Panic now

[fatbob]

OK calling on the crystal balls of the Pugski collective. For various reasons I have a bunch of leave to take over Xmas period which means I am sitting on a flight to Denver end of next week and a rental car reservation plus a flexible reservation with a hotel in Eagle co. & an Epic Pass. 3 weeks overall trip

Now given Joel's current best advice is to fly to Japan and I don't have a flex air ticket what would Pugs do

A) Tough it out - it'll suck initially but could get better
B) Road trip it and return to Colorado if it cops anything decent - If so where to? Of Epic resorts Whistler is the best bet but it's minimum 24 hours drive and only 50% open
C) Bin the airfare and scramble a road trip to Austria - quite honestly not the worst looking option at the moment though accomodation and a new season pass are the downsides. Note this is not such a novelty to me as it may be to you and Europe could yet have Droughtcember.

B I'm not adverse to road tripping cool places in the US West - I assume the upside of no snow is that National Parks are all a lot more accessible.

Not overly keen on paying for day passes or funding a Mtn collective on top to skis other places that are also not great skiing at the moment.

Stil got fingers crossed that under A snow arrives before the holiday crowds and salvages my trip from suckage.

 

[scott43]

I'll see you at the brew pub in Breckenridge...

 

[cantunamunch]

A1) Rough it out with an option to drive to Utah.

 

[Yo Momma]

D) Go sit on a beach somewhere south and/or learn to kiteboard.

 

[oswaldr2]

1. Fly to Seattle, flights from Denver to Seattle are cheap and you can ski Crystal, Stevens Pass, Mt. Baker, etc... Or hell, just eat the Denver flight and go straight to the PNW.

2. Drive to the Jackson / Targhee region. I saw today that Targhee is now 100% open.

3. SLC as far as I know is hurting too. Not sure that's worth the trip.

4. Since you have the epic and don't want to pay for lift tickets. An audible to Whistler seems like the play. Fly to Seattle and drive up.


Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[tball]

If you come to Colorado, scrap the Eagle reservation and stay in Summit. The higher elevations at A-basin, Breck, and Keystone have allowed them to make more snow and has kept the natural snow that has fallen from melting. They are much closer to opening more terrain than Vail or Beaver Creek.

Al, the COO at A-basin, is very transparent about where they are with snow conditions and the potential for opening more terrain. It's worth keeping an eye on his blog:
http://arapahoebasin.blogspot.com/

 

[fatbob]

4. Since you have the epic and don't want to pay for lift tickets. An audible to Whistler seems like the play. Fly to Seattle and drive up.


Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Should clarify that I'm not averse to paying for the odd day ticket - just don't want to be paying holiday walk up rates for mundane crowded conditions. I'd be all over a MC if that got me a clear route up and down to Whistler skiing decent conditions on the way.

 

[cantunamunch]

Will an MC get you a Jackson or Big Sky option? Think Big Sky is Maxx, atm.

 

[trailtrimmer]

Tour time?

Fly to Calgary, road trip to Lake Louise then Sunshine. Play weather to drive to Whistler, hit Kicking Horse and Revy on your way back to Calgary.

I'm just partial to the BC resorts, love Canada and the exchange rate is darn nice right now.

 

[liv2ski]

3 weeks off at months end? Just go and hope for the best. It has to snow in the next 2 weeks.

 

[trailtrimmer]

You can fly to reno tomorrow for $52 on Frontier. Hit kirkwood, then head up to Whistler.

Take a look at Google flights, one ways between reno and denver are stupid cheap. Should be able to hop to Vancouver for a decent price. Shuttle to whistler from there.

You don't need a car @ whistler, everything is in town, unless you stay in pemberton.

 

[David Chaus]

To @trailtrimmer’s posts, I will add that the MCP will get you 2 days each at Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Revelstoke, current price $519 USD. If you road trip from Denver you could add a couple days at Jackson, so that would be 8 days for $519 = $65/day without even doing the 50% off for additional days. And if you’re going to pay for a day rate ticket or two, Grand Targhee is probable the best place to do it and has the best conditions right now.

Another option:
Just checking some flights, Denver to Vancouver (with a stop in Seattle) is about $200 right now on Alaska and Delta (for Dec 18th, don’t know what your dates are). Vancouver to Calgary on Dec 21st is $150 on Westjet.
Calgary to Denver will be the more expensive flight depending on when you leave. If you want non-stop, it’ll be very pricey, until the end of the week after New Year’s, when it drops to $285 on United or Air Canada (on a United Flight).

