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Ski(mask) season, 2020-2021

chesthair

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chesthair

chesthair 231

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Scrolling through vrbo now planning our ski vacation, week between xmas-NY.  Taking a family of 4 with us (we are 4 too) and FML, we are driving this year.  Driving from Dallas and would normally would do Wolf Creek or even Taos but the wimmins are demanding a "cool" town to hang out in since they will not ski.  I'm guessing Breck is the closest "cool" town if we are driving?  Any other suggestions?  

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jdhorn92

jdhorn92 1545

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On 9/10/2020 at 9:06 PM, chesthair said:

Scrolling through vrbo now planning our ski vacation, week between xmas-NY.  Taking a family of 4 with us (we are 4 too) and FML, we are driving this year.  Driving from Dallas and would normally would do Wolf Creek or even Taos but the wimmins are demanding a "cool" town to hang out in since they will not ski.  I'm guessing Breck is the closest "cool" town if we are driving?  Any other suggestions?  

We have gone to Park City the last 2 years.  We go dec 27- Jan1.  Too far imo to drive from Dallas,  but SLC is only 45 min drive to Park City. My wife does not ski, so for us, having cool walkable town close to the slopes was a must.  We can fly non-stop from MSY-SLC on Delta using points.

Park City has touched all the boxes for us.  First year,  we stayed across the street from the Park City Mountain base, but it was too noisy at night.  The unit we stayed in was older and I suppose that contributed to the noise as the windows were older and the walls paper thin.  The nice thing about being so close is my 3 daughters and i walked to the slopes each day.  Last year we stayed  downtown, off main st.  Ideal location, wife dropped us off each day and one day I walked back to the condo, great walk (bought a beer to go and barely finished, b/c we were so close). The walk-ability of downtown Park City is amazing, so many things for my wife to do; shopping, coffee, library etc.. ideal.  So many cool shops, she stayed busy and loved it.  She ran into a friedn from home (didnt know they were there) and they hung out all day, made the trip for her.  We cooked in two nights and ate out two nights.  Its pricey, but worth it.  We're eating at Ruth's Chris NYE this year, $$$.  not looking forward to that bill.  Girls will be happy.

The skiing is top notch, i had been to PC on a YoungLife trip in HS, but other than that, I have skied CO a ton.  Born and raised up in SoCal (until HS years), so grew skiing Mammoth.  To me Park City is on par with Vail in terms of family friendly and plenty of runs for all ski levels.  Im 50 now, so didnt really hit the Blacks but the Blues and greens are great.  they have a green  run (has to be  couple miles at least, Homerun) from near the top all the way to the base. Nice long run.

The dining options on the mountain are 2nd to none, plenty of options and we rarely went to the bottom.  Adjacent to PC is the Canyons, and makes for a hell of day to do the loop, its really a great way to map out your day to do both Mountains in one day, awesome. 

 

It's cold in Dec, no doubt, but the gear these days neutralizes the cold, we haven't skied a day over 10degrees the last 2 years, but we stayed warm.  My only down thing about PC is at about 2pm you lose the sun, and the wind usually whips up and the last 2 hours are a challenge, but that's what the hottub is for.

 

Park Station Condo is the ideal spot imo to stay if you are looking for economical, but still want location and space. Main St is literally out the back exit and essentially is at the end of main st.  Free bus rides and there is a stop outside Park Station.  we have a 3 bedroom this year, last year we stayed for $2500 in a 2 br. Two of my girls doubled up, third shared the king master and i took the pull out, but a nice fire and brown water suited me fine. Prices nearly double this year, as they are not letting check-ins, on checkout days, so i suppose they are recouping some lost revenue.

 

 

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chesthair

chesthair 231

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Thanks for that.  I go to PC every summer and have skied it a few times...it is almost perfect.  We ended up getting a vrbo in Silverthorne so we can hit all the places in Summit for skiing and the wives will be happy.  Someone mentioned poshmark to me for buying ski clothes for everyone...is that the best place to outfit the fam?  Also, my next big issue is that I am old now and have had surgery on both knees since the last time i skied (18 years ago).  Like you, I'll stay off the blacks and Ill probably just get a couple knee braces.  Anyway, thanks for the input, PC will be on the list next year. 

