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Started By
Message
re: Ski trip 2022.
Posted on 6/23/21 at 10:55 pm to pjab
Posted on 6/23/21 at 10:55 pm to pjab
quote:
I feel like some mountains rate runs more difficult to funnel traffic through certain paths or keep traffic out. Breck has double diamonds in the low 30 degree range. That’s regular black at A basin and Winter Park and 20 degrees less steep than the nasty stuff at Crested Butte. The three groomed “C” runs off Falcon in Breck are the easiest blacks anywhere. But that “experts only” banner at the lift keeps people out of that area. Keystone is putting in a new lift for an area which currently only hike-to black runs. In the proposal to the Forestry Service, all those black runs will now be blues.
I think its definitely to keep traffic out.
In the case of Siberia/Mongolia Bowl at Vail, those are not steep at all, yet they are rated black, in my opinion because its so isolated, if anyone gets hurt it would take forever for ski patrol to get a sled out there, and forever to get the sled to a medical station. So they rate it black to keep the gapers, Jerrys and weaker skiers away.
0
Posted on 6/24/21 at 12:08 am to jkylejohnson
quote:
Is it too early to fire up a 21’/22’ ski thread ?
I was just thinking that, I'm alreadly planning my first 21/22 trip to Steamboat.
Posted on 6/24/21 at 12:17 am to VanRIch
quote:
Vail is a non-negotiable. I've wanted to go there for so long. It's only 30-45 minute drive. Not a big deal.
This is the right attitude, Vail all day over Keystone. I do reccommend two days there, I will warn you that it can get very busy there on weekends. The Sunday I skied at Vail last year was by far the busiest resort I have seen.
This post was edited on 6/24/21 at 12:19 am
Posted on 6/24/21 at 3:01 pm to fargobison
I would also consider 2 at Vail, 1 at Beaver Creek. I went to Beaver Creek last March on a Wednesday and didn't have to wait in a single lift line all day, and it was a powder day at that. The terrain might not be as good as Breck but the black runs off Grouse Mountain are all solid and I really enjoyed Golden Eagle. It's not bad for a double diamond because they groom it and you can say you did a double diamond if you can handle the initial drop in and opening face.
Vail will have lines all days of the week, but I would never go there on a Saturday or Sunday. Often the waits can be 10 minutes or so at the Avanti, Wildwood, Northwoods and Mountaintop Chairs mid-week as well as both Gondolas. And if its a powder day or good there can be some real bottlenecks at the chairs in the back.
Vail will have lines all days of the week, but I would never go there on a Saturday or Sunday. Often the waits can be 10 minutes or so at the Avanti, Wildwood, Northwoods and Mountaintop Chairs mid-week as well as both Gondolas. And if its a powder day or good there can be some real bottlenecks at the chairs in the back.
Posted on 6/24/21 at 3:24 pm to goldennugget
By the way here is a GPS map of the first and last day of my skiing at Vail this past March as to what you can expect on a single day if you ski like me, first chair to last chair, no breaks, midweek on a non powder day. I had a 3rd day in there but I forgot to turn on my GPS so I have no map for that.
First of all I recommend if you are renting to take care of that the day before so you can get right to the mountain. I always start the day at the Born Free Express lift. The lines for both gondolas will be long and you can instead just go straight to Born Free Express and not have to wait. From there I always go to the Avanti Chair and then from the Avanti Chair to either the Wildwood or Mountain Top chair and go from there.
On the day below I took Born Free-Avanti-Mountaintop and did a warm up mogul run on Whistle Pig. Then I took Mountain Top again to do the Forever run in the back, which was roped off so instead I made my way across shitty snow conditions in the Tea Cup Bowl until I could get to Blue Sky Basin. I skied Grand Review and then back up again and did Big Rock Park. Then I took Skyline to do In the Wuides but the snow was shite. After Blue Sky I made my way to Mongolia Bowl which also had shite snow as you can see I cut across it diagonally because it was so bad. Although I ignored the liftie on the Mongolia Platter who said it was shite and went anyway.
I took Teacup Back up and did Genghis Khan which was groomed that day, and Poppyfields. Then I did the trio of Highline, Blue Ox and Roger's Run which was groomed. From there I tried the back again and did Campbell's and Yonder as the snow conditions were much better in the Sun Up Bowl. I then Top to Bottomed Riva Ridge and Tourist Trap, went back up and did some laps in the Game Creek Bowl on runs like Wildcard and Dealer's Choice before ending the day doing some laps in Lionshead on Simba and Bwana.
The image below shows my map for Day 4, so I was getting tired but wanted to make the most of my last day on the trip. As usual I started up Born Free Express -> Avanti Express -> Wildwood Express and started the day going down The Slot in the Sun Up Bowl which was groomed. I then headed toward Rasputin's Revenge and chickend out and did Red Square Instead(you can see how I turned around), and then tried Mongolia Bowl which had better snow conditions this time. From there I went to Blue Sky Basin where I spent a couple of hours. I did Lover's Leap and Little Ollie then Grand Review, Hornsilver and Resolution Road. I headed out and did Genghis Khan because it was the day after a powder day and the snow looked good, but it looked better than it felt and it was a grueling battle with the ice all the way down.
