How late is too late for out west?

[abc]

I'm struggling with not renting a car for SLC myself. Getting around just for food and grocery is still a problem without wheels. Though oddly enough, getting to the slope is the least of the problem because of the skiers shuttle (I'll be there mid-season).

For a short break, no big deal. But I was going for a week and not having the convenience of wheels can be trying...

 

[Bumpsis]

If you're going to go in April just be aware that the sun gets already quite strong and can turn snow into wet cement/mashed potatos. So even if the night brings on some fresh stuff, catching runs on ungroomed slopes that have sun exposure will be a major challange. Get ready to get up early and stay on shaded slopes. If you stick to groomers, you will be fine.
I'd also look at resorts at higher lattitudes or high altitudes. Anything in summit county (CO, A-basin, for instance). The further north or the higher you go, the better off you'll be.

 

[Geoff]

Utah low altitude??? Salt Lake City is a lot higher than Whistler!!!

For just 3 days of skiing, I'd fly to Salt Lake City, take the airport shuttle up to the lodge at Snowbird and ski there. No fuss, no stress.

Snow condition in early April at high altitude resorts are generally excellent. The problem the OP would likely run into on the other hand, is the "no car" requirements. April being "late season", a lot of the regular ski season transports stop running. Chamonix and 3 Vally, for example, have lots of bus/shuttle to Geneva airport but many of them stop running after Easter (1st weekend of April). Same situation with the ski shuttle at Salt Lake City. I ski Utah a lot, especially in April. And I often had to rent cars because the shuttle had stop running...

I think you are completely misinformed about ski resort transportation in Geneva. You can't project the American "I must rent a car at all costs" mentality on the European mentality where people automatically take public transportation.

To get to Chamonix from Geneva, you can take a minivan for 25 euros and they run all year. They go on summer schedule in June. Google "ChamExpress". If you don't want to pay that much, you can always take the train. There's lots of bus service from GVA to Les Trois Vallees in April but the bus frequency is much higher on Fri/Sat/Sun than midweek since that's when people are flying.


When you factor in latitude, your odds of midwinter conditions in April are about the same in the high alpine at Whistler at 7500 feet as at 10K at Snowbird. Neither is great odds for midwinter conditions in April. I've had huge powder days at both. I've had total crap at both. You want to do those trips at the last minute.

 

[kingslug]

Lake Tahoe area is notorious for late season mega dumps on the order of 3,4 even up to 10ft in a week during March.Keep an eye on the prize and wait to book something later when you see where the goods are.

True...but warm temps can move in and thaw/freeze the whole place. Went after a 5 foot dump buried the area..but it all melted and froze solid in one day...skiing Squaw on ice was.....deadly.

 

[kingslug]

Utah low altitude??? Salt Lake City is a lot higher than Whistler!!!

For just 3 days of skiing, I'd fly to Salt Lake City, take the airport shuttle up to the lodge at Snowbird and ski there. No fuss, no stress.

Snow condition in early April at high altitude resorts are generally excellent. The problem the OP would likely run into on the other hand, is the "no car" requirements. April being "late season", a lot of the regular ski season transports stop running. Chamonix and 3 Vally, for example, have lots of bus/shuttle to Geneva airport but many of them stop running after Easter (1st weekend of April). Same situation with the ski shuttle at Salt Lake City. I ski Utah a lot, especially in April. And I often had to rent cars because the shuttle had stop running...

I stayed at the Iron Blossom one April...got 3 feet overnight!!

 

[Geoff]

I stayed at the Iron Blossom one April...got 3 feet overnight!!

You can get that anywhere in the west in April. The problem is that it's just not reliable unless you're higher elevation... 12K... or really far north like Alaska or the BC Rockies. The odds are higher for rotted snow or death crunch than 3 feet of powder.

April is the glory month in New England. The Sugarloaf suggestion somebody made was really good. It also might be a good time to sample Quebec City. Le Massif and Mount Ste Anne staying in the old city would be pretty cool in April. Even Tremblant is likely pretty damned good then.

