Okemo and Season Passes

[SallyCat]

Had an awesome day at Okemo yesterday.  Man, being able to ski on weekdays is like discovering Narnia. It's a magical wonderland full of great skiing, low crowds, and really nice people who are happy and relaxed.

I met some hilarious retirees who have their own "stash" in the woods somewhere; evidently they bring up a grill and chairs and coolers early in the season and then just carry in supplies as needed. 

The snow is amazing: soft packed powder everywhere you go and the day turned out to be sunny, though the wind was a bit brutal at times.

I bought an Okemo midweek season pass for next year for $279, which also includes Sunapee. I'm not sure what I'll be doing for work, but I plan to keep it flexible as much as possible and try to work weekends.

I'm thinking also of getting a season pass at Whaleback, because then if I wanted to ski weekends I'd be on the Freedom Pass   which includes days at a lot of smaller areas (and Magic Mountain) that may be fun on weekends, and I'd also get half-off discounts at places like Killington and a few other bigger resorts. 

Have to do adult stuff today (real estate, health insurance. Blah!) but am going to ski Whaleback tonight from 4 to 8. Night skiing in New England!

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Way to get after it and that’s a cheap season pass price.  I’ve seen whaleback before from 91...

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Narnia always reminds me of this even though I’ve never seen the movie. 

 

 

[toast21602]

thought that was a picture of sidewinder at first.

[RootDKJ]

I've only been night skiing in VT once, at Bolton Valley and it was COLD, but excellent.  

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

3 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

I've only been night skiing in VT once, at Bolton Valley and it was COLD, but excellent.  

Same but it wasn’t cold. I’m not a fan of Bolton valley as it’s super flat and near much better spots. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[RootDKJ]

1 minute ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Same but it wasn’t cold. I’m not a fan of Bolton valley as it’s super flat and near much better spots. 

I love Bolton Valley.  Sure it's easy, but it's an Old School place with and old school vibe.

Sketchy AF access road though, especially if it's snowed recently.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

7 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

I love Bolton Valley.  Sure it's easy, but it's an Old School place with and old school vibe.

Sketchy AF access road though, especially if it's snowed recently.

I only skied BV a few times in college it was during a time when it kept changing ownership and one season it didn’t open at all. 

[RootDKJ]

59 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

I only skied BV a few times in college it was during a time when it kept changing ownership and one season it didn’t open at all. 

I went there 3 or maybe 4 times.  I remember some excellent low-angle glade skiing that were just perfect for my HRJF at the time.  I'm way overdue for a trip to the north country.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

21 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

I went there 3 or maybe 4 times.  I remember some excellent low-angle glade skiing that were just perfect for my HRJF at the time.  I'm way overdue for a trip to the north country.

Yeah you haven’t been on a ski trip in awhile.  You should go up there when blue closes will be good preparation for a trip with Matt Edge and Salty next winter. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[RootDKJ]

13 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Yeah you haven’t been on a ski trip in awhile.  You should go up there when blue closes will be good preparation for a trip with Matt Edge and Salty next winter. 

After Blue closes, my next trip will be to Prague.  Leaving 4/21.  I might be lucky enough to get 1 or 2 more trips to Belle.  After that, my season is done.

Edited March 23, 2018 by RootDKJ

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

2 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

After Blue closes, my next trip will be to Prague.  Leaving 4/21.  I might be lucky enough to get 1 or 2 more trips to Belle.  After that, my season is done.

No bday skiing at Killington?

[RootDKJ]

1 minute ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

No bday skiing at Killington?

Nope, b-day will be celebrated in Prague, the city with the highest beer consumption per capita in the world.  

It's highly unlikely I'll want to go to Killy after May 7th unless some freak May nor-easter hits.  I'll be in full bike mode once I get back.

[Schif]

I'm going to be in the mood to run up to VT for a weekend after Blue closes. Maybe some car camping. Who knows. 

[SallyCat]

1 hour ago, RootDKJ said:

Nope, b-day will be celebrated in Prague, the city with the highest beer consumption per capita in the world.  

Wow! What a gorgeous city!

I spent a month in Prague back in 1992; met as many Californians as Czechs.

Back then you could get a bratwurst, a piece of bread, and a beer for like 25 cents. That seemed to be a very popular breakfast for lots of workers. My fav beer was Staropramen and I'll still have a Pilsner Urquel now and then for nostalgia.

An American guy I met had an old "Say it in Czech" phrasebook from 1964. It was divided into chapters like "Your visit to the collective farm" and taught you useful phrases such as "what is the yearly output of your chickens?"

Safe travels and have an amazing time!

Hodne stesti!

 

[Shadows]

You should write the introduction to jlaws book

[SallyCat]

7 hours ago, Schif said:

I'm going to be in the mood to run up to VT for a weekend after Blue closes. Maybe some car camping. Who knows. 

Give a holler if you want four walls; I'm still in Quechee. I close on the tiny condo on April 12, but won't move in for a couple of weeks, so if it's late-April you could have an unfurnished place in West Windsor to yourself. 

[SallyCat]

I decided to buy a Magic blackout pass, which also gets me on the Freedom Pass and is super discounted starting April 1. So Okemo mid-week and Freedom Pass in case something awful happens and I have to get a job. 

[saltyant]

Slow Kemo is grate... Well at least it's sunny and there is snow, and no one on the Jackson Gore side. On some trails there is garbage snow. It's like skiing in Pennsylvania with the drive

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

1 minute ago, saltyant said:

Slow Kemo is grate... Well at least it's sunny and there is snow, and no one on the Jackson Gore side. On some trails there is garbage snow. It's like skiing in Pennsylvania with the drive

Okemo is perfect for you.  

[saltyant]

10 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Okemo is perfect for you.  

So far I like Stowe better. Too many steps to go up at the beginning and then the need to take a 20 minute ride on a super slow lift to a faster lift to get up. But Okemo is grate

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

3 minutes ago, saltyant said:

So far I like Stowe better. Too many steps to go up at the beginning and then the need to take a 20 minute ride on a super slow lift to a faster lift to get up. But Okemo is grate

You can handle the double black diamonds at okemo but not at Stowe. 

[saltyant]

8 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

You can handle the double black diamonds at okemo but not at Stowe. 

I can ski any double blacks that are groomed with extreme ease. If they're ungroomed I can slide down 

Edited February 13, 2023 by saltyant

[trackbiker]

2 hours ago, saltyant said:

So far I like Stowe better. Too many steps to go up at the beginning and then the need to take a 20 minute ride on a super slow lift to a faster lift to get up. But Okemo is grate

Boot up at Jackson Gore to avoid the steps and the slow lift at the main lodge.

[saltyant]

1 minute ago, trackbiker said:

Boot up at Jackson Gore to avoid the steps and the slow lift at the main lodge.

I'll do that on Wednesday. The groomers here are fantastic, I just hate getting stuck down at the main lodge. I've already goofed 3 times and ended up there again. Now I'm planning my roots ahead of time to make sure I end at a real lift.

Edited February 13, 2023 by saltyant