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Ah, NVM. Another bullet of the FAQ says: "Yes. You can use your 2018-2019 Ikon Pass or Ikon Base Pass starting March 6, 2018 at Big Bear Mountain Resort, June Mountain, Blue Mountain and Snowshoe; and starting on April 9, 2018 at Winter Park Resort, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and Mammoth Mountain."

Oh wait... Somehow I thought (or read) that this pass would work for the remainder of this year too, but the FAQ says this?? "Your Ikon Pass will be mailed to you in the Fall, prior to the start of the 2018-2019 season, assuming you have signed the release of liability and uploaded your photo that meets the requirements."

What's BCC and LCC?

Yeah, I can only imagine what it might be like in winter. I drove from Aspen to Denver once in late May, and there was still snow on the side of the road in some areas, plus an abundance of signs and places to put on chains. JH, as convenient as it sounds, also seems to have this flavor of a daredevil kind of a place, judging by the recent incidents here.

I haven't skied west at all. No, you can't. Only from JFK and LGA.

Well, JFK wouldn't be the preferred airport for me either. As for lodging, I'm looking at $100/night right near the lift in Mammoth (like Mammoth Mountain Inn) vs $200-300/night at Snowbird. But yeah, once you cross into SLC itself, bargains start popping up.

To Reno

Lodging seems way cheaper than near SLC. And direct flights from JFK. Wow, why not to hit it this May??

July?? Wow. Almost like Zermatt. It does look like it must be a PITA to get there. From SFO through Yosemite? From LAX?

Which of the areas, you'd say, are the most reliable in spring time?

Well, right, there is a plethora of possibilities. A cluster around SLC, cluster around Denver, Aspen, Calgary... Travel considerations aside, where would you rather be and why? And which ones would you avoid and why?

That's, I assume, based on the proximity to Denver and the ease of direct flight from EWR? Or are there other considerations?

If you bought this pass, where would you go? Other than Eastern side, JH and Aspen?

Spicy rum is nice. Beers are counterproductive. Reduce skiing time

Funny part is that I didn't drink on the mountains this year at all... Previously I always had some rum on me...

I've seen the pass price, LOL. I'll still be on JF and CB next year, a few times for sure.

I still liked it. GSS's "better than expected" is right on the money. It was worse on Wed.

I think Sally's prediction is going to be right on... Saw a guy on the lift today with a pass around his neck admiring the speed of the 6-pack... Turned out, he never was on BM before, snowboarded in other places, and now his wife is getting into it too. So he saw the pass price and just jumped on it without thinking.

Well, then I'd rather see Blue join the Peak pass than be bought by an "undentified buyer" like CB. Oh, wait, it was identified. Some REIT.

Why the constant talk about someone buying BM? Were there some rumors or indicators that it might be on sale?

Best weather of the season. Can't see ice until you hear it. Calls for courageous skiing.

If South Peak is what you're after, then it was fine there, plus they had reserves due to the features. My gripes were with Bear and Granite. Vernon was so-so in places, but with the Granite Peak gone it all became disconnected.

I wouldn't go to MC until the next major storm or decent snowmaking weather. I've been there in the beginning of last week when they bragged about making new snow after the washout, and it was quite bad. Bare spots on the GS racing slope, very thin cover on Granite peak, I even managed to hit some rocks despite all the efforts. It will be even worse after 70s on Wednesday. So sad.

This is actually quite interesting... We've been there yesterday, and I've never seen the place in so bad shape. Tons, tons of people, it was like somebody opened the floodgates, lines were long, there was no space to eat at all. No races, but fresh snow and Subaru event must've contributed to the crowds. The snow turned nasty real soon. We started at 8am, by 10 greens turned to crud with ice, and by noon the blacks were gone as well. It was also bad execution on our part because we got sidetracked by the free snowboarding lessons that Subaru was offering, and so my daughter figured she'd try snowboarding for the heck of it. That was huge mistake because a) the lessons were late; b) they were quite primitive; c) we lost skiing time. Amazing how different two back-to-back days in a single long weekend could be.