 

[Ken_R]

OK calling on the crystal balls of the Pugski collective. For various reasons I have a bunch of leave to take over Xmas period which means I am sitting on a flight to Denver end of next week and a rental car reservation plus a flexible reservation with a hotel in Eagle co. & an Epic Pass. 3 weeks overall trip

Now given Joel's current best advice is to fly to Japan and I don't have a flex air ticket what would Pugs do

A) Tough it out - it'll suck initially but could get better
B) Road trip it and return to Colorado if it cops anything decent - If so where to? Of Epic resorts Whistler is the best bet but it's minimum 24 hours drive and only 50% open
C) Bin the airfare and scramble a road trip to Austria - quite honestly not the worst looking option at the moment though accomodation and a new season pass are the downsides. Note this is not such a novelty to me as it may be to you and Europe could yet have Droughtcember.

B I'm not adverse to road tripping cool places in the US West - I assume the upside of no snow is that National Parks are all a lot more accessible.

Not overly keen on paying for day passes or funding a Mtn collective on top to skis other places that are also not great skiing at the moment.

Stil got fingers crossed that under A snow arrives before the holiday crowds and salvages my trip from suckage.

Chances are that come Holiday time it is gonna be suckage at the Colorado resorts. A combination of holiday crowds and snow starved locals should create mayhem even if it snows during that time. Still, I love Colorado and there is a lot more to do than skiing. I mean in three weeks you are bound to get a few good days of skiing. But keep your expectations low in regards to open terrain and skiing conditions. I live here so I don't care, I just ride my bike more and get some skiing whenever. But if I were to head out on a SKI trip right now (or next week) for three weeks I would definitely go to Canada.

 

[Started at 53]

Reno gets you access to:
Mt. Rose
Squaw/Alpine
Kirkwood

And for a longer drive Mammoth

Lot’s of open terrain in those areas

 

[scott43]

It's all relative mind you..this is my "home" hill..

 

[oswaldr2]

Should clarify that I'm not averse to paying for the odd day ticket - just don't want to be paying holiday walk up rates for mundane crowded conditions. I'd be all over a MC if that got me a clear route up and down to Whistler skiing decent conditions on the way.

Max Pass will drive you up to Whistler from Denver.

 

[oswaldr2]

It's all relative mind you..this is my "home" hill..

Better coverage than the resorts in Eagle Co. Did you see the race on NBC yesterday at Beaver Creek? The mountain was just dirt, aside from the snow they made on Birds of Prey.

 

[Bigtinnie]

I’ve got your situation but bringing a family of four from Australia.....the flights cost a bit.
Easy solution really - just see where the snow is and pay the money for flights/car/lift tickets and go skiing.
You can’t take it with you.

 

[oswaldr2]

3 weeks off at months end? Just go and hope for the best. It has to snow in the next 2 weeks.

Opensnow.com says otherwise. They have their free 2 week viewing and show no snow over the next two weeks.

 

[TonyC]

Chances are that come Holiday time it is gonna be suckage at the Colorado resorts. A combination of holiday crowds and snow starved locals should create mayhem even if it snows during that time. Still, I love Colorado and there is a lot more to do than skiing. I mean in three weeks you are bound to get a few good days of skiing. But keep your expectations low in regards to open terrain and skiing conditions. I live here so I don't care, I just ride my bike more and get some skiing whenever. But if I were to head out on a SKI trip right now (or next week) for three weeks I would definitely go to Canada.

Absolutely. Staying fixed for 3 weeks of these restricted conditions is a huge waste of your vacation time and $$$.

3 weeks off at months end? Just go and hope for the best. It has to snow in the next 2 weeks.

The I-70 corridor is not prone to the massive dumps that might turn Utah's Cottonwood Canyons around over the course of a week. I'll be happy to take wagers on what fraction of terrain is open Christmas week at the major Colorado areas. I have data on that back to 1988. Most will need to be lucky to get to 50% by then.

Whistler with your Epic Pass seems like the best choice. For part of your time (maybe the peak holiday week) you could road trip inland to Sun Peaks, the Okanagan areas and maybe Revelstoke. Everywhere in western Canada is above average except for the lower areas near the border that got a lot of the Northwest rain two weeks ago. Whistler's lower mountain got that too, but the alpine is what's key to Whistler and it has to be loaded with snow given that the subalpine snow plot has a 5 foot base. The Whistler alpine is closed now not for lack of snow but for needing extensive avalanche control work.

Second choice is drive to Jackson/Targhee, You could extend to Big Sky and/or Sun Valley. Utah is even worse off than I-70 Colorado right now.

I would not rule out the Austria option either. I was over there last January, and the snowmaking is much more comprehensive than in western North America. The natural base is probably not far off what I saw last year right now. I have no idea how long it takes to cover the 100 odd miles of trails I saw in Kitzbuhel, Saalbach and SkiWelt last year but presumably it's an easier job with some natural base to start. While normal December weather rates to produce a nice Christmas in Austria, there is some risk that a warm and dry December like last year could arrest or reverse the early progress. By contrast it would be almost impossible to take down that 5+ foot base at Whistler.