Trip Reports from Out West?

Although I now live in Colorado, I still pop in this forum to see what I can learn (which is lots!)!

Is there any interest in my posting anything about my mini-trips to the CO and UT ski areas? I noticed that most of the trip reports are for areas in the great NE so wanted to check before I started rambling.

Thanks!

That might be dangerous today...a lot of forum members are wallowing in self-pity over the extended January thaw around here... :wink:

Seriously, I'd wait to see what one or more of the moderators has to say.

Nancy said:

Although I now live in Colorado, I still pop in this forum to see what I can learn (which is lots!)!

Is there any interest in my posting anything about my mini-trips to the CO and UT ski areas? I noticed that most of the trip reports are for areas in the great NE so wanted to check before I started rambling.

Thanks!

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I would love to hear about your mini trips. The only thing I ask is that you post Pictures of your trips :wink: I am sure most of us need a few POW pics.

Just post them in the general skiing forum, please.

here's one Colorado, Keystone

that's from my video archives though 2002 - practically retro bumps http://www.northeastskipodcast.com/...umps-of-colorado-skiers-from-east-go-west-too

I'd love to hear your reports and see the pictures. Hop to it!

I'd say that your trip reports may be beneficial to those of us on the East Coast planning trips to those resorts that you have already visited.

Your trip reports are probably going to make me want to cry

Sking in Utah

Hey AZ'rs, if anyone wants info on skiing UT, just ask me. Keep in mind, I go out there to ski, not for the "resort experience." I can't answer questions about the resorts even though I have visited them to ski (not stay), but I can help you plan a trip "on the cheap." Colorado skiing is great and the mountains are beautiful (I have skied Vail, Breckenridge, A-Basin, and Copper). But, they take much more effort to get to, and once there, you are at the mercy of "resort pricing." One of my three friends who went to UT with me last week has skied CO a couple of times and loved it. He was amazed at the quality of the skiing experience he has with us in UT, AND the low cost.

Re: here's one Colorado, Keystone

northeastskipodcast said:

that's from my video archives though 2002 - practically retro bumps http://www.northeastskipodcast.com/...umps-of-colorado-skiers-from-east-go-west-too

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That video made my knees hurt...

A-basin is mad cheap. I work there right now. If you can find me, I can get any AlpineZone member a $20 ticket. Just send me a message and let me know when you are coming, your name, etc. If you like expert terrain, A-basin is the way to go in summit county, plus it's easy to get to, there is no "resort." It reminds me of NE ski areas like mad river except with colorado terrain. Lots of steeps, cliffs, trees, etc.

Just my two cents, but...
I'm a misplaced New Englander living in Colorado now and working in the ski industry. Part of my job is to ski the major resorts out West (just got back from an 11-day 'business' trip to Jackson Hole). However, I love this forum b/c it sticks to all things East Coast. I have made a concentrated effort to keep it focused just on East Coast stuff, rather than filling it up with my personal accounts of the Western resorts (people asking for specific advice aside).
From my perspective, if someone wants to read about Western trip reports, conditions, etc., there are plenty of forums and websites to browse. It just becomes a slippery slope between the occasional trip report (as much as we might like to read them) and the place becoming FULL of stuff that has nothing to do with the East Coast.

Moderators -- Maybe a separate category for non-East Coast stuff?

Again, I don't mean to sound cross and someone please tell me if I seem out of line. I certainly understand wanting to share info with people that we know and trust, but it just seems like this forum would lose its focus, and, by extension, could become just another generalized ski forum. I think part of Alpinezone's beauty is that it is about East Coast skiing specifically.

I think blacknblue makes a good point. I find myself drawn to this forum because I miss the east coast and this is a quality way to get back to the east coast ski culture (which I actually like more). However, I think that this should be an east coast skier forum. East coasters travel out west for ski vacations all the time, therefore I don't think the occasional thread on a non-east coast location would take away from this forum. But that's just me.

Cool!

Robert Goulet said:

I find myself drawn to this forum because I miss the east coast and this is a quality way to get back to the east coast ski culture (which I actually like more).

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I have seen this sentiment a few times now. I have not skied out west yet. What's the difference?

YardSaleDad said:

Robert Goulet said:

I find myself drawn to this forum because I miss the east coast and this is a quality way to get back to the east coast ski culture (which I actually like more).

