Chair 5 had some issues yesterday that exacerbated this. Brother was dead tired when he got home last night from work.
Meadows was a shitshow this weekend. Didn't go today because daughter had a soccer game.. was annoyed until I heard what a trainwreck it was up there. We got smart yesterday and drove through Hood River to avoid the traffic, but they didn't open the lift on that side of the mountain until 10. Only one quad operating in the main area. And dumping snow, so full parking lots everywhere. But, once they got going, Private Reserve was open and my 11 year old that I've been teaching to ski since 3 rode her first double black diamond runs, we got pieces of bluebird days and the snow was fantastic for Cascade/coast range stuff. Today people leaving Sandy at 6:45 were being turned away at 9:45 saying all lots were full. 30 minute lift lines everywhere.
With as much snow as we got everywhere was busy. Most resorts only had a portion of their terrain open. On a normal day, yes, Winter Park is going to be less crowded than any Vail or Summit County resort.
Blue Sky Basin was closed at Vail yesterday for an “investigation”. Sounds like someone’s jacket caught caught on the lift and strangled someone to death.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/02/14/vail-chair-lift-new-jersey-man-dies/ That's gonna be a lawsuit
straight up the biggest problem year in and out honestly is still having to sign a waiver if you forgot your own ski,s , yes I agree jackets caused bye joints in the pocket suck. but that hated waiver ? honestly if I did not get hurt like skiing ? just down the slope skiing. but cool conversation .
Saw for sure one of the scariest-looking things happen at Meadows yesterday - they opened up Heather Canyon and a buddy of mine and I dropped in at Moon Bowl. He's a super experienced rider, but when I was slashing across the face I hit a patch of glare/runoff ice that went 100 yards deep - he lost his edge and went down and there was no recovering. He was coming down the hill hauling ASS and just before he went flying into the patch of scrub trees he laid down and positioned his board to take the brunt of the first tree he was going to hit. All I could do was sit there and watch in horror. After he hit it, he went pinballing off a few more trees before he could hang onto one. He was super lucky and the board, hips and thighs took most of the impact, but 3 more came bouncing through the same patch of trees and I know there were broken bones, the one guy was saying he hurt his back and while he could move his legs, he couldn't get out of there. Incredibly sketch.
In upbeat news I just sold a kidney to but a 3 day pass at fucking park city I hate that I like this bougie-ass sport
One of the dudes who slid into the trees where we were struck his head and died. https://www.oregonlive.com/news/202...injuries-while-skiing-at-mt-hood-meadows.html
was in breckenridge over the weekend for my bachelor party. i don't think i'll be going back. the altitude in that town is just too much. was out of breath after packing my suitcase on sunday to leave.
Yup. Said the same thing. 9600 us brutal at the base. Had zero issues a year prior in Big Sky at 7200
Skied at Fernie in BC this weekend. Such incredible views and minimal to no lines. Better skiing, less money, better views imo in Canada
Went to mammoth over the weekend. Spring skiing conditions but tons of fun and not many people up there Saturday or Sunday.
the guy that fell into the creek area had ducked the rope, and was riding alone. I know he had worked there 15-20 years ago, and knew the terrain super well but still.. super bad decision-making there. One of the other people that we had seen slide into the trees was a lady on skis who went head first and took the impact with her chest/shoulder area, was crying and saying she couldn't get out of there on her own... apparently ended up with some broken ribs and a lacerated liver according to the front page article on the Oregonian Sunday: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/202...rFWDb9CSHhLZ71aS0mLzu9TrwuqI55DLYP9-LUYZ78Gyw The dude that described it as a huge, smooth, bulletproof sheet of ice had it right. Normally you can kick ski boots through even a pretty thick crust if you're positioned to get leverage. I never could get any more than a toe hold on it. It had to have been 5+ inches thick.
Vail will be offering at minimum a 25% discount to Epic pass holders for the 20-21 season, as well as offering free insurance coverage. If you bought a day pass, or a season pass but did not use it. You’ll get up to 85% off next seasons pass. https://thepointsguy.com/news/epic-ski-pass-coronavirus/
Epic and Ikon price gouging ass mofos should cut their season pass prices by like 40% every year. Its gotten completely out of hand.
Doesnt a pass equate to like three days at full price? If anything they should take their daily prices down.
Skiing at winter park cost me 135$ per day for 2 days and that was with a discount due to my brothers season pass. If i would have gone more this past year or needed more than 2 days of lift passes i would have bought the season pass
I feel like Ikon is much better suited for travelers from outside the mountain regions. While Epic seems to better for locals. Living in Park City, Ikon really doesn’t do much for me because DV is limited, and for half the money I can buy their locals 5 pass.
