Sleeping in cars at a ski area

steamboat1 · Oct 22, 2013

ss20 said:
If you've got such high standards (as you most obviously do if you have the audacity to say anyone who sleeps in their car is a cheap bastard) then why are you a Killington skier? There's no village where you can buy your 50$ panties. The parking lot isn't paved. And there's a bunch of partiers being loud and having fun in the bar across from your $400 hotel suite.

Don't hate on the people who save every last penny to ski by saving 75$ on a hotel. They've got more loyalty to the sport than you've got, apparently.

You obviously have no clue.

Not my style at all.

I'll get my K pass down to under $20 a day.

Lodging with breakfast a few dollars more.

20 min from K. About an hour from MRV & Manchester area.

Stowe & Smuggs are very doable for a day trip.

No way am I sleeping in my car.

ScottySkis · Oct 22, 2013

steamboat1 said:
You obviously have no clue.

Not my style at all.

I'll get my K pass down to under $20 a day.

Lodging with breakfast a few dollars more.

20 min from K. About an hour from MRV & Manchester area.

Stowe & Smuggs are very doable for a day trip.

No way am I sleeping in my car.

Hey that is great that you don't have to sleep In your car. I am not one who makes a good amount of money so yes for to ski I choose to sleep in ny car, what ever gets you to the slopes is what matters.

Smellytele · Oct 22, 2013

mlkrgr said:
I do; and I will drive 2 hours each way to redeem a comp pass. I actually got a few comp passes to Waterville and actually made first tracks 3 times last season by waking up ridiculously early. Of course, you get a good crowd of 70 people lining up even on a weekday at White Peaks but you still hit a good amount of fresh cord for a few runs. What I refuse to do is pay $71 for a day ticket (weekend) to MRG when a bus runs to say Stowe for $80 which includes the lift ticket. Even at a $55 day ticket, it's tough to justify driving once wear and tear expenses are considered with one other person. This is about knowing how much your really saving once you think of the bundled price, and this is considering a sedan that gets 23 mpg. Plus, a good perk for holidays is that you're not lugging your equipment from a far away parking lot (but I understand this can vary upon the individual resort) and discounts off window rates are far and few between. A good example is Sunday River. At 9:15 when I went their on a December vacation week, the bus gets a spot right next to the preferred parking. People taking their car were already lugging their equipment a good 3x the distance I was at that time.

Only downside is you have to commit about 4-5 days in advance for the more popular days for Stowe; 2 days is usually sufficient elsewhere.

I for one would not like to take the bus. I do not like other people and smelling other people would be even worse. I do not like having to set to a time and have to meet at a certain place earlier than I would leave my house and getting home later than I would if i drove my self. Also I never pay window price anyway. i ski Stowe only on ski club days.

Smellytele · Oct 22, 2013

steamboat1 said:
edit: I probably spend way less for 5 days of skiing than you weekend warriors spend for the weekend.

Highly doubt it

Cornhead · Oct 22, 2013

Scotty may sleep in his car, but he does it in luxury sheets. I've only done it once. I was on my way home from Maine, I made it as far as Rutland and had enough of driving. I decided to stay overnight and ski Killington the next day. I didn't want to spend money on a motel, so I bought my ticket on Liftopia, and hung out in a Dunkin Donuts most of the night surfing the net. I tried to get some sleep in the K1 lot. When I left for Maine, I almost threw my down bag in the car, I didn't, if I had I would have been a lot more comfortable. I didn't fall asleep until it started getting light. I may have got two hours of sleep. I was afraid I might get drowsy driving the 250 miles home, but I didn't.

If I had it to do over again, I think I would go from motel to motel offering $30 for a room till someone bit. It was March, there must have been hundreds of empty rooms in the area. To me, $30 for a room is better than an empty room. I could be wrong, maybe it doesn't cover the cost of prepping the room, washing linens and towels, etc.

Sent from my DROID X2 using AlpineZone mobile app

twinplanx · Oct 22, 2013

Smellytele said:
I for one would not like to take the bus. I do not like other people and smelling other people would be even worse...

Well not everyone is a Smellytele ... Kinda sounds snobbish?!?

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Smellytele · Oct 22, 2013

twinplanx said:
Well not everyone is a Smellytele ... Kinda sounds snobbish?!?

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk

people don't want to smell me either :lol: More like curmudgeon (anti-social) than snobbish.

"I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER".

Johnskiismore · Oct 22, 2013

Used to when still living in the Boston, MA area, when we'd go to Sugarloaf. Late teen to early 20s old, Arrive @ midnight or so, it was great to do at the time.

C-Rex · Oct 22, 2013

I think some of you are missing the point. You don't sleep in your car as a substitute for lodging on a trip planned in advance. You do it when you find out last minute that a 2-4 inch snow shower is turning into 10-12 inch dump. You call out of work, drive up in the storm the night before, crash in your car and wake up with the plows for fresh tracks. You don't do it for a regular groomer day, or at least I wouldn't.

