# Colorado, Tahoe, or Utah Vacation



## CaptT (Sep 23, 2009)

check out skiutah website and BurritosandSnow is great for Brighton info......


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I don't normally say this but unless things change in the next two weeks, skip Colorado. Unless you want to go to a more off the radar spot like Wolf Creek, Telluride, or Crested Butte. It is a very slow start to the season here, and my guess is we are going to lag until March. Tahoe has been getting it and I think Utah is doing all right. 

If you do the California route, Homewood has great tree riding. Kirkwood, Squaw, and Alpine will get you the steeps. If I remember correctly Alpine has some good tree riding too. Hard to remember because when I was last there I was a tiny kid skiing, snowboarding wasn't in the scene yet, and when it was, it was banned at Alpine. Sugar Bowl is a lot of fun too.

We got some Utards on this site, so I'll let them talk about their spots. Which are great too.


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## CaptT (Sep 23, 2009)

deerrrrrr....who you callin a tard??? We suck for snow pack too right now....we need like 4ft at Powder before it is really worth a shit......:thumbsdown: It is half assed snowing right now though....never know.....by Feb we are usually in the money.....


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2009)

killclimbz said:


> I don't normally say this but unless things change in the next two weeks, skip Colorado.


I am praying for large storms soon. how does Kanssa city get 12" and summit get 3", wtf?


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

CaptTenielle said:


> deerrrrrr....who you callin a tard??? We suck for snow pack too right now....we need like 4ft at Powder before it is really worth a shit......:thumbsdown: It is half assed snowing right now though....never know.....by Feb we are usually in the money.....


You! Tard', cause you're a Utard...

Bummer to here that about Utah. 

Augie, the thing is Colorado get's it's snow in drips and drabs. 4-8" at a time. Over a week that is great, but it seems like we get that 4-8" storm then nothing for a week. That doesn't add up very much. We don't get a ton of storms that dump a foot or more at a time. It happens, but not that frequently. We do have 3 storms supposedly on tap this week. Maybe close to two feet coming down total. It should make a difference, but we are still playing catch up. Now if we get into the pattern where every day or couple of days we are getting that 4-8" mark for a couple of weeks, we'll be golden. It's probably coming, because it's rare that we get skunked, but I'm thinking late season is where it will be this season.


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## zakk (Apr 21, 2008)

I'm in CA and we're stealing all the snow!

check vbro.com for places to stay. I got my pass for Northstar/Sierra and couldn't be happier.


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## GC24 (Sep 2, 2009)

I'm not too concerned with steeps, I'm more concerned with the terrain parks and solid large mountains.

My main concern is finding a place to stay. Flights won't be a problem because we have three round trip vouchers for getting bumped before.

We are from just outside of Chicago so just about any mountain will meet our expectations.

The main thing I am looking for is finding lodging near multiple mountains.


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## GC24 (Sep 2, 2009)

zakk said:


> I'm in CA and we're stealing all the snow!
> 
> check vbro.com for places to stay. I got my pass for Northstar/Sierra and couldn't be happier.


How far from one another are Northstar, Sierra, Heavenly, and Squaw?


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

I just came from Tahoe, which I've been to several times, am doing CO next month, and planning for SLC next season. If you've already been to CO, I think you should checkout a diff area. You can't lose either way, but in general I think you'l have a higher chance of better snow conditions in Utah, and a higher chance of better weather/visibility in Tahoe.

For Tahoe, of the ones I've been to, Northstar and Squaw are prob the best. I wouldn't bother with Sierra or Heavenly. Kirkwood and Sugarbowl are the only ones I really want to hit that I haven't had a chance to yet.


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

GC24 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> I am planning a vacation for me, my bro, his best friend, and our two dads.
> Right now we are leaning towards Aspen/Snowmass, Utah(parkcity, Brighton), or Lake Tahoe. We have been to Breck/Keystone and Vail/BC before and are looking to try something new.
> 
> ...