I think it depends on where you live. Ikon is incredible if you live in SLC as you get access to all the cottonwood resorts in addition to DV. Having DV as an option for the days when the canyons are a shitshow is a God send. Park City is a clusterfuck because there are only two resorts on different passes. If you live in PC, I think the epic pass makes the most sense. If you live in SLC, the ikon is the best option.
A quick little update from what I am hearing from up here in Park City: As much as people hate Vail for basically owning all the resorts around the world, right now it’s really playing into our favor. They will be testing different protocols in Australia on how to socially distance on the mountain. They plan to press forward with the season as of today. From what I’ve been told here’s what it’ll kinda look like. Locker rooms and indoor restaurants will be closed. Facemask will be required (shouldn’t be an issue as most people I know ski with a Baklava or face covering anyway) As of now, limited/capped access on the mountain. Single/household only on gondolas, not sure yet about regular outdoor lifts. “Socially distanced lift lines” this is the most interesting one to me as to how they’re going to pull it off. Especially at big choke points like Bonaza/Silverlode/KingCon/Tombstone That’s all I got for now. I was happy to hear that, as I hadn’t been hearing really good news until about a week ago. If I hear more, I’ll pass it along
My brother (lift mechanic at Vail) mentioned many similar things a couple weeks ago. Sounds like they will limit the lifts that are open as well, but that is still a bit of an open question/dependent on catch-up work on summer maintenance.
If they would add either Timberline or Meadows to the unlimited use group I'd buy 3 passes for my fam every year. Meadows does a Pass Exchange as part of their package which is cool. We did 3 days at Brundage in Idaho last year and then had Baker on deck for Spring Break when covid hit. Was super bummed. But since all our vacations have been cancelled, we are planning on road tripping to as many places as we can this year. Going to do a full week in Idaho, thinking about Whitefish in there too. My daughter just turned 12 and she was running double blacks fairly competently by the end of last season so thinking a heli trip would be ideal with her.
What else can you tell me about this place? I am flying into Denver 12/27 and staying until 1/1. We (gf and I) have narrowed it down to either Beaver Creek or Monarch/Salida. We both like history so it seems like Salida might be pretty cool in that respect, but is there enough to do for 4 days? Is it worth the extra hour drive it takes to get to Beaver Creek? This will be her first time skiing and I've only been a couple times myself. Neither of us have been to CO before. I'll hang up and listen.
Going to beaver creek in January, went last year for the first time. Great mountain to learn to ski (in my opinion) and the town is bougie if she’ll like something like that.
Been a while since I've been to Monarch, but from what I remember, it's a very basic, no-frills resort. No nightlife, lodging or apres to speak of, so of course you'll have to drive back and forth every day. If you are solely focused on skiing, it's fine, you might get bored after a day or two due to the size of it, but it will scratch the itch. Having never been to Beaver Creek, it will have more terrain and more to do onsite besides skiing. I've also heard from friends it's great for beginners. But you'll definitely pay for it.
Perhaps I'm just misreading, but Monarch/Salida is an hour longer drive than the Beav, FYI. I'm definitely biased, but if this is your first trip to CO, I'd promote heading out to Eagle Co (Beav). You can't really go wrong though, both drives are beautiful. Are you planning to rent a car or shuttle from DIA? If you rent a car, that opens up Buena Vista for a quick evening trip from Salida (pending weather, of course). One other note: if there is weather, you risk having a 6-24 hour delay if you aim for the Beav, as Vail pass can close quite frequently and is essentially the only route there (they get it back open with the quickness, but can cause minor hitches in your plans). No matter where you go, be sure you make your reservations early if at all possible this year (kinda sucks, as you'll have less flexibility...if you go to the Beav, I'd suggest a day at Vail on Day 3 or 4, unless you think your gal won't be a fast learner). There will definitely be lift ticket limits that could affect you, especially during holiday peak. Regarding your bff, highly highly recommend having her take at least a half-day lesson ($$$, but worth it) wherever you go if you value your relationship. Also, if you're coming from GA or the coast, you might consider not skiing your first full day out here. Altitude can and will be a bitch, especially if it's your first time skiing with the exertion that's guaranteed to be associated with that first day of falls.
pretty basic ski area with a little lodge. lift lines can be non-existent as long as it's not spring break in Texas or the weekend. it's not big by any means though their are some areas for a bit of backcountry skiing. Salida is a cool town with a lot to do and about 30 minutes away. Beaver Creek is completely different. big resort with all the amenities. probably a better place to start/learn to ski. as much as I love Monarch for what it is, it is just not the same as a resort like Beaver Creek.
I hope you are wrong. Have a 10 day Aspen / Crested Butte trip on the books for end of Feb. have put all my cancelled 2020 vacation time and dollars into it.
I like Monarch, but y'all should definitely go to Beaver Creek. I'm also very interested to know how y'all narrowed it down to those two places.
Not true. They’ve already opened some up. I don’t think I’m going to buy a pass. I don’t think it’ll last