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Thanksgiving skiing? Where?



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 9th 04, 03:49 AM
Rich Heimlich
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

I live in Southern NJ about 15 minutes east of Philadelphia. For the
upcoming season, we've decided we'd like to try a short ski vacation
of the Thanksgiving holiday (from Wednesday evening through Sunday
evening).

We had assumed that it would be a given that Killington, VT would have
lots of snow by Thanksgiving and that we'd just drive up there for it.
However, when we were just there this past March, the resort we stayed
at said a few things that caught us off-guard.

They said there was no snow there last year and that none of the
trails were open, plus everything was booked solid.

That really surprised me. I first assumed that Thanksgiving would be a
slower holiday for skiing as most people would be with family eating
at home, not out skiing. I also thought Vermont would easily have snow
(natural or man-made) by that time.

We still want to do this but also don't want to spend a fortune for
it. The current thought is that we could fly to Colorado and ski
somewhere there, but that could get expensive as we might need to rent
a car, etc. Plus the one's we're aware of aren't very direct (Vail,
Aspen, Telluride).

So then we started thinking we'd just leave everything open-ended and
start watching the weather the week before. If Killington is set, we'd
go there, if not, then we keep heading north, possibly into Maine or
into Montreal. This has the obvious drawback of our not being able to
know if we'll find decent lodging or dinner reservations (we still
don't want to miss a nice Thanksgiving dinner for our first trip away
on that holiday).

Anyone have some good suggestions on what we might expect or how to
proceed?
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  #2  
Old August 9th 04, 04:05 AM
Rich Heimlich
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

I should also point out that we're beginner-to-intermediate skiers so
clearly Aspen and Vail look out of the question. If only we could know
there'd be snow in Killington, we'd be set.
  #3  
Old August 9th 04, 04:55 AM
snoig
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
I should also point out that we're beginner-to-intermediate skiers so
clearly Aspen and Vail look out of the question. If only we could know
there'd be snow in Killington, we'd be set.


Most of the major Colorado areas are open by Thanksgiving but with limited
access. I.E. beginner and intermediate trails only. I'm in Breck and they
usually have one or two trails on Peak 9 open by then. I've seen Vails back
bowls open by then. When I lived back East, Killington was always open by
then so last year was probably an exception.

Colorado always has terrain open by then but as always, it's hit or miss. A
couple of years ago, I had three of the best powder days of the year before
Thanksgiving but that doesn't happen very often. Generally, the resorts
with higher base elevations will be better because they can start making
snow earlier.

snoig


  #4  
Old August 9th 04, 05:07 AM
Rich Heimlich
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 22:55:55 -0600, "snoig" wrote:

Most of the major Colorado areas are open by Thanksgiving but with limited
access. I.E. beginner and intermediate trails only. I'm in Breck and they
usually have one or two trails on Peak 9 open by then. I've seen Vails back
bowls open by then. When I lived back East, Killington was always open by
then so last year was probably an exception.


Thanks. Killington or Maine (Sugarloaf, Sunday River) would be great
if we could make that happen as we can just drive up. A trip out your
way will run us something like $2,000 plus expenses (food) whereas a
trip here can be done for well less than half of that.
  #5  
Old August 9th 04, 06:29 AM
foot2foot
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?


"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
I should also point out that we're beginner-to-intermediate skiers so
clearly Aspen and Vail look out of the question. If only we could know
there'd be snow in Killington, we'd be set.


Given that, you should think about Timberline Lodge,
Mt. Hood, east of Portland. Fly in, rent car, drive up, stay in
nostalgic *splendor*. Stand on the balcony where FDR gave a
speech dedicating this fabulous old lodge.

It's a paradise for beginner and intermediate skiers. It's also
open year round, so, you'll be able to ski one way or the
other. However, by that time there should be plenty of
snow to open all the runs, upper and lower included.



  #6  
Old August 9th 04, 07:45 AM
AstroPax
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 23:49:08 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:

Anyone have some good suggestions on what we might expect or how to
proceed?


Absolutely, positively, do not proceed to Utah !!!

As you can see by the following referenced image, the snow is horrible
in late November:

http://www.xmission.com/~hound/astro...-23-03_003.htm

Also, since you are rich, famous, and have a big budget, there is no
need for you to stay in a budget SLC motel, and ride a UTA bus to the
ski area for a just few bucks each day.

-Astro

  #7  
Old August 9th 04, 01:14 PM
Mary Malmros
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

Rich Heimlich wrote:

I live in Southern NJ about 15 minutes east of Philadelphia. For the
upcoming season, we've decided we'd like to try a short ski vacation
of the Thanksgiving holiday (from Wednesday evening through Sunday
evening).

We had assumed that it would be a given that Killington, VT would have
lots of snow by Thanksgiving and that we'd just drive up there for it.
However, when we were just there this past March, the resort we stayed
at said a few things that caught us off-guard.

They said there was no snow there last year and that none of the
trails were open, plus everything was booked solid.


The truth is somewhere in between. No, Killington didn't have "lots of
snow" by Thanksgiving; November was dry, and the middle parts of it were
quite warm. But neither is it the case that "none of the trails were
open". I was at Mount Snow, farther south by quite a bit, and it opened
the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, as I expect is true with any
ski area's opening day, terrain was very limited, and the snow wasn't
the easiest to ski -- and I expect Killington was much the same.

