Travel and rest

Jcb890 said:

As a snowboarder, I much prefer the trees I have tried out West. Skiers may prefer the tighter New England trees though, that's what I was imagining when I asked my question.

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I find the tree skiing point rather interesting. While much of the tree skiing involves towering firs there are also Aspen glades that are nice as well Beaver Creek has several. I have found trees that are very tight, steep with huge drops one at Loveland off Chair 1 comes to mind that. Personally it was not my thing. New England does have varying types of trees from towering Pines to birches to maples to shorted firs. But IMO the same tight trees can be found. If trees get too tight then the speed is taken out of the run and it becomes more strategic. It really is a to each there own type of experience. Personally, I am getting the a similar tree experience as I had in New England. That is not a deal breaker for me.

RISkier said:

Well, I'm well past double nickels. The impact on my body really depends on conditions, and in CO you're getting less oxygen than you're used to getting. I also find I have much more endurance later in the year than early in the year. On a week long trip we usually take a day off. Some time off freshens not only the body but also the mind. No shame in taking a day or two off and getting recharged. You're there to have fun, not beat yourself up.

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Speaking of - It really is a to each there own type of experience. You paid for the trip so do what you like. If you want to take a day take it, if you want to ski easier runs then do it. It really does not matter. Some else's perspective is ok but may not fit your situation. My wife is of the camp of ski everyday since you are there but she also does not think that you have to kill it each day and it also does not need to be bell to bell.

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I'm probably going to Denver in the 1st week of March next year, mandatory work related trip... I'm thinking of taking the drive to Steamboat from there. Their trees are always rated so highly and it looks like it has a wider variety of terrain I'd enjoy.

That said the best trees I've skied were Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Jay, MRG and similar. You can probably tell the kind of skiing I find to be a peak experience just based on that list. And powder is nice but I can have a good time without it

dlague said:

I find the tree skiing point rather interesting. While much of the tree skiing involves towering firs there are also Aspen glades that are nice as well Beaver Creek has several. I have found trees that are very tight, steep with huge drops one at Loveland off Chair 1 comes to mind that. Personally it was not my thing. New England does have varying types of trees from towering Pines to birches to maples to shorted firs. But IMO the same tight trees can be found. If trees get too tight then the speed is taken out of the run and it becomes more strategic. It really is a to each there own type of experience. Personally, I am getting the a similar tree experience as I had in New England. That is not a deal breaker for me.

Speaking of - It really is a to each there own type of experience. You paid for the trip so do what you like. If you want to take a day take it, if you want to ski easier runs then do it. It really does not matter. Some else's perspective is ok but may not fit your situation. My wife is of the camp of ski everyday since you are there but she also does not think that you have to kill it each day and it also does not need to be bell to bell.

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I agree, I don't see much difference in the woods at all except the snow is much deeper and better out west. Spent most of last Thursday in the woods at Brighton with a guy who owns a home in Vermont and he was amazed at how you could go off trail almost anywhere along a trail and hit good lines (powder filled that day). He claimed the Vermont house was going on the market.:lol:

Couple of years ago took a day off on our Utah trip and went down to Arches National Park. That was really cool. The hike up to Delicate Arch made up for the lack of skiing. There is so much to see and do out there and such beautiful country.

Check your PM Dave.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

bdfreetuna said:

I'm probably going to Denver in the 1st week of March next year, mandatory work related trip... I'm thinking of taking the drive to Steamboat from there. Their trees are always rated so highly and it looks like it has a wider variety of terrain I'd enjoy.

That said the best trees I've skied were Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Jay, MRG and similar. You can probably tell the kind of skiing I find to be a peak experience just based on that list. And powder is nice but I can have a good time without it

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Go ski the Jane, you will not regret it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

4aprice said:

Go ski the Jane, you will not regret it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

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I agree. The trees at Mary Jane and also the eagle wind chair are some of my favorite anywhere. Steamboat has dreamy trees as well but when you want steep tech lines Im always wanting more. Also some of the trees off pali and chair 1 at loveland are steep and tight.

Then again if tuna ain't digging the trees in tahoe then Im not sure if he's really gonna like anything in Colorado to be honest. I had a rare and awesome midweek session at jay peak last week and I can say those trees were sublime on that day. East coast trees, particularly northern vermont, when they're on, are very unique.

Me personally I like consistent flow trees. I like consistent steep pitches and I like tech with cornices, rocks and shit so I prefer being west but stick me smack dab in the middle of Michigan and you can sure as hell bet ill have a blast!

Since Winter Park is kind of on the way to Steamboat from Denver it would be feasible to do both on next year's CO trip.

Speaking of Michigan... Mt Bohemia looks like the ultimate !

bdfreetuna said:

Since Winter Park is kind of on the way to Steamboat from Denver it would be feasible to do both on next year's CO trip.

Speaking of Michigan... Mt Bohemia looks like the ultimate !

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yeah its right on the way and they have multi packs you can buy for both areas I believe. Steamboat can be very much hit or miss in March IMO as it get sun blasted and champagne powder=mank when the sun is out so play it by ear.

