000 feet and the summit is a little over 7000. At US resorts that are farther south the base is typically in the 8000-9000 foot range and it takes most people the first two days to get to where they are not short of breath just walking up a flight of stairs carrying ski gear. The third day and all days after that are great. At Whistler, the 1st day is like the 3rd day at most other resorts. It's awesome. Huge. 5000 foot vertical drop. Two mountains with a gondola that connects the peaks. Very short lines. Great food. And on the ride up from Vancouver, if you look closely enough you might see some whales out in the bays when you are along the coast.

odie91 · October 2016

If you need the village experience then do what you need to do. But if you strictly want to go in for some good skiing I recommend going to Utah. You flying to the airport and then it's a very short trip to the resorts.

berndcrisp · October 2016

I lived in CO and skied most of the resorts up to 1981. CO powder is nice but Utah's is better! Having done CO you really should expand to UTAH and there is a lot more skiing than just the SLC resorts.

TFols · October 2016

I haven't done Steamboat or Big Sky but did Breck in Feb of 2015, thought it was awesome. I would definitely go back again.

Im going to Deer Valley this coming February and can't wait. Plan on doing what Foghorn said and getting a few runs in on the day we arrive (for free!).

Foghorns recommendation for Whistler is solid. You should definitely put that on your short list for the future. Huge vert and expansive terrain. Great village too.

The most beautiful place I've skied was the Val di fassa region in Italy back in 2011. I was fortunate to go there with a family that been there a number of times and new the lay of the land. We stayed in a town that had about 10 different areas within a :30 minute drive, many of them linked together by trails. The scenery was breathtaking. The food was fenominal, no foil wrapped burgers, you got a proper piece of lasagna, a pork shank (called stinko!), steak etc.

Hi54putty · October 2016

Big Sky Montana is one of the prettiest places in the country in the summer. I assume it's great in the winter too.

Botch · October 2016

As @Foghorn said, Big Sky is great but the weather can easily be too warm, or WAY too cold, all winter long.
And I understand why you're avoiding Utard, your annual trip would immediately become 3 trips/year, and that gets expensive!

bhedges1987 · October 2016

I know you didn't mention this resort but. I have been skiing my whole life. Copper Mountain is the best PURE skiing mountain in north america IMO. It is divided in 3 - green on the right, blue in the middle, and blacks down the left side of the mountain. So you won't be coming down a green with a black intersection with people skiing 50 mph past you.

The best thing about copper is all of the lifts take you to the top of the mountain - you don't have to get on multiple lifts. Even the greens go to the top - The green's aren't some little 1/2 mile runs like most resort greens. The greens at Copper can range up to 3 miles.

But in all honestly wherever you go (if it's in colorado/utah) is absolutely world class skiing.

With that being said.

If I am going with my wife - I take her to breckenridge so she can have some town life involved too. (Beaver Creek is cool too)

If I am going somewhere just for the skiing it's Copper Mountain or Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

I have NOT tried wolf creek as of yet. I hear by every single local in colorado that is by far the best mountain in colorado. I think they average some 60" more snow than anywhere else.

Also look into Telluride, CO. Probably one of the coolest places you will ever go.

Will be following this post, as I am curious what you end up doing. I can help give some great advice on a lot of killer runs on tons of different mountains.

Sea2Ski · October 2016

@stonewh I have not been to either of those places, so I can not comment specifically on them, so my post will be short. I have been to a bunch of other places out west from Taos to Whistler. As you can tell by my screenname, I enjoy skiing.

I see you are from AL. What is most important to you?
Just the quality of the snow? What level skier are you? Do you care about the Apres ski scene? Scenery? Food? Cost (I know always a consideration)?

For me it is the snow. I held my PSIA cert and taught for 6 years. I could care less about the apres scene as I get up, eat breakfast, am one of the first in line, and ski to my thighs are jello. Mostly I aim for the bumps and medium density glades. I go back to the house, then have a bit of cheese and 1/2 glas of wine) then go out to eat. Come back have another glass or two then bed. No bars, shopping or anything else (Once I did a evening/night snowmobile trip which was fantastic, but it was a one and done type of thing.)