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I have seen this sentiment a few times now. I have not skied out west yet. What's the difference?

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Here's my (abbreviated) take...
In general, people living out West came out West just for that purpose. Most of my friends in Jackson, Steamboat, Telluride, etc. are misplaced East Coasters. So, since they are there for that reason, they don't have the sense of heritage and their lives tend to revolve around their sole purpose for being there: skiing (or climbing, or whatever).
Back East, people grow up there. You ski the same hill for 50 years and teach your kids and grandkids to ski there. The skiing is integrated into every other aspect of life, along with yardwork and family and the Red Sox trade rumors.
When my brother (in NY, married with two kids) wants to ski, it involves arranging kid-care with his wife and getting the honey-do list accomplished. Me, out West, I just go skiing. Of course, part of that is the single vs. married dichotomy, but it generally holds true. I have 30 friends who, if I call during "normal business hours" may very well be on the chairlift, having walked there from their house. Not the same back East!
There's something to be said either way, but having skiing integrated as a part of your life, rather than being your life, changes the skiing culture.

Here's my experience. I would completely agree with the above mentioned points related to the fact that western areas are populated by skiers and noone else. Everything built here in summit county seems to be built around the ski industry. People come, ski, and leave. One thing that makes the east so special is that the towns were there 200 years before a ski area existed. Out here, you may find some old towns that were centered around mining, such as Breckenridge, but have lost all sense of that past (in my opinion). Sure some old buildings still exist but they live between huge 6 story hotels and gift shops. There may be a lot of shopping, etc but there is a serious lack of small town charm. The other thing that makes eastern ski culture so great are the people. On a powder day in my native NH or Maine or VT, everyone is stoked. I loved listening to all the "oooooohs" from the lift when someone wipes out or the "woooohoooo's" when someones ripping some fresh powder. Out west, you will hear more heckling.....people outright will tell you that you suck if you arent' totally ripping it up under the lift. I heard this just yesterday from the pali chair from the two locals on the chair behind me. It was a powder day for christ's sake, who cares if they weren't skiing like seth morrison. People out here need to learn some modesty as well. For some reason, Coloradans seem to feel entitled to tell you if their gear is better than yours. Who gives a crap? They also don't refrain from exclaiming that they just "totally ripped such and such a line" in the lift line. Not to mention the best skiers out here all come from the east. I just entered a bunch of big mountain competitions out here and put "Pat's Peak, NH" as my home mountain because 99% of the skills I learned necessary to get me to this level of competition was learned as a member of the Pat's Peak ski team. Almost all of the skiers on the Arapahoe Basin freeride team are from the east coast....and they dont' talk about themselves. There just seems to be this feeling that unless you prove your skiing ability to people out here, they won't bother noticing you. Rides up the double chairlifts here are way too quiet when two strangers ride the lift together. I've said "hi" to a local on a lift, he looked at me, and didn't even say anything back. This isn't just my experience, this is an experience shared by a lot of former east coast skiers that I work with. That's why I miss the east. That's why I'm coming back next year to ski bum rather than spend it out here in more snow.

Rob and Black N' Blue offer some great arguements that I also didn't take a liking to during my time in colorado. some other things that I thought sucked when I lived in Denver was the awful I-70 traffic, you'd think you were on 93 in downtown boston during rush hour after your day of skiing. The other thing I hated were all the fake villages you had to walk through to get to the lifts, and before that you have to take like 3 shuttles just to get there after you pay to park your car. their is just more stupid sh*t to deal with, and that includes the infrastructure and the people.
East Coast knows how to keep it real!

Are you a meathead films guy?

The West

Interesting postings by blacknblue, Robert Goulet, and meathead. One of the reasons that I am choosing to move west to Salt Lake City to pursue my desire to ski great conditions and to do so more frequently, is that I will actually be living in a "real" city where people have lives that are not only focused on skiing. Sure, I expect to meet and hang with people who love to ski and have time to do it because they are retired like I am, but there is much more to do there than ski. There are universities, sports teams (I love soccer, and there is a new MLS franchise...REAL Salt Lake)restaurants, theaters, etc.. Most people are not into skiing despite the proximity of the mountains. So, I expect to have a life that is more then skiing, but with the added benefit of lots of it. If all goes well, and my plan works out, I'll look forward to meeting up with some of you if you get the opportunity to make the trip. I might even show you some "secret" stashes that only the "locals" know about.