Q's Ski Trip 2009

[q]

Well, four weeks today I setoff from Scotland on my annual ski trip to the USA. The credit crunch, moving into my new house and having a new job in the last year have all contributed to me being a bit slack in arranging things this winter and at the minute I have nothing in concrete other than my flights in and out of Missoula so that I can visit friends in Philipsburg.

Anyway, a rough idea of my itinery is as follows. Any thoughts? I am missing out Colorado this year due to the distances and higher costs in Frisco verus SLC. I'm also trying to only have a few large drives over the course of the four weeks.

I'm having a few days with friends in Philipsburg and want to spend more time in Utah which I love while seeing a few new places in Washington and Oregon.

Rough plan below....

Thurs 12th – Fly Out, Motel 6, Missoula
Fri 13th – Montana Snowbowl, Bill and Kathy
Sat 14th – TBA, Bill and Kathy
Sun 15th – TBA, Bill and Kathy
Mon 16th – TBA, Bill and Kathy
Tues 17th – Silver Mountain, Wenatchee/Leavenworth/Yakima?
Wed 18th – Washington, Wenatchee/Leavenworth/Yakima?
Thurs 19th – Washington, Wenatchee/Leavenworth/Yakima?
Fri 20th – Washington, Wenatchee/Leavenworth/Yakima?
Sat 21st – Washington, Wenatchee/Leavenworth/Yakima?
Sun 22nd – Washington, Motel 6 The Dalles
Mon 23rd – Timberline, Motel 6 The Dalles
Tues 24th – Timberline, Walla Walla?
Wed 25th – Bluewood, Walla Walla?
Thurs 26th – Spout Springs, La Grande?
Fri 27th – Anthony Lakes, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Sat 28th – Utah, NBA v Phoenix, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Sun 29th – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Mon 30th – Utah, NBA v New York, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Tues 31st – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Wed 1st – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Thurs 2nd – Utah , MLS RSL v Columbus Crew, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Fri 3rd – Utah , NBA v Minnesota, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Sat 4th – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Sun 5th – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Mon 6th – Utah, Motel 6 Downtown SLC
Tues 7th – Drive to Missoula
Wed 8th – Fly home from Missoula
Thurs 9th – Arrive home 3.30pm

I'm probably looking to miss out Crystal Mountain due to the awkwardness of getting to from the east if this is correct? My map says the roads are closed in winter. As ever I'd like to do more but this year have decided to calm down on the vast driving to smaller hills although I am looking to ski Pine Creek in Wyoming from my base in Salt Lake City if possible too.

Cant wait

 

[rfarren]

Why don't you just fly out of SLC?

 

[Tony Crocker]

q may be visiting his friends on both ends of the trip. Or the airline may be difficult about an open jaw itinerary.

Washington March 17-22:
After skiing Silver, Schweitzer is an obvious next stop and only a slight detour. If you drive most of the way across the state to Yakima/Leavenworth it's not a big deal to drive the extra 2 or 3 hours to the other side of the Cascades. If you ski White Pass from Yakima, I think you can still continue west, though not north through Rainier National Park toward Crystal and Seattle. Stevens Pass is definitely accessible from the east as well as west. I'd recommend crossing the Cascades there (Snoqualmie on I-90 is more obvious, but at its low elevation is more likely to have crappy snow in late March), then spending a night or 2 on the western side. That way you get a shot at Crystal, by far the best area in the state.

Oregon March 23-26:
Midwinter Timberline is the least desirable of the Mt. Hood areas, with Palmer being closed and the rest of the area being pretty flat. Hood Meadows is worth a day, and Ski Bowl has a good rep for terrain, but it's low and might not be good in late March. Bachelor is by far the best area in the state, so you should go there for a day or two at least. There's a worthwhile smaller area Hoodoo between Hood and Bachelor. Also Williamette pass, but I don't know anything about it.

From Oregon hitting Anthony Lakes on the way to SLC makes sense.

Something like this:
March 18 Schweitzer
March 19 drive across Washington to Leavenworth or Yakima.
March 20 Stevens or White Pass, drive into Seattle area.
March 21 Crystal, drive to Portland outskirts.
March 22 Hood Meadows, drive south an hour or two
March 23 Hoodoo
March 24-25 Bachelor.
extra day in there for discretion based on conditions etc. One caveat is that March 21-22 is a weekend and both Crystal and Hood Meadows are weekend intensive areas from the local day skiers. You might want to tweak the schedule to get those midweek if possible, otherwise make sure you get there very early in the morning. Bachelor absorbs weekend business easily, but you do lengthen the driving by going there first.