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ballrific

ballrific 215

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or learn to snowboard.  The hips/wrists/ass will be sore as hell learning at an older age but it's much easier on the knees Ive noticed since I guess the board keeps them a bit more secure where on skis your legs/knees can twist anywhere.  Pretty sure skiers 40+ yrs old keep orthopedics in business.  I still ski if I'm going with slows/kids and/or not sober on the mountain.

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closetojumping

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On 11/4/2020 at 7:42 PM, jdhorn92 said:

We have gone to Park City the last 2 years.  We go dec 27- Jan1.  Too far imo to drive from Dallas,  but SLC is only 45 min drive to Park City. My wife does not ski, so for us, having cool walkable town close to the slopes was a must.  We can fly non-stop from MSY-SLC on Delta using points.

Park City has touched all the boxes for us.  First year,  we stayed across the street from the Park City Mountain base, but it was too noisy at night.  The unit we stayed in was older and I suppose that contributed to the noise as the windows were older and the walls paper thin.  The nice thing about being so close is my 3 daughters and i walked to the slopes each day.  Last year we stayed  downtown, off main st.  Ideal location, wife dropped us off each day and one day I walked back to the condo, great walk (bought a beer to go and barely finished, b/c we were so close). The walk-ability of downtown Park City is amazing, so many things for my wife to do; shopping, coffee, library etc.. ideal.  So many cool shops, she stayed busy and loved it.  She ran into a friedn from home (didnt know they were there) and they hung out all day, made the trip for her.  We cooked in two nights and ate out two nights.  Its pricey, but worth it.  We're eating at Ruth's Chris NYE this year, $$$.  not looking forward to that bill.  Girls will be happy.

The skiing is top notch, i had been to PC on a YoungLife trip in HS, but other than that, I have skied CO a ton.  Born and raised up in SoCal (until HS years), so grew skiing Mammoth.  To me Park City is on par with Vail in terms of family friendly and plenty of runs for all ski levels.  Im 50 now, so didnt really hit the Blacks but the Blues and greens are great.  they have a green  run (has to be  couple miles at least, Homerun) from near the top all the way to the base. Nice long run.

The dining options on the mountain are 2nd to none, plenty of options and we rarely went to the bottom.  Adjacent to PC is the Canyons, and makes for a hell of day to do the loop, its really a great way to map out your day to do both Mountains in one day, awesome. 

 

It's cold in Dec, no doubt, but the gear these days neutralizes the cold, we haven't skied a day over 10degrees the last 2 years, but we stayed warm.  My only down thing about PC is at about 2pm you lose the sun, and the wind usually whips up and the last 2 hours are a challenge, but that's what the hottub is for.

 

Park Station Condo is the ideal spot imo to stay if you are looking for economical, but still want location and space. Main St is literally out the back exit and essentially is at the end of main st.  Free bus rides and there is a stop outside Park Station.  we have a 3 bedroom this year, last year we stayed for $2500 in a 2 br. Two of my girls doubled up, third shared the king master and i took the pull out, but a nice fire and brown water suited me fine. Prices nearly double this year, as they are not letting check-ins, on checkout days, so i suppose they are recouping some lost revenue.

 

 

Pretty solid write-up on Park City. We're heading out there for the week this next Monday morning. I don't ski, but our little kids do, so they'll have a blast. I think it is a great place for a holiday trip and we've been for Thanksgiving week 5-6 times in the past decade+. We stay in a vrbo above the town, usually, and this year we're splitting it with another couple. It's a big ass house and still way less expensive than hotel options.

Last year it snowed the whole time and was amazing. The forecast this year looks plenty cold and it has already snowed a bunch, but no snow all week, so oh well, it should still be awesome. I'm hoping restrictions don't prevent parties of 10 from being able to eat at most of the places. 