So there's your dilemma, and I don't expect it will change much if you
head to Colorado: yes, the areas will be open -- particularly the ones
with extensive snowmaking -- but the terrain will be limited. Ski areas
in New England really can't count on huge dumps from Mother Nature that
early in the season -- not ones that stay around, anyway. So opening
day is really dependent on snowmaking, and snowmaking conditions. If
you have to make all the snow yourself, you're going to focus on the
greatest good for the greatest number, which means a few popular blue
square runs -- neither the easiest nor the hardest terrain. A lot of
ski areas will say upfront at the beginning of the season, no beginner
terrain, no beginner conditions.

That really surprised me. I first assumed that Thanksgiving would be a
slower holiday for skiing as most people would be with family eating
at home, not out skiing. I also thought Vermont would easily have snow
(natural or man-made) by that time.


It can easily have snow, it can easily have 60 degree temps. You can't
start making snow the second it dips below 32, and it takes quite a bit
of natural to cover the slopes adequately for skiing without some
man-made to help it. "Snowmaking conditions" don't just mean that it
gets cold enough to make snow; it means that it's going to STAY cold
enough that it won't all be a wasted effort.

As for the holiday, any holiday weekend after opening day is busy at a
ski area. There are plenty of people who don't want to cook and don't
want to visit and want someone else to cook and clean up the damn
turkey. So, yeah, it can get stupid crowded.

We still want to do this but also don't want to spend a fortune for
it. The current thought is that we could fly to Colorado and ski
somewhere there, but that could get expensive as we might need to rent
a car, etc. Plus the one's we're aware of aren't very direct (Vail,
Aspen, Telluride).


Direct from the airport, you mean? Well, none of them are. Given where
DEN is located, you've got at least an hour's drive to get to any skiing
at all.

So then we started thinking we'd just leave everything open-ended and
start watching the weather the week before. If Killington is set, we'd
go there, if not, then we keep heading north, possibly into Maine or
into Montreal. This has the obvious drawback of our not being able to
know if we'll find decent lodging or dinner reservations (we still
don't want to miss a nice Thanksgiving dinner for our first trip away
on that holiday).


Well...it also has the disadvantage that farther north != more snow. It
depends on where the storms track. Years when southern VT gets dumped
on, a lot of time it's pretty dry in Maine.

Anyone have some good suggestions on what we might expect or how to
proceed?


If you want to go skiing for four days, and you want to pretty much be
guaranteed snow, I think I'd head to CO -- but I'd choose my resort very
carefully. Not Vail, not Aspen, not Breckenridge, not Winter Park, and
probably not even Loveland, since a lot of people will daytrip there.
As beginner-intermediates, you'll be able to have a good time without
going to the biggest mountain.

If you want to stick around New England, I'd ask around and see how
Stowe and Sugarbush have fared in recent years. It's more of a haul,
but might be well worth it. Stowe, in particular, has a really splendid
beginner/intermediate area -- basically a section of the mountain all
off by itself, not accessible from any expert trails, so you don't get
people passing through at high speeds. Given their layout, I expect
this may get more priority for snowmaking than beginner terrain does at
many resorts.

  #8  
Old August 9th 04, 02:57 PM
snoig
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?


"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
Rich Heimlich wrote:
If you want to go skiing for four days, and you want to pretty much be
guaranteed snow, I think I'd head to CO -- but I'd choose my resort very
carefully. Not Vail, not Aspen, not Breckenridge, not Winter Park, and
probably not even Loveland, since a lot of people will daytrip there.
As beginner-intermediates, you'll be able to have a good time without
going to the biggest mountain.


Actually, those areas are usually your only choices for Thanksgiving skiing.
Small areas don't have the investment in snowmaking that the larger resorts
have so a lot of them may not open until the middle of December.

snoig


  #9  
Old August 9th 04, 03:58 PM
Walt
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

Rich Heimlich wrote:

I should also point out that we're beginner-to-intermediate skiers so
clearly Aspen and Vail look out of the question.


Oh, piffle. The only thing steep about Vail is the prices. If you can
handle the intermedaite trails at Blue Mt. or Camelback you'll find
plenty of terrain within your comfort zone at Vail. The difficult part
is elbowing your way through the crowds to get to the lifts. Ever spent
90 minutes in a lift line? Do you want to?

And while I haven't been there myself, Aspen has an entire mountain
dedicated to beginner/intermediate skiers. I wouldn't rule it out due
to ability or lack thereof.

Here's a little secret: Assuming you stay in bounds and on the
beginner/intermediate trails, skiing out west is not any more difficult
than skiing in the East. In some ways it's easier.

If only we could know there'd be snow in Killington, we'd be set.


Well, you don't, and that's the rub. Seems to me you have two choices:
1) book a plane to somewhere that's very likely to have snow that early
(i.e. SLC or DEN) and take the risk that there won't be snow, or 2) plan
a car trip and be ready to abort at the last minute if there's no snow.
You're more likely to be successful with option 1) but the cost of
failure is much less with option 2).

Now here are three suggestions that might work out. Good luck.

Brighton (the one near SLC, not the one in Michigan)
Copper Mt.
Jay Peak


--
//-Walt
//
// http://cagle.slate.msn.com/working/040514/matson.gif
  #10  
Old August 9th 04, 04:43 PM
AstroPax
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Default Thanksgiving skiing? Where?

On Mon, 09 Aug 2004 11:58:15 -0400, Walt
wrote:

Brighton (the one near SLC, not the one in Michigan)


He's a skier, not a boarder !!!

-Astro


 




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