Curious to hear how/why you narrowed it down to those two places?

fishlessman · October 2016

im probably the only one here that likes and prefers steep ice covered slopes

too much snow and my legs lose it mid afternoon. north east coast all the way.

odie91 · October 2016

berndcrisp said:

I lived in CO and skied most of the resorts up to 1981. CO powder is nice but Utah's is better! Having done CO you really should expand to UTAH and there is a lot more skiing than just the SLC resorts.

Former Colorado'an here as well. My suggestion on Utah was actually an indirect dig on the Colorado resorts. I never understood why people would fly into Denver airport and then get stuck in 5 hours of stand still traffic trying to get up the slopes, when they could just go to Salt Lake and take a short drive up to the resorts.
With that said, by the time I left Colorado, I was strictly boarding at Loveland.... yea that tiny podunk resort that everyone passes by on their way to the touristy resorts. I'd take the - albeit snail slow - lift up to the top at Loveland, where it was so high there's barely a tree, and so unpopular there's barely a track in the snow and, enjoy the fresh powder.

OhioEgger · October 2016

I really like Crested Butte (or Crusty Butt as it's known). Western Colorado, harder to get to (either a long drive or fly into Gunnison and take a bus), but for that reason there are usually no lift lines at all.
Good variety, with plenty of double black diamond runs for the adventurous.
Nice little town, too.

Wolf Creek has IMHO the best pure powder skiing in the world. Also not the simplest place to get to, but worth a visit just to try the powder.

Miked125 · October 2016

Big sky is nice, if you want some great sking head to banff.....

NorthPilot06 · October 2016

All of them. Can't go wrong.

Never been to Big Sky or Steamboat Springs, but I've been to a plethora of other resorts in the Rockies, Andes, and Alps. Frankly, Whistler offers my favorite terrain of *any* resort, so if you're willing to make the commute, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Other strong suggestions - I've been very pleased with the terrain in the Little Cottonwood Canyon (Snowbird / Alta) - less so with the terrain in the Park City area (great ski town though, nothing comparable for Little Cottonwood. Big fan of Crested Butte like @OhioEgger - The combination of the natural & rugged Teocalli bowl and the ski town (not within walking distance - shuttles available) is hard to beat. I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about Jackson Hole too...

Just pick out a location - and do something different the following year. You're bound to have a good time regardless of where you end up!

SmokeyPitt · October 2016

I was also thinking about suggesting Park City. I have been there a couple of times and we would ride at the Canyons and Park City. I was just searching the web and those have now become one big resort. There is a gondola that connects the two and it is all part of Park City resort. That must be huge.

One more tip (and this is probably obvious), but if you can plan your trip so you are not skiing on weekends the crowds are much smaller. I decided long ago I am not skiing at a place like Breck on a Saturday.

stonewh · October 2016

A whole lot of great info in here, I will expound a little more for you all. To this day I have skied Park City, Deer Valley, Breckenridge, Vail and Steamboat, for whatever reason throughout the years I have just always heard about Big Sky. @tikigriller Squaw Valley was on the list as I have a buddy that works out there however when I spoke to him the one thing that stood out to me is he made it clear that there is a possibility of not a lot of snow, that wasn't a risk our group was willing to take. Telluride was also on the list but speaking with someone it sounds as if the mountain is a little more advanced, we will have three skiers with us that will only ski greens, so we took that one off too. I am going to Jackson Hole for 8 days in August, doing some white water rafting/camping then staying downtown for the last three nights so I would really like to choose somewhere other than Jackson Hole. Believe me when I say I would love to do Canada, I just don't think that is going to work this go around, it is definitely on the list for the future though. For what I am looking for, I want the best of both worlds if that is even possible, nice snow, short lines, restaurants/bars, that "Mountain/Western" feel. Again, we will have three that will stay on the greens however the other three including myself have been skiing numerous times and can handle blacks however I like to ski harder blues, no moguls for this guy.

tikigriller · October 2016

Yes @stonewh skiing in California has been HORRIBLE the last 5 years as we fight through our droughts.

Foghorn · October 2016

"For what I am looking for, I want the best of both worlds if that is even possible, nice snow, short lines, restaurants/bars, that "Mountain/Western" feel. Again, we will have three that will stay on the greens however the other three including myself have been skiing numerous times and can handle blacks however I like to ski harder blues, no moguls for this guy. "

You just described Big Sky.

