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The 2013-2014 Ski Season Thread


Skivt2

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Does Wachusett use RFID or any sort of scanning system at the lift?

 

I've heard of some good apps for that sort of thing and know people that use them, but can't think of the names off the top of my head.  I don't pay any attention to it, because Stowe's RFID system just tracks all that for me.  The lift operators will tell you at any time how many runs you've taken, how many days you've skied, etc.  And I don't have time to ski any where else in the winter, haha, so all my seasonal data is logged in that system.

But that doesn't help you off piste with how much vertical.

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Coming up on 4 months since my last powder day.  Ouch.  But hopefully down to 45 days or less until we're back out there.    Annual target of >15 days... 18 last year.   Awaiting news on whether the Ski+Ride Free deal will be back, saved a ton of money at the b'east and at MRG.  If not I'll probably get a pass for the first time.

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200K vertical is very doable

Even at my lowly Wachusett that is only 200 runs off the top. Figure I would do 4-5 of this x 40 days or so

Not even including the bajillions of smaller runs

Is there a good app to track that?

 

I use alpine replay and I really like it.  As long as you make sure you have your phone fully charged at the start of the day then it works great.

 

It tracks your verticle, average speed per run, top speed, top sustained speed, number of jumps, total airtime, and estimated number of calories burned.  It also makes a map for you showing all the trails you did overlayed on top of a satalite image of the ski area.

I pay for the pro subscription so I get additional information and stats as well as a run to run breakdown and a list of each trail I hit.  The trail list doesn't work on every mountain or every trail but the larger new england resorts have the most popular trails working.

 

Last year I had 115K of verticle over 15 days of snowboarding.  Many of those days were only half days or night skiing only.  I'm hoping to get more total runs out of roughly the same number of days this year.

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Are areas actually open and spinning lifts or are those earn your turn folks?

Earn your turns...but mostly it's just for marketing. Usually with early season snow the protocol is get a few good skiers/models and a camera crew to film or get some shots of the early season snow prior to opening.

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Please keep posting updates PF - I need some winter inspiration to start getting back into snowboarding shape.  Today I start my squat program.  First day back from a sprained back (6+ weeks into rehabing it).

 

On Friday, I went to the Portsmouth Music hall to see this year's Boyne resorts sponsored ski movie: Into the mind.  The ticket price doubled since last year (14$ to 30$).  They still give you a free early season lift ticket to Sunday River or Sugarloaf but at 30$ its not much of a bargain.

 

The movie was really bad.  6 minutes of action spread out over 90 minutes of 'spiritual' slow motion footage.

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fellas,

me and a couple of my buddies are looking to take a trip up to Vermont/NH area for a 4 day/3 night trip. NOthing is finalized as far as duration and location. That's where you guys come in. ANyone have any recommendations as far as good skii'ing, decent bar/hotel type scene? upper 20's crowd type stuff. Was hoping to plan something around early december, think that window is feasible as far as ski season goes? Any input is greatly appreciated.  

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fellas,

me and a couple of my buddies are looking to take a trip up to Vermont/NH area for a 4 day/3 night trip. NOthing is finalized as far as duration and location. That's where you guys come in. ANyone have any recommendations as far as good skii'ing, decent bar/hotel type scene? upper 20's crowd type stuff. Was hoping to plan something around early december, think that window is feasible as far as ski season goes? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Killington has good skiing and a great night life. Tons of bars on the main road. Stowe would next on my list.

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It will definitely be ski season, but December is hit or miss for snowpack and fresh snow.  Killington and Stowe seem like good recommendations since nightlife is on your list.  At worst there should be a variety of groomed trails at both by then.

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fellas,

me and a couple of my buddies are looking to take a trip up to Vermont/NH area for a 4 day/3 night trip. NOthing is finalized as far as duration and location. That's where you guys come in. ANyone have any recommendations as far as good skii'ing, decent bar/hotel type scene? upper 20's crowd type stuff. Was hoping to plan something around early december, think that window is feasible as far as ski season goes? Any input is greatly appreciated.  

 

That's a risky time of year....depending on how important good skiing/riding conditions are.  If you're just more looking to get away with buddies, make some turns, and toss some back in bars after skiing, then early December can work.  Most ski resorts and ski towns are empty that time of year (really, anytime prior to Christmas is empty) so you can probably find some decent lodging deals. 

 

Killington would be my guess for terrain open at that time of year... they just have the snowmaking capacity that is hard to beat.  Here at Stowe, our infrastructure keeps improving year after year (another 3.7 million dollars spent on snowmaking this summer) and last year we had the most terrain open earlier in the season than ever before.  Drawback here is usually price as most folks will tell you, but early season walk-up rates are comparable with Killington.  The best way to ski Stowe is try to find some ski & stay package where the lift ticket is built into the price...or buy online ahead of time.  No matter what ski area you go to, really avoid just paying the walk-up rate.  Do some research.  There's almost always a way to get a cheaper ticket these days (like even buying online the night before can give you like a 10-20% discount).

