Ski/Snowboard talk/pics/whatever thread
02-13-2009
, 09:05 AM
02-13-2009
, 12:51 PM
02-14-2009
, 05:43 AM
02-18-2009
, 03:44 AM
Quote:
Heading to Steamboat and Aspen for a 10-day'ish trip with some friends in a couple weeks. Everyone who has been there, any recommendations or tips? Can be ski-related (good mogul runs, whatever) or mountain-related (food, drinks, etc.)?
Also, finally got a new ski shell, it's this super-light Arcteryx, which is sweet, b/c I hate skiing in big bulky shells, so maybe I will actually wear this one from time to time...no real reason to post that, just giddy to go test it out...
Also, finally got a new ski shell, it's this super-light Arcteryx, which is sweet, b/c I hate skiing in big bulky shells, so maybe I will actually wear this one from time to time...no real reason to post that, just giddy to go test it out...
Sounds sweet, I'm jealous!! If you're a good skier, I would definitely recommend checking out Aspen Highlands mountain. I spent a week in Aspen for new years and one of my regrets was only spending one day on this bad boy. Try the Highlands Bowl if you're into some extreme backcountry, but the climb is a ****ing BITCH so you better be either in real good shape or dedicated like I was.
As far as eats go, everything is so good in Aspen, you can't go wrong. If you're a sushi buff, definitely try Matsuhisa for the best fish on the continent. There's two or three other sushi joints around there but don't bother with any of those.btw, what is a "ski shell" exactly?
02-24-2009
, 06:02 PM
03-03-2009
, 09:39 AM
Alright, just got back from Killington, VT. You'll have to forgive the TL;DR trip report, but I'm from Michigan damn it, we don't have skiing like this.
Just the girlfriend and I going, 5 night stay, 4 days of skiing.
So driving to Killington from Michigan thru Canada. Left about 7am, took about 12 hours, with a quick stop at Niagara falls and for lunch.
took a wrong turn around Saratoga Springs, cost about 15 minutes, oh well. Then we got to VT. absolutly dumping snow. going about 25mph on the highway seciton of route 4. white out conditions in some spots. It was so bad there was a full size plow/snow truck spun out in the ditch. Not a pickup truck, I mean a huge fullsize plow.
So we finally get there around 7:30. 12,5 hour total drive time, should have been 11 hours, but with Niagara stop and weather, not too bad. Grab dinner at an Peppinos (good pasta), and call it a night.
Niagara in Winter
Monday. Out of bed, 7am, at mountain by 8:30, on lift at 9am. It is still dumping snow, you can't see anything. Powder is ridiculous (for out east) turns out Killington had been hit with 18"-20" in the last 24 hours. However Monday we have nothing but problems. I have brand new ski boots. Wearing them around, they felt fine. Skiing on them, not working. Boots were too tight in the feet. Felt like I was skiing using only my thighs. Fortunately, I had brought my old boots. I lost about an hour and a half swapping boots, but it could have been much worse. We were back on the slopes for afternoon skiing. I was much, much better with my old boots, however the girlfriend was having issues. Skiing thru pretty deep powder was taking its toll on her. For anyone familiar with Killington, Great Eastern had a couple inches of powder, which I thought was amazing considering how much it is skied. At one point we were at the K-1 peak, skiing off on a blue when the snow and wind hit the point of ridiculous. Girlfriend was nearly in tears because she couldn't see anything and was practically too scared to ski. to give an example of how bad the visibility was, from about half way down snowshed slope, you could not see the lodge. At this point, I decide to call it a day, I don't want to ruin the trip with a horrid first day. We get back to the hotel, grab a drink, hit the outdoor heated pool and relax. The gf is clearly concerned. Last year we went to Blue Mountain in canada and she did not have a great time with the skiing. I had picked Killington this year, because I knew the mountain had a large variety of terrain, and you could ski greens and blues down from the peaks. However after the first day, it looked like the mountain was much tougher than I had said. Grabbed dinner that wasn't very good to cap off the night. Not looking good after the first ski day.
First view of Killington (um, not really, picture taken Tuesday, couldn't see anything thru snow Monday.)
Cascade from the gondola (black/double black off of K-1 Peak)
Tuesday. Up at 7:30am. Lot of snow on the ground, but not currently snowing. Absolutely beautiful day. Sun is out, about 10 degrees. After a pretty rough day Monday, both of our spirits our up slightly because of the weather. We step out of our hotel and for the first time she can actually ski killington and is amazed. But we still haven't put the skis on yet... We get there and the groomers have been hard at work. I know everyone here is all about the powder, but after Monday, I'm relieved to see some ski conditions that involved a little less work. We park at Ramshead base, and ski over to Snowdon, K-1, Skye, everywhere. Have a fantastic time. She finds some runs she really likes (frolic, bear tracks, launch pad), all greens and pretty easy, but nice scenery and a big improvement over yesterday. We also skied a lot of blues, no blacks that day. The blues were skiing really nice, fresh layer of groomed snow made for almost no ice, and some nice quick runs without working your ass off. Bear claw on bear mountain was really nice that day. Now is a good time to mention, that Killington mid week is E M P T Y. there were a large number of times we skied right on to lifts. Most times less than a minute. I'd say the gondolas were under 3 minutes. Actual skiing was wide open and you weren't getting run over. After skiing, grabbed some beer and hit the pool. Went to dinner at a place called Garlic. Cool atmosphere, very good food. Definitely worth a try.
Girlfriend taking a break on one of the blues - in before donotwant.jpg dowant.jpg maybewantafternap.jpg
Just a good shot of surrounding area.
Wednesday. Same conditions, but about 15-20 degrees warmer. Excellent day for skiing. Now, if you read the first two ski days, you'll know that we weren't exactly killing ourselves on black diamonds. Someone had told us that the black portion of Jug is skiing like a blue. For those not familiar, The Jug is a run that starts blue, turns black about midway, and there is a green that cuts across at the midway point called escape. So we ski the blue portion down to escape and look down at the rest. It doesn't look bad at all, so we head on down the black portion of Jug. Anyone want to guess where this is going? In retrospect, they are not going to put a green run called escape mid way thru a run if "it skis like a blue". So we are in the second half of the jug, come to a ridge and are presented with a choice. Continue on Jug, it isn't overly steep, but is about 12' wide, all moguled up, and has poles for a chair lift running in the middle of it. Second choice is another run, called jug handle, much wider, significantly steeper, and also moguled up. After some profanity, the gf decides to go with narrow and less steep. Personally, I would rather take the steeper/wider one, but I'm not arguing. Pretty tough run in my opinion, mainly because so narrow. after a while, we both make it down, both going down once. We are pretty beat, and take a rest afterward. Ski out the rest of the day on K-1 and Skye peaks. Just beautiful. Again, pool and dinner. Went to Sushi Yoshi that night for hibachi. It was good, pretty standard hibachi place.
Me taking a break on one of the blues - in before donotwant.jpg dowant.jpg maybewantafternap.jpg
Frozen Trees & Blue Sky
Thursday. Last day of skiing. Temp is about 20 degrees. Slight overcast, slight flurries, but nothing like Monday. Another great day. Went back to a lot of our favorite runs. Also got in a lot of the blues I had wanted to hit but hadn't had the chance (squeeze play, rime, cruise control). Hit Wilfire (black) over on Bear mountain. It was moguled up, but not steep and very wide. GF doesn't like moguls, but it was pretty easy for a mogul run, and much less dramatic than The Jug. While on the Bear Mountain quad, we saw some people doing Outter Limits. I think its the longest/steepest mogul run out east, just looks ridiculous, did not try that. Other black I snuck in was part of Needle's Eye. Didn't take it from Skye Peak, but cut in about 1/2 way thru the black section. After the moguls at in the black section, it turns into a nice steep blue (steep for a blue ldo) right along the Skye Ship Gondola. After skiing did the pool and dinner. Went to dinner at a bed and breakfast called birch ridge inn. Dinner was fantastic. GF had beef tournadoes, I had lamb tenderloin. The tenderloin was massive for $29. Very nice wine list. Bottles from $30 to $250 and everything in between. definitely would recommend.