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Gucci_Suit

Gucci_Suit 2643

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Hitting Beaver Creek 12/10 but just canceled my annual Santa Fe NYE trip. Can’t imagine things will go well in NM with Covid, things rarely work well there anyway. 

As for non-skier ski towns: PC, Beaver Creek, Breck, Vail, Aspen are all good. Hard to beat PC. I also ski Bachelor a lot (at least 1x per year or so) and while it’s a 30-min hike from Bend to the hill, the city of Bend is great. Good connects into airport there too. 

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Chewbacca

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3 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Do people who ski actually wear helmets? I've seen so many pictures from last season where almost everyone was wearing one. I haven't been skiing in a few years but when I did I've never worn a helmet. Ever. New trend or am I just a danger seeker without realizing it? 

Yes, everyone (or damn near everyone) wears a helmet these days.

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blacklab

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57 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Do people who ski actually wear helmets? I've seen so many pictures from last season where almost everyone was wearing one. I haven't been skiing in a few years but when I did I've never worn a helmet. Ever. New trend or am I just a danger seeker without realizing it? 

About 5 years ago went to Crested Butte and wore a baseball hat like I always did. Went into one of the places on the hill and realized I was the only person in the place without a helmet.

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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3159

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Do people who ski actually wear helmets? I've seen so many pictures from last season where almost everyone was wearing one. I haven't been skiing in a few years but when I did I've never worn a helmet. Ever. New trend or am I just a danger seeker without realizing it? 

It seems like somewhere around 2014-2015 it went from being 20% helmet usage to 95% helmet usage. Definitely recommend a helmet.
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jdhorn92

jdhorn92 1545

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On 11/16/2020 at 1:41 PM, HRSchenker said:

Do people who ski actually wear helmets? I've seen so many pictures from last season where almost everyone was wearing one. I haven't been skiing in a few years but when I did I've never worn a helmet. Ever. New trend or am I just a danger seeker without realizing it? 

Yes, they are as good for warmth as they are safety.  Too many boarders and rookies whizzing  by, not to mention the occasional diversion through the trees.  Wearing a helmet is a no brainer (no pun intended).

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Chewbacca

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21 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

Helmet with bluetooth speakers 🙂 

Ugh.  Only if you maintain situational awareness.  Far too many do not and they can't hear you when you say 'on your left', etc.  I would not ski with both ears listening to music, especially on a busy day.

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Onboard 2.0

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36 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Ugh.  Only if you maintain situational awareness.  Far too many do not and they can't hear you when you say 'on your left', etc.  I would not ski with both ears listening to music, especially on a busy day.

Yep, I wanna hear what's going on around me.  Like HEAAAAAAAADS UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPP !!!!!

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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3159

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Scheduled to tag along with a group to Telluride the week after NYD... airfare on swa so not worried about that, but our rental fee goes 50% hard on Dec 3. THAT I am worried about as I’m expecting the rest of Dec to be a complete shit show.

We booked Telluride in early February. We already put down a non-refundable deposit on the house but most of it is not due until late January. Also bought lift tickets given that they are on a limited basis this year. I give it a 30% chance of happening based on the current Covid trends.
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chesthair

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13 hours ago, bluto said:

If the lifts are closed is there much anything else in the area to fill the time?

Ill have 4 HS boys with us so a day snowmobiling and some tubing runs.  Didnt think about the helmet thing, I'm sure i had 5-10 concussions in my ute skiing, guess Ill wear one this year.  I really hope they dont shut down, granted I'm planning on 1 billion people being there the week after C'mas but I would think after the shut down in the spring and another one this winter would crush the resorts, businesses, small towns that count on skiers for survival.  

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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3159

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If the lifts are closed is there much anything else in the area to fill the time?