 

As far as nightlife goes, Killington will always be king.  Since I've moved here to Stowe, I've been impressed with the restaurant and bars.  We actually have some of the same restaurants as Killington, lol.  Sushi Yoshi just opened here (same owners as the one in Killington) and that's been a huge hit with great sushi, hibachi, and other asian cuisine.  Its been a nice addition to town where there are several micro-breweries (Trapps Lager, Crop Bistro & Brewery, Rock Art, etc), and every restaurant from Mexican to Thai to old-school Italian to sports bar/pub to fine dinning and farm-to-table local beef/burger joints.  

 

If you stay here in Stowe...make sure its somewhere on the Mountain Road (RT 108) because there's a free town shuttle that just goes back and forth up and down the road making it easy to get around.  Several taxis companies in town can also get you home late at night should you find yourself at the Vermont Ale House at like 1am.  Some of the lodges/hotels (Such as Topnotch Resort & Spa) offer free shuttle service to the ski resort during the day and restaurants at night, which are nice services to have. 

 

I'm pretty sure Killington has a decent transportation system on their main access road, too.  But honestly don't know enough about that town to comment much beyond the fact that they win the nightlife awards every year for eastern ski resorts. 

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The other good option though depending on how many friends you are traveling with... and this is my personal favorite way to go on a ski vacation... is to pick a place you want to ski (don't pick based on nightlife) and just rent a house and throw your own party.  Like if I go to Utah with like 6-8 friends, we are usually just as content to drink beer and play pong or something in the condo or house... even if there are bars nearby. 

 

In Vermont you could go to like Waitsfield/Warren or up near Jay if you want to get away from the more resorty feel of destination spots like Stowe/Killington...and just rent a house and have your own party.

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Great stuff guys! Ski conditions are as important going out. Skiing is great ( i snowboard), but would also like to get out and enjoy the night scene. Not imperative, but seems like I might be leaning towards killington.

I'll take hitman's advice and wait as long as we can to book. Problem

Is we want to do a weekday trip to avoid crowds make it manageable for guys to get off work in advance.

Great info guys, I'll be checking in to see how conditions are as the fall progresses.

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The other good option though depending on how many friends you are traveling with... and this is my personal favorite way to go on a ski vacation... is to pick a place you want to ski (don't pick based on nightlife) and just rent a house and throw your own party.  Like if I go to Utah with like 6-8 friends, we are usually just as content to drink beer and play pong or something in the condo or house... even if there are bars nearby. 

 

In Vermont you could go to like Waitsfield/Warren or up near Jay if you want to get away from the more resorty feel of destination spots like Stowe/Killington...and just rent a house and have your own party.

 

This is how we do it too.  For years I stayed in the same rental house in Warren and snowboarded every inch of Sugarbush.  I got to know a few cool local places to eat in the area.  The local-folk smoke house was my favorite.

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Great stuff guys! Ski conditions are as important going out. Skiing is great ( i snowboard), but would also like to get out and enjoy the night scene. Not imperative, but seems like I might be leaning towards killington.

I'll take hitman's advice and wait as long as we can to book. Problem

Is we want to do a weekday trip to avoid crowds make it manageable for guys to get off work in advance.

Great info guys, I'll be checking in to see how conditions are as the fall progresses.

Pm me if u want any info on sugarbush/mrg. There are places to eat/drink and be merry, I just can't vouch for the mid 20's "scene" as I'm an old fart. However, last season sb started offering a cheap pass for anyone in their 20's and there seemed to be a lot of them around especially early in the season.

Don't think u need to be concerned about crowds on weekends before the holidays. If it was me, I would get everyone together, scope out a place and wait till thanksgiving weekend to pull the trigger.

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The other good option though depending on how many friends you are traveling with... and this is my personal favorite way to go on a ski vacation... is to pick a place you want to ski (don't pick based on nightlife) and just rent a house and throw your own party.  Like if I go to Utah with like 6-8 friends, we are usually just as content to drink beer and play pong or something in the condo or house... even if there are bars nearby. 

 

In Vermont you could go to like Waitsfield/Warren or up near Jay if you want to get away from the more resorty feel of destination spots like Stowe/Killington...and just rent a house and have your own party.

Same here. I'm happy as a clam at snowbird/alta. Byonl (bring your own night life)

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Just bought a new pair of boots at 45% off retail...  I've skied 10-20 days a year in stumps, trees, rocks on my now retired Lange Banshee X's since 1995!!!!!  No new liner or anything!!  Just an amazing piece of equipment and piece of my heart.

 

Wow it can't snow soon enough.

 

Its tough to let go of old boots.  I find boots a lot harder to part with than any other ski equipment. 

 

I need new skis every season (after 130-150 days on skis they are like wet noodles) but thats similar to like someone who skis 30 days a season for 5 years...not surprising my main pair barely lasts the season.  But boots I will keep for even 3-4 years...usually replacing the soles every year from the daily wear/tear of wearing them 6 days a week at work.  I hate getting new boots...love getting new skis though, lol.   

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ok, so i'm pinching myself...temps permitting, Sugar Bush and Killington, and the few early season openers are going to start making snow in 9 days...can it be that I truly made it through the summer and ski season has come back around again??? I truly feel like a kid on Christmas :) 

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