For those who don't/haven't skied out west.

[K2Trav]

Jackson has incredible conditions, it was a little thin a month ago, but they got 8 feet in 8 days when i got here, it was a little Eastastic for a little while, but they've been getting snow almost nightly, 6 inches new yesterday, everything is open. Targhee and Snow King also have incredible conditions, you can stay at Super 8 for $170 a week

 

[kingslug]

Well for those with large families I can see the point, its a pretty big expense compared to packing up the car. If you're solo its much easier and depending where you live can be almost cheaper. As far as conditions being the same ...uh..no..If you can hook up with locals and stay off the beaten path, well , you will find a very different mountain. I mean really, think about it...take Hunter, 25 inches of real snow, Alta over 180...Alta lift ticket for a 5 day pass is cheaper than Hunter..sure you have to score a cheap flight, but if you are willing to stay near a bus stop..no rental car needed, so you can have a week of very good , and sometimes epic skiing for not much more than a trip up north...ski clubs get even better deals..when its good here I can see the point of just staying local, but this season we are all suffering. Its funny but I remember the epic MLK storm we got years back..I met so many people, including many ski patrollers from out west..at Stowe..conditions at Jackson and many parts out west..sucked..so they came here for the powder...you have to get it ..where it is...

 

[mlctvt]

Went out west for the first time a few weeks ago. I would say it was a life altering trip that made us rethink where we want to spend the next 20+ years.
We are definitely going back next year even if we have to take funds away from our summer vacation plans. Got to find a way to spend more than a week each winter there though.
Actually we may be going back out west this summer to look around for a winter retirement area, probably in the SLC and Park City areas, both sides of the Wasatch Range.
.

 

[deadheadskier]

For those that frequently go out west, what is your average length of stay and total cost per person, per day and factoring everything; airfare, hotels, tickets, car rental, food, booze, rental equipment.

. If you're solo its much easier and depending where you live can be almost cheaper.

all ears

No doubt the West has far better conditions even during a down year like this one, but I think it's a bit foolish/exaggerating to suggest a Northeast resident can ski out West for comparable money as they can in the east.

 

[noreasterbackcountry]

Having just come back from Utah I have to say that their "bad" season doesn't even close to the suffering we're experiencing here right now. I skied for five days and didn't see one patch of ice even though the first four days we got a total of 4" of fresh. I don't think "frozen granular" is even in their vocabulary.

 

[WJenness]

I just skied the Canyons today... I really enjoyed it. I skied mostly groomers due to my friends who I was skiing with (a couple quick shots through low angle glades was all I could manage), but it was still incredible compared to anything I have skied in the east this year.

We kept going until they wouldn't let us on the chair anymore... Hell of a day.

-w

 

[WJenness]

Oh, and Alta is forecast for 5-9" on Sunday (National Weather Service forecast)... Not huge numbers by any stretch, but I feel like that's better than anything we've seen at home this year.

-w

 

[abc]

all ears

No doubt the West has far better conditions even during a down year like this one, but I think it's a bit foolish/exaggerating to suggest a Northeast resident can ski out West for comparable money as they can in the east.

"foolish/exaggerating"???

Just did this last weekend:

Flight: $350
Lodging: 0
Lift tickets: 0
Rental Car: $100
Gas: $20
Food: $50

4 days of skiing so it works out to be $125/day.

Granted, I got free lodging which would have cost about $200 (motel is cheap at Utah).

Lift ticket would have been $180 (1 PC "quick start": FREE, 2@$50/each: 1 at Snowbasin, 1 at Sundance, one buddy ticket at Canyons: $80). But I got a "passport" book which includes 3 free one for Sundance, Snowbasin and Canyons)

Compare to going to VT for 4 days:

Gas: ~$100
Lift ticket: ~$
Lodging: $400~500 (depending)
Food: $100-150

That's $130/day!

The key is:

1) Lift ticket is a lot cheaper out west. Assuming one favors the "big mountains" size of the east, even the tiniest no-name resort of the west are larger than Killington! So the lift ticket is way cheap.

2) Lodging is considerably cheaper, especially for a week long trip. VT motel easily goes to $100/night. You can get a motel in SLC for $40! In a week, that's $500 difference. Same amount I pay for the flight!

3) Airport to resort is short. So even if you rent a car, you don't spend much for gas, which make up for the 2-3 tank-ful it takes to drive up to Stowe/Bush/Jay. At $50 a tank, that adds up.

But, if you're flying first class and renting an SUV for a week, the equation will be different. My point being, there're cheaper options out west that's not available in the northeast! And those "cheaper options" are often BETTER than the more expensive ones here!

I have no family so I often go solo. I do about half of my days out west, only half around here and ONLY when condition is condusive.

 

[Smellytele]

ABC, If you had free tickets here and free lodging it would still be cheaper here. You are comparing apples to oranges. If I look for deals here I can spend way less.
I am skiing for 3 days with my family of 5 for with lodging I am paying 46 dollars a day per person. My gas will only be 60 bucks for the 3 days. We are also brown bagging it so food is cheap as well - $100 for the 5 of us for 3 days

 

[deadheadskier]

"foolish/exaggerating"???

Just did this last weekend:

Flight: $350
Lodging: 0
Lift tickets: 0
Rental Car: $100
Gas: $20
Food: $50

4 days of skiing so it works out to be $125/day.

Granted, I got free lodging which would have cost about $200 (motel is cheap at Utah).

Lift ticket would have been $180 (1 PC "quick start": FREE, 2@$50/each: 1 at Snowbasin, 1 at Sundance, one buddy ticket at Canyons: $80). But I got a "passport" book which includes 3 free one for Sundance, Snowbasin and Canyons)

Compare to going to VT for 4 days:

Gas: ~$100
Lift ticket: ~$
Lodging: $400~500 (depending)
Food: $100-150

That's $130/day!

The key is:

1) Lift ticket is a lot cheaper out west. Assuming one favors the "big mountains" size of the east, even the tiniest no-name resort of the west are larger than Killington! So the lift ticket is way cheap.

2) Lodging is considerably cheaper, especially for a week long trip. VT motel easily goes to $100/night. You can get a motel in SLC for $40! In a week, that's $500 difference. Same amount I pay for the flight!

3) Airport to resort is short. So even if you rent a car, you don't spend much for gas, which make up for the 2-3 tank-ful it takes to drive up to Stowe/Bush/Jay. At $50 a tank, that adds up.

But, if you're flying first class and renting an SUV for a week, the equation will be different. My point being, there're cheaper options out west that's not available in the northeast! And those "cheaper options" are often BETTER than the more expensive ones here!

I have no family so I often go solo. I do about half of my days out west, only half around here and ONLY when condition is condusive.

That is pretty reasonable. Regarding the 2-3 tanks of gas it takes you to get to Stowe though, do you drive a Hummer or are you traveling from South Jersey????

As a point of comparison, I just did a 3 day trip to Sugarbush, Stowe and Cannon in January. Spent $118 on lift tickets, stayed with a friend in Stowe and it took a tank of gas ($60). So, it was basically $60 per day plus food and booze.

I can ski 5 days in Vermont easily for the cost you spent just on airfare. Obviously not doable if you don't have friends / family to stay with. I suppose if I didn't have the latter, I'd probably be taking more serious looks at Western trips.

 

[jaja111]

Gotta make a plug for far west - Whistler. Many people assume it to be extra $$$ for the location buts it s a real value when you search around a bit (i.e. stay in Creekside, only go out for an all out dinner and drinks one night, etc.)

Usual expenses for 5 night lodging / 5 days of skiing trip out west in a group for me has been $1100-$1300. Whistler was $950 living like kings as long as we've flown into Seattle and made the drive up. Of course, we can all add $200 to the trip price considering the airfares' continual climb upward in price.

I have to agree, when the airfare isn't included I find east coast resort skiing more expensive across the board. I've always wondered if western resorts account for the fact that most people are bled dry by the flights and try to compensate to some degree to maintain the volume.

And if you go out west and feel bummed about the amount of $$ spent, just strike up a conversation with an Englishman, or German, or Aussie, etc. They tell you about 4 years worth of savings blown on their trip with 12+ hour flights.

 

[kingslug]

There will always be differences in what you spend anywhere..I have found that it is a better value for ME to ski out west. Lift tickets are cheaper and you get a hell of a lot more for your money, hotels are way cheaper, I stay for about 60 per night and can ride the bus if I want, but I like having a car to get around in..I live on Long Island so a trip to Vermont or NH is long and expensive...

 

[drjeff]

Just scheduled the Fedex pickup for my families skis for this coming Monday to ship them out to Park City next week. 9 More days and i'm sliding down the hill in Utah!

 

[Cheese]

Just scheduled the Fedex pickup for my families skis for this coming Monday to ship them out to Park City next week. 9 More days and i'm sliding down the hill in Utah!

9 days without boards? Ouch!

 

[deadheadskier]

There will always be differences in what you spend anywhere..I have found that it is a better value for ME to ski out west. Lift tickets are cheaper and you get a hell of a lot more for your money, hotels are way cheaper, I stay for about 60 per night and can ride the bus if I want, but I like having a car to get around in..I live on Long Island so a trip to Vermont or NH is long and expensive...

well, choosing to live on Long Island was your first mistake :razz:

 

[drjeff]

9 days without boards? Ouch!

Nope, skiing tommorrow and Sunday, then quickly tuning the gear Sunday PM, and then Fedex is picking them up at the clubhouse building in where my place in VT is on Monday, and then they'll be in Utah when we arrive next Saturday.

 

[Cheese]

Just bustin' your ovaries dude. I'm obviously jealous of your Yuutaaaah trip.

 

[abc]

That is pretty reasonable. Regarding the 2-3 tanks of gas it takes you to get to Stowe though, do you drive a Hummer or are you traveling from South Jersey????

See my sig.

Obviously not doable if you don't have friends / family to stay with. I suppose if I didn't have the latter, I'd probably be taking more serious looks at Western trips.

That's exactly my situation: I don't have friends/family to stay with in the northeast.


That's why I gave that particular example. If I want to SKI, I go where it's got snow and is cheap. I do go to places I have to pay to motel. It cost more naturally. Those are "ski vacations".

Here's what I paid 2 years ago at SLC:

Flight: $350
Motel: $45 x 9 = $405 (out in the morning and back on a redeye)
Lift ticket $50 x 8 (1 FREE Part City Quick Start and 8 more for 9 day skiing)
Rental car: $0 (motel near bus stop)
Gas: 0
Food: similar to skiing northeast (actually a bit less but not as good quality).

The same week in northeast, say K or Stowe (which I never do a full week):

Motel: $800~1000 (at >$100/night)
Lift Ticket: $90 x 9 = $800
Gas: >$100

Works out almost identical in cost. But I got a lot more terrain at SLC area. And need I say anything about snow quantity and quality?

 

[abc]

ABC, If you had free tickets here and free lodging it would still be cheaper here. You are comparing apples to oranges. If I look for deals here I can spend way less.

One of the free tickets comes with the flight. Park City Quick Start offers a free day of skiing on the day of the flight. You just have to get there early enough to get enough skiing in. I did. Leave 5 in the morning, got there at 10, on the slope by 12. A good 4+ hrs skiing in.

I've rarely been able to find lift tickets in the northeast for less than $50. Not at the larger mountains anyway. Out west, I'm able to find plenty of them around $50, HUGE mountains!

 

[drjeff]

Just bustin' your ovaries dude. I'm obviously jealous of your Yuutaaaah trip.

No harm at all! I think i'm almost at the point where i've forgotten what a snowbank over 12" tall looks like, so even in a low snow year out in Utah, the snowbank size will probably have the same effect as it's had on me in the past when they're "normal" sized