 

[Admin]

Be sure to give me a shout once you get to Utah. I've got to make some turns with the guy who creates these crazy itineraries!

 

[Tony Crocker]

But he might refuse to go to AltaBird because they're too big. :wink:

 

[rfarren]

But he might refuse to go to AltaBird because they're too big. :wink:

If he doesn't like large resorts, why not do a north east ski vacation? If he goes mid march, the snow most likely will be pretty good. The driving will be easier. And lets face it, the north east is a bit more charming and cultured than the west. \/ \/ \/ Uh oh arae those fighting words?

 

[Marc_C]

And lets face it, the north east is a bit more charming and cultured than the west. \/ \/ \/ Uh oh arae those fighting words?

Without context or explanation, they're basically a meaningless troll. (And any discussion of such should probably be in its own thread in the General area.)

 

[rfarren]

sorry

And lets face it, the north east is a bit more charming and cultured than the west. \/ \/ \/ Uh oh arae those fighting words?

Without context or explanation, they're basically a meaningless troll. (And any discussion of such should probably be in its own thread in the General area.)

Sorry, I was just having fun. But seriously, if q is going to ski smaller resorts, why not just tour the northeast with it's myriad of cute small towns, and easy distances? By mid march generally the conditions are fairly consistent in the east coast anyhow. It also comes with the added benefit of seeing the celtics in boston.

 

[Tony Crocker]

A "small" western area (Mt. Baldy or Santa Fe where jamesdeluxe was today) is similar in ski scale and variety to a large eastern one (Jay, Stowe).

Montana (where his friend lives) has some obscure areas that are are larger than the examples above. I have a feeling that q's preference for "small" ski areas is really a preference for "mom and pop," local ambience, not crowded or too corporate. Red Mt. and Castle Mt. are plenty big in terms of terrain but I suspect q would love them.

Despite the last 2 strong late eastern seasons, longer term data indicates that the last week of March is on average when eastern conditions and trail counts tend to start declining. There are many western areas still in their prime then.

 

[rfarren]

A "small" western area (Mt. Baldy or Santa Fe where jamesdeluxe was today) is similar in ski scale and variety to a large eastern one (Jay, Stowe).

Montana (where his friend lives) has some obscure areas that are are larger than the examples above. I have a feeling that q's preference for "small" ski areas is really a preference for "mom and pop," local ambience, not crowded or too corporate. Red Mt. and Castle Mt. are plenty big in terms of terrain but I suspect q would love them.

Fair enough. Although, you yourself said in another post that out west acreage is based on a lot of unskiable terrain whereas in the east coast the acreage is based on trails. However, I'll take your word for it.

Despite the last 2 strong late eastern seasons, longer term data indicates that the last week of March is on average when eastern conditions and trail counts tend to start declining. There are many western areas still in their prime then.

Although the trail counts start to decline, by and large the conditions are pretty nice. Of course, clearly the deciding factor in this all is that q has a friend in montana, and that would be enough to sway me towards a specific location.

 

[q]

Why don't you just fly out of SLC?

The surcharges for flights from a different airport, one way dropoff car rental fee and the fact I always begin my trip with my friends in Montana are the reasons for my choice of destination. It is actually cheaper right now to fly NWA all the way to Montana than it is to fly Salt Lake City right now over here and a lot of the cheaper deals to SLC are arriving the followign day rather than same day.

I'll certainly bear your advice in mind Tony with regards to the Washington/Oregon portion of the trip as I've never been over there and had not reckoned on Timberline being so bad then. I've spent a few days at Schweitzer, love the mountain but I am going to keep my next visit to there for a possible Northern USA and BC/Alberta trip in the future to take in the likes of Castle, Red, Apex et al. Map will be out this weekend and a bit more decision made

Be sure to give me a shout once you get to Utah. I've got to make some turns with the guy who creates these crazy itineraries!