Telluride is a badass town but if COVID is bad enough to close ski lifts then I’m assuming restaurants are also closed or perhaps Colorado is simply on lockdown. I would hope lodging and lift ticket expenses get rolled over to the following year.
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Chewbacca

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Telluride is a badass town but if COVID is bad enough to close ski lifts then I’m assuming restaurants are also closed or perhaps Colorado is simply on lockdown. I would hope lodging and lift ticket expenses get rolled over to the following year.
Shit, half the state is almost at the point where restaurants will have to close to indoor dining. Maybe it will get better in the next month, but with the holidays coming along, i doubt it. Takeout will be open, but this isn't the year i would be planning a ski vacation.
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jdhorn92

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On 11/18/2020 at 9:17 AM, chesthair said:

Ill have 4 HS boys with us so a day snowmobiling and some tubing runs.  Didnt think about the helmet thing, I'm sure i had 5-10 concussions in my ute skiing, guess Ill wear one this year.  I really hope they dont shut down, granted I'm planning on 1 billion people being there the week after C'mas but I would think after the shut down in the spring and another one this winter would crush the resorts, businesses, small towns that count on skiers for survival.  

According to epic pass folks, there won’t be nearly as many lift tickets issued, so from a crowd standpoint, it may actually be a decent time to ski. Now, they may limit employee count and amenities too, so That could even it out and suck. But if they have the full compliment of staff, may actually be like skiing with half the people 

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
2 hours ago, milkman said:
If you can find some spare change between the couch cushions maybe look into the Yellowstone Club. If I was a betting man they will not get shut down.

Pretty sure you have to be a homeowner to ski there, don't you?

Aren't we all ?  Man I thought this place had some class....

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

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On 11/18/2020 at 10:18 PM, wild_turkey said:


Telluride is a badass town but if COVID is bad enough to close ski lifts then I’m assuming restaurants are also closed or perhaps Colorado is simply on lockdown. I would hope lodging and lift ticket expenses get rolled over to the following year.

We were in Telluride last March when it closed, and if the mountain closes, the whole town will shut down.  We caught the tail end of restaurants being open, but everyone basically said, "if you don't live here, then you need to leave".  Granted, that was right when shit started hitting the fan, and nobody had any clue with regards to contagiousness or how COVID spread.  

We're going back there for a re-do in March over spring break.  Based on the limited capacity on lift ticket sales, I'm anticipating the mountain to be open, but bars / restaurants to be at a minimum of severely reduced capacity and maybe even closed completely.  As previously posted, I think trips to ski resorts this winter will be fine if you're in a VRBO and prefer to be low-key, then you may have an awesome trip if the snow is good.  Lift lines should be short and the mountains should be wide open.  But, if you're looking at a hotel-style room and enjoy the apres ski experience and milling around with lots of friends, this may not be the year for you.

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triplehorn

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Worth a watch if you missed it before.  I caught it on amazon vid

 

Guys ski trip this winter was heading to Jackson Hole for the first time but got scuttled.  No Utah either to be safe.  There is a decent chance we'll all converge by auto at a pad in NoCal, lay low and hit Sierra resorts for single days depending.  Kirkwood, for one.  But it's an easy plan to cancel if basic safety considerations are too high almost 3 months from now.  

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phdhorn

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Oh, man, sorry.  That is awful.  But one reason I held off this year.  It was just too risky.  Didn't buy a pass, no bookings yet, nothing.  I might leap for something in late Jan. or Feb. if things get better, but this year was just too much of a gamble.

For no particular reason, and this is not the most exciting ski video you will ever see (by far, lol!), phd jr. and I did a "cheap bastard" tour of a few slopes last year - we went to Loveland, Cooper, and Monarch, and stayed in Buena Vista cheap.  The trip was modular (i.e. if we didn't do a day or something we wouldn't lose out on the entire trip), and very, very fun.  And all of these 3 mountains provide more than enough skiing even at the expert level to make you happy.  In a mid-January trip, no one at all was around (cf. the video) and we had the entire area almost to ourselves each day.

This is Monarch, moving through about 6" of new powder, the boy took a shot of dad (me) easing through it.  Again you won't be riveted to your screen, but you hopefully can feel the nice soft schuss through the ankle (and in some places mid-calf) deep snow.  Quite a fun day.

So here's virtual skiing in today's virtual 2020 world (only about 40 secs):

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RoI-QjwCMJwUXH1yuT0qA5Vp42rNCi08/view?usp=sharing

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AngryDragon

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25 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Oh, man, sorry.  That is awful.  But one reason I held off this year.  It was just too risky.  Didn't buy a pass, no bookings yet, nothing.  I might leap for something in late Jan. or Feb. if things get better, but this year was just too much of a gamble.

For no particular reason, and this is not the most exciting ski video you will ever see (by far, lol!), phd jr. and I did a "cheap bastard" tour of a few slopes last year - we went to Loveland, Cooper, and Monarch, and stayed in Buena Vista cheap.  The trip was modular (i.e. if we didn't do a day or something we wouldn't lose out on the entire trip), and very, very fun.  And all of these 3 mountains provide more than enough skiing even at the expert level to make you happy.  In a mid-January trip, no one at all was around (cf. the video) and we had the entire area almost to ourselves each day.

This is Monarch, moving through about 6" of new powder, the boy took a shot of dad (me) easing through it.  Again you won't be riveted to your screen, but you hopefully can feel the nice soft schuss through the ankle (and in some places mid-calf) deep snow.  Quite a fun day.

So here's virtual skiing in today's virtual 2020 world (only about 40 secs):

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RoI-QjwCMJwUXH1yuT0qA5Vp42rNCi08/view?usp=sharing

Loveland is underrated. Had a good time every time I've ridden that mountain. 

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wild_turkey

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Well...24 hours before we were leaving for Breck, get a call that summit county shut us down.  The wonderful people at vrbo offered 20% back, epic pass told me to F myself...So, I am out around $3-4,000.  Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

I don’t see anything online that skiing is shut down in Breck. Details here?
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SMUlawUTgrad

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Well...24 hours before we were leaving for Breck, get a call that summit county shut us down.  The wonderful people at vrbo offered 20% back, epic pass told me to F myself...So, I am out around $3-4,000.  Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

We’re already booked for this thanksgiving. I’m happy vaccinations should be in full effect so that this won’t happen.
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7767

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Well...24 hours before we were leaving for Breck, get a call that summit county shut us down.  The wonderful people at vrbo offered 20% back, epic pass told me to F myself...So, I am out around $3-4,000.  Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!
Can't say i feel that bad. Why travel during a pandemic?

Although if you haven't used your Epic passes, i think they roll over to next year. I know Ikon does.
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phdhorn

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1 hour ago, AngryDragon said:

Loveland is underrated. Had a good time every time I've ridden that mountain. 

Agreed, and it has some of the most challenging terrain around. Very underrated place, but let's just keep it that way, the crowds can go under the tunnel to the big names and crowds.

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Chewbacca

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I don’t see anything online that skiing is shut down in Breck. Details here?
Looking at the first post in this thread, he was 100 percent trying to skirt the 1 household per rental regulations and got caught.
[mention=1724]chesthair[/mention], you can suck it. Shit like that is exactly what the mountain communities are trying to avoid and i guarantee you knew about it and thought you could get away with it.
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PRONG HORN

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6 hours ago, phdhorn said:

Agreed, and it has some of the most challenging terrain around. Very underrated place, but let's just keep it that way, the crowds can go under the tunnel to the big names and crowds.

 

My elementary school would take charter bus loads of kids up to Loveland three or four times a year.  

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Pato del Muerto

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3 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Looking at the first post in this thread, he was 100 percent trying to skirt the 1 household per rental regulations and got caught.
[mention=1724]chesthair[/mention], you can suck it. Shit like that is exactly what the mountain communities are trying to avoid and i guarantee you knew about it and thought you could get away with it.

Is that just in Colorado?  Because that’s what we’re doing in Montana in March, and I wasn’t aware it was an issue. 

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Newdoc

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5 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Is that just in Colorado?  Because that’s what we’re doing in Montana in March, and I wasn’t aware it was an issue. 

Summit county as far as I know. We booked before restrictions changed. I received two emails offering free cancellation on my early January booking if we planned on having more than one household in the condo. We don’t.

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