Travel and rest

[Jully]

Entirely up to the individual, but if I'm going out West, I might take the first day to get acclimated to altitude. I'm skiing the rest of the time. Even if it means I'm taking it easy a couple of days. I'd be too eager to rather be skiing to go every other day like you plan on doing on your trip. Even if I'm just cruising groomers and checking out a couple of on mountain bars, I'd rather do that than sit around my condo or sight see.

This, but I am also younger. Much to the frustration of family members/ significant others/friends wanting to do other things sometimes too.

 

[kingslug]

And go easy on the booze. At altitude its like drinking twice as much. It was so dry at Jackson that my lips and fingers where bleeding, and I drink a ton of water. 2 drink max on those trips. There to ski not get hammered.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Even if I'm just cruising groomers and checking out a couple of on mountain bars, I'd rather do that than sit around my condo or sight see.

To me, while long-distance ski trips are primarily about skiing, they're not solely about skiing, I like to see an area and do some touristy stuff too. Last year in Utah we explored Main Street in Park City, toured the Olympic & ski museum, visited the Museum of Natural History in SLC, which was amazing, went Curling, walked around the Temple square and looked inside the tabernacle and got-acosted-by-Mormons-who-I-think-wanted-to-convert-me, took a great long drive circling around the mountain range (Trailboss's suggestion), did some nature stuff & light hiking, stopped in to check out Sundance and had lunch there, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. It is a highly to-each-his/her-own thing, but that's what I like. And currently I'm looking for stuff to do in Colorado to fill some rest day time.

A-Basin is a bad mofo to start trip on Maybe switch with Loveland day?

Could just as easily do that, staying first 2 nights in Dillon, so the drive to either is the same. Why is AB tougher than Loveland?

 

[4aprice]

I try to keep my legs in good shape by walking, hiking, lots of cycling and mountain biking and even some elliptical in the gym.

I do cardio almost daily and dry land training in the non skiing months and have dropped about 15 Lbs over the last year and thought I would do better but still had dead legs by the end of the trip.

Depends on a few things in my book

#1 - your pre trip "fitness" level, and not just cardio wise, but also ski muscle wise, as we all know that nothing substitutes for time in the boots, and using those ski muscles in ski specific motions. Too many people go from just having a few days on snow ahead of time, and often very little other cardio and/or general fitness work before their trip and then think they can go 4,5,6,7... days straight?? Not going to work out very well the majority of time

#2 - both pre trip and immediately upon arrival rest and hydration - if you haven't rested up and pushed the hydration ahead of time and in the 24-48hrs upon arrival at altitude, most of us physiologically are going to have some ill effects when we then try and go out on the hill, and probably feel like we either can or should be tearing it up from run #1, and then since we're spending the $$ to be on that ski vacation, take more runs than we typically would

#3 - Don't try and do it all on the 1st day!! So many people fall into that trap, and post travel day and post getting used to the altitude, they go way too hard the 1st day, and then spend the next few days trying to recover from the day #1 exertion as well as recover from the travel and adjust to the altitude

My personal West trips are usually 6 days in a row, but the prep for that doesn't start days in advance, but is more of a year round lifestyle thing

Agree with the pacing and am aware of it. The next to the last day was powder and woods at Brighton, bell to bell, and probably contributed to the dead legs on the 7th. Still the days I was forced to take off last year seemed beneficial and had me finish stronger and feeling better then this last trip. Hydration may have been a contributing factor and something I may need to pay more attention to.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[jimk]

Depends on a few things in my book

#1 - your pre trip "fitness" level, and not just cardio wise, but also ski muscle wise, as we all know that nothing substitutes for time in the boots, and using those ski muscles in ski specific motions. Too many people go from just having a few days on snow ahead of time, and often very little other cardio and/or general fitness work before their trip and then think they can go 4,5,6,7... days straight?? Not going to work out very well the majority of time

#2 - both pre trip and immediately upon arrival rest and hydration - if you haven't rested up and pushed the hydration ahead of time and in the 24-48hrs upon arrival at altitude, most of us physiologically are going to have some ill effects when we then try and go out on the hill, and probably feel like we either can or should be tearing it up from run #1, and then since we're spending the $$ to be on that ski vacation, take more runs than we typically would

#3 - Don't try and do it all on the 1st day!! So many people fall into that trap, and post travel day and post getting used to the altitude, they go way too hard the 1st day, and then spend the next few days trying to recover from the day #1 exertion as well as recover from the travel and adjust to the altitude

My personal West trips are usually 6 days in a row, but the prep for that doesn't start days in advance, but is more of a year round lifestyle thing

To me, while long-distance ski trips are primarily about skiing, they're not solely about skiing, I like to see an area and do some touristy stuff too. Last year in Utah we explored Main Street in Park City, toured the Olympic & ski museum, visited the Museum of Natural History in SLC, which was amazing, went Curling, walked around the Temple square and looked inside the tabernacle and got-acosted-by-Mormons-who-I-think-wanted-to-convert-me, took a great long drive circling around the mountain range (Trailboss's suggestion), did some nature stuff & light hiking, stopped in to check out Sundance and had lunch there, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. It is a highly to-each-his/her-own thing, but that's what I like. And currently I'm looking for stuff to do in Colorado to fill some rest day time.



