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Colorado Ski Thread 2018/19 Season

Napoleon

By Napoleon
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LonghornJones

LonghornJones 838

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, HoustonHorn said:

We've always rented by Owner at the Grand Summit Lodge. We've been there 4 times and I still can't easily find my way around. It's pretty massive, but a decent place to stay at the base. Decent amenities. The base area has a big open area in the middle where kids can play, sometimes they have musicians, etc. Great ski school - I can give you a name if you or your family are looking for private lessons.

Transportation into town is provided and is free (+tip).

Staying here next month. Any recs on things to do that are walkable? Any good bars that are walkable? How is the pool/hot tub scene?

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HoustonHorn

HoustonHorn 1064

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, LonghornJones said:

Staying here next month. Any recs on things to do that are walkable? Any good bars that are walkable? How is the pool/hot tub scene? 

There's several restaurants with one of the being a bar restaurant that is basically attached to the lodge. There's another bar in the main center that is very close by and other restaurants. Pool and hottub scene is reasonable. They have two pretty large hottubs outside. They also have an indoor/outdoor heated pool. All of this is attached to a game area with ping pong tables, etc. More of a family friendly scene than a party scene. But after skiing and having two kids, that's more my style so I can't speak to late-night hottub parties.

It is easy to schedule transportation into town. Just call the front desk and you can set it up in advance. Takes less than 10 minutes to get into PC and they'll drop you off wherever in town. Tons of shops, restaurants, art boutiques, etc. in town. Not sure if you went through the GL itself or VRBO, but I don't believe they service rooms for VRBO, but I've found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful.

Edited by HoustonHorn
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

Considering buying because we'd actually use it a few times per year for skiing and during the summer and if we can get rental income to offset the cost then I'd like to maximize that. I also think that the Vail investment will generally increase the values of property in the area over the next 10+ years assuming you get the right place in the right area. For better or worse, Vail will make changes to grow the resort, improve amenities, etc. They've invested $1.2B in the last decade to improve and grow resorts and plans to spend another $175M this year. Having skied at Canyons/PC the last few years, Crested Butte was definitely a step behind as far as the overall experience. Not that it was bad - we had a great time and love the area. But things could definitely operate smoother and I expect that will happen sooner rather than later.

To add, I think the potential growth for CB is better than a lot of other places so if I'm going to buy something might as well try to find something that will appreciate over time. Obviously no guarantees, but I'm willing to take the chance the area will grow and prices over the long term will appreciate.

Yeah, I'm sure Vail will spend money to upgrade CB, but the distance from Denver, while a good thing for lift lines, will always limit the new development there to an extent.  But I would view that as a good thing.  

 

I think you're looking at it the right way.  I know many people who bought a vacation house intending to make money on it.  They were all disappointed, at least on the cash flow side of things.

Edited by Chewbacca
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crash_davis

crash_davis 23470

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Posted
7 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

Agree with a lot of what crash says above. PC is very busy. Canyons I think has improved a lot (only been in the last 5 years so can't comment on how it was before) and is generally much less crowded. Its enormous and you can spend almost an entire day just going from one side of the mountain to the other. Vail built a gondola to connect the two so you can actually ski both together now but it does take some time to make it to that side of the mountain on Canyons. Not sure what level skier you are but if you are a beginner and not comfortable skiing blues, do not go to Canyons. There is literally one tiny green slope off the High Meadow lift and nothing else accessible unless you can get down a blue. That said, the blues are generally pretty easy around Saddleback. 

For challenging blues - Lookout is a great, steep, pretty long run. Apex is a nice long run off of the Condor Express. Sidewinder and Cloud 9 have been blues in the past but appear to be marked as black now. When groomed, they are fantastic, steep blues. Lots of nice runs off of Dreamscape/Daybreak/Peak 5. I prefer skiing Canyons over PC.

Can't comment on the black runs, but there were definitely a lot of very challenging looking runs.

We've always rented by Owner at the Grand Summit Lodge. We've been there 4 times and I still can't easily find my way around. It's pretty massive, but a decent place to stay at the base. Decent amenities. The base area has a big open area in the middle where kids can play, sometimes they have musicians, etc. Great ski school - I can give you a name if you or your family are looking for private lessons.

Transportation into town is provided and is free (+tip).

