berkshireskier
Member
Have a great trip and hope the snow is good for you. I'm envious!
Holiday Ski Plans, again!
- Thread starter socal
- Start date
I know it's too late, but 48% of Brighton would be a better choice than 30% of Snowbird under current conditions.
I'll be interested to hear how 80% of Alta on a 33 inch base skis. And how crowded it is considering the state of other Utah ski areas. I was at the Alta Peruvian Lodge the week after Christmas in 1986-87. Alta had a decent November but only 13.5 inches in December (21 so far this December). Alta ski conditions were OK but in that year of no high speed lifts and the other Utah areas being bad, they were the worst liftlines of my life. Germania (the upper half of what is now Collins) averaged 45 minutes all week and was 75 minutes when we finally got an 18-inch storm New Year's Day. This has informed my attitude about destination skiing during the holidays. I've only done it two other times and only Mt. Bachelor was a positive experience. In retrospect that one was very lucky to have Summit open. Bachelor's Summit lift has been open 3 total days in the past 4 Decembers combined. This year it opened Dec. 10, earliest in a decade after 120 inches November snow.
The Tetons got a 2-3 foot storm last week so Targhee should be good. 45% of Jackson open during the holiday week is still a hard pass IMHO. Jackson averages 80% open during the holidays.
Big Sky reports 74% open vs. 78% holiday average. Have you reserved the snowmobile tour from West Yellowstone?
I'll be interested to hear how 80% of Alta on a 33 inch base skis. And how crowded it is considering the state of other Utah ski areas. I was at the Alta Peruvian Lodge the week after Christmas in 1986-87. Alta had a decent November but only 13.5 inches in December (21 so far this December). Alta ski conditions were OK but in that year of no high speed lifts and the other Utah areas being bad, they were the worst liftlines of my life. Germania (the upper half of what is now Collins) averaged 45 minutes all week and was 75 minutes when we finally got an 18-inch storm New Year's Day. This has informed my attitude about destination skiing during the holidays. I've only done it two other times and only Mt. Bachelor was a positive experience. In retrospect that one was very lucky to have Summit open. Bachelor's Summit lift has been open 3 total days in the past 4 Decembers combined. This year it opened Dec. 10, earliest in a decade after 120 inches November snow.
The Tetons got a 2-3 foot storm last week so Targhee should be good. 45% of Jackson open during the holiday week is still a hard pass IMHO. Jackson averages 80% open during the holidays.
Big Sky reports 74% open vs. 78% holiday average. Have you reserved the snowmobile tour from West Yellowstone?
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I know you like a separate report so I’ll do that for our day today at Snowbird.
We don’t have a pass for Solitude or Brighton and me being a tight wad…..
I reserved a snowmobile tour but I can cancel which seems strange to me. My daughter would prefer a horse riding tour…..
We don’t have a pass for Solitude or Brighton and me being a tight wad…..
I reserved a snowmobile tour but I can cancel which seems strange to me. My daughter would prefer a horse riding tour…..
I forgot sbooker’s pass is Mountain Collective.
Horse riding is a more summer activity around Yellowstone. Even if offered in winter it might not be a great idea at -15 to -20C. Snowmobiles have heated handlebars and footwells.
Horse riding is a more summer activity around Yellowstone. Even if offered in winter it might not be a great idea at -15 to -20C. Snowmobiles have heated handlebars and footwells.
Wow, this turned into a busy thread.
Growing up in Central New York back when we had very snowy winters, my father bought a snowmobile (a 1971 AMF Ski-Daddler) that we rode all over the area right from our house. Sadly, most of the gorgeous forests and fields were developed in subsequent decades.
36 years went by without me riding a snowmobile even once; however, I was able to get back on the proverbial horse during my 2018 Maritime Alps visit -- once after dark (Auron) and once at sunrise (Valberg) -- and it was as enjoyable as the skiing.
Agreed that this is the better option. I suspect that it won't be a bargain excursion in Yellowstone; however, I bet that it'd be memorable.
Growing up in Central New York back when we had very snowy winters, my father bought a snowmobile (a 1971 AMF Ski-Daddler) that we rode all over the area right from our house. Sadly, most of the gorgeous forests and fields were developed in subsequent decades.
36 years went by without me riding a snowmobile even once; however, I was able to get back on the proverbial horse during my 2018 Maritime Alps visit -- once after dark (Auron) and once at sunrise (Valberg) -- and it was as enjoyable as the skiing.
It’s the holidays.Wow, this turned into a busy thread.
Yesterday I was somehow talked into getting some genuine American cuisine. A novelty for us Aussies who don’t do take away food. It was way better than I expected and makes McDonalds seem even worse now.
EMSC
Well-known member
Interesting to hear. I generally avoid all the 'new fangled' burger places for about a decade now. I tried a couple of them back then (my son was the right age to beg to ty them back then) and thought the ones popping up with 'buzz' surrounding them all tasted poor for not great pricing. It is true I have not been specifically to an In-N-Out though. The closest of their locations is now ~20min away, fortunately still much too far to bother with for fast food.
berkshireskier
Member
Chris Tomer of Mountain Weather is predicting another 8 to 12 inches through Xmas day in the Tetons and then up to 3 feet between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1. Who knows if this will really happen and I find he tends to be a little over optimistic when it comes to snow totals.