And Whistler. If you don't make it this time, get there sometime. And don't take what I wrote about the altitude for granted. The first two days at Whistler are easier and better than the first two days anywhere else I have skied.

DuckDogDr · October 2016

I tried skiing once ... There was snow in places it shouldn't have been..

KiterTodd · October 2016

stonewh said:

We are in our late 20's and have begun an annual ski trip, last year we did Breckenridge and this year we have narrowed it down to Steamboat CO (which I have already been but was real young) and Big Sky MT, does anyone have any input on either, more importantly Big Sky? I have always heard great things about Big Sky and from looking at it the mountain it is absolutely huge and would provide a wide range of terrain for all skill levels.

Thanks,

Finally a topic on the BGE forum I am 100% qualified to answer! (in my 40s and since your age have been making a couple trips each year.)

If you are down to those two places and your time is limited, Go to Steamboat. If you can squeeze in 5 days of skiing/snowboarding, then hit Big Sky.

Big Sky is absolutely awesome but you want to hit a snow day as it is an exposed mountain and does get skied off kinda quick. If you go in warmer temps, the mountain will warm up in the afternoon and freeze over night. That's true in a lot of resorts, but we found less sheltered/shaded runs at Big Sky which stayed soft during that cycle. I did a 3 day trip there and it snowed the day we were leaving. The locals will tell you to allow yourself a week at Big Sky and you'll hit a powder day.

Also, you can ski on your departure day. Get the last flight out, ski the morning you are leaving and be in the shuttle by 2:00 headed to the airport. That'll get you another half day at least. It's a couple hour shuttle ride from airport to mountain. For lodging, check out VRBO (or similar) options to stay at the base. There are tons of houses there. Also a fun little locals bar called the wagon wheel or something like that. It's in the middle of a parking lot.

If you do Steamboat, you may want to book a day with Steamboat Powdercats. It's a snowcat operation. Pricey but an awesome day.

I'll throw two small mountain crazy Ivans into your planning if you want to try something off the grid vs. a big name resort...

(1) Schweitzer. Had an awesome trip there and the mountain has everything from greens to hike-to scary blacks. All from the same lift. Great people. No lines. Runs are shorter but since there are no lines and the terrain and snow is great, you're all good.

(2) Durango. I think the resort is called Purgatory again (they changed it to Durango Mountain Resort for a bit). Not super steep but fantastic tree skiing. You'll get bored there after 3 days so it's good for a short trip and the local airport is easy in/out. The town of Durango is awesome. Great nightlife, food, beer and people.

Have fun and let us know what you decide.

avibug · October 2016

+1 Park City. Great skiing, and much easier access to town compared to Steamboat. Last year we stayed in town, could walk to the Town Lift or walk to the base. And the gondola connection to Canyons is great - more than enough terrain for 3 days. Also, much easier airport access from Park City to Salt Lake City compared to going from Steamboat to Denver. If you go to Steamboat, see about flying into Hayden (Yampa Valley) rather than Denver - from Chicago we have direct flights to Hayden, which makes Steamboat more accessible.

Whistler is great, but not worth the trek for 3 days of skiing.

Botch · October 2016

KiterTodd said:
Durango. I think the resort is called Purgatory again (they changed it to Durango Mountain Resort for a bit). Not super steep but fantastic tree skiing. You'll get bored there after 3 days so it's good for a short trip and the local airport is easy in/out. The town of Durango is awesome. Great nightlife, food, beer and people.

I had forgotten about Durango, that's a great place too and a fun, fun city. We used to go up there over MLK Holiday weekend, as the entire ASU Sorority system did so also (don't know if they still do that), dayam talk about scenery!

stonewh · October 2016

KiterTodd said:

stonewh said:

We are in our late 20's and have begun an annual ski trip, last year we did Breckenridge and this year we have narrowed it down to Steamboat CO (which I have already been but was real young) and Big Sky MT, does anyone have any input on either, more importantly Big Sky? I have always heard great things about Big Sky and from looking at it the mountain it is absolutely huge and would provide a wide range of terrain for all skill levels.