OK heres my advice .... you may have to decide whats most important... based on your initial post I really want to tell you to go to the Canyons. Its a freskin huuuge resort and can offer you anyhting you want. They have two top notch terrain parks a beginner and an expert. However the beginner is really more intermediate with lots of good jibs and usually a kicker line of 25 30 and 35. The expert park hosted super park last year so really thats all I need to say about that lol. They also have really nice hikable bowls that dump back into the main trails. Lots of great glades etc etc. The only issue I can say with the canyons is that theres no other nearby mtn other than PC which is basically the same as The Canyons except shit tons of tourists more money ...and well you know basically fuck park shitty lol .. the only reason boarding is even allowed there is because they wanted the olympics. The Canyons is freakin legit. However the Canyons does not have night riding which sucks. For Utah Park city ( the town not resort) is your best bet for some good apres if you are a tourist. However you will all need to be 21 of course. Most places in PC go for about 500-600 a night during the time you are lookin at being here however with a little digging I found this place timberwolf for 333 at the base of The Canyons. ( btw the canyons is right outside park city the town but park city has free bus service all over town ). 

Now your other option is the SLC resorts Brighton Solitude and Snowbird. They are all minutes from SLC but you have to give up the awesome parks. Solitude is skier heavy but really awesome and has a very small beginner park with no jibs just snow made features ( very small I think its even off the bunny lift haha). Both Brighton and the Bird have parks but not really big jumps. Brighton has tons of rails and jibs with a few small jumps. Of course the reason for this is that the mtn is the park at both Brighton and Snowbird. Im talking in bounds cliff drops, natural rollers, and in Brightons case DIY guerilla style kickers and lips over, onto, and sometimes through natural terrain. Its a different riding style for sure but man its o so fun lol. Brighton has night riding including top to bottom park Snowbird does not. The nIte life in SLC is pretty lame unless you are in downtown SLC but then you are not in the best spot for easy resort access but anything in SLC will be waaay cheaper than PC. 

If it were me id stay look for something close to the mouth of Emmigration Canyon in SLC and then you are about 30 min to both Park City ( the town ) and the SLC resorts but you will have limited apres ....








CaptTenielle said:


> deerrrrrr....who you callin a tard??? We suck for snow pack too right now....we need like 4ft at Powder before it is really worth a shit......:thumbsdown: It is half assed snowing right now though....never know.....by Feb we are usually in the money.....


thats the north range .... last I looked Powder Mtn was about 25% open but the SLC local resorts i.e. Brighton Solitude and The Bird are all in the 90% range for open terrain ... but by Feb everyone should be golden anyways....



GC24 said:


> How far from one another are Northstar, Sierra, Heavenly, and Squaw?


Northstar and Squaw are relatively close to each other on the Northshore of Lake Tahoe.... Sierra and Heavenly are located on the southshore ( where the party is at)


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## bryantp (Dec 1, 2008)

*Colorado will have snow in Feb*

Guaranteed. That's when I make my pilgrimage stateside this year. Ullr promised.

I still like Vail for what you're talking about. On a powder day, the bowls and other paths back there are hard to beat. It gives your parents lots of apres ski and you have lots of stuff to do also. I don't think Keystone's gotten snow in years.

Hell, come over here if you want something different. Fly into Hokkaido and bus up to Niseko. Lots of English spoken...albeit Aussie...western and Asian food. Powder so deep they may never find you.

I hear good things about other stateside places but I haven't been ouside of Colorado for riding. Tahoe should offer things like your parents want...not really sure about the area other than they do get some pow. 

Good luck...can't really lose if you're in the mountains.

Do your research on the travel sites. Usually, I can do better myself or, every great once-in-a-while, through Priceline.


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## GC24 (Sep 2, 2009)

Thanks Burrito for the info on Utah, if I were to stay near the canyons like you suggested, how far of a drive would it be to the other resorts like Brighton and Snowbird?

Also what side of Tahoe would you recommend I stay at? It sounds like Squaw and Northstar are near one another on the north side and Kirkwood is the best overall. Correct me if I'm wrong.


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

GC24 said:


> Thanks Burrito for the info on Utah, if I were to stay near the canyons like you suggested, how far of a drive would it be to the other resorts like Brighton and Snowbird?
> 
> Also what side of Tahoe would you recommend I stay at? It sounds like Squaw and Northstar are near one another on the north side and Kirkwood is the best overall. Correct me if I'm wrong.


well funny thing is that park city ( the resort ) and brighton are about a mile apart ... unfortunately that mile is a canyon thats closed to road traffic in the winter.... think of it as a u shape with the two resorts at the top of the u but to get from one to the other you have to travel down the canyon then over to another canyon and then up. If roads are good your looking at about an hour....

as far as tahoes concerned we always stay at squaw .. they have small two roomed lodges with kitchenettes for a reasonable price... I like northshore but im older too I dont need the party. squaw pretty much has the most awesome night run ever and also a park and pipe lit at night. northstar is a bit higher end than squaw and the parks there imo are the best anywhere .. their crew is just so inventive. Kirkwood is as you said kinda off by itself but gets massive amounts of pow and few crowds .. totally worth checking out if you hit up tahoe. the only thing about tahoe is the driving.. you may be able to fly into sacto from chicago I dont know but thats about as close as you can get direct. then you have a couple hours drive to think about as well as car rental.