And yeah Bohemia looks like a fun hill!

snoseek said:

yeah its right on the way and they have multi packs you can buy for both areas I believe. Steamboat can be very much hit or miss in March IMO as it get sun blasted and champagne powder=mank when the sun is out so play it by ear.

And yeah Bohemia looks like a fun hill!

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I'm definitely planning on hitting Winter Park next year as well for all reasons stated. Only ever skied out west in Utah before (family connection) so I'm looking forward to it.

Many of the posts pretty much already answered the question on all the factors affecting the OP's question. But since the OP specifically mentioned my name, I'll share my experience as an example to support many of the advises of other posts.

If you read my trip reports, you would have noticed I didn't ski non-stop for very many days in a row. Part of it is because I'm driving from one place to another. Some of the drives takes a full day (or two). So those are the "forced" rest days. So the longest is probably this very stretch I'm in: I've skied 8 days straight and tomorrow will be my 9th. Some of those days were hard charging days and some were relaxing groomer cruisers, mostly dictated by the condition of the day in question.

But, 9 days doesn't even equal my past records, which stood at 12 straight days of skiing. I was in a 9 day vacation. Then my flight got cancelled due to a massive storm hitting the east coast grounding ALL flights. I was "forced" to stay there and skied another 2 extra days.

Truth being, I've been doing 8 or 9 day vacations pretty much every year, sometimes twice a year. Basically, I take a week off. Fly out Friday and arrive at the wee hour of the night. Ski Saturday till the following Sunday, racking up 8 days of skiing. Sometimes, I flight out on Monday night instead of Sunday. That makes 9 days of skiing in a row.

To the question of HOW I can ski 8 or 9 days straight when I only ski on weekends the rest of the season, there had been many answers, almost ALL of them apply to some degree!

But the #1 factor was laid out in 1 lone post above by crank: "HOW you ski matters"!

A few years back, I took a clinic which really help clean up my skiing. Resulting in a more efficient use of energy particularly in challenging terrain. Since then, I was able to ski steeps and bumps much longer without feeling tired. That, contribute significantly to my being able to ski full days and MANY days.

The rest:

- Not all my ski days are full days. Sometimes, the weather/condition dictates morning or afternoon would be enjoyable and the rest of the day not. I don't stay out if condition are distinctly miserable.

- Hard skiing vs easy skiing. I don't hammer at bumps all day long, even though I do enjoy bumps quite a bit and CAN ski them a lot. Still, I won't hammer on the bumps 1st chair to last.

- Condition: Powder can be relaxing easy skiing or hard work depending on the consistency of the snow. Today for example, was borderline miserable. Dust on crust or plain coral reef in a big part of the mountain! We did find some soft snow in the morning which we lapped many times. But much of the afternoon was just moving around the mountain hunting for better snow. We conceited defeat mid-afternoon and decided to save our knees for another day. Of course by then, it's past 3pm. So I guess we didn't really "save" much of the day (or our legs).

- stay in shape: I cycle, 50-80 miles/day on weekends. Plus a bit of swimming and kayaking, some hiking. I enjoyed all of those activities so it's recreation not work.

I read all the posts. I don't feel I need to compete with the longest consecutive days posted, because I don't know what condition they had or what sort of terrain was involved. There're NO hard and fast rules on how many days anyone should ski between breaks, nor how long that break should be. That "rest day" can be a half day for some, an easy cruiser day for others, and a museum/shopping day for the rest! (ski country museum gives you the perspective and history of skiing, which I think is highly valuable for an all-rounded skier. Skiing isn't just about counting days and verts, after all. On the shopping front, I found a pair of telemark boots for 1/3 of the retail price on one of my "down day" a couple years back)

So, to summarize, do what YOU feel is right. If you're feeling you're tired, don't really enjoy the skiing any more, take the day "off" to do something else. Or, if you're feeling it coming, take an "easy/half day" and just tool around. Some mountains I know offers (on skis) "history tour", or "biology tour" etc. I've taken some of those in different mountains. I found them enjoyable. You're still skiing, but now with a different purpose than just going up and down racking up max verts.

After all, it's a ski VACATION. Do what makes you enjoy and relax. The office is where you need to be serious about your "best performance". Vacation is not work. So, take that off day when YOU feel like it, not when others tell you should.

Sounds like you feel a rest day after 3 days may work best for you. It very likely be the right one then. It's also quite a common practice for many ski vacationers to take that rest day after 3 days of skiing. So you're in good company there.

Love steep trails/trees, but don't love tight trees. Give me some nice wide open steep trees.

madriverjack said:

Way to go Spencer!!! What's he like 6'3" now

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6'1


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After 3 days at the bird, I had to take a break.

The fine Slopefillers website had a recent piece touching on this subject, basically calling for sanity and taking it easy instead of maximizing your lift ticket by pounding out vertical when you are exhausted and risk injury: http://www.slopefillers.com/marketing-value-of-calling-it-a-day/

Good idea to wear compression braces on knees or back *before* the pain starts and you're just trying to prop yourself up for remaining days if you're prone to this.