Some people plan their skiing out in advance and hope for the best. Sometimes it works out, more often it doesn't. If you want to catch those "2 feet of fresh with no one on the hill" days you have to be flexible, spontaneous, and willing to suffer a little for the glory to come.

Riverskier · Oct 22, 2013

Smellytele said:
people don't want to smell me either :lol: More like curmudgeon (anti-social) than snobbish.

"I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER".

Fellow anti-social curmudgeon here. "People, they are the worst."

Riverskier · Oct 22, 2013

C-Rex said:
I think some of you are missing the point. You don't sleep in your car as a substitute for lodging on a trip planned in advance. You do it when you find out last minute that a 2-4 inch snow shower is turning into 10-12 inch dump. You call out of work, drive up in the storm the night before, crash in your car and wake up with the plows for fresh tracks. You don't do it for a regular groomer day, or at least I wouldn't.

Some people plan their skiing out in advance and hope for the best. Sometimes it works out, more often it doesn't. If you want to catch those "2 feet of fresh with no one on the hill" days you have to be flexible, spontaneous, and willing to suffer a little for the glory to come.

I have never actually done it, but that is the situation where I have considered sleeping in my car- when it is dumping out and I know it is going to be a LONG drive up in the morning. I have certainly been tempted many times in that situation to head up late at night, sleep for a couple hours in my car, and be in line for first chair. Even in my younger years I never considered it as a viable option for regular accomodations. It is cold in the winter after all, and I am partial to beds.

C-Rex · Oct 22, 2013

Riverskier said:
I have never actually done it, but that is the situation where I have considered sleeping in my car- when it is dumping out and I know it is going to be a LONG drive up in the morning. I have certainly been tempted many times in that situation to head up late at night, sleep for a couple hours in my car, and be in line for first chair. Even in my younger years I never considered it as a viable option for regular accomodations. It is cold in the winter after all, and I am partial to beds.

I've only done it once. It wasn't actually that bad in the car once the snow covered the windows and provided a bit of insulation. But it was still a cold night and I only got around 4 hours of sleep. However, the powder day at a nearly empty Jay Peak was totally worth the rough night.

Riverskier · Oct 22, 2013

C-Rex said:
I've only done it once. It wasn't actually that bad in the car once the snow covered the windows and provided a bit of insulation. But it was still a cold night and I only got around 4 hours of sleep. However, the powder day at a nearly empty Jay Peak was totally worth the rough night.

I consider it at least once a season, but I think the primary reason it has never happened is because the idea seems better and better the more beers I drink. By the time it really seems like a legitimately great idea, I am 6 deep and can't drive!

bvibert · Oct 22, 2013

Smellytele said:
I for one would not like to take the bus. I do not like other people and smelling other people would be even worse. I do not like having to set to a time and have to meet at a certain place earlier than I would leave my house and getting home later than I would if i drove my self.

Same here.

It is a funny statement coming from someone named Smellytele though...

Nick · Oct 22, 2013

Cornhead said:
Scotty may sleep in his car, but he does it in luxury sheets.

Awesome.... hahahaha

snowmonster · Oct 22, 2013

I associate this more with ski areas out west. They seem to tolerate car camping in their lots more than back in the east. I think some even have lots to accommodate RVs. The only place I know that seems to be cool with car campers is at Pinkham Notch. I've stayed at the Joe Dodge Lodge several times and encountered people who would car camp before hiking into Tux. They usually use the bathroom in the pack room and eat at the cafeteria. The official policy seems to be that car camping is not allowed. However, this seems to be more honored in the breach. Just park at the far southern end of the lot and be quiet. Best benefit is you get a parking slot during the spring high season and get an early start into the Bowl.

As for me, I always wanted to do this for the heck of it but never got around to doing it. I did the posh ski trip so I wanted to do the opposite just to experience it. Maybe next time.

makimono · Oct 22, 2013

I slept in the back of my Subaru a few times up at Big Mountain (Whitefish) when I was in college. Haven't done it recently but I've been thinking a lot about it lately and have been setting up my Cherokee for renegade RVing and possibly some ski are camping this winter. And I have slept in the back of the XJ many many times in the summer/fall and I've also done some winter tent camping.

Besides heat some other major concerns are condensation and privacy (or security/stealth). You need to crack a couple windows or everything inside your car gets coated with moisture which in the winter is like rime ice on the inside of your windows, even with the windows cracked condensation is still a major issue. Staying warm is not as big a deal as long as it's not arctic out. You need a good winter bag and you need to wear a hat or even better a balaclava. You can double bag it, I have a 0* bag that I layer inside of a summer weight rectangular bag and then throw a wool blanket over that and you can pull that right up over your head too and still breathe through it. I do have a tent heater but for the Jeep I'd just start it up and crank the heat for 15 minutes if needed.

