March 13Mar 13 10 minutes ago, Mittens said: One of my favorite memories of Spring Break skiing in HS over in Europe was watching the helicopters clear avalanche threats 1st thing in the morning. Using explosives from the air is way fucking cooler than how we do it over here... With howitzers?
March 13Mar 13 Author 10 minutes ago, Mittens said: One of my favorite memories of Spring Break skiing in HS over in Europe was watching the helicopters clear avalanche threats 1st thing in the morning. Using explosives from the air is way fucking cooler than how we do it over here... Yeah, some of the terrain I really want to access might be too risky. Right now they're at 3 out of 5 on north facing slopes, aka where we are staying. Good news is the lower half of the valley has tons of tree skiing so there could be lots of goodness...
March 13Mar 13 4 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said: With howitzers? I forgot about howitzers, but those still aren't as cool as air bombing. I was thinking about the guys that hike/skin up and lob charges.
March 13Mar 13 Author 4 minutes ago, Mittens said: I forgot about howitzers, but those still aren't as cool as air bombing. I was thinking about the guys that hike/skin up and lob charges. ...and when you see that they have to go around and do this, you wonder WTF ski resorts don't want to pay them well
March 13Mar 13 10 minutes ago, texasdago said: ...and when you see that they have to go around and do this, you wonder WTF ski resorts don't want to pay them well Last weekend my son used some birthday money on an “advanced” group lesson. 3 people x $150 for 3 hours. He spent the entire time on blues that he only would mess with if he was being nice and skiing with me, to “work on technique.” Thanks, Vail Inc.
March 13Mar 13 Author 35 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said: Last weekend my son used some birthday money on an “advanced” group lesson. 3 people x $150 for 3 hours. He spent the entire time on blues that he only would mess with if he was being nice and skiing with me, to “work on technique.” Thanks, Vail Inc. That sucks. Where?
March 13Mar 13 37 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said: Last weekend my son used some birthday money on an “advanced” group lesson. 3 people x $150 for 3 hours. He spent the entire time on blues that he only would mess with if he was being nice and skiing with me, to “work on technique.” Thanks, Vail Inc. Ski Instructors /= Ski Patrol
March 13Mar 13 37 minutes ago, texasdago said: That sucks. Where? Safe to assume Stevens pass for anything I post, unless I mention some other place.
March 13Mar 13 Author 10 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said: Safe to assume Stevens pass for anything I post, unless I mention some other place. Here's the only thing I've seen is that sometimes they instructors aren't very assertive when someone who is lower skill gets assigned with people that are more skilled. The only way to get around that and when you can tell they're going to put someone in your group that is below you (substantially so) is to speak up. Now, I can totally understand a teenager not doing that. They'll just ride with it but then be disappointed. Case in point - first time I went to Crested Butte, I signed up for the Steeps program where they basically guide you around the mountain, show you stuff off of the T-bars, etc. Well, they stuck this guy in our small group and the guy was looking forward to skiing his first black. Wait... WTF?!!?! Our guide wasn't really saying anything or doing anything about it and so I had to go to the guy assigning instructors and say, "hey, this does not work" until he assigned him to a different group. Almost happened to me another time at CB. Mind you, I think CB has a lot of excellent and talented instructors but sometimes I wonder if the people who run the ski schools try to maximize the number of people in a class... you know, ROI and such. Can't say that I saw that at Taos but have seen it at CB which is a Vail resort. Oh... the blues at Stevens are b-o-r-i-n-g
March 14Mar 14 Skied Keystone today. Went from first chair to last. No real breaks. Was a beautiful day.
March 14Mar 14 Was mainly bombing blues and groomed blacks all day. Ran the race course 5 times. It was closed but you could get to it. Hauled ass down it. Empty and perfectly groomed.
March 16Mar 16 Back up at Vail. +9” of much needed snow last night. Had the insta-crowd going. I’m a good skier and I’m probably #14 in this group of ex-Vail patrol, CU racers, and locals that can log 75 days a season.