Thanks,

Finally a topic on the BGE forum I am 100% qualified to answer! (in my 40s and since your age have been making a couple trips each year.)

If you are down to those two places and your time is limited, Go to Steamboat. If you can squeeze in 5 days of skiing/snowboarding, then hit Big Sky.

Big Sky is absolutely awesome but you want to hit a snow day as it is an exposed mountain and does get skied off kinda quick. If you go in warmer temps, the mountain will warm up in the afternoon and freeze over night. That's true in a lot of resorts, but we found less sheltered/shaded runs at Big Sky which stayed soft during that cycle. I did a 3 day trip there and it snowed the day we were leaving. The locals will tell you to allow yourself a week at Big Sky and you'll hit a powder day.

Also, you can ski on your departure day. Get the last flight out, ski the morning you are leaving and be in the shuttle by 2:00 headed to the airport. That'll get you another half day at least. It's a couple hour shuttle ride from airport to mountain. For lodging, check out VRBO (or similar) options to stay at the base. There are tons of houses there. Also a fun little locals bar called the wagon wheel or something like that. It's in the middle of a parking lot.

If you do Steamboat, you may want to book a day with Steamboat Powdercats. It's a snowcat operation. Pricey but an awesome day.

I'll throw two small mountain crazy Ivans into your planning if you want to try something off the grid vs. a big name resort...

(1) Schweitzer. Had an awesome trip there and the mountain has everything from greens to hike-to scary blacks. All from the same lift. Great people. No lines. Runs are shorter but since there are no lines and the terrain and snow is great, you're all good.

(2) Durango. I think the resort is called Purgatory again (they changed it to Durango Mountain Resort for a bit). Not super steep but fantastic tree skiing. You'll get bored there after 3 days so it's good for a short trip and the local airport is easy in/out. The town of Durango is awesome. Great nightlife, food, beer and people.

Have fun and let us know what you decide.

Thank you for the info, if we choose Big Sky I think we are planning on flying into Bozeman, which is less than an hour drive. I have been to Park City but with all the comments, you guys are making me think I should give it another look.

Sea2Ski · October 2016

Been to Park City and what was Deer Valley (might still be? -don't know), but except for convenience, I was not so impressed.

Lets face it, people are going to love the mountain where they had great snow if they are really there for the snow alone. Fact is mountain 1 can suck if it does not get snow and mountain 2 does. Then talk to someone who has been to mountain 2 when it had no snow and mountain 1 just got dumped on.

Was at whistler for 6 days of skiing. Weather ranged from great snow up top and rain down low, and fog so thick you could barely see the tips. Been to Taos, champagne powder all week long. Jackson hole - dumped on the first day and blue bird days all following. Skied snowmass 3 times and one week it never stopped snowing for 5 days - something like 9 feet at the top, 3 feet at the bottom. It was insane. The next year we were hopping over roots, the last time it was a perfect mix of sun, snow, sun, snow, sun, sun.
been to Vail, never snowed in 6 days. Same at snowbird and aspen. Squall Valley had snow right before we got there and one light dusting. Aspen highlands a mix.... Beaver creek I have been to at least 7 times and is my favorite all things considered. Have had every condition there except for rain.

Pick a place that you think you will like and pray you get snow. Regardless what happens, you will be with your friends and you will not be in AL.

Post pictures, have fun and keep them pointed down hill

KiterTodd · October 2016

When we'd go to SLC or Denver we wouldn't pick a resort, just stay in a central location. Hit a different area every day and you also get to see the weather and morning snow reports to help make your decision.

For SLC, you can stay right on the outskirts of the city, cheap. The downtown is fun to go out and they have a great highway system. You can get up to any mountain in 30-60 minutes.

Denver, similar, stay near Lake Dillon and make your call every day on if you want to hit Vail, Breck, A-Basin, Copper, etc. And if you do that, you can also grab Loveland on the way back to the airport.

Remember, the big name resorts (Snowbird, Park City, Vail, Breck) are going to get skied off the quickest. The smaller ones will keep snow around longer, some for days after a storm. If you guys are expert skiers, you can always find powder by hiking or heading into the trees though.

In the end, if you travel with good people, you'll have a fun trip. Enjoy!

OT: Annual Ski Trip

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