Then I made sure to hit Blue Ox and Roger's Run again as Rogers Run still didn't have its moguls back. Chair 10 is really great and you can lap those excellent runs. I made sure to Top to Bottom Riva Ridge as it is my favorite run on the mountain, and also did South Rim and Gandy Dancer, two more challenging blacks. I really wanted to full send off a cliff under Chair 11, but chickened out.
I did a couple groomers off Avanti Chair before closing my trip at Lionshead where I did Simba, Safari and Born Free - I always end my Vail trips with Born Free.
The day I don't have a map for I spent a lot of time in the Sun Down/Sun Up Bowls, as well as doing the Prima-Pronto-Log Chute combo and lots of the groomers off Avanti and Northwoods. And lapped Blue Ox at least 6 times in a row since it was groomed.
First of all I recommend if you are renting to take care of that the day before so you can get right to the mountain. I always start the day at the Born Free Express lift. The lines for both gondolas will be long and you can instead just go straight to Born Free Express and not have to wait. From there I always go to the Avanti Chair and then from the Avanti Chair to either the Wildwood or Mountain Top chair and go from there.
On the day below I took Born Free-Avanti-Mountaintop and did a warm up mogul run on Whistle Pig. Then I took Mountain Top again to do the Forever run in the back, which was roped off so instead I made my way across shitty snow conditions in the Tea Cup Bowl until I could get to Blue Sky Basin. I skied Grand Review and then back up again and did Big Rock Park. Then I took Skyline to do In the Wuides but the snow was shite. After Blue Sky I made my way to Mongolia Bowl which also had shite snow as you can see I cut across it diagonally because it was so bad. Although I ignored the liftie on the Mongolia Platter who said it was shite and went anyway.
I took Teacup Back up and did Genghis Khan which was groomed that day, and Poppyfields. Then I did the trio of Highline, Blue Ox and Roger's Run which was groomed. From there I tried the back again and did Campbell's and Yonder as the snow conditions were much better in the Sun Up Bowl. I then Top to Bottomed Riva Ridge and Tourist Trap, went back up and did some laps in the Game Creek Bowl on runs like Wildcard and Dealer's Choice before ending the day doing some laps in Lionshead on Simba and Bwana.
The image below shows my map for Day 4, so I was getting tired but wanted to make the most of my last day on the trip. As usual I started up Born Free Express -> Avanti Express -> Wildwood Express and started the day going down The Slot in the Sun Up Bowl which was groomed. I then headed toward Rasputin's Revenge and chickend out and did Red Square Instead(you can see how I turned around), and then tried Mongolia Bowl which had better snow conditions this time. From there I went to Blue Sky Basin where I spent a couple of hours. I did Lover's Leap and Little Ollie then Grand Review, Hornsilver and Resolution Road. I headed out and did Genghis Khan because it was the day after a powder day and the snow looked good, but it looked better than it felt and it was a grueling battle with the ice all the way down.
Then I made sure to hit Blue Ox and Roger's Run again as Rogers Run still didn't have its moguls back. Chair 10 is really great and you can lap those excellent runs. I made sure to Top to Bottom Riva Ridge as it is my favorite run on the mountain, and also did South Rim and Gandy Dancer, two more challenging blacks. I really wanted to full send off a cliff under Chair 11, but chickened out.
I did a couple groomers off Avanti Chair before closing my trip at Lionshead where I did Simba, Safari and Born Free - I always end my Vail trips with Born Free.
The day I don't have a map for I spent a lot of time in the Sun Down/Sun Up Bowls, as well as doing the Prima-Pronto-Log Chute combo and lots of the groomers off Avanti and Northwoods. And lapped Blue Ox at least 6 times in a row since it was groomed.
Posted on 6/24/21 at 7:14 pm to goldennugget
quote:
Often the waits can be 10 minutes or so
Serious question...is that a lot. Seemed like every lift at PC was like that and I just got used to it by day 5.
Posted on 6/24/21 at 7:41 pm to goldennugget
I'm going to bookmark this to share when people have Vail questions. Great posting.
Posted on 6/24/21 at 7:54 pm to VanRIch
A lot of resorts don’t get much lines at all. Super well known places like Vail and PC get long lines consistently. The lines are definitely irritating if you’re not used to them.. but usually even the huge resorts will only get long lines in certain areas. I can find a ton of stuff without lines at Winter Park.
This post was edited on 6/24/21 at 7:55 pm
Posted on 6/25/21 at 10:10 am to jkylejohnson
quote:
Night skiing
Can be an ice sheet if no fresh snow.
Posted on 6/25/21 at 7:42 pm to goldennugget
quote:
I first went to Vail in 2006.
