How do you handle all the driving???

[LineSki15]

how do you people like me that don't live very close to good skiing deal with all the driving to get to the good resorts? Do you stay overnight? do you just drink a lot of coffee or what?
I'd like to do more skiing this year, but it's usually the long drive times more than anything else that end up keeping me away, with skiing as expensive as it is, it's usually not in the budget to pay for a place to stay
people here seem to put in a ton of days and I'm just curious and looking for points of view.

by the way, by long drive times, I"m talking 2-3 hours for me to places like Mount snow, wildcat, sunday, etc.

 

[djspookman]

red bull, camping, or lots of ski industry connections, that's how my wife and I do it!

dave

 

[Brettski]

FAR?


I don't even want to hear it

you got kids?

If I lived in Salem, I'd be skiing the river every weekend

 

[SkiDog]

I got sick of the drive from NJ to VT every weekend or so....8+ hours of driving for just about the same time on snow...Not worth it anymore IMHO...I wanted to be skiing much more frequently...

My way around it??? I moved to Salt Lake City and now I live within an 15 minutes of my beloved Alta...door to door....

Quality of life my friend...QUALITY OF LIFE!!!


Good luck with your skiing!!

M

 

[loafer89]

I just finished driving 732 miles last weekend more or less in a big circle from Coventry to Whiteface to Sunday River and home again. My son plays with his Game Boy, watches DVD's or looks at the trail maps we bring along for where we are going to ski.

I am used to long distance driving to Sugarloaf 3-6 times a year so it does not bother me. Day trips to Mount Snow are now an easy 2 1/2 hours each way.

This weekend we will be leaving for Whiteface around 5am, skiiing there and then going south to Lake George and staying overnight and skiiing Gore on sunday and then home

 

[snowmonster]

For starters, I actually like driving so I don't really mind a 3 to 4 hour drive for a day trip. I figure that, for as long as I'm not in traffic (and I've been in 3 hour traffic jams before), I'm fine. I just need a good radio to stay awake. For some reason, country music is perfect for long drives. 80's music is great too but that's another story. It's basically the soundtrack of my life.

Anyway, anything over 4 hours and I consider getting a reasonable B&B. Staying on mountain can get expensive and I'll save that for a special occasion. Longest I ever day tripped was Boston to Jay Peak. Took me 5 hours because of road conditions. I was ok about the drive but li'l snowmonster was not amused.

 

[RISkier]

The driving is a drag and definately keeps us from skiing as much as we'd like. We do quite a few day trips to Wachusett (about a 90 minute drive each way) because of the relative proximity. We also do day trips to places like Berkshire East, Sunapee, Crotched, Pats, and Gunstock which are in the 2:45 - 3:15 drive time range. But if there's not much terrain open or if conditions don't look to be pretty good we're reluctant spend close to 6 hours in a car for a day trip. It gets to be a long day. We'll also try to do several weekend trips. But there is no doubt the distance keeps us from skiing as much as we'd like.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

how do you people like me that don't live very close to good skiing deal with all the driving to get to the good resorts? Do you stay overnight? do you just drink a lot of coffee or what?
I'd like to do more skiing this year, but it's usually the long drive times more than anything else that end up keeping me away, with skiing as expensive as it is, it's usually not in the budget to pay for a place to stay
people here seem to put in a ton of days and I'm just curious and looking for points of view.

by the way, by long drive times, I"m talking 2-3 hours for me to places like Mount snow, wildcat, sunday, etc.

2-3 hours is cake..that's not much of a drive..For me personally I'm 3 hours to the Catskill resorts..so they're do-able for a day trip but I prefer to go for two days of skiing with one night of lodging in between. For Southern/Central Vermont..I prefer to drive up the day before..and stay two nights and ski two days and leave early the last day for a tiring drive back. Stowe is my favorite in the east and it's 7 hours away so I prefer to spend at least 3 days/nights up there. The key is avoiding rush hours by leaving really early in the morning or if you're not skiing the day you drive up, leaving later in the morning after the rush hour. I drove to Montana a few years back and after than grueling drive, driving 5-7 hours to Vermont isn't that bad. For a long drive I like to have some Sugar Free Red Bull, snacks, and water...good music is a plus and having someone else to share the driving is also a plus. After driving to Vermont from eastern PA two of the past 3 weekends...I am looking forward to the short 25 minute drive to Blue mountain when they open next week. Most of the places I stay at in ski country are relatively cheap..from $50-$80 a night..I find my greatest expenses to be gas, dining out, and hitting up the bars. You can easily save enough for a night of lodging by packing a cooler of food and alot of establishments include a free breakfast and discounted lift tickets.

 

[LineSki15]

FAR?


I don't even want to hear it

you got kids?

If I lived in Salem, I'd be skiing the river every weekend

yeah I prob wouldn't ski a lot if I lived in NJ, so I hear ya. It's all relative, it's still hard to drive 3 hours back and forth in one day though for me.

 

[ts01]

I do about 15 daytrips each year, 2 to 3 hr trips to Berkshires/Catskills. The more you do it the easier it gets.

Basically every 5 or 10 minute delay you can cut out of the drive / transition time pays off more than you think. The night before, car is gassed up, lunch is packed, coffee ready to turn on, boot bags packed, ski clothes laid out.

Wake up EARLY (5 am range) and get the drive time in when roads are empty and fast. I wake up early all week so not a problem. SLOW DOWN at town line speed zones, otherwise DRIVE FAST (within reason). Good music or book on tape (disc) for the a.m. drive when kids are asleep.

Breakfast = in car (PB&J) or at hill booting up. Make first chair many days despite 2.5 hr drives. Get there early and also you get the closest parking places. (Saves time.)

Eat lunch early - beat crowds. (Saves time; easier seating; you're back on hill when crowds are eating).

Ski noon - 3:00 range. Used to ski til last chair but it was more crowded in the lodge and parking lots then so transition out is faster the earlier you go. And you're not skiing when it's getting dark and you're tired and more likely to crash.

Return drive = 3:15 to 6:00 range. Kids more awake - good time to talk or listen to their music. If they're zonked, then news on radio or cellphone to friends and family out of town.

Caffeine is good too.

 

[campgottagopee]

I DO NOT LIKE DRIVING I get so friggin tired that it's not even funny. Whenever I do drive I need good tunes and good company that's what gets my thru. As for the $$$$ you're 100% correct that places to stay are expensive. I'm very lucky in that I have friends and family that live near Gore and Whitface so whenever we do stray from home we can stay for free. That certainly makes things much easier to take as far as spending money.

 

[billski]

yeah I prob wouldn't ski a lot if I lived in NJ, so I hear ya. It's all relative, it's still hard to drive 3 hours back and forth in one day though for me.

find someone to share the driving. Sometimes you can't, but let that be the exception rather than the rule. Often the rider pays the gas, the car owner absorbs the wear and tear on the car, or at least we split it.

I come up from rte 3 from Burlington area, happy to split the driving, mostly midweek snow day trips.

 

[Warp Daddy]

i enjoy driving ! Also we share driving with several ski buds

1 hr 15min --2.5 hrs no problemo thats Whiteface , Gore , and several 1000-1300 vert areas

Overnighters several times a yr to NH and VT and Tremblant

 

[Greg]

by the way, by long drive times, I"m talking 2-3 hours for me to places like Mount snow, wildcat, sunday, etc.

2-3 hours is nothing for me. I have no problem leaving at 5-6 am to get somewhere for opening. My rule of thumb is try to get in as many hours skiing as you have to deal with in the car, round-trip. Sort of a 1:1 ski time to drive time ratio. That works pretty well for me.

Secondly, hook up with some buddies to share the ride with. AZ is a good spot for hooking up with folks to do this. By meeting up with some AZers and you might develop some friendships outside the boards, and then you have some like-minded ski buddies which will make the ride go quicker than it would when driving solo.

Finally, don't overlook night skiing as a way to get in some quality skiing mileage. You have several good options in Wachusett and the southern NH areas (Crotched, Pats, Gunstock, Ragged, etc.). Living so close to the NH border, you're not going to get much sympathy from folks further south in SNE, or NY and NJ...

 

[The Sneak]

Made it from the southeast corner of RI to Wachusett in 75 minutes once last year. :evil:

I just drink lots of coffee and try to keep the destinations reasonable. Sunapee, Mt Snow, BEast etc.

A couple of trips per season to 'BIG MOUNTAINS' is enough for me. (Loaf = mandatory)
Driving home from sugarloaf after reggae weekend was a bitch, though.

 

[billski]

2-3 hours is nothing for me. I have no problem leaving at 5-6 am to get somewhere for opening.

Greg,

I used to say the same thing as you. After 52 years, the old body doesn't perform the way it used to, not waking as early as I would like. 2-3 hours is still ok, but it's the trip home that's much harder.

 

[tjf67]

I got sick of the drive from NJ to VT every weekend or so....8+ hours of driving for just about the same time on snow...Not worth it anymore IMHO...I wanted to be skiing much more frequently...

My way around it??? I moved to Salt Lake City and now I live within an 15 minutes of my beloved Alta...door to door....

Quality of life my friend...QUALITY OF LIFE!!!


Good luck with your skiing!!

M

Nice Job!!! I did the same thing. Relocated from Albany up to LP. It was a winterwonderland up hear last night

 

[cbcbd]

Driving with tunes, especially ones I can try to sing along to or want to sing along to help. Stopping once midway to take a break from the car, eat, read, whatever, also helps to break it up.

Driving the night before, I sleep in my car or at friend's place - if there is a friend nearby.

I'm still not tired or exhausted of this existence so I'll keep on being cheap and pushing the envelopes of long distance tiredness for as long as I can.

2-3 hours is nothing to me either. I regurarly drive 5 hours each way for one day of fun in the north country during Winter time (5hrs to Lake Placid, 5 to Stowe, 5 to North Conway). I don't speed anymore either, wastes too much gas going over 70mph.


This year I'm thinking of hitting up a lot more "local" places like Sundown and Hunter. Only 2 hours to those.

 

[RISkier]

Made it from the southeast corner of RI to Wachusett in 75 minutes once last year. :evil:

I just drink lots of coffee and try to keep the destinations reasonable. Sunapee, Mt Snow, BEast etc.

A couple of trips per season to 'BIG MOUNTAINS' is enough for me. (Loaf = mandatory)
Driving home from sugarloaf after reggae weekend was a bitch, though.

You're zipping right along to make it to Wa in 75 minutes from SE RI. How much further is it to Mt. Snow than say Sunapee and what route do you take? We've not done a day trip to Mt. Snow but it might be within range.

 

[kingslug]

It's pretty simple. If I don't drive I don't ski. My wife usualy does the trip there (catskills) and I drive home. But I can do both ways if needed. Can't wait for our BC trip. After a 6 hour plane ride we have a 3 hour car ride across the transCanada Hwy to get to the condo. Talk about the middle of nowhere.