MadPadraic
Active member
Find a group trip to latch onto, and use the group to make the guide more affordable.
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i got bored and booked a 2 week ski trip
- Thread starter KustyTheKlown
- Start date
jaytrem
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
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The earlier you book, the more time you have to look forward to it!
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
meh. id rather just go skiing in America by myself
I'm plenty socialable with my friends and family, i just don't really care much for befriending new people or making the effort to latch on to anyone else's groups
the friends who i would typically take these trips with are now either married with kids and lame, or are epic pass loyalists. i really miss skiing with the epic pass loyalists. they are two of my favorite people. but they live in Denver and the evil pass makes most sense for their skiing. he's also a doctor who works 10 on/10 off so he can and does ski epic places in co midweek. that was the crew i was with in silverton a few years ago. i don't think I've skied with them since due to covid and mismatched passes.
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VTKilarney
Well-known member
1) Pay lots of money for the RV;
2) Pay to park it somewhere;
3) Pay to maintain the RV and find out how cheaply they are made;
4) Pay insane money for gas;
5) Try to find winter campsites and pay for them;
6) Watch your RV depreciate, especially when yours has exposure to lots of salt whereas others don't.
Sorry, but an RV is not the way to go if you are price conscious.
I agree with others that travel has gotten much more expensive. We shall see if the recession changes that. I am renting a car in Fargo later this month and the cheapest ones are something like $150 per day. And just look at what Vermont hotels are charging this summer. It's pure insanity. The Fairfied Inn in Williston on the night before my flight wants $389. For a Fairfield Inn!!!! Not even in Burlington! Fortunately I have a free night certificate that I used.
abc
Well-known member
Life evolves. You'll have to adapt. Either find some new ski buddies, or resign yourself to skiing in US/Canada only. Neither are terrible. It's just changing will open up a whole lot more opportunities.
I went through that about 8-10 years ago. I took skiing seriously at some point, and none of my previous buddies can keep up. So, while I still occasionally ski with them (because some of them are my long time friends), now I do a lot of my skiing either solo or with new buddies I met up since.
In my middle ages, I had to rebuild my social circle from scratch. Almost all my old friends had kids and totally different lifestyle. But 20 years later, their kids are gone and I found myself taking a few of my old friends skiing or kayaking or mountain biking! Slowly building them up to be my buddy again while catching up on the years we missed each other. I actually quite enjoy all that.
Don't get me wrong. Your trip sounds rather nice. I'm just saying you have a whole lot more other options, if you want them.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
i'm fine. i love skiing and traveling alone. skiing alone is pretty much the only time i ever get to be alone because i live with my girlfriend-partner-wife person.
i dont really miss skiing with the guys with kids. i miss skiing with my no-kids doctor couple in Denver but as long as they are epic and i am ikon, we can only meet on neutral ground. i lied about silverton 2019 being the last time i skied with them. we were in utah together on the eve of covid in feb 2020. they had ikon that one season. i'd love to convince them to go ikon again, but they are very set in their summit/eagle county ways.
and i don't feel all that compelled to ski in europe in general. it would be nice, but alaska, japan, chile, are all higher on my ski bucket list, and there are plenty of places i still want to visit in north america.
i dont really miss skiing with the guys with kids. i miss skiing with my no-kids doctor couple in Denver but as long as they are epic and i am ikon, we can only meet on neutral ground. i lied about silverton 2019 being the last time i skied with them. we were in utah together on the eve of covid in feb 2020. they had ikon that one season. i'd love to convince them to go ikon again, but they are very set in their summit/eagle county ways.
and i don't feel all that compelled to ski in europe in general. it would be nice, but alaska, japan, chile, are all higher on my ski bucket list, and there are plenty of places i still want to visit in north america.
abc
Well-known member
I'm usually an IKON holder. So I had a little difficulty when it comes to skiing with a few of my friends who live in Colorado. Logistic and economy dictates they're locked in by Vail.
In 2020, I was the one who switched, just for one year, to Epic. It's fun to share some turns with them again. But I'm switching back to IKON so we'll probably not ski together again till either they do a one-off switch, or I do the same again.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
a custom/diy van build-out is more intriguing to me than a big ass purpose built rv
or a tricked out Mitsubishi delica
two guys in my old bk neighborhood had these parked on the street no problems.
4wd, raised, small enough to park and navigate, big enough to have a good snooze. put some snow tires on it and you got a stew goin
ss20
Well-known member
Agreed, rv'ing is not the way to go. My family had a small pop up in the early 00s and mid 00s. In the end we sold it after our SUV died. Everything has gotten mad expensive in the RV world. Back then, it was still affordable. Insurance, gas, campsites- all much more more expensive now.
And the amount of maintenance is absurd. For 15-20 days of camping a year you could plan on at least 3-4 additional days at home to store it right, fix bad electrical connections, etc. And that was a tiny ass pop-up.
Ive seen a lot of school bus re-builds recently. Stupid cheap. Plentiful. Different sizes. Built tough. If you do need parts, there's plenty of them. If you're handy that's the way to go, imo. Your build-out cost is going to be higher but the continuing costs are less, and you can make it completely customized
And the amount of maintenance is absurd. For 15-20 days of camping a year you could plan on at least 3-4 additional days at home to store it right, fix bad electrical connections, etc. And that was a tiny ass pop-up.
Ive seen a lot of school bus re-builds recently. Stupid cheap. Plentiful. Different sizes. Built tough. If you do need parts, there's plenty of them. If you're handy that's the way to go, imo. Your build-out cost is going to be higher but the continuing costs are less, and you can make it completely customized
abc
Well-known member
Half of my ski friends in Colorado are in different stage of building out such vans!
MadPadraic
Active member
I'm in a similar bucket with a lot of friends locked into Epic (though I think some may be going Indy+Local this year). I'm locked into Ikon due to Sugarbush. I'd certainly consider getting both passes some year--once upon a time I had Boyne for my East Coast jollies and Epic Local for couch surfing out West--but this definitely isn't the year. I'm also still pissed at Vail a bit over their refusal to refund in 2020/2021.
MadPadraic
Active member
FWIW, I was thinking more about a group trip run by one of the "ski clubs," which might effectively be just joining up for that one trip. IMO those are the way to go: you get to do your own thing if you want, but also have people to hang with if it suits your fancy. (Your comments about traveling alone are noted and may invalidate the second half of that)
I envy what you're pulling off on this trip. It's good to have your priorities straight.
abc
Well-known member
Hotel rooms can sell out on a weekend or when a dump is forecasted. RV sites less so. Parking lots in Walmart always available.
No, I'm not buying/converting one myself. Not at the moment. But I've been caught out quite a few times and wish I have the option to camp anywhere. (in summer, I could do that in my SUV. But without winterizing, it's hard to do that in the winter)
RV's typically have hot shower. Seems quite civilized.
abc
Well-known member
Having skied a few mountains in Japan and a few more in Europe, I'm not sure I would put Japan higher than Europe. Judging from what you said you like (radical terrain and big vertical), you'll do better in Europe than in Japan.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
you've skied in iran? tell me more...
urungus
Well-known member
I don’t mind skiing alone, except in the woods. Do you risk getting stranded with an injury, try to latch onto a group at the top of the run, etc ? I am old and slow and antisocial, so I am reluctant to cramp anyones style with the second option. Meaning I often miss out on the good stuff when skiing alone.
a custom/diy van build-out is more intriguing to me than a big ass purpose built rv
or a tricked out Mitsubishi delica
two guys in my old bk neighborhood had these parked on the street no problems.
4wd, raised, small enough to park and navigate, big enough to have a good snooze. put some snow tires on it and you got a stew goin
A couple I know had this Ford custom built out this summer. I don't believe it has an indoor kitchen, but perhaps a porta potty. Knowing them, they'll use it fairly frequently with their 3 year old during summer and probably will do some ski trips rarely and just for the adventure of it and further justify the investment.
Interesting vacation guidance you are getting here. We've gone from
1. Why are you in a motel instead of an Airbnb in Jackson?
To
2. Well really you should be in Europe eating haut Michelin cuisine with only the best off piste guides
To
3. Yeah, maybe just buy a van dude and camp out at Walmart
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