March 16Mar 16 Rolled into Vail today and made it out on the mountain for a few runs with my son. Rest of fam gets in tonight. First time in Vail but wanted to use the epic pass again this year. Trying to convince wife on Japan next year for spring break. May switch to ikon pass after being an epic holder for years.
March 16Mar 16 https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/mar/12/man-dies-from-injuries-after-falling-from-chairlift-at-montana-ski-resort/ used to ski here occasionally when I lived in WY.
March 17Mar 17 1 hour ago, gyroprotagonist said: Rolled into Vail today and made it out on the mountain for a few runs with my son. Rest of fam gets in tonight. First time in Vail but wanted to use the epic pass again this year. Trying to convince wife on Japan next year for spring break. May switch to ikon pass after being an epic holder for years. It was fun out there. I’m skiing Monday and Tuesday
March 17Mar 17 1 hour ago, Upgrayedd said: It was fun out there. I’m skiing Monday and Tuesday If you see a 6'6 dude snowboarding in a blue coat yell out muledick and that you are from the internet and I'll buy you a beer. We are heading out Friday. Daughter has another vball tourney with this one in Minneapolis.
March 17Mar 17 16 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said: Rolled into Vail today and made it out on the mountain for a few runs with my son. Rest of fam gets in tonight. First time in Vail but wanted to use the epic pass again this year. Trying to convince wife on Japan next year for spring break. May switch to ikon pass after being an epic holder for years. I love Vail. Big mountain with something for every type of skier. Trying to figure out a way to go again this year. Probably go last week of March to Whitefish.
March 18Mar 18 Buddy I did the Thanksgiving run through CO w/ is at Alyeska right now. Yesterday's pics looked less than ideal, but today looks great! Edited March 18Mar 18 by Mittens
March 18Mar 18 23 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said: If you see a 6'6 dude snowboarding in a blue coat yell out muledick and that you are from the internet and I'll buy you a beer. We are heading out Friday. Daughter has another vball tourney with this one in Minneapolis. Turns out there are at least two 6’6 boarders in blue coats out today
March 18Mar 18 17 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said: Turns out there are at least two 6’6 boarders in blue coats out today Ha! We are staying in the lionshead area. Going to just take the bus first thing to vail village and start from there today. Hit up Bart and Yetis and Garfinkals for lunch; had a great meal at Montauk tonight (fancier seafood place). Got lucky with a no show rez and got in as a walkin for 4. Was going to check skis down by the gondola but they wanted 21 buck per night (per set of skis) if you were not staying at that hotel. So son turned into pack mule for the 2 block walk. Good runs today. Peak was a little windy in the afternoon.
March 18Mar 18 25 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said: Ha! We are staying in the lionshead area. Going to just take the bus first thing to vail village and start from there today. Hit up Bart and Yetis and Garfinkals for lunch; had a great meal at Montauk tonight (fancier seafood place). Got lucky with a no show rez and got in as a walkin for 4. Was going to check skis down by the gondola but they wanted 21 buck per night (per set of skis) if you were not staying at that hotel. So son turned into pack mule for the 2 block walk. Good runs today. Peak was a little windy in the afternoon. Snow and wind tomorrow.
March 18Mar 18 Just now, Upgrayedd said: Snow and wind tomorrow. We had a good day. We go out of Cascade (parking is cheaper and shorter walk the Lionshead. We stay in Avon with SIL.) Lap at 26. Over and up 2 via Lodgepole. Ouzo into Game Creek. Deuces Wild 2x. The Woods 2x. Honky Dory to Mid Vail for quick sandwich. Up 4 to Northwoods then to 10. Roger’s Run 3x. Back up 11 (which is where I saw your twin that didn’t understand muledick). Ramshorn and Spruce Face back to 2. Pickaroon 2x. Traverse over to Simba and back down to Cascade,
March 18Mar 18 Ski season comes to an abrupt end for us courtesy of a soccer injury to my son. Had one or two more Sundays in us.
March 19Mar 19 Another fun day at Vail. Wind wasn’t as advertised but the snow was. Snowed from about noon on. Heavy at times. Really softened up and filled in spots that were kinda skied off. Free refills! Pretty much stuck to frontside groomers given the conditions and they were really fun. Gandy Dancer 4x, Blue Ox 2x, Rogers Run 3x. Even got a chance to ski some runs with @gyroprotagonist! Tomorrow is gonna be good. Too bad I gotta go home and it’s probably the season for me (unless I can convince her to come up for closing weekend).
March 19Mar 19 Finally connected with @Upgrayedd at the top of lift 2 and we got a few runs in at the end of the day. They left this poor snowboarder in the dust for the most part. Happy to say I met someone on the internet and left with both my kidneys. As expected surly is good people irl.
March 19Mar 19 2 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said: Finally connected with @Upgrayedd at the top of lift 2 and we got a few runs in at the end of the day. They left this poor snowboarder in the dust for the most part. Happy to say I met someone on the internet and left with both my kidneys. As expected surly is good people irl. It was fun skiing. That last two hours were great.
March 19Mar 19 It was fun skiing. That last two hours were great.Did you guys fuck in the trees or just do handys on the lift?
March 19Mar 19 7 hours ago, Chewbacca said: 8 hours ago, Upgrayedd said: It was fun skiing. That last two hours were great. Did you guys fuck in the trees or just do handys on the lift? Gondola sex. I’m not a savage.
March 22Mar 22 Just got back from three days in big sky, our first time there. It may be my new favorite. Bluebird day our first day, snowed heavily our second day, but it was still worth it, day three had tons of residual powder left even after the main trails got groomed. Fairly light crowds too. Edited March 22Mar 22 by HiggyBaby
March 24Mar 24 Lindsey Vonn finishes 2nd in the Super G at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley at the age of 40. It was her 1st podium finish in 7 years. She is truly the 🐐. Edited March 24Mar 24 by TonyTexas
March 24Mar 24 Of all of TonyTroll’s idiotic posts in the history of this website, calling Vonn the GOAT takes the fucking cake. Even worse than being a 50-year old baseball ‘fan’ that doesn’t know the infield fly rule. Anyone with a slightly functioning brain knows Lindsey isn’t even the best American skier of our generation. Poor guy.
March 24Mar 24 Author Why get so worked up over it? Will post pics later. 6 days on the mountain, knee got a bit tweaked on some chopped up heavy powder (first day!) but since I'm stubborn, I pushed through the tightness and inflammation here and there and made it work. Actually got better by day four Although six straight days was a bit of a "woof!?" More pics lto.come but here's one off piste with my son on day one Edited March 24Mar 24 by texasdago
March 24Mar 24 On 3/15/2025 at 5:21 PM, Upgrayedd said: Back up at Vail. +9” of much needed snow last night. Had the insta-crowd going. I’m a good skier and I’m probably #14 in this group of ex-Vail patrol, CU racers, and locals that can log 75 days a season. That was like when I went with my buddy to Bachelor a couple of weeks ago. I can usually hang with most anyone I typically go with, but he lives 25 minutes from Bachelor and goes 3-4 days/week. He was gone in a flash.
March 24Mar 24 Author Sitting in an airport, waiting. So, here is a variation on a them. When above treeline, you can pretty much ski, hike, take whatever line you want. Personal responsibility is on you so you better have a beacon, etc. We saw one guy underneath a series of colouirs walking around the bottom of a fresh avalanche field looking for his skis. Idiot was not wearing a backpack so probably didn't have any avalanche equipment on him. I was with a guide who talked to the liftie who saw it happen. Liftie pretty much said the guy was a dumbass and put himself in a dangerous situation and hopefully learned his lesson.