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## GC24 (Sep 2, 2009)

I figured I would fly into Reno which is only like $15 more than flying into SLC. Google said it would be about a 50 minute drive from Reno. We are going to rent a car regardless so the driving isn't that big of a problem.

I googled the drive from the Canyons to Brighton and saw the U you talked that almost goes through SLC.

Do you know the name of that lodge at Squaw you said you normally stay at?


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

olympic village inn and also the red wolf lodge .. we always see which of these two can give us the better deal ... red wolf is the nicer of the two


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## david_z (Dec 14, 2009)

GC24 said:


> We are looking to stay in a two or three bedroom unit with some amenities such as a living room and hopefully a kitchen of sorts.
> We want to be as close to the mountain/s as possible with some nightlife nearby, my bro and his friend can't drink so its not a main concern. We are going to snowboard from open to close and the riding is really all we care about. It would also be nice to have as short of a drive as possible from the airport.


Park City is about an hour from the airport at Salt Lake City. Probably the closest. Check out VRBO.com for vacation rentals by owner. I got a 2BR _house_ in downtown park city for about $200/night for February 15-22. If you choose Park City, definitely let me know; I'll be there with 4 friends if you want to hook up & ride. The gondola for Park City Mtn Resort runs right in to downtown PC. The Canyons resort (my favorite in Park City) is a few miles outside of town. Brighton, Snowbird, Alta, etc. are all about an hour drive from Park City. If you go on eBay you can get 5 day lift tickets to PCMR for $333 which include vouchers for discounts on rentals, lessons, etc. This is a great deal, face value lift tickets are $85 at PCMR and Canyons.

Tahoe is about an hour away from Reno and 2 hours from San Francisco. You will probably find the best lodging options in Lake Tahoe since it's also a casino resort town. I bet you can find nice rooms at the Mont Bleu casino for about $100/night. I stayed there back in 2006 and had a blast. Tahoe (South) is definitely a lot of nightlife so maybe not for you if you're not doing a lot of partying. Also, only one mountain (Heavenly at Tahoe) is in town on the free shuttle. Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows, Northstar, and a few other big resorts (and some smaller ones) are within 90 minutes driving depending on wheather.

Aspen is 3 hours from Denver if I'm not mistaken (haven't been there). You'll probably pay the most for lodging in the Aspen area. Also, I heard that lift tickets there this year are $95/day. Ouch.



GC24 said:


> As far as riding goes, the three of us are looking for a place with nice medium sized terrain parks, good moderate tree runs, and as much powder as possible. Our dads will most likely be content putting around on blue runs all day.
> 
> We will be most likely flying out at night on Feb. 17th and coming home the 22nd at night.


My vote would be for Park City just because there are 7 world-class mountains within an hour, two of which are on the free shuttle within 10 minutes from downtown (three, if you count the bastards at Deer Valley, but you can't snowboard there). They get 500" of snow a year at those resorts. The Canyons has an unbelievable amount of terrain, and well-varied terrain, too. Great riding there. There will be good parks at any of these places.

But yeah, if you settle on Park City for those dates, drop me a line!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I freaking LOVE Park City/Canyons. Fly into SLC, catch a shuttle straight to the hotel, ski/ride for FREE the day you arrive (tip: take the eariest fight you can find), take the city bus anywhere you need to go (you don't need to rent a car). There's lots of good food. There's an incredible quantity of terrain. The snow is usually lighter, drier, and fluffier than anywhere else.

I had been planning to return in Feb. but then someone offered to send me to Snowbird in March at his company's expense, so I'm skipping PC this year.


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## david_z (Dec 14, 2009)

are they hiring? I work cheap.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

bryantp said:


> Guaranteed. That's when I make my pilgrimage stateside this year. Ullr promised.