Same. Been there 12 of the 14 years since (my wife is an alumnus of red sandstone elementary). It’s just really hard to beat Vail in terms of what it offers to skiers. All your advice in this thread is spot on.
To the OP - if you only have 1 or 2 days at vail and are an intermediate skier just know and accept you won’t be able to see or do it all. Vail is massive and you can waste a lot of time “commuting” on catwalks to see different lifts and bowls. When you find a good lift with short lines just enjoy the runs where you are. And do weekdays if at all possible.
Posted on 6/25/21 at 7:55 pm to VanRIch
If you do take two days to ski vail I would look to group your time:
1. one day largely around chair 2 (front side lift with very easy blacks and wide open steep blues you can fly down) + game creek bowl, and
2. another day around chair 11 (front side lift with some wonderful but shorter mogul and tree runs to challenge yourself) and blue sky basin.
1. one day largely around chair 2 (front side lift with very easy blacks and wide open steep blues you can fly down) + game creek bowl, and
2. another day around chair 11 (front side lift with some wonderful but shorter mogul and tree runs to challenge yourself) and blue sky basin.
Posted on 6/26/21 at 5:35 pm to ned nederlander
After watching a few more videos and the recs I hope to spend a lot of time in BSB. The tree spacing and the edges of this run on Grand Review like Ron said on page 1 is amazing in the beginning of this video is exactly what I love most. Vail snowboarding
Posted on 6/26/21 at 6:34 pm to VanRIch
Someone doesn’t like goldennuggets info. Give a better assessment of Vail if you don’t like what he says.
Give a better assessment of Vail if you don’t like what he says. Posted on 6/26/21 at 9:53 pm to VanRIch
Blue ski basin in wonderful and definitely one of the marque reasons to go to vail. It does require a bit of a long cat walk at the end to get back to the lift that I imagine could be a pain on a board.
Given the time it takes to get back there you shouldn’t plan to come and go and dinning options are limited. Belles Camp doesn’t sell food other than snicker bar type concession snacks. There is a hot dog stand along the cat walk. Point being just consider the limited lunch options back there.
The trees on the skiers right of Pete’s express do lead to my favorite spot in the mountain. Deeper in the trees you eventually come to a gully that you can ski back out to the cat walk and it’s my little happy place. No one is ever that far into those trees and it’s just so peaceful.
Given the time it takes to get back there you shouldn’t plan to come and go and dinning options are limited. Belles Camp doesn’t sell food other than snicker bar type concession snacks. There is a hot dog stand along the cat walk. Point being just consider the limited lunch options back there.
The trees on the skiers right of Pete’s express do lead to my favorite spot in the mountain. Deeper in the trees you eventually come to a gully that you can ski back out to the cat walk and it’s my little happy place. No one is ever that far into those trees and it’s just so peaceful.
Posted on 6/26/21 at 10:00 pm to VanRIch
Nugget’s info in this thread is detailed and terrific.
Posted on 6/26/21 at 11:39 pm to VanRIch
You can’t go wrong with Breck!! Probably my second favorite behind Steamboat. Not sure what it is lately but I’ve been doing steamboat the last few years! I love that mountain
Posted on 6/27/21 at 10:35 am to TigerSaintInDallas
quote:Had to support this point.
A lot of resorts don’t get much lines at all. Super well known places like Vail and PC get long lines consistently. The lines are definitely irritating if you’re not used to them.. but usually even the huge resorts will only get long lines in certain areas.
PC combining with the canyons along with it's proximity to SLC Airport has exponetially increased its popularity.
Vail being the largest resort in the US has a similar issue.
People think the resort is large and should reduce crowding. The opposite happens. Everyone goes there.
So, the main areas are overrun. You'll obviously get few lines at some parts of those places. The key is to make it a goal to find them and stay there for a while.
Even with the crowding, those places are great... the lines aren't so bad that it is a reason not to go.
On the other hand, there are awesome gems everywhere that aren't nearly as crowded.
Copper, winter park, even steamboat and aspen.
You can find runs or even whole areas with noone else around.
Hard to beat skiing Sam's knob or the powerline glades on snowmass all by yourself.
This post was edited on 6/27/21 at 9:01 pm
Posted on 6/27/21 at 2:44 pm to Mahootney
Steamboat can be a cluster at the base but once you get through that it is good. Copper is probably my favorite mountain when it comes to handling crowds. Big Sky is one of my favorites when I want to avoid crowds, ski there on a weekday and it can be like a private resort. The only issue is the tram. A weekday at A-Basin or WP can be pretty good as well.
This post was edited on 6/27/21 at 2:46 pm
Posted on 6/27/21 at 2:56 pm to fargobison
Agreed on all of this + Mahootney. Don’t forget about Loveland - we skiied Loveland every weekend from January to May last year and saw lines maybe a handful of times. Skiied right up to the lifts, on the weekends... Amazing.
This post was edited on 6/27/21 at 2:59 pm
Posted on 6/27/21 at 5:16 pm to Mahootney
Vail is behind both PC and Big Sky in terms of size.
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