March 24Mar 24 1 hour ago, Sbbruin said: That was like when I went with my buddy to Bachelor a couple of weeks ago. I can usually hang with most anyone I typically go with, but he lives 25 minutes from Bachelor and goes 3-4 days/week. He was gone in a flash. Yup. For anyone that knows Vail, as a group we skied Riva which is a long black groomer on that day. Got to the bottom and one of them was waiting. “I didn’t even see you pass me.” “I didn’t. I went down Prima.” (Double black bump run). Still beat me down.
March 24Mar 24 Didn't go this year. Heard one day lift tickets at most CO resorts were $300+ Check Chamonix and it was less than 100 Airfare prices are about double for me but lodging even looks cheaper. Next YEAR!
March 24Mar 24 Author 41 minutes ago, Litig8r said: Didn't go this year. Heard one day lift tickets at most CO resorts were $300+ Check Chamonix and it was less than 100 Airfare prices are about double for me but lodging even looks cheaper. Next YEAR! Our 6 day pass in Serre Chevalier was 320 Euro. Adding insurance (on mountain rescue - yes, it's worth it) added something like 24 Euros. Pass also give you access to one day at each of the following, if you wanted to use it... Aloe d'Huez Les Deux Alpes Via Lattea/Sestriere Monts di Lune/Montgenevre Puy St Vincent Longest lift line we saw was, I don't know, 3-4 minutes Also @Litig8r if you want to go to Chamonix, wait until they've finished the cable car at Lea Grands Montets Edited March 24Mar 24 by texasdago
March 24Mar 24 46 minutes ago, Litig8r said: Didn't go this year. Heard one day lift tickets at most CO resorts were $300+ Check Chamonix and it was less than 100 Airfare prices are about double for me but lodging even looks cheaper. Next YEAR! Better to buy passes.
March 25Mar 25 Author 16 hours ago, Frank Drebin said: Better to buy passes. Yeah but it sucks to have to play the pass game. And even when you buy passes, unless you live within easy reach to the mountains, you're probably paying too much. Its a racket. I'm not going to do all the various vacation cost comparisons but if you have a family of four like mine and you buy 4 passes for 6 days at the resort I mentioned, you're at about $1300 for four people. If you want to do the same at Breckenridge using Epic Day Passes, here's your cost below. That's a $1200 difference. We haven't even touched rentals, lessons, guiding, etc. I mean, let's look at this... So... let's say you pay $63/day for equipment... I went to a local INTERSPORT shop in the town where we were in France. I had already rented six days of equipment for my other son and that was all paid up for about $200 for higher end all mountain gear. Anyway, I then added the following: * 2 days of intermediate rentals for my other son * 1 day of avalanche gear rental for me * 1 hand wax of my skis Total - 87 Euro
March 25Mar 25 43 minutes ago, texasdago said: Yeah but it sucks to have to play the pass game. And even when you buy passes, unless you live within easy reach to the mountains, you're probably paying too much. Its a racket. I'm not going to do all the various vacation cost comparisons but if you have a family of four like mine and you buy 4 passes for 6 days at the resort I mentioned, you're at about $1300 for four people. If you want to do the same at Breckenridge using Epic Day Passes, here's your cost below. That's a $1200 difference. We haven't even touched rentals, lessons, guiding, etc. I mean, let's look at this... So... let's say you pay $63/day for equipment... I went to a local INTERSPORT shop in the town where we were in France. I had already rented six days of equipment for my other son and that was all paid up for about $200 for higher end all mountain gear. Anyway, I then added the following: * 2 days of intermediate rentals for my other son * 1 day of avalanche gear rental for me * 1 hand wax of my skis Total - 87 Euro It's expensive. I get it. And I got raped a couple times this year because I skied Keystone twice paying full freight and renting demo skis. It was like $400 a day ($270 for pass and $120 for rentals). But I justified it because I was in Denver for work so spent none of my own money on plane tickets or lodging. My college roommate and ski buddy who lives in Denver buys an epic pass for Keystone only. He paid like $400 for the year. And I think there were 3 or 4 holiday weekends blacked out (which he does not want to ski those days any way). He skis 20 or so days a year. That's a fantastic value. I ski Whitefish because we have a home there. I bought my own gear. I can get a season pass for $750. My kids' season pass is $400. Other option is spending $65 on a frequent skier card. That lowers the cost of lift tickets from $100 a day to $70. And you only pay when you use it. Pass is connected to your credit card and it gets charged when they scan it on the first run of a day. So you don't have to mess with getting tickets. I was reading an article recently where the author determined that the inflation adjusted costs of window lift tickets has exploded since the 1980s. But the inflation adjusted costs of ski passes has declined or remained flat. You have to plan in advance with Epic or Ikon passes, ski cheaper non Ikon or Epic mountains, or live nearby and just get season passes. Otherwise it is cheaper to probably go to Europe given the lower costs of lift tickets and lodging. As crowded as the big resorts are, I do not see the prices dropping. I am very content with Whitefish. No lines even during Christmas break. Great prices.
March 25Mar 25 Also, my kids learned in Santa Fe. Family has a place in Las Campanas. That was a bargain for ski school. I think I paid $130 or so per day for ski school. That included rentals, helmet, lift tickets, lunch and a snack. Hell of a deal. I bet it would be 5x that for school, lift tickets, rentals, lunch at any of the big Colorado spots (Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, Keystone, Breck, etc.). You don't have to go to those. Purgatory, Wolf Creek, Cooper, Monarch, etc. can be skied cheap even if you buy at the window. If you plan and buy early, you can find great deals. I think I paid $9 at Purgatory a few years ago with dynamic pricing.
March 26Mar 26 Author Yeah I think certain resorts. You can work the game and try to find some decent deals like the Epic Day pass at CB or some of the packages at Copper. If you want to go somewhere like Breck or Park City, geeet ready. And you will still get bent over on lessons and rentals. Honestly for my money, I'm always going to try to go to Taos or Crested Butte. I feel like the amount of value I get in those places is great. I need to buy my youngest his own pair of skis. He was on 168s this past trip. I was super tempted to get him a pair while in Europe and bring them back because they were having amazing end of season deals. Like stupid deals.
March 28Mar 28 Author On 3/25/2025 at 7:57 PM, Pato del Muerto said: With mine turning 16 last week, I am wondering when I can buy their gear. Depends on each kid. Mine was on 168s this past trip and I was thinking that for skis, I could do it. Boots is still too risky.
March 28Mar 28 59 minutes ago, texasdago said: Depends on each kid. Mine was on 168s this past trip and I was thinking that for skis, I could do it. Boots is still too risky. But unless you get adjustable bindings, new boots means new bindings which might mean filling old bindings holes and redrilling, right? when they were real young we bought some old rental skis online and those would last them 2-3 seasons, just had to rent boots. And even then, we bought the adjustable boots that probably lasted from 6-9 before going to seasonal boot rental.
March 28Mar 28 On 3/25/2025 at 6:57 PM, Pato del Muerto said: With mine turning 16 last week, I am wondering when I can buy their gear. We did season rentals until my son was 13 or 14. Then he joined the WP Comp Center program so I bought his gear after that.
March 28Mar 28 Author 45 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said: But unless you get adjustable bindings, new boots means new bindings which might mean filling old bindings holes and redrilling, right? when they were real young we bought some old rental skis online and those would last them 2-3 seasons, just had to rent boots. And even then, we bought the adjustable boots that probably lasted from 6-9 before going to seasonal boot rental. That I don't know. One I am not qualified to answer. Man, in France I could have picked up rental skis for 200 Euro... skis, bindings... good quality ones. Was really tempted. On a side note, does anyone wax their own skis. There was a guy named Paul at St. Bernard in Austin that would do a good job but he left and I wasn't happy the last time I went there. Anyway, starting to realize that I should just start waxing my own skis between trips and when putting them up for storage. Looks like you can get a basic rig pretty cheap as I just care about waxing, not doing my own edges.
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