Where To Ski with Comped Lodging?

[jamesdeluxe]

go to Paris or Tuscany and figure out how to tack on a week in the Alps before or after.

I agree, but Harvey being able to blow two weeks of vacation at once (not to mention the guilt of spending all that time away from the Gore cabin 8-[ ) is, in all likelihood, wishful thinking.

These "where to ..." threads are a fun mental exercise, but I remember few if any people actually following up on the suggestions. The only person who takes my unfailingly spot-on advice is me.

 

[rfarren]

With the added data of "limited budget" and "before June 1", I'd be more prone to point you at Tuscany if you have a comp place to stay.

Another worthy suggestion. But fly into Milan. You have enticing ski options there too, as March is on average the optimal month to ski in the Alps. :wink: My friend Richard did a similar trip around Easter I think a few years ago. He spent a week in the Alps (St. Moritz) then visited his daughter who was in grad school in Florence and spent a couple of weeks touring Italy.

That is an option for sure. I do think Tuscany is a nice place. There will be some interesting issues that come up when traveling to Tuscany in March. March is the rainy season in Italy. In Tuscany you are bound to get a lot of rain. The cuisine will be pretty good, although the best dishes will be those of the "march" produce... In other words, I hope you enjoy beans and meat.

Milan is an interesting place. March will be cold there, but there is skiing nearby.

Frankly, if I was forced to go to a region in Italy in March I would most likely choose either Sicily, where it will indeed be warm, or Emilio-Romagna, where the meat heavy, cream based, cuisine will be at its best.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Weather wise it's logical to shade either Euro option toward late March, with the ski week the week before. FYI Easter is April 4 and lots of Euros get vacation Easter week, so best be done with the trip by March 27.

Tuscany might not be the best choice for the freebie since he has family in the area and can presumably go there cheaply.

 

[Tony Crocker]

The Big City is here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8047

Note to admin: Why can't moderator control show all the posts on one page? It's a PITA to do 3 splits and 2 merges (2 of each with just one post) instead of just one split.

 

[Admin]

Note to admin: Why can't moderator control show all the posts on one page? It's a PITA to do 3 splits and 2 merges (2 of each with just one post) instead of just one split.

We don't write the software, we just use it. Complaining to me won't help anything.

 

[Geoff]

That said, our recent trip to New Mexico was a near perfect compromise for a couple with slightly different levels of ski mania. The mountains kept us both occupied, we had great conditions, x-c skiing everywhere, art galleries, amazing restaurants, local culture, two excellent bases of operations (Taos and Santa Fe) that aren't like so many of the McSki towns out west, fantastic accommodations, casinos (if you're into that kind of thing), all ski areas were less than 40 minutes from our hotel, etc. I know that NM isn't on your comp list; just saying that it can be done.

His Editorship turned me on to Ski Santa Fe. I really enjoyed both the town and the skiing. Taos didn't do much for me. I didn't care for the vibe of the town and I thought the place had too much uphill capacity for the amount of acres and snow they have. The surface was good at Ski Santa Fe. It was hardpack from the traffic at Taos.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Taos is more like a sleepy village while Santa Fe is a small city. What did you not like about it?

 

[Tony Crocker]

Taos didn't do much for me. I didn't care for the vibe of the town and I thought the place had too much uphill capacity for the amount of acres and snow they have. The surface was good at Ski Santa Fe. It was hardpack from the traffic at Taos.

Conditions obviously vary with the timing of one's visits, but I disagree with the generalizations about Taos.
1) There are no high speed lifts at Taos. If crowds are modest they don't even run the side-by-side chairs of the 2 main lifts.
2) Taos' layout forces much traffic into 2 long runout trails (Whitefeather and Rubenzahl) coming back to the base. I'd expect hardpack on those if it hasn't snowed a lot recently. There's plenty of acreage but half of it is advanced to very expert and needs a minimum base of 75 inches by local consensus. Overall skier density is much lower than most destination resorts. Best advice is don't go there until that 75 inch base is attained. That means no earlier than Feb. 1 if you're booking far in advance.
3) Santa Fe does not get as much snow as Taos. But its lifts are slow also, and its generally intermediate pitch doesn't require nearly the snow depth.
4) For advanced and better skiers there is really no comparison. Taos has probably 3-4x the steep terrain as the rest of NM ski resorts combined. Similar analogy to Mt. Baldy's position in SoCal. Another analogy would be Alta with half as much snow.

I didn't see NM on Harvey's list. Are we headed for another ?