If you are doing the main part of PCMR, depending on the time of year and wind, King Con Express can get very wind blown and icy.  Can get sketchy. If it's really crowded, which it usually is, go play up on Pioneer and McConkey's lifts.  They will be less crowded.  You can ride/ski from the top of Pioneer all the way down to base.  That's a fun long run.  Silverlode and Motherlode can also get really crowded.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

If you are doing the main part of PCMR, depending on the time of year and wind, King Con Express can get very wind blown and icy.  Can get sketchy. If it's really crowded, which it usually is, go play up on Pioneer and McConkey's lifts.  They will be less crowded.  You can ride/ski from the top of Pioneer all the way down to base.  That's a fun long run.  Silverlode and Motherlode can also get really crowded.

Love the Canyons. 9990 is a great area, the condor woods, and all the trails below it on that side of the ridge serviced by super condor is great in the morning.

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

Posted
Posted
Just booked the trip to Breck next month. What is everyone's preferred method of getting from Denver airport out there? Obviously renting a car is an idea but not sure we'd use it much once we got there. I saw some shuttle services as well.
Colorado mountain Express or home James are good options. Not sure If home James goes to breck.
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4th and 5

4th and 5 5005

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Bobby Light said:

Just booked the trip to Breck next month. What is everyone's preferred method of getting from Denver airport out there? Obviously renting a car is an idea but not sure we'd use it much once we got there. I saw some shuttle services as well.

CMA A/K/A Epic. No car needed in Breck. There are bus stops everywhere. At the grocery and outside the "provisions" store. If you know what I'm saying. Get the myfreeride app and you are golden

Edited by 4th and 5
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Nueces River Rat

Nueces River Rat 5796

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Bobby Light said:

Just booked the trip to Breck next month. What is everyone's preferred method of getting from Denver airport out there? Obviously renting a car is an idea but not sure we'd use it much once we got there. I saw some shuttle services as well.

Going up in the winter like you are doing, as mentioned above the shuttle route is the best  way to do it, especially if you are staying in town.  And really that goes for most of your ski resorts accessible from Denver.

In the summer time, I like to rent a vehicle so we can explore.   Only thing that can be a hassle is the Denver car rental set up at DIA.  I would advise anyone who wants to rent a car at DIA to join one of the rental car awards programs so you can get express check in and skip the lines.  

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Looks like there's gonna be good snow. Hitting Breck Thursday thru Sunday.  

The downtown historic strip has lots of great little restaurants. We've been going a few years now and, Breckenridge tap house is a place we've hit multiple times on Main st.  The Briar rose is a bit more upscale and pricier, but we hit it 2x last year, and it never failed to deliver.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12623

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1 hour ago, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

Hitting Breck on Thursday through Saturday for the first time.  Any recommendations on food, rentals, etc?  We're staying in the middle of downtown.

Angel's Hollow has fantastic Bloody Marys and good food.  Ollie's is a fun bar with good beer selection.  Good bar food.

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Upgrayedd

Upgrayedd 5892

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Posted
2 hours ago, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

Hitting Breck on Thursday through Saturday for the first time.  Any recommendations on food, rentals, etc?  We're staying in the middle of downtown.

 

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Looks like there's gonna be good snow. Hitting Breck Thursday thru Sunday.  

 

Friday thru Sunday here.  I'll be sure to question everyone on the chair if they are from the internet. 

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smwhorn

smwhorn 485

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I am headed to Steamboat next Wed-Sun.  We are staying at The Steamboat Grand.  We are flying to Hayden which according to Google Maps is about a 30 minute drive.  

Do I need to rent a car?  

Any restaurant recs?

Any restaurant/things to avoid?

Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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23 minutes ago, smwhorn said:

I am headed to Steamboat next Wed-Sun.  We are staying at The Steamboat Grand.  We are flying to Hayden which according to Google Maps is about a 30 minute drive.  

Do I need to rent a car?  

Any restaurant recs?

Any restaurant/things to avoid?

Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

Don't drink the water..... trust me on this one.  High sulphur content makes you fart all the live long day.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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That's scary ass shit. Did they have warnings about the area ?  Getting caught off guard by an inbounds slide is bad. Ski patrol really should be on top of that . I never Give slides much thought when I'm skiing inbounds typically.  

There are some places we bootpack to that you look above to see what it's looking like, but they're all pretty much in bounds except for some of the out of bounds stuff we ski to the right of Blue sky basin in Vail, (as you go up the lift).

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Question:  Haven't flown American in a while. Do they still consider ski bag and boot bag as 1 bag ?  Their site says the ski boot bag cannot have anything but boots, helmet or in gets charged as a second checked bag.  

But... they don't say your ski bag can't have more than just skis. I use my ski bag as my suitcase.

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Upgrayedd

Upgrayedd 5892

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14 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Question:  Haven't flown American in a while. Do they still consider ski bag and boot bag as 1 bag ?  Their site says the ski boot bag cannot have anything but boots, helmet or in gets charged as a second checked bag.  

But... they don't say your ski bag can't have more than just skis. I use my ski bag as my suitcase.

Don't know about AA, but I have always carried my boot bag on (SWA and Allegiant).  I stuff everything (boots, helmet, googles, gear) into the boot bag that I need to ski.  If they lose my skis, I can always rent.  I don't want to rent boots and my other gear.

 

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GlenFromTheMailRoom

GlenFromTheMailRoom 1640

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On 1/21/2019 at 4:32 PM, smwhorn said:

I am headed to Steamboat next Wed-Sun.  We are staying at The Steamboat Grand.  We are flying to Hayden which according to Google Maps is about a 30 minute drive.  

Do I need to rent a car?  

Any restaurant recs?

Any restaurant/things to avoid?

Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

The shepherd's pie at O'Neill's is awesome.  The place is pretty cool as well - it's in the basement of a historic building.   The sushi place in town isn't bad either.  

At Hayden you deplane on the runway so if it's cold that day, bundle up before getting off the plane.  It's not a short walk to the terminal.

You can get a shuttle to the Grand but it's not super walkable to anything if you're wanting to leave the resort.  Last time I was there, they had Uber/Lyft etc.

If you need rentals on anything run by ski haus and ask for Mata.  Super nice dude and will actually take you on some pretty awesome lesser known runs if he's not working in the afternoon.  

If you're taking anyone with you that needs lessons, ask for Robert (goes by Roberto).   Younger guy with a beard that was great with our youngest for being her first time skiing.  When she was 6.

Enjoy steamboat.   It's a pretty great place.

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XYZ

XYZ 2154

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10 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

Don't know about AA, but I have always carried my boot bag on (SWA and Allegiant).  I stuff everything (boots, helmet, googles, gear) into the boot bag that I need to ski.  If they lose my skis, I can always rent.  I don't want to rent boots and my other gear.

You guys fly commercial? Eww!

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Kennythetiger

Kennythetiger 9626

Posted
Posted
On 1/21/2019 at 4:32 PM, smwhorn said:

I am headed to Steamboat next Wed-Sun.  We are staying at The Steamboat Grand.  We are flying to Hayden which according to Google Maps is about a 30 minute drive.  

Do I need to rent a car?  

Any restaurant recs?

Any restaurant/things to avoid?

Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

We were recommended the Ore House on our first trip.  Seemed a little "touristy" at first but it really was great food.  If you use Uber, might want to hang out downtown as long as possible, as the mountain is a little ways away.  

If you go to Strawberry Park to relax after skiing, there's no glass allowed.  Also, take a flashlight.  It's darker than shit, and all of the steps are muddy, icy, and slick.  Just always point the light down instead of at the other people.  

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

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Posted
2 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

We were recommended the Ore House on our first trip.  Seemed a little "touristy" at first but it really was great food.  If you use Uber, might want to hang out downtown as long as possible, as the mountain is a little ways away.  

If you go to Strawberry Park to relax after skiing, there's no glass allowed.  Also, take a flashlight.  It's darker than shit, and all of the steps are muddy, icy, and slick.  Just always point the light down instead of at the other people.  

Is the Ore House the steakhouse down on the river?  Whatever restaurant that is was great.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Posted
2 minutes ago, huge said:

I am going to be in Boulder for a weekend in March and want to drive to a mountain to ski for a day.

Winter Park?  Or Summit area?

Guy I'm sitting here in the condo with says Breck.  Hard to get to lots of places in the winter (if you aren't near I 70) because some roads get closed.  2 hr drive to Breck from Boulder.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

Like I-70 last night west of the Eisenhower tunnel?  I should have been in Breck by midnight.  Instead, I roll in at 3 AM.

Fucking jack-knifed truck.

Well you're getting here with some good powder on the ground.  Fresh stashes everywhere. The tree runs are really good everywhere. We had 6-8" fresh yesterday.

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

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4 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Guy I'm sitting here in the condo with says Breck.  Hard to get to lots of places in the winter (if you aren't near I 70) because some roads get closed.  2 hr drive to Breck from Boulder.

Where is it hard to get in the winter?  We have plows here.

 

Trail Ridge closes and some high mountain passes close, but no major throughfares close due to snow in the winter.  Your buddy is full of shit.

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huge

huge 3831

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

Like I-70 last night west of the Eisenhower tunnel?  I should have been in Breck by midnight.  Instead, I roll in at 3 AM.

Fucking jack-knifed truck.

 

29 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Where is it hard to get in the winter?  We have plows here.

 

Trail Ridge closes and some high mountain passes close, but no major throughfares close due to snow in the winter.  Your buddy is full of shit.

There is a middle ground obviously.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Where is it hard to get in the winter?  We have plows here.

 

Trail Ridge closes and some high mountain passes close, but no major throughfares close due to snow in the winter.  Your buddy is full of shit.

A local says there's a road that goes from Boulder to Winter Park area that closes in the winter if weather gets bad. Of course he's full of shit he's my friend.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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14 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
34 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:
A local says there's a road that goes from Boulder to Winter Park area that closes in the winter if weather gets bad. Of course he's full of shit he's my friend.

Yeah, that's a high mountain pass. It's hardly a main thoroughfare.

My bad, I don't have a dog in this fight. The kid is a native Co. boy, Granddad ran cattle between Co and Texas apparently.  Great Grandma came over in a Conestoga.  He apparently knows the back ways  thru the area.

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

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Posted
My bad, I don't have a dog in this fight. The kid is a native Co. boy, Granddad ran cattle between Co and Texas apparently.  Great Grandma came over in a Conestoga.  He apparently knows the back ways  thru the area.
That pass goes over the Continental Divide. And it is a single lane dirt track. I've been on it in the summer.

No worries, though. I doubt it is faster than the interstate.
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Napoleon

Napoleon 8832

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On 1/25/2019 at 8:20 AM, Chewbacca said:
On 1/25/2019 at 8:18 AM, huge said:
I am going to be in Boulder for a weekend in March and want to drive to a mountain to ski for a day.
Winter Park?  Or Summit area?

Eldora is closest. WP is probably next closest.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 8:21 AM, huge said:

Ive never been to or even heard of Eldora, is it worth a shit?

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:48 AM, Chewbacca said:
On 1/25/2019 at 8:21 AM, huge said:
Ive never been to or even heard of Eldora, is it worth a shit?

No. But it is close to Boulder. It's a locals place. But if you are strapped for time it is probably your best bet.


Eldora is where people who live in Boulder go for a day out to ski with the family.

I've never been, but my guess is that it is like Arapaho Basin... A mountains, a few lifts, a ski rental/ski school building at the base and a cafe/restaurant at the base... and a big parking lot.

It is on the IKON Pass, so many of those people get the IKON Pass and then go to Steamboat or maybe Aspen (Snowmass?) for a long weekend once or twice during the season, but it's about a 45 minute drive from Boulder, so it is the local mountain where people go to spend part of a day on the weekend... or perhaps leave work at lunch at get a half-day in.

If you have access to the internet, you can find out more about it.

Winter Park is also on the IKON Pass, so if those people feel like driving a little further, then Winter Park might be their destination. Again, I've never been, but Winter Park appears to be like Keystone- A collection of condos and an insta-town at the base of the mountain so there are a few shops and dining/bar options to choose from. It seems like it was never a town before it became the base of a ski mountain... like Keystone looked to me.

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7830

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11 hours ago, Napoleon said:

 

 


Eldora is where people who live in Boulder go for a day out to ski with the family.

I've never been, but my guess is that it is like Arapaho Basin... A mountains, a few lifts, a ski rental/ski school building at the base and a cafe/restaurant at the base... and a big parking lot.

It is on the IKON Pass, so many of those people get the IKON Pass and then go to Steamboat or maybe Aspen (Snowmass?) for a long weekend once or twice during the season, but it's about a 45 minute drive from Boulder, so it is the local mountain where people go to spend part of a day on the weekend... or perhaps leave work at lunch at get a half-day in.

If you have access to the internet, you can find out more about it.

Winter Park is also on the IKON Pass, so if those people feel like driving a little further, then Winter Park might be their destination. Again, I've never been, but Winter Park appears to be like Keystone- A collection of condos and an insta-town at the base of the mountain so there are a few shops and dining/bar options to choose from. It seems like it was never a town before it became the base of a ski mountain... like Keystone looked to me.

Most people in Denver who have the IKON pass will ski primarily at Winter Park or Copper Mountain.  If you have the EPIC pass, you're probably doing most of your skiing at Breck or Vail.  But the big benefit of those passes is that they enable the pass holders to chase snow.  And if you want to take a long weekend somewhere like Steamboat or Crested Butte you can.

Winter Park is much more of a community than Keystone.  Yes, you have the condos at the base of the mountain, but the town of Winter Park is 5 minutes away from the resort.

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