Erin808

Thanks. I think we are going to Jack Frost tomorrow, I hope it gets a little more groomed out. Edit: I just checked and tomorrow is WMMR day. Not facing that.

The article said it was two deaths and 9 injuries (and in 1993)!! I didn't know that. This is totally freaky. This bodes really poorly for the lift inspections/maintenance. At least no one was injured.

Everyone's done Heavenly bunches except my husband and it's expensive. Unless we get snowed in which would be too much to hope for I always forget about Squaw. I've only been there like twice but I remember it being far. When we would stay with friends in Truckee or Carnelian Bay they'd always go to Alpine, Homewood or Mt. Rose but not Squaw. But again could be crowds and cost. Thanks for the tip about the beginner area being mid-mountain. It means better snow but also they have to get down. They might not be that bad but I really don't know.

I haven't been back to Tahoe in the winter since 1996 or so... We are taking this trip with my sis and brother-in-law who are not really experienced. They are in charge of accomodation which is not even booked yet I def want my husband to hang out in South Lake so we will stay there 3 nights and probably closer to North Lake the other 2 nights. I want to ride at Northstar, Kirkwood, maybe Mt. Rose, maybe Alpine. I've actually never snowboarded in Tahoe -- the last time I was there I was a skiier We've got time to plan. I told my sis that I was going to ride for all four days and she laughed, then said something about going to the spa.

Sounds awesome! I turned 30 in September and being on vacation for the day is totally the way to do it. By the time we got home it was like old news and everyone just asked about our vacation. Hope your trip is terrific!

I def disagree about Whistler. It's a a great summer resort and just a fun little town. So many other ski towns have much less going for them. Plus its close to Vancouver so its super easy to get into the city. As for the Beav -- LOL -- it has gotten SO much worse in the last five years. Since they opened the Ritz at the base of Bachelor gulch it's just gotten out of control. It's basically the same terrain as 10 years ago but with more lifts and 5x the people. They took gladed runs that only locals knew about and cleaned them up a bit and put them on the map. The country club initiation fee used to be $110,000, that's jus tto join! And yes, as a former employee you are trained to be an ass kisser. I would imagine it has something to do with the fact that Tahoe does have so much more and since other than Heavenly, most of the mtns are a drive from South Lake. Plus a large portion of visitors dont go to ski. I would not count on North Lake as a "top resort town" or even a good vacation destination.

So in terms of areas -- Union, Sandy, and S Jordon are locations that are good/central? The little america sounds pretty spot on for what we are looking for. Thanks for the advice! It's so hard when you aren't familiar with the area.

So if yo uare staying in SLC or not right at a resort, where would you recommend? Johnny mentioned a few places before but looking for some more input. It looks like one of our trips will be to SLC this winter. It's just 2 of us so not looking to do a condo. I dont want something super jenky but I want something cheap

I talked to some of the guys on patrol yesterday and they were hoping to have tut's open today and the 6-pack but he was like it will service the same terrain that's open now.

Good to hear conditions are good at BB. I was just hoping there was some sort of discount out there

Are there any early season discounts or coupons for Big Boulder? I know some of the mountains are doing half price but I haven't seen anything for BB. I really want to go this weekend and hate paying full price for early season conditions.

I just lost a long reply. It could go either way depending on storms. I can't hate on Heavenly because its where I grew up skiing but the best thing about it is the location. It's right in South Lake and close to the casinos. It have *some* advanced terrain but since it is at a relatively low elevation it doesn't get as much snow as Kirkwood or Sierra. I would try to talk the rents into a day at Kirkwood, or take the town shuttle. It's the best mtn within and hour or South Lake. Sierra gets dope snow since its base is super high but its really small and not that challenging. But I do hear they cater to boarders and have a great park. There is def a shuttle from S Lake, it used to stop at the Pizza Hut and Ski Run Blvd (i.e. close to Heavenly) Dude its a free vacation to Tahoe, it will be awesome.

