vanhanbr
Member
New member here, although I have some time studying bestsnow.net, I only recently discovered this forum.
Me:
Midwestern, expert level skier just shy of 40 years old who usually skis around 30 days/year (half at destination resorts, half at local hills) Areas visited include Alta, A-basin, Copper, Cooper, Deer Valley, Keystone, Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Snowbird, Winter Park and quite a few more. Also skied at Selkirk Tangiers Heli this year.
Wife:
Terminal intermediate, gets nervous on anything darker than blue although she has the required skillset for harder terrain. Skis almost as many days as myself.
Kids: Twin five-year-old's. Better skiers than mom (although she won't admit it). Capable of making beautiful, carved turns on almost any groomed run (although they get bounced around on some of the chopped up stuff.) They don't necessarily like to ski super steep stuff. Like most kids, they would prefer to ski in the trees all day and can ski around/over almost anything. They ski almost as many days as Mom.
The problem(s):
This was the last year of the "free" passes as they will be six next season. I'm not prepared to shell out almost $400 a kid for an epic pass. We've had the Ikon Pass and a local season pass the last 2 years.
I'm willing to take them out of school up to five days. Otherwise, we have to navigate around the usually Christmas, Valentine's (they don't have off presidents day) and Spring break (last week of March/ first week of April.
My plan so far:
I'm thinking we could break even with last year's pass costs by downgrading to the Mountain Collective Pass.
Christmas break or 2nd week of January. 2 days in Grand Targhee with an additional day or 2 at Jackson Hole. Looking for opinion on what to expect crowd-wise and snow-wise between the two dates. My favorite week of the season to ski is the second week of January. I realize Jackson Hole won't be prime, but we have 2 days on the pass. This year over Christmas break we skied at Whitecap, Indianhead, and Blackjack in Upper Michigan and it was a practical ghost town. I may consider doing that again.
Valentines - Either Lake Louise/ Sunshine or Aspen. Ski Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Last week of February - Adult trip to Panorama. Possibly RK Heli add-on. We were at Revelstoke this year, so might not want to double up. May also have a few more intermediate skiers along next year.
Spring break - Mammoth (but only 2-3 days on pass.) Considering adding a few days at Squaw to make the week. Not sure what to expect conditions wise. Would consider Alta/Snowbird, but recent crowds/traffic have scared me off.
I am also considering buying additional Cooper, Indy, Freedom, etc. pass to supplement lack of days on Mountain collective.
Looking for any opinions. Thanks.
Me:
Midwestern, expert level skier just shy of 40 years old who usually skis around 30 days/year (half at destination resorts, half at local hills) Areas visited include Alta, A-basin, Copper, Cooper, Deer Valley, Keystone, Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Snowbird, Winter Park and quite a few more. Also skied at Selkirk Tangiers Heli this year.
Wife:
Terminal intermediate, gets nervous on anything darker than blue although she has the required skillset for harder terrain. Skis almost as many days as myself.
Kids: Twin five-year-old's. Better skiers than mom (although she won't admit it). Capable of making beautiful, carved turns on almost any groomed run (although they get bounced around on some of the chopped up stuff.) They don't necessarily like to ski super steep stuff. Like most kids, they would prefer to ski in the trees all day and can ski around/over almost anything. They ski almost as many days as Mom.
The problem(s):
This was the last year of the "free" passes as they will be six next season. I'm not prepared to shell out almost $400 a kid for an epic pass. We've had the Ikon Pass and a local season pass the last 2 years.
I'm willing to take them out of school up to five days. Otherwise, we have to navigate around the usually Christmas, Valentine's (they don't have off presidents day) and Spring break (last week of March/ first week of April.
My plan so far:
I'm thinking we could break even with last year's pass costs by downgrading to the Mountain Collective Pass.
Christmas break or 2nd week of January. 2 days in Grand Targhee with an additional day or 2 at Jackson Hole. Looking for opinion on what to expect crowd-wise and snow-wise between the two dates. My favorite week of the season to ski is the second week of January. I realize Jackson Hole won't be prime, but we have 2 days on the pass. This year over Christmas break we skied at Whitecap, Indianhead, and Blackjack in Upper Michigan and it was a practical ghost town. I may consider doing that again.
Valentines - Either Lake Louise/ Sunshine or Aspen. Ski Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Last week of February - Adult trip to Panorama. Possibly RK Heli add-on. We were at Revelstoke this year, so might not want to double up. May also have a few more intermediate skiers along next year.
Spring break - Mammoth (but only 2-3 days on pass.) Considering adding a few days at Squaw to make the week. Not sure what to expect conditions wise. Would consider Alta/Snowbird, but recent crowds/traffic have scared me off.
I am also considering buying additional Cooper, Indy, Freedom, etc. pass to supplement lack of days on Mountain collective.
Looking for any opinions. Thanks.