 

[abc]

I think you are completely misinformed about ski resort transportation in Geneva. You can't project the American "I must rent a car at all costs" mentality on the European mentality where people automatically take public transportation.

To get to Chamonix from Geneva, you can take a minivan for 25 euros and they run all year. They go on summer schedule in June. Google "ChamExpress". If you don't want to pay that much, you can always take the train. There's lots of bus service from GVA to Les Trois Vallees in April but the bus frequency is much higher on Fri/Sat/Sun than midweek since that's when people are flying.

As an American, my knowledge of Euopean ski transport isn't entirely up to date. The last time I ski out of Geneva is 2 years ago. So I speak of my experience from 2 years ago, IN THE MONTH OF APRIL. How about yours?

3 Valleys: There's but only 2 bus a day from 3 Valley to Geneva and it cost ~100 euro ONE WAY! For that kind of price round trip, you can rent a car in Salt Lake City for all 5 days!!!

You can get a "private transport" which is basically a shared van. If your schedule works out, it can be had for a reasonable cost. But in April, a lot of those operations stop operating. And your chance of finding a shared van at reasonable schedule (that doesn't end up wasting all day in Geneva for example) decrease considerably due to the lack of others using the service.

 

[dropKickMurphy]

Whistler is a good no-car option but it's not exactly close to the airport. On Perimeter Bus, it's about 3 hours (they usually stop briefly in Squamish) depending on whether you get caught in Vancouver city traffic. You burn a travel day coming and going unless you are willing to take a red-eye.

Utah does have the drawback that it's not particularly high elevation. From mid-March onwards, you really can't predict what you're going to get. Otherwise, it's certainly a very viable no-car place where you can go uber-cheap on the lodging if you want.

New Yorkers might be able to find dirt cheap flights to G9eneva at that time of year. Chamonix is really close to the airport. There are all kinds of bus options to places like Tignes/Val d'Isere and Les Trois Vallees.

Compared to Whistler, Utah's elevation certainly is high. Even the 3 lower elevation areas around Park City top out 1500 to 2500 feet higher than Whistler/Blackcomb. When you get up in the Cottonwood Canyons, bases of the ski areas are higher than the summits of Whistler/Blackcomb.

In the Euro areas you mentioned, I'm not sure if any lifts (other than the Aiguille du Midi tram) reach a higher point than the Snowbird tram.

 

[TylerDurden]

Late season in Utah and CO are excellent. If you do some shopping, you can usually find some great package deals on-line. It's the time of the year when most, except for the die hard skiers, are thinking spring, so the resorts will offer great deals to get you in the door.

 

[tjf67]

If you are going to plan a ski trip that late in the year go with the stats. Colorado or Maine are the safest bet for good conditions.

 

[abc]

If you are going to plan a ski trip that late in the year go with the stats. Colorado or Maine are the safest bet for good conditions.

Add to that short list:

- UT (Snowbird)

- AB (Banff)

- CA (Mammoth)

And many more I don't personally know.

Basically, April is not "late" at all. And there're many, many options that ranges from good to excellent!

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

after having Xmas at our house: both sets of parents, listening to all the meds they are on, dr's visits, ailments, kids zippin' around, people yelling at the WII...I felt like Clark Griswald.....wife and i made some martini's and went out back for a bit to escape the madness.....I said..."lets to skiing out west for easter..." her: "where?" me: "dont care" her: "book it"

as a kid we did Easter one year in Deer Valley...had to go into town to buy baseball hats and tshirts it was so warm, girls skiing in bikini's and laying out in lounge chairs with palm trees in the snow at mid base.....great times.....

 

[tirolerpeter]

I went to Utah last Jan and Feb...and got about 8 inches of pow between the 2 trips......and then read the reports come in from March and April when they got 2 and 3 feet at a clip... this year ...I'm waiting.

Actually Ira, you missed the best. It started snowing about Mar 3rd and by the closing day party on April 15th at Wildcat Base (I can send you some pictures) we had picked up 260 inches. March into April was epic!