Everything's so expensive at Christmas and its not even that good out West. It's just by the time you know its going to be good, there are NO accomodations in VT. We need to save money anyway...

What's the tuypical snowfall at Christmas? We are looking for somewhere to spend the holiday this year but booking a trip for me guarantees no snow.

Cool! I'll pick a few up for me and the husbnad.

I would agree with Shadows to not upgrade unless you feel a piece of gear is holding you back. Over the years bindings have become more important to the equation for me since without a good binding you are limiting your transferral of power and thus limiting any board. you could also think about getting a different type of board for different conditions if you absolutely feel the need for a new toy but dont really need one.

Yeah it should be more of a narrative than a typical "resume", contest results but also where you've ridden. Level of detail depending on level of experience. It could be ridden 37 PA mountains or ridden 6 continents. Any sponsors? Any training? Good luck

Chile is misspelled in the top banner. So where are you going this off-season?

Great TR! And thanks for the pics. I learned to ski at Heavenly and Sierra (I never realized it was that small) but haven't been to Tahoe in a long time.

I LOVE Whistler. It's pretty much my favorite mountain. That said- we were planning a trip there this year and with the dollar and the travel time/expense we opted for Wyoming and Utah (going in two weeks). I understand that you aren't worried about a splurge but overall for the cost you can get the same for a better value in the states. No one has mentioned Aspen. It can be a little uppity but its got four great mountains and Buttermilk and Highlands are great for intermediates. They have four mtns in and around run by the same company. There are tons of great accommodations options in Aspen. It's very sophisticated and not really family oriented -- which is always a plus when you don't have kids. It's more of a real town at the base not a village created and operated by the mtn. I wasn't a huge fan of steamboat when I went there but its been a while. I thought it was an unremarkable mountain with minimal base village amenities. I also love Vail and Beaver Creek. Vail has more intermediate terrain (than BC) and excellent grooming. It's base village is on par with Whistler's. Amazing dining, nightlife and mountain. I know there are a lot of Vail haters on this board but as long as you stay away from the base lifts the crowds aren't bad. If you do Vail I would recommend just flying into Denver and doing Colorado Mtn Express. I used to always fly into the Eagle Airport (about 30 minutes away) but if there is weather that is affecting the roads, its impacting the air travel too and there is more room for error and delays in air travel that overland travel. A few times I just had friends from Denver drive me home instead of waiting for the airport to clear the flights and fly into Eagle. Good luck and happy planning! I love vacation planning almost as much as vacationing (yes I am a dork)

There was still great coverage at the lower elevations. I didn't hear any rumors about the tram but then again I never really asked about it. It looked like it would open up some other areas but you must be right, its just hard to tell (as a newbie to JH) what gets accessed from where. There was a lot of press about a new website (or maybe not so new). Tram-formation.com which will track the contstruction. I work in construction, and typically the webiste wouldn't get updated to show any delay until they are absolutely certain what it is. They've already given themselves a months float by saying "December" with no date.

Its all mental, man. I never would have even known how to get there if I wasn't with locals. And they pretty much dared me... It was wierd all the hiking accessed stuff. I jsut figured it out on my last day. I guess when the tram runs more of it is accesibile. I do see what you are saying about going earlier. I wasn't expecting as much crust but I guess the way the mtn is oriented a lot of it is subject to direct sun. If we go next year it will def be earlier.

Yeah it was dumping when we left. I was glad for the peeps who were arriving. We had ours so at least they got theirs.

Sounds like you guys had an awesome trip! It's so great when the weather works in your favor. Great TR!

Cool! The traverse to Mongolia is gross but its worth it (I think). I love the trees under that lift but you do have to watch it and try to go skiiers right at the end to avoid the cliffs that dump to the catwalk and minimize the traveerse. I love the Red Lion, such perfect cheesy apres. Glad you had a fun trip!