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Mtn loyalist/passholder vs independent/chase the snow week to week.. debate on!!!!

drjeff

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Jan 18, 2006
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100% mountain/pass loyalist here (no surprise at all to my AZ crew I'm sure!!)

An "Ugly" weather/snow conditions day/few runs on the hill PLUS a fun afternoon plus a few beers with friends, often as I near 50, are a "better"/ more fufilling day than if I'd been out on the roads chasing some different snow conditions at a different hill.

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mfi

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Dec 30, 2005
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Stamford CT
Stowe is now my go to place now that we have a place up there but I will chase the snow. I spend 1/2 my season out west...where I really would rather be.
 

Smellytele

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Jan 30, 2006
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Right where I want to be
Not a Loyalist by any means but I usually have a season pass to somewhere. Last year I had the Peaks pass, this year Cannon. I also don't just ski where I have my pass either. I like skiing a variety of ski areas every year. I don't usually chase the snow, I chase the deal but keep conditions as the 2nd requirement.
 

jm99

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Feb 27, 2010
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Mostly stick to Snow/Crotch/Cat but also have a Champlain ski card to mix it up if the snow is good somewhere else (such as N VT which is a big hole in the Peak Pass)
 

BenedictGomez

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Jan 26, 2011
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Wasatch Back
Snow chaser. Great skiing requires great snow.

I have no interest being tied to a mountain in NY when VT just got hammered (or vice-versa).
 

jaytrem

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Oct 22, 2007
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Guess I'm somewhere in between, got the Mt Snow house and pass, but managed to get to 25 other places last year. The goal is always 10 new places, not feeling too confident this year though.
 

mbedle

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Jun 24, 2013
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Barto, Pennsylvania
Stowe loyalist here, don't really ski anywhere else. As I've gotten older, my "skiing" is a combination of skiing, but also being with good friends, good food, good conversation, and great drinks. I get all that at Stowe, and don't really feel the need to go elsewhere, except a trip out west on occasion. I think if I didn't have friends that lived in Stowe, I might explore a little more. Did buy a 4 pack for sugarbush to see what that is like, close to 25 years since I've skied that place.
 

Harvey

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May 19, 2007
Messages
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Location
North River, NY
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nyskiblog.com
I have a list of mountains I like to ski spread across NY and VT. I'll pick which ever one of those has the best snow. The drive time is also a consideration.
 

Killingtime

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Jan 16, 2018
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Long Island, NY
Always have a K pass but manage to fit in a few different places each year, plus an out west trip. Really miss the Max Pass though. Didn't mind springing for a hotel when the lift tickets were virtually free.
 

jaybird

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Sep 26, 2012
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Multi pass options provide best value for us. Will always chase the snow, but 14 new vs 16 new isnt a key factor, as long as there's decent vertical. Under IKON, hope to get to all NE resorts this season. Montana and Colorado are worth the admission price.
Supplemental days in VT wherever the crew decides .. mainly MRV :smile:
 

jaytrem

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Oct 22, 2007
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Hard to get new places after awhile. I only have Maine areas really left and a few rope tow/ 1 chair lift places left to get in VT and NH.

Well my Peaks pass is good at 10 places I've never been too, just gotta commit to that elusive Ohio/Indiana/Missouri trip!!! I will try to pick up the 3 new PA places this year. Maybe hit Bear Creek for some night skiing on the way. Should pick up Tahoe Donner and Boreal. After that it gets tricky and would have to commit to new places versus possibly better skiing.
 

Glenn

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Oct 1, 2008
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Loyalist out of convenience. And over the last year or two, we've done quality over quantity. Conditions don't look great? We'll do something else winter related; snowmobile, ice skate, snowshoe...
 

machski

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Sep 5, 2014
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Northwood, NH (Sunday River, ME)
Loyalist mostly at SR considering we have a place there. Will mix in Loon for midweek day trips from home, along with K on Ikon. Will hit SB for a weekend and maybe chase snow up to Tremblant and Jay. Two trips out west on the Ikon planned as well.

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KustyTheKlown

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Mar 1, 2013
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Well my Peaks pass is good at 10 places I've never been too, just gotta commit to that elusive Ohio/Indiana/Missouri trip!!! I will try to pick up the 3 new PA places this year. Maybe hit Bear Creek for some night skiing on the way. Should pick up Tahoe Donner and Boreal. After that it gets tricky and would have to commit to new places versus possibly better skiing.

if you go to tahoe and only ski donner and borreal, shame on you.

being a ski homer is boring. especially in the east. especially at mount snow.
 

abc

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Mar 2, 2008
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Lower Hudson Valley
Snow chaser here.

So much so I don't even own a place in snow country even though financially I could afford to.

Well, that's for northeast. I feel differently with mountains out west. I had the RMSP and have been going to Copper in Colorado for several years before joining the MAX and now IKON rank. I think the difference is... "a bad day out west still beats a good day in the east". Though not literally, no northeast mountain has even remotely consistent decent condition to be loyal to.

That said, I do venture out of my "home mountain" when condition is hugely different. Last season, for example, I didn't go to Colorado AT ALL. But that was the only season I didn't go to Colorado in the past 10 years.
 

slatham

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Sep 17, 2012
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LI/Bromley
Pretty loyal to Bromley and Magic, and when I cheat I 'm usually at Sugarbush or Stowe. All the above due to family and friends.

That said I do a version of chasing snow. When the snow is good, like a powder day, I "chase it" by blowing off work and heading (90% of the time) to Magic.
 

jaytrem

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if you go to tahoe and only ski donner and borreal, shame on you.

being a ski homer is boring. especially in the east. especially at mount snow.

Been pretty much everywhere else in the Tahoe area, and of course I'm not only skiing Donner and Boreal. That would be the stupidest thing ever, will most likely get an Ikon pass if they have the same deal as last year. Tahoe Donner will be on the way in for 1/2 day, Boreal will just be night skiing. Also haven't been to Granlibakken, Soda Springs and Sky Tavern. Will hike them if there is snow. At least 2 of 3 should be closed for the year by the time I get there. Missing June too, if they stay open an extra weekend I'll hit it on their closing day. Last count of ski areas was 260 something, so obviously I agree that being a homer is boring (at least for me). Don't necessarily agree on the East and Mount Snow part.
 
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