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jimk
Active member
I've eaten at a few InOuts during my western travels. We don't have them in the mid-Atlantic. I ate at a terrible one in Vegas once, but have tried a good one in the Salt Lake Valley a few times. I like Five Guys the best of the burger chains, and especially like their fries,, but they are insanely expensive now. A burger meal for two there can easily run $30+ InOut is quite a bit less expensive than Five Guys and almost as tasty at better run locations.
snowtrekker
New member
The only thing “new-fangled” about In-N-Out is their relatively recent expansion outside California, though even that is a decade or two in the making. The chain itself is about as old as McDonalds. I agree though that its not worth a 20 minute drive out of the way.
In this era of gastropubs and even mid-range chains like Five Guys, I won't make the argument of "best burger" for In N Out. But no one can touch them at their price point IMHO. Oh, sbooker, next time order a double-double animal style.
In N Out has a cult following here in SoCal where it originated. Expansion has been slow as it's still a private family owned business. Tseeb can probably tell us when they expanded to NorCal but I'd guess in the Aughts, maybe same for Vegas. Expansion to AZ and UT was no more than a decade ago.
The geographic footprint above was determined by what's the truck driveable radius of their central meat processing facility. They built a new one to expand into Texas, and I'd guess that's used for Denver metro also.
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tseeb
Well-known member
A ski area was proposed for the Oquirrh Mountains, but in 2008 article said it does not look likely to happen. (fixed link)
Oquirrh Mountain plans crumble
Salt Lake County and Kennecott can't lay framework for 41,000-acre west-bench development.This article is from 2009: https://www.deseret.com/2009/8/23/20336279/oquirrh-ski-resort-still-a-possibility/
More from 2007 at https://www.saminfo.com/news/sam-headline-news/5077-514-new-resort-for-utah
I've never tried the "animal style" beside getting it at least once for fries which we usually avoid at In-N-Out as they can be soggy. (I know you can ask for twice-cooked at In-N-Out, but I think McDonald's fries are better.) My usual is double meat, single cheese with grilled onions and pickles, is close and sometimes I get extra sauce packets, one to add to burger and one for when I grill a burger at home. If I want more than a burger, I add a chocolate shake.
https://www.lasvegas360.com/3428/in-n-out-burger-locations-and-store-numbers/ says Salinas, Gilroy (by Outlet Mall) and Milpitas (adjacent to San Jose) all opened in 1994. When the Milpitas location opened, we stopped on return from somewhere in the East Bay and enjoyed it so much, we immediately went back through drive-thru for another smaller order. The first In-N-Out in San Jose opened in 2000 and there are now four locations. While I think In-N-Out usually has close to same quality at all stores, the one closest to my house (~3 miles, across Expressway from Eastridge Mall) is not as good as one about 2 miles from my Mom's house.
We went a couple of miles out of our way to stop at very busy Barstow location on way to Las Vegas in mid-December. Then on way home from Death Valley we stopped at what may be busiest location I've ever been to in Kettleman City, CA on Sunday evening where wait after ordering was ~20 min and there were more than 50 people waiting inside for their orders. Drive-thru would probably have been faster, but does not work well in middle of 7-8 hr. drive.
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Dumb tourist Australian comes to this forum in the hope of getting some good advice. No one mentioned that the day after Christmas at Snowbasin with very limited terrain open would be a trying experience.
There was fresh snow overnight and it’s still snowing fairly heavily but the cover is really thin and a lot is closed so the gazillions of people are confined to not much space.
We did a few runs and called it a day in the hope of a better experience over the next few days in Idaho. Our Snowbird day was a 6 out of 10 and Alta was a 7. Today gets a three. At best.
There was fresh snow overnight and it’s still snowing fairly heavily but the cover is really thin and a lot is closed so the gazillions of people are confined to not much space.
We did a few runs and called it a day in the hope of a better experience over the next few days in Idaho. Our Snowbird day was a 6 out of 10 and Alta was a 7. Today gets a three. At best.
I do not recall an inquiry about Snowbasin. But it's Dec. 26 and I reported it was 32% open on Dec. 24. Anyplace in Utah probably would have sucked with current conditions. Crowds and limited terrain open are a toxic combination which I strive to avoid. It will be interesting to see how Targhee works out as the holiday oasis in a sea of mediocrity at surrounding ski areas.
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berkshireskier
Member
It SHOULD be much better at GT.....almost 100% open and it's been snowing heavily (hope the drive is OK for you), with any where from 2 to 4 feet of new snow predicted over the next four days. I hope you have low light lenses for your googles because I don't think you'll be seeing much sunlight. I also hope it is NOT TOO much snow to ski.
I was joking about the advice. I knew it would be poor but we’re spending the night in Ogden to visit the Browning museum. Had some time to kill.