 

[Marc_C]

Taos didn't do much for me. I didn't care for the vibe of the town and I thought the place had too much uphill capacity ...

Conditions obviously vary with the timing of one's visits,....

Tony covered the skiing aspects of Taos, but seeing that the OP is as much about destination ambiance as it is about skiing, I'm more interested at this point in what the issue was with the town.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I'm more interested at this point in what the issue was with the town.

My guess: Geoff missed his friends from Killington.
:lol:

 

[Harvey]

This has been awesome input from all.

I've been thinking that maybe I am trying to do to much...give my wife an awesome Bday present AND get to ski. It would certainly be cheaper to go to one of these places if skiing wasn't on the agenda. And after all..it is HER birthday.

I showed my wife the map tonight:

http://www.ultimateescapes.com/map.asp

She surprised me by saying... "what about Tuscany?"

Tuscany has some advantages:

I love it.
She loves it.
It's not France.
We have family in Rome and Milan.
Who knows...maybe we could ski. :-k

 

[Geoff]

Taos didn't do much for me. I didn't care for the vibe of the town and I thought the place had too much uphill capacity ...

Conditions obviously vary with the timing of one's visits,....

Tony covered the skiing aspects of Taos, but seeing that the OP is as much about destination ambiance as it is about skiing, I'm more interested at this point in what the issue was with the town.

Like I said, bad vibe. I felt like anywhere in the town just wanted to take my money. Most western resort towns at least smile and are friendly while they're doing it. If I wanted that vibe, I'd stay at Killington.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Who knows...maybe we could ski. :-k

Not having met his wife (getting to see Harvey in the flesh is a Herculean task, even though we only live 45 minutes away from each other), it's tough to gauge if a lift-served ski trip and an "awesome birthday present" are mutually exclusive for her.

My wife, while not obsessed about making turns, loves going on week-long trips based around skiing, downhill or x-c. During our first five cash-strapped years together, we did a fair number of dirtbag trips, so we both appreciate being able to live large from time to time these days. The deal-closer for her is, over the course of the week, one or two spa treatments after the lifts stop.

The only thing she complains about is my demand to leave our accommodations early and be booted up by 8:30 when there's more than five inches of fresh snow. She's got the Euro mindset that a vacation should be a break from reality: relaxation, no rushing, etc. Of course, she's always psyched when we're floating through a foot of untracked powder, but can't always put 2 and 2 together -- it's untracked *because* we got there early.

 

[rfarren]

There is some skiing nearby in abruzzo. I'm not sure if the mountains will be open in March, but they are not that far away from L'aquila where there was that earthquake earlier this year. I would guess there are some other mountains in Umbria. I'm not sure about that, but I do know for a fact that there are ski hills in abruzzo.

 

[Harvey]

Not having met his wife it's tough to gauge if a lift-served ski trip and an "awesome birthday present" are mutually exclusive for her.

Tough for you and me both. She's definitely not advanced enough to ski a wide variety of conditions...so going someplace I don't know about makes that hard. Your wife is definitely a better skier than mine.

... one or two spa treatments...

Alway get bonus points for that.

The only thing she complains about is my demand to leave our accommodations early and be booted up by 8:30 when there's more than five inches of fresh snow. She's got the Euro mindset that a vacation should be a break from reality: relaxation, no rushing, etc. Of course, she's always psyched when we're floating through a foot of untracked powder, but can't always put 2 and 2 together -- it's untracked *because* we got there early.

This must be universal. Except with me, I push on ANYDAY that's not spring skiing.

There is some skiing nearby in abruzzo. I'm not sure if the mountains will be open in March, but they are not that far away from L'aquila where there was that earthquake earlier this year. I would guess there are some other mountains in Umbria. I'm not sure about that, but I do know for a fact that there are ski hills in abruzzo.

My mother's family has a home in Scurcola in Abruzzo. From the flanks of "Mt Niccolo" you can see L'Aquilla. It amazing with the destruction that their home suffered almost no damage. (Just some pottery that fell and broke I think.) I've been there once. I knew that there was skiing south of the Alps (Grand Sasso?) but I thought that was farther away. I'd like to check that out, if not necessarily for this trip.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Sounds like you've already reached a decision -- this trip isn't going to be for skiing.

Probably better that way. Neither one of you will end up frustrated, and you can go during a time period that won't interfere with skiing.

 

[Tony Crocker]

you can go during a time period that won't interfere with skiing

Yes, if you're not skiing you should push the trip to at least mid-April for better weather. But do some research on the Alps first. Doesn't have to be Italy, as distances are very short. When Richard and wife were staying in Kitzbuhel, they did a day trip to Venice.