Sun on Snowshed Slope
View from the Pool - in before donotwantcoorslight.jpg dowantcoorslight.jpg maybewantcoorslightafternap.jpg
Friday. Got up, checked out and headed home
Overall.
Great skiing, fantastic trip. Stayed at North star Lodge, while nothing exceptional, was good for the trip. Outdoor heated pool open year round. They have a bar with a small menu (website says no restaurant) but you can get lasagna, chicken fingers, couple other things. 5 night stay with two 4 day lift tix was $960, which I though was very reasonable. Killington is empty midweek, makes for a great time. We are going to try to do a trip out west next year, I'll be leaning on you guys for advice on where to go when the time comes. If we don't head out west, Killington is definitely in the running, any other VT/east resorts that are recommended? For an out west trip, going to definitely need to get in better shape over the summer...
Just the girlfriend and I going, 5 night stay, 4 days of skiing.
So driving to Killington from Michigan thru Canada. Left about 7am, took about 12 hours, with a quick stop at Niagara falls and for lunch.
took a wrong turn around Saratoga Springs, cost about 15 minutes, oh well. Then we got to VT. absolutly dumping snow. going about 25mph on the highway seciton of route 4. white out conditions in some spots. It was so bad there was a full size plow/snow truck spun out in the ditch. Not a pickup truck, I mean a huge fullsize plow.
So we finally get there around 7:30. 12,5 hour total drive time, should have been 11 hours, but with Niagara stop and weather, not too bad. Grab dinner at an Peppinos (good pasta), and call it a night.
Niagara in Winter
Monday. Out of bed, 7am, at mountain by 8:30, on lift at 9am. It is still dumping snow, you can't see anything. Powder is ridiculous (for out east) turns out Killington had been hit with 18"-20" in the last 24 hours. However Monday we have nothing but problems. I have brand new ski boots. Wearing them around, they felt fine. Skiing on them, not working. Boots were too tight in the feet. Felt like I was skiing using only my thighs. Fortunately, I had brought my old boots. I lost about an hour and a half swapping boots, but it could have been much worse. We were back on the slopes for afternoon skiing. I was much, much better with my old boots, however the girlfriend was having issues. Skiing thru pretty deep powder was taking its toll on her. For anyone familiar with Killington, Great Eastern had a couple inches of powder, which I thought was amazing considering how much it is skied. At one point we were at the K-1 peak, skiing off on a blue when the snow and wind hit the point of ridiculous. Girlfriend was nearly in tears because she couldn't see anything and was practically too scared to ski. to give an example of how bad the visibility was, from about half way down snowshed slope, you could not see the lodge. At this point, I decide to call it a day, I don't want to ruin the trip with a horrid first day. We get back to the hotel, grab a drink, hit the outdoor heated pool and relax. The gf is clearly concerned. Last year we went to Blue Mountain in canada and she did not have a great time with the skiing. I had picked Killington this year, because I knew the mountain had a large variety of terrain, and you could ski greens and blues down from the peaks. However after the first day, it looked like the mountain was much tougher than I had said. Grabbed dinner that wasn't very good to cap off the night. Not looking good after the first ski day.
First view of Killington (um, not really, picture taken Tuesday, couldn't see anything thru snow Monday.)
Cascade from the gondola (black/double black off of K-1 Peak)
Tuesday. Up at 7:30am. Lot of snow on the ground, but not currently snowing. Absolutely beautiful day. Sun is out, about 10 degrees. After a pretty rough day Monday, both of our spirits our up slightly because of the weather. We step out of our hotel and for the first time she can actually ski killington and is amazed. But we still haven't put the skis on yet... We get there and the groomers have been hard at work. I know everyone here is all about the powder, but after Monday, I'm relieved to see some ski conditions that involved a little less work. We park at Ramshead base, and ski over to Snowdon, K-1, Skye, everywhere. Have a fantastic time. She finds some runs she really likes (frolic, bear tracks, launch pad), all greens and pretty easy, but nice scenery and a big improvement over yesterday. We also skied a lot of blues, no blacks that day. The blues were skiing really nice, fresh layer of groomed snow made for almost no ice, and some nice quick runs without working your ass off. Bear claw on bear mountain was really nice that day. Now is a good time to mention, that Killington mid week is E M P T Y. there were a large number of times we skied right on to lifts. Most times less than a minute. I'd say the gondolas were under 3 minutes. Actual skiing was wide open and you weren't getting run over. After skiing, grabbed some beer and hit the pool. Went to dinner at a place called Garlic. Cool atmosphere, very good food. Definitely worth a try.