I definately will Admin, I am sure you will find me a fairly normal, hard drinking Scottish bloke and not the eccentric fool you'd think I was haha. All jokes aside, I love every bit as much skiing at the bigger places too and with at least 11 days to play with I will have to head to AltaBird. Dont think there are many small resorts on the radar this year with the exception of the route to Salt Lake City on the way home

I love a mix of everything although my love for Montana is more due to the friends I stay with as well as some pretty decent skiing which is overlooked although I am sure the 18" will be a week before I arrive as per usual haha

Map out again this Sunday, cheers guys

 

[Admin]

I definately will Admin, I am sure you will find me a fairly normal, hard drinking Scottish bloke and not the eccentric fool you'd think I was

O

 

[Patrick]

I definately will Admin, I am sure you will find me a fairly normal, hard drinking Scottish ...

Q, Utah is a dry state, no booze there. :-"

 

[Tony Crocker]

I've spent a few days at Schweitzer, love the mountain

No problem, frees up an extra day in Washington/Oregon.

possible Northern USA and BC/Alberta trip in the future to take in the likes of Castle, Red, Apex et al.

Seems obvious from a base in Montana, but with this year's snow pattern it's not the right season for it. Washington is having some snow conditions issues also, but the base depths are OK though below average. Check when you get to Montana and be flexible if necessary. Oregon has deeper bases and Bachelor is usually coming into its prime at the time of your trip.

Q, Utah is a dry state, no booze there.

Some of us bring our own supply. :wink: No shortage at the Iron Blosam March 7-14. :lol:

you yourself said in another post that out west acreage is based on a lot of unskiable terrain

At some areas that is true, unfortunately necessary to evaluate case by case. There is not necessarily consistency in how acreage is counted, though I'm quite sure it is consistent within Colorado. The major flaw with acreage IMHO is that it's a horizontal not vertical measurement and thus understates ski variety of steeper areas and overstates flatter ones. But since eastern areas are in general flatter than average for the West, acreage does not overstate variety differences between East and West. Vail really is 5x Killington IMHO. I do think the Northern Vermont group is understated for not counting trees between the cut runs, but that moves them from the 300-500 acre range up to 800-1000.

 

[q]

Well, taking advice from Tony as well as putting my own thinking in I have came up with the following "mini" plan for the priod in Washington/Oregon :-

March 17 Silver Mountain
March 18 Mission Ridge
March 19 Stevens Pass
March 20 Crystal
March 21 White Pass
March 22 Ski Bowl
March 23 Hood Meadows
March 24 Hoodoo
March 25 Willamette Pass
March 26 Bachelor
March 27 Anthony Lakes
March 28 Utah resort

Its far from planned but that way I will avoid the 2 weekend resorts Tony mentioned while binning Summit, Bluewood and Spout Springs for another time. I might also go to see the Portland Trailblazers on the 23rd depending on how easy it will be to get to from my motel.

It will also by my reckoning mean that Crystal Mountain would be the 100th resort in western USA that I have skied and Hoodoo the 100th that has been lift assisted having hiked 4 smaller ones in the past

 

[Tony Crocker]

That list seems fairly reasonable. When you get to Oregon you need to be flexible and look at the weather. If the Summit at Mt. Bachelor is open, you need to get down there ASAP. This is a key reason why Bachelor is a better spring mountain than winter one. Midwinter Summit (which serves over half the acreage and nearly all the steeps) is closed close to half the time. Are those odds better in late March? Probably, but not by a huge amount, so don't let that window close if you see it open.

 

[skilo]

Cool trip plan. You should check the web sites for both Mission and Silver as they close tue/weds on normal midweeks. Alpental located on snoqualmi pass is another option. It's small and steep with some great tree runs too. I am fairly familiar with all of the areas on your trip plan so may be able to fill you in on the Mts.

 

[Patrick]

It will also by my reckoning mean that Crystal Mountain would be the 100th resort in western USA that I have skied and Hoodoo the 100th that has been lift assisted having hiked 4 smaller ones in the past

Here is another call-out...a call out to contribute to the great ski area count thread in the General Discussion section. If you've skied 100 areas in the US West alone, your list of areas must be pretty impressive. =D>

 

[Tony Crocker]

If you've skied 100 areas in the US West alone

Yes, I only have 80.

 

[Patrick]

If you've skied 100 areas in the US West alone

Yes, I only have 80.

I imagine that he has a few more ski areas than you in Scotland and continental Europe also. :lol: