Quickturns

Glad someone could use them. I just sent them via email

I've got two weekday night skiing vouchers that I am not going to use as Blue is closing this weekend and I am heading to Orlando tomorrow. If anyone is going to Blue over the next couple nights and was going to buy a ticket, PM me your email address and I will email the vouchers. Just post a note in this thread that you PM'd me so folks will know that they are gone. Seemed like a quick season...

Vouchers are gone. Glad they can be used

No charge

I have 3 mid-week vouchers, each good for an extended day lift ticket M-F, that I am not going to be able to use. If someone can use them, PM me your address (and how many you need) and I will mail them over. We were skiing BC the night of the power outage and ended up leaving after about an hour of the lifts not turning. They offered a voucher for every ticket purchased, so I ended up with a few as I was skiing with the kids.

Here is a thread with the details in the first post - http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-discussion/1199795/?start=0 You can start at Step 2 to get an Australian address (I just used the address for the Westin in Sydney when I did it for my brother) Seems to still be working based on the most recent post and the status should still be good for your trip this winter as it looks like you will revert back to silver in May 2013

I've stayed at that Hilton Garden Inn (on points) and it is a reasonable spot to stay. Make sure you are Hilton Honors Gold before you go so that you can get free wifi and breakfast during your stay. I think you can still get Gold through a virtual move to Australia if you don't currently have it. You are going to want a car though - to get to the slopes, dinner, and getting to/from the airport. It will save a ton of time and it is definitely worth the cost. If you don't get an AWD or chains, you can always take to UTA bus up LCC/BCC if restrictions are in place. I've taken the bus on snow days and it isn't too bad although you will probably be standing if you grab the bus at the canyon entrance.

Mess - I sent you a PM

Yes, they were pretty nice! Boot deep snow, nicely spaced trees on a mellow pitch. It was funny becase earlier in the day we were skiing the black forest trees (PCMR) which are a bit steeper and thicker, and it was tough to find a decent line of untouched snow over there. This area of the 10th mountain trees is visable from the McConkey's lift and didn't see nearly the same level of traffic. It worked out well for us as we skied these trees until last chair.

Let's see if this works

I think tomorrow is going to be a zoo as WVIA members ski free. I think this is always a very busy day for them. I thought they would want to have a bit more open to spread out the crowd.

Is anyone up at Elk this week? I am heading up Friday for Winterfest and am curious how they are making out with their snowmaking. It looks they have had a few good days weatherwise but it doesn't seem to have translated into additional open terrrain. Does anyone know if they are blowing on everything or just a few trails at this point.

Thanks for posting this Night Rider. I just picket up two card, and this should go well with my son's SnowPass as we are we were already planning to hit up a bunch of different mtns this year. I saw that someone is already trying to see the cards on eBay for $150...

Is the pass transferrable? Are the any personal identifiers on the pass that would prohibit you sharing your unused days with someone else? I might hit JF twice and Sno but that is about it. I'm sure I could find someone who could use the pass at the other areas though

Thanks for the input guys. It is good and bad to see that there in no concensus, as it means these are probably all good places to stay, but makes the choice harder. It is just hard to pick a place based on mtns (PC/Solitude/Brighton) I haven't skied. Toast, I like the idea of Ogden, but I was a bit concerned about the daily drive to Snowbasin through the canyon. From what I have seen online it takes about 30 minutes in good weather and potential an hour in snow. As we will have our Honda Odyssey minivan, I would hate to be forced to stay home or go up late because of the snow. Have you had any experience making the drive in snow? Is it reasonable in a ft wheel drive with chains. I'll need to be a bit conservative with my driving as the kids don't have enought strength to push dad out of the snowbank just yet. Justo, having skied Snowbird and Alta on powder days, I agree with you about the entitled locals and their attitude, although it didn't compare with the line up for the Peak Chair at Whistler. I appreciate your feedback on all the mtns, and I am seriously looking forward to the snow cat assisted skiing at Powder mtn. It appears low key on their videos and looks like it would make for a fun day after a storm. You mentioned that the Canyons would be better than Park City, why do you think that? Do they have better terrain, are there less crowds or something else? I just saw the mid-mtn housing layout and was thinking of Sunrise Mtn at Killington with the trails running next to people's condos. Did anyone have any issues with the crowds while skiing at the Park City resorts? I can't imagine that this isn't an issue with all of the housing they have right next to the mtns.

I am hoping that you guys can give me some advice. I am trying to put together a trip to Salt Lake City and I am a bit torn about what approach to take. It looks like I am going to get approval from my boss to work remotely for a month. I am targeting February and would plan on working 2-3 days a week and skiing the remainder. Originally, I was going to try to get a place in Sandy or thereabouts and sample different the resorts around Salt Lake based on where the snow was falling. I figured driving 30 minutes to an hour plus (depending on where I skied) wouldn

The pitch on White Lightening is pretty good. Is it the steepest in the poconos for that length?

Photos looked good except for the liftline. Were there battles for position or were people just happy to be getting in some skiing? For those of you going up soon, there is a buy one get one free deal via email - http://www.killington.com/winter/2for1/2for1-skimag

Unfortunately, only rain on the uppper mtn due to the massive inversion

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice, we had a sweet trip out to SLC for our first days on snow this year. Flight out of PHL on Thursday at 7 arriving in SLC a bit after 10 am. Drove down to Sandy to pick up tickets and rental skis from Canyon Sports. They didn't have lift tickets yet so we just picked up the skis and used the 20% off coupons from the Ski Utah books in all the local shops. Checked in early at the Sandy Hilton Garden Inn and threw on our ski cloths. The hotel was brand new and close to a number of shops and restaurants. I used my points for the hotel, so it didn't end up costing anything. Based on the conditions reports we decided to hit up Alta on the first day. Got there around 1 and it was snowing. I saw my surgeon in Philly the day before and he was a bit surprised I was already going to ski less than 6 months post ACL surgery. He told me to keep it on the groomed runs, no bumps and not to push it. During the first run I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it as my knee seemed so weak. A few runs and I felt better and the form was starting to come back. It was a bit of a disappointment not to be able to hit any of the chutes or trees, but it was great to be gliding over the snow again. The area had tons of short, steeps, but the base looked a bit thin. It seemed like an area where you needed some local knowledge so as not to get cliffed out or come up on something that was only marginally skiable. Second day we hit Snowbird and got first tram. You really appreciate the time difference on your first day or two out there as it makes it easy to get up early. They only listed 11 open trails, but there was a good amount to ski and the new snow overnight certainly helped. It didn't take much imagination to be able to find some boot top deep untouched pow. I couldn't quite follow the docs advice and needed to try the goods. Skied a bit in the Peruvian Gulch area in the morning and then off the Gad lifts mid-morning and early afternoon. Again, it would be totally sweet with everything open and being able to charge it. I didn't push it to much but we followed an untracked line and ended up on the wrong side of a creek. Kept following the line and came up on a mildly steep couloir with a choke at the top only a ski length wide. It opened up a bit in the middle before tightening again at the bottom. It seemed like just a taste of what was out there if you were willing to explore... Next time!! A few tips that I picked up. One if you are going to rent a car, make sure you get an 4WD or AWD due to the canyon road access. It was limited to 4WD or vehicles with chains the day before we arrived. Avis doesn't provide chains with their rentals. Second, even though the distance from Sandy wasn't far in terms of mileage, it took about 40 minutes to get to the resorts. The speed limits were 35, and surprisingly, that is what people drove. It took some getting used to so that I wasn't trying to give the car in front of me a little push. Keep this in mind when planning where you stay and how much time you think it will take.

I don't know if I buy the logic, but I do like the answer. Usually I am reasonably fit, but I am still recovering from ACL surgery in June and my cardio fitness is a bit pathetic at this point. I don't plan on hiking on this trip. More of an opportunity to explore so I know where to go when I come back for a longer stay. These will be my first days on skis this winter so I don't plan on charging it too hard. I certainly want to maximize the amount of terrain that I am able to ski though, so I appreciate the tips on the early season conditions. What is the likelyhood of the roads into Alta/SB being closed due to storms? Not too bad as it is too early in the season? I think I read somewhere that people had to leave Alta mid-day because the road was closing. I could imagine the opposite, where you couldn't get in from SLC in the morning due to a heavy snow overnight. I just wouldn't want to get stuck. Legit concern or not?

This is actually timely for me as I am heading out to SLC Dec 4-5. As I only have half a day on the 4th I was planning to hit the Canyons and then stay in Park City and ski PC on Friday. It seems as though no one is a fan of PC though. What is the take on the Canyons? The nice thing is that PC and the Canyons give you a free ticket if you ski on the day you land. Any bit of savings helps... I could also ski the Canyons, stay in Sandy and hit Alta or Snowbird on Friday. It seems as though everyone on the tread is leaning to SB, why is that? What are types of terrain are people skiing there? Also, how much of an impact does the altitude have?

We used the 4th grade pass last year as well. I was VERY pleased to see they extended it to include 5th graders this year. We probably used 10 or so free passes before I torn my ACL. Hopefully we can use it as much or more this year. Good point regarding the additional passes for surrounding states. Although the 4th grade PA pass includes one free pass for each NY, VT and NH (or did last year at least) it may be worthwhile to apply for a separate pass in these states if planning a trip. The VT 5th grade pass itself is only $10 and you don't need to be a resident. NY and NH have similar deals. A good excuse to plan a long weekend up North or a reason to chase the big storms when the come (fingers crossed!!) Here is a link with info for NE as well as some Western states - http://www.wintertrails.org/wintertrails.p...p;page=passport