I guarantee too. How much is the question. Now unlike spots like Cali, we rarely get skunked. The last time I'd call it a skunk year was 98. January was good and that was about it. We had pretty much the same set up as this year. That doesn't make me happy. On the flip side we had a season that was much like this. Stunk through February, 93-94 I believe. May roared like a lion though and it snowed like hell. The snow pack through April got up to something like 140% of normal. It was phat. I knew of people who were getting powder days in late March. I think this scenario is more likely and that makes me happy. Just got to wait is all...


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

killclimbz said:


> I guarantee too. How much is the question. Now unlike spots like Cali, we rarely get skunked. The last time I'd call it a skunk year was 98. January was good and that was about it. We had pretty much the same set up as this year. That doesn't make me happy. On the flip side we had a season that was much like this. Stunk through February, 93-94 I believe. March roared like a lion though and it snowed like hell. The snow pack through April got up to something like 140% of normal. It was phat. I knew of people who were getting powder days in late March. I think this scenario is more likely and that makes me happy. Just got to wait is all...


Ive has last days of the season at Brighton with 2 feet of fresh lol thats depressing....

when we have shit years its not a total loss just because it keeps alot of the inbounds boulders logs rollers etc exposed ..so still fun to ride just no real good backcountry hiking days ... at Brighton once you hit the 100 inch base mark everything just starts to flatten out in bounds ... so slow starts arent all bad haha


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I should clarify that. I meant to say "late May". That is what happens when you type and hit reply. Yeah, plenty of end of season powder days. I had a 30" powder day at Copper on closing day 6 years ago or so. May 15th of that same year was something like a 16" pow day at Berthoud Pass...


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## CaptT (Sep 23, 2009)

Just a little heads up for anyone visiting Utah......they are selling discount passes in Costco for a smokin deal.....I think they had them for all the resorts in Utah too.....


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## GC24 (Sep 2, 2009)

Thanks for all your help guys.

I have narrowed it down to either Tahoe or Utah.
If we go to Tahoe we will most likely stay right near northstar or Squaw. And if we go to Utah we will most likely end up staying by the Canyons.

I noticed that lift tickets are interchangeable on the North Shore of Tahoe. I am assuming this is like the Vail resorts tickets where one can start off at one mountain and go to another one in the same day. Please let me know if I'm wrong.
Does anyone know if there are any interchangeable tickets between the Utah resorts?


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## NYinfamous2k2 (Aug 5, 2009)

CaptTenielle said:


> Just a little heads up for anyone visiting Utah......they are selling discount passes in Costco for a smokin deal.....I think they had them for all the resorts in Utah too.....


sweet, do you know if that is a temporary thing or is that going to go on all through jan, and is there a costco in SLC.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I saw that thing at Costco on Monday. I think it said for Park City area resorts. They were also selling tickets for A-Basin at a great price. Not sure if that one is local or if it's being carried by Costco's in other states. Obviously the Utah deal can be found in other states.


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## CaptT (Sep 23, 2009)

I am not sure how long they run it....I am guessing all season till they run out....I briefly remember them last year. There are two Costco's in SLC....

1818 South 300 West, Salt Lake City - (801) 401-1050
3747 Constitution Boulevard, Salt Lake City 
(801) 290-4202

I would call them and see if you can purchase over the phone and pick them up at customer service........

I do have a costco card if you need to use it for the purchase Ny....PM me and I will give you the info.....


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## NYinfamous2k2 (Aug 5, 2009)

DAMMNNN! Thats whats up Cap, im going to talk to the woman today and see what the plan is, cuz some of my boyz are backing out last min like little B!%ches so i dont know how many are definites.


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

theres some osrt of super pass that you can get at hotels here too that are at a discount and the one pass will let you ride all the slc resorts bird solitude brighton


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2009)

GC24 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> I am planning a vacation for me, my bro, his best friend, and our two dads.
> Right now we are leaning towards Aspen/Snowmass, Utah(parkcity, Brighton), or Lake Tahoe. We have been to Breck/Keystone and Vail/BC before and are looking to try something new.
> 
> ...


I don't know, about other resorts... but I do have a two bedroom apt, with kitchen, attached to our home and would like to rent it as much as possible this winter. We are three miles from the town of Crested Butte, Colorado.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Crested ButteNB said:


> I don't know, about other resorts... but I do have a two bedroom apt, with kitchen, attached to our home and would like to rent it as much as possible this winter. We are three miles from the town of Crested Butte, Colorado.


How much do you rent that for? Just curious. 

Crested Butte is a pretty rad mountain and town. If you want to visit one of the great ski towns in the West, CB is hard to beat.


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