Could just as easily do that, staying first 2 nights in Dillon, so the drive to either is the same. Why is AB tougher than Loveland?

BG: Don't let us discourage you from taking sufficient rest days. You know you and it sounds like you've got a good plan. From Dillon/Vail location some rest day things to do are:
1. stroll Vail Village and shop until you drop, parking is free after 3PM.
2. In some ways Breckenridge is more fun to stroll than Vail, and more accessible with parking at fairly cheap meters right on main street.
3. go for a drive over to Leadville, see old Delaware Hotel and other small town shops. Do a drive-by of Ski Cooper and look at some of the nearby Camp Hale historic areas. Get a sandwich at Mango's Mtn Grill in tiny Red Cliff.
4. There are casinos in the twin front range towns of Central City and Black Hawk, CO if you think you'd enjoy that for something different.
5. Glenwood Hot Springs about one hour from Vail.
6. Not especially unique, but could shop at Silverthorne Outlets. I found a good and cheap ski boot bag there two years ago.

Re: A-Basin and Loveland; they are both great, scenic, and very high elevation, which can be tough on first day, but Loveland has a lot more mellow cruising terrain. A-Basin has some of that too, but it's more limited and you can easily find yourself doing demanding to VERY demanding runs there. You'll be better for that after a day of altitude adjustment.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i'm 32. when i get on an airplane to ski, i don't take days off. i skied 7 straight in colorado and then 5 straight in montana this year, only taking 1 day off between for travel. i've done prior trips with 12-14 straight days with no problems. i sleep well.

 

[crank]

The way you ski can have a big impact as well.

 

[jimk]

i'm 32. when i get on an airplane to ski, i don't take days off. i skied 7 straight in colorado and then 5 straight in montana this year, only taking 1 day off between for travel. i've done prior trips with 12-14 straight days with no problems. i sleep well.

Thanks for single handedly lowering the average age of poster in this thread by 15 years :lol:

 

[granite]

If you're out west and are going to ski many days in a row, it's a good thing to burn off lactic acid at the end of the day and fuel up within one hour after quitting. Before you call it a day and head to après ski, try to burn off lactic acid by skiing very, very easy green runs-about the easiest ones on the mountain for a half hour or more. Even if your legs are totally wasted, take a few runs on easy greens and you will probably feel your legs "coming back" from burning off the lactic acid. Not only will your legs feel better, this will extend your time and increase your vertical on the ski slopes, the main reason you took a ski trip in the first place. Make sure you hydrate and eat something high carb (bananas are really good) before you go to après.

I was in Vail in February and skied five days in a row, first chair to last chair, between 34,000 to 38,000 vertical a day. About half the runs were off chair five in the back bowls skiing pretty hard slopes. I was in decent shape, so I didn't have to ski easy greens at the end of the day, but in the past I have extended my ski day till last chair by skiing easy greens. I'm an early riser, so in Vail I was in the exercise room from about 5:30 am to 6:00 am each morning doing easy stretching-therapy-core strengthening for my poor, pitiful lower back. We were staying at the Marriot in Lionshead and they had a 15 yard indoor pool, so I did some real easy lap swims in the pool each day too. Did a little walking after that, had breakfast and hit first chair. My entire body was really loose and warmed up to start the day. I figure there's a lot of time, effort and money invested in a ski trip and I want to ski all day long, every day, open to close if I can.

 

[snoseek]

If you're out west and are going to ski many days in a row, it's a good thing to burn off lactic acid at the end of the day and fuel up within one hour after quitting. Before you call it a day and head to après ski, try to burn off lactic acid by skiing very, very easy green runs-about the easiest ones on the mountain for a half hour or more. Even if your legs are totally wasted, take a few runs on easy greens and you will probably feel your legs "coming back" from burning off the lactic acid. Not only will your legs feel better, this will extend your time and increase your vertical on the ski slopes, the main reason you took a ski trip in the first place. Make sure you hydrate and eat something high carb (bananas are really good) before you go to après.

I was in Vail in February and skied five days in a row, first chair to last chair, between 34,000 to 38,000 vertical a day. About half the runs were off chair five in the back bowls skiing pretty hard slopes. I was in decent shape, so I didn't have to ski easy greens at the end of the day, but in the past I have extended my ski day till last chair by skiing easy greens. I'm an early riser, so in Vail I was in the exercise room from about 5:30 am to 6:00 am each morning doing easy stretching-therapy-core strengthening for my poor, pitiful lower back. We were staying at the Marriot in Lionshead and they had a 15 yard indoor pool, so I did some real easy lap swims in the pool each day too. Did a little walking after that, had breakfast and hit first chair. My entire body was really loose and warmed up to start the day. I figure there's a lot of time, effort and money invested in a ski trip and I want to ski all day long, every day, open to close if I can.

This actually makes a lot of sense. I know there's plenty of days where I'm just not feeling strong and on those days I'll take some cruisy runs and sometimes my strength and endurance will rebound a bit. If not then I guess it maybe does help for the next day...

I know this works on bikes as well. If you hammer out a lot of miles for a couple days it helps to do a leisurely paced "recovery ride" the following day to work things out.

 

[SkiFanE]

If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho. But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west? I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day? Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip? You high? Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis. I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude! Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!

 

[Smellytele]

If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho. But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west? I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day? Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip? You high? Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis. I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude! Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!

Tahoe is at a much lower elevation than Colorado/Utah for the most part and skiing 7 days in a row in the East is much different than skiing 7 days in the west

 

[snoseek]

If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho. But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west? I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day? Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip? You high? Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis. I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude! Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!

What kind of savage eats crostini with fig and leaves out the goat cheese?

 

[Tin]

Hookers and blow are the best rest you can get.

 

[JDMRoma]

Shopping and museums on a ski trip? You high? Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis. I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude! Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!

Damn I love your attitude !! If I had to go shopping you might as well just shoot me and put me out of my misery.

 

[crank]

Last year we took a day off skiing at JH and did 12 miles of xc in Teton National Park just to relax.

Plenty of time to shop in the airport.

 

[Domeskier]

I always take a day off to catch the local Pokemons.

 

[Jcb890]

I'm not in the best of shape, but had a much easier time in Montana than Colorado this season.

In Colorado we rode at Copper 4 days straight. Arrived late on Wednesday night and took Thursday off to check out Frisco and Breckenridge. It was fine because the altitude was kicking my ass.

After that rest day I did ride 4 days in a row though I was mostly sticking to groomers. I didn't feel "normal" until the final day where the altitude wasn't as noticeable. It didn't have any huge impacts, but slight headaches and much lower stamina was prevalent. Also, I was drinking a TON of water. So much so that while on the mountain I almost constantly felt like I had to piss. But, that was the only way I felt any good was if I was drinking a ton of water. Like someone else mentioned, Colorado was very very very dry. Cracked and bloody knuckles galore.

Big Sky was a bit lower in altitude and I didn't really notice any effects from the altitude at all. At Big Sky I also rode 4 days in a row. No day off after arriving, though we did do a 1/2 day that day and got on the mountain around noon.

 

[BenedictGomez]

From Dillon/Vail location some rest day things to do are:
1. stroll Vail Village and shop until you drop, parking is free after 3PM.
2. In some ways Breckenridge is more fun to stroll than Vail, and more accessible with parking at fairly cheap meters right on main street.
3. go for a drive over to Leadville, see old Delaware Hotel and other small town shops. Do a drive-by of Ski Cooper and look at some of the nearby Camp Hale historic areas. Get a sandwich at Mango's Mtn Grill in tiny Red Cliff.
4. There are casinos in the twin front range towns of Central City and Black Hawk, CO if you think you'd enjoy that for something different.
5. Glenwood Hot Springs about one hour from Vail.
6. Not especially unique, but could shop at Silverthorne Outlets. I found a good and cheap ski boot bag there two years ago.

Thanks, this is just the sort of thing I need to start looking into.

Re: A-Basin and Loveland; they are both great, scenic, and very high elevation, which can be tough on first day, but Loveland has a lot more mellow cruising terrain. A-Basin has some of that too, but it's more limited and you can easily find yourself doing demanding to VERY demanding runs there. You'll be better for that after a day of altitude adjustment.

Okay, Loveland then AB it is. Only reason I had them reversed is I thought AB would be busier on a Saturday. As for altitude, I've only skied out west a few times, but it's never affected me (knock on wood). I guess I'm just lucky and I hope that trend continues, but when I hear the numerous, "the altitude kicked my ***" stories posted here, I don't have an experience to understand or relate to it.

 

[Jcb890]

Thanks, this is just the sort of thing I need to start looking into.

Okay, Loveland then AB it is. Only reason I had them reversed is I thought AB would be busier on a Saturday. As for altitude, I've only skied out west a few times, but it's never affected me (knock on wood). I guess I'm just lucky and I hope that trend continues, but when I hear the numerous, "the altitude kicked my ***" stories posted here, I don't have an experience to understand or relate to it.

Some people it just doesn't cause issues with. My mother and father were with us in Colorado and my mother who is an avid walker and in very good shape had minimal altitude issues. Others get hit even harder than my wife and I did. We know a woman who's lungs collapsed while in CO and I know a woman who was on a trip with a co-worker and on the 2nd day of their trip complained of heart problem type symptoms and she wound up in ICU for 2 weeks with an enlarged heart instead of skiing with her group for their week trip.