I'm still working on the XJ-RV project and I'll try to post some pics but it won't be for a couple days, Jeeps full of junk right now. So far some of the stuff I've done to set it up...

- Completely removed the rear seat, seat belts etc.
- Built a sleeping platform 28" wide that folds out onto the back of the pass. front seat for a total of 76" long.
- Platform has a Queen size 2" memory foam mattress topper folded in half for 4" total.
- Modified the rear hatch to be able to open from inside.
- Custom cut window shades for all glass (still have a few to do) it's made from a roll of Reflectix material and backed by black felt on one side. When in place it's completely blacked out even with the lights on inside.
- Replaced the stock front seat with seats from a 2000 Mustang (nicer than the Jeep seats but mainly so they can flip forward).
- Installed a 1000 watt power inverter under the Pass. seat.
- Mounted a pair of battery powered LED work lights on the C pillars
- Added a bunch of external lights, A-pillar, spots under rear bumper, fogs and floods on front bumper.
- mounted a CB up on the headliner between the visors.

Some things I'm still working on inside:
- Finish up the Reflectix window screens
- Mount a small Mr. Coffee by the spare tire
- Finish the sleeping platform with a slide out drawer on 30" full extension 500lb slides - this will also double as a table for grilling or whatever.

And outside I need to get 4wd working (linkage) and I have a new rear axle to swap in and then will need to re-gear the front to match. It's going to be a beast if I ever finish it up.

bvibert · Oct 22, 2013

makimono said:
I slept in the back of my Subaru a few times up at Big Mountain (Whitefish) when I was in college. Haven't done it recently but I've been thinking a lot about it lately and have been setting up my Cherokee for renegade RVing and possibly some ski are camping this winter. And I have slept in the back of the XJ many many times in the summer/fall and I've also done some winter tent camping.

Besides heat some other major concerns are condensation and privacy (or security/stealth). You need to crack a couple windows or everything inside your car gets coated with moisture which in the winter is like rime ice on the inside of your windows, even with the windows cracked condensation is still a major issue. Staying warm is not as big a deal as long as it's not arctic out. You need a good winter bag and you need to wear a hat or even better a balaclava. You can double bag it, I have a 0* bag that I layer inside of a summer weight rectangular bag and then throw a wool blanket over that and you can pull that right up over your head too and still breathe through it. I do have a tent heater but for the Jeep I'd just start it up and crank the heat for 15 minutes if needed.

I'm still working on the XJ-RV project and I'll try to post some pics but it won't be for a couple days, Jeeps full of junk right now. So far some of the stuff I've done to set it up...

- Completely removed the rear seat, seat belts etc.
- Built a sleeping platform 28" wide that folds out onto the back of the pass. front seat for a total of 76" long.
- Platform has a Queen size 2" memory foam mattress topper folded in half for 4" total.
- Modified the rear hatch to be able to open from inside.
- Custom cut window shades for all glass (still have a few to do) it's made from a roll of Reflectix material and backed by black felt on one side. When in place it's completely blacked out even with the lights on inside.
- Replaced the stock front seat with seats from a 2000 Mustang (nicer than the Jeep seats but mainly so they can flip forward).
- Installed a 1000 watt power inverter under the Pass. seat.
- Mounted a pair of battery powered LED work lights on the C pillars
- Added a bunch of external lights, A-pillar, spots under rear bumper, fogs and floods on front bumper.
- mounted a CB up on the headliner between the visors.

Some things I'm still working on inside:
- Finish up the Reflectix window screens
- Mount a small Mr. Coffee by the spare tire
- Finish the sleeping platform with a slide out drawer on 30" full extension 500lb slides - this will also double as a table for grilling or whatever.

And outside I need to get 4wd working (linkage) and I have a new rear axle to swap in and then will need to re-gear the front to match. It's going to be a beast if I ever finish it up.

I love this kind of stuff. Got any pictures?

Cannonball · Oct 22, 2013

C-Rex said:
I think some of you are missing the point. You don't sleep in your car as a substitute for lodging on a trip planned in advance. You do it when you find out last minute that a 2-4 inch snow shower is turning into 10-12 inch dump. You call out of work, drive up in the storm the night before, crash in your car and wake up with the plows for fresh tracks. You don't do it for a regular groomer day, or at least I wouldn't.

Some people plan their skiing out in advance and hope for the best. Sometimes it works out, more often it doesn't. If you want to catch those "2 feet of fresh with no one on the hill" days you have to be flexible, spontaneous, and willing to suffer a little for the glory to come.

EXACTLY!

Plus it's fun.

Sleeping in cars at a ski area

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