 

[Harvey]

Sounds like you've already reached a decision -- this trip isn't going to be for skiing.

No decision has been made. It looks like we need to make a decision by mid-fall. As it get's closer we'll try to finalize. My wife really doesn't quite know what she wants.

I really appreciate all the input. I also looked at Tony's snow stats. I tried to make a summary of what has been contributed:

•Jackson - Destination resort, Yellowstone, more expert terrain than average, best month January, can be done cheap, ski the gondi for terrain for all levels.

•Sun Valley - Cool in many ways except snowfall, least chance for good conditions or new snow.

•Steamboat - Destination resort, best month January, ride the same lifts as Mrs Harvey.

•Beaver Creek - ride the same lifts as Mrs Harvey. I've actually been there. Nice terrain etc...town seemed kinda boring to me, everything was so new. On the upside...I could get my picture taken in front of Beaver Liquors.

•Telluride - Destination resort, upscale, scenic, best months Feb, March.

•Tahoe - can be done cheap, car is helpful.

•Breck - too busy.

•Copper - too busy.

•Bend - need a car, Harvey friendly terrain.

•Deer Valley - with a car access to the multiple Wasatch resorts.

•Paris, Tuscany - bag skiing, make your wife happy, or hit Chamonix or Alps.

•Tahoe - rent a car for variety. Been there too...RSQ at Squaw. Awesome place. Probably wouldn't go back just for variety.

From this is sounds like Telluride or Steamboat would be good if it's a skiing vacation. Tuscany possible if not.

I'm going to leave that decision to my wife. And SHE needs to decide whether we take our daughter or not.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I'm going to leave that decision to my wife.

The only time my wife decided where we'd go for a destination vacation was our honeymoon... she wanted to go to Maui. Against my better judgment, I complied. While not a complete waste of time, we both agreed that a ski trip to Austria would've made a far better honeymoon.

Since that event, she has left all vacation planning to the experts (ME!).

 

[Patrick]

Sounds like you've already reached a decision -- this trip isn't going to be for skiing.

No decision has been made. It looks like we need to make a decision by mid-fall. As it get's closer we'll try to finalize. My wife really doesn't quite know what she wants.

I really appreciate all the input. I also looked at Tony's snow stats. I tried to make a summary of what has been contributed:

•Jackson - Destination resort, Yellowstone, more expert terrain than average, best month January, can be done cheap, ski the gondi for terrain for all levels.

•Sun Valley - Cool in many ways except snowfall, least chance for good conditions or new snow.

•Steamboat - Destination resort, best month January, ride the same lifts as Mrs Harvey.

•Beaver Creek - ride the same lifts as Mrs Harvey. I've actually been there. Nice terrain etc...town seemed kinda boring to me, everything was so new. On the upside...I could get my picture taken in front of Beaver Liquors.

•Telluride - Destination resort, upscale, scenic, best months Feb, March.

•Tahoe - can be done cheap, car is helpful.

•Breck - too busy.

•Copper - too busy.

•Bend - need a car, Harvey friendly terrain.

•Deer Valley - with a car access to the multiple Wasatch resorts.

•Paris, Tuscany - bag skiing, make your wife happy, or hit Chamonix or Alps.

•Tahoe - rent a car for variety. Been there too...RSQ at Squaw. Awesome place. Probably wouldn't go back just for variety.

From this is sounds like Telluride or Steamboat would be good if it's a skiing vacation. Tuscany possible if not.

I'm going to leave that decision to my wife. And SHE needs to decide whether we take our daughter or not.

I've been real busy and don't think I've mentioned this before.

Most compatable places from experience (or from what I read):

Here are a few suggestions:

SunValley (resort classic thing - never been) way before Jackson (been). Not sure, but Jackson can be pretty limiting terrain wise according to skills.

Quebec City/Ste-Anne/Massif: something for everyone. Off and on the slopes.

Chamonix (been): great place for not skiers also. Drop dead type of place - scenary and skiing if you want too Not sure if combo fits you both for both activities.

Not mentioned yet...maybe my favorite for the question asked...

Jungfrau (Switzerland) / stay in Interlaken or at resorts in Wengen or Muerren. Biggest ski areas and tons of stuff for non-skiers. Terrain isn't intimidating and you ski for hours. It has the atmosphere and the beautiful scenery. Everything to make your wife happy (except if she doesn't ski). It's more exotic than Quebec City and scenery isn't far from Chamonix + she can ski for miles and miles and miles and enjoy it all.

My 2 Switz Francs.