Girlfriend taking a break on one of the blues - in before donotwant.jpg dowant.jpg maybewantafternap.jpg
Just a good shot of surrounding area.
Wednesday. Same conditions, but about 15-20 degrees warmer. Excellent day for skiing. Now, if you read the first two ski days, you'll know that we weren't exactly killing ourselves on black diamonds. Someone had told us that the black portion of Jug is skiing like a blue. For those not familiar, The Jug is a run that starts blue, turns black about midway, and there is a green that cuts across at the midway point called escape. So we ski the blue portion down to escape and look down at the rest. It doesn't look bad at all, so we head on down the black portion of Jug. Anyone want to guess where this is going? In retrospect, they are not going to put a green run called escape mid way thru a run if "it skis like a blue". So we are in the second half of the jug, come to a ridge and are presented with a choice. Continue on Jug, it isn't overly steep, but is about 12' wide, all moguled up, and has poles for a chair lift running in the middle of it. Second choice is another run, called jug handle, much wider, significantly steeper, and also moguled up. After some profanity, the gf decides to go with narrow and less steep. Personally, I would rather take the steeper/wider one, but I'm not arguing. Pretty tough run in my opinion, mainly because so narrow. after a while, we both make it down, both going down once. We are pretty beat, and take a rest afterward. Ski out the rest of the day on K-1 and Skye peaks. Just beautiful. Again, pool and dinner. Went to Sushi Yoshi that night for hibachi. It was good, pretty standard hibachi place.
Me taking a break on one of the blues - in before donotwant.jpg dowant.jpg maybewantafternap.jpg
Frozen Trees & Blue Sky
Thursday. Last day of skiing. Temp is about 20 degrees. Slight overcast, slight flurries, but nothing like Monday. Another great day. Went back to a lot of our favorite runs. Also got in a lot of the blues I had wanted to hit but hadn't had the chance (squeeze play, rime, cruise control). Hit Wilfire (black) over on Bear mountain. It was moguled up, but not steep and very wide. GF doesn't like moguls, but it was pretty easy for a mogul run, and much less dramatic than The Jug. While on the Bear Mountain quad, we saw some people doing Outter Limits. I think its the longest/steepest mogul run out east, just looks ridiculous, did not try that. Other black I snuck in was part of Needle's Eye. Didn't take it from Skye Peak, but cut in about 1/2 way thru the black section. After the moguls at in the black section, it turns into a nice steep blue (steep for a blue ldo) right along the Skye Ship Gondola. After skiing did the pool and dinner. Went to dinner at a bed and breakfast called birch ridge inn. Dinner was fantastic. GF had beef tournadoes, I had lamb tenderloin. The tenderloin was massive for $29. Very nice wine list. Bottles from $30 to $250 and everything in between. definitely would recommend.
Sun on Snowshed Slope
View from the Pool - in before donotwantcoorslight.jpg dowantcoorslight.jpg maybewantcoorslightafternap.jpg
Friday. Got up, checked out and headed home
Overall.
Great skiing, fantastic trip. Stayed at North star Lodge, while nothing exceptional, was good for the trip. Outdoor heated pool open year round. They have a bar with a small menu (website says no restaurant) but you can get lasagna, chicken fingers, couple other things. 5 night stay with two 4 day lift tix was $960, which I though was very reasonable. Killington is empty midweek, makes for a great time. We are going to try to do a trip out west next year, I'll be leaning on you guys for advice on where to go when the time comes. If we don't head out west, Killington is definitely in the running, any other VT/east resorts that are recommended? For an out west trip, going to definitely need to get in better shape over the summer...