VAIL SUCKS

[jaytrem]

The post pandemic era has certainly seen a great degree of popularity in skiing/riding, and when you take that popularity and add in places on the mega passes (and arguably now even Indy affiliated resorts can fall into the mega pass category moreso than they may have in the past), and then throw in a powder day and you get crowds, even at lesser known places mid week. And the popularity is a GOOD thing when it comes to the economic health of this sport that we all love at the end of the day, even if longer lines at times is frustrating

Yeah, I wasn't sad to see them raking in the money that day. Can't blame Indy for the crowd, less than 10 people in front of me and that included powder Alliance and online sales. Walk up line must have been 100+ people, season pass line maybe half that. Rest of the trip had pretty much zero lines, couple t-bar places at the end had maybe 5 minute lines. Would have been shorter without the launch failures. I'll try to do a trip report but probably too lazy.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Crowds are everywhere.........

Somewhat true I guess. Some of the worst liftline days of my life have been at Jay Peak (Freezer) and Smuggler's Notch (M1), and neither of those are EPIC or IKON.

like this past Super Bowl many people start tuning out at half time.

Not us lifelong Eagles fans! Watching pretty boy Mahomes run for his life literally play-after-play with no hope for escape was glorious television.

 

[Former Sunday Rivah Rat]

There were no crowds like that last year.

We were at PC last year 3/3 to 3/9th and it was a zoo the whole week. I hated having to get there so early on weekdays to get a free spot at the Canyons and get in line for the Red pine gondy or the Orange bubble. They sell too many Epic passes for cheap $ and that brings the crowds.

 

[ss20]

Need a level 1...need to learn how to teach to have any chance of passing that.

Solitude will have 2/3 staff turnover each season in ski school. Brighton a little less. They will teach you the basics and give you some experience. Then come to Alta/Bird. Feel free to pm.


This is a private school vacation week. We forecasted a pretty high uptick in volume (which did happen). Monday being perfect weather also brought out the locals. It'll be noticeably busier everyday now through the beginning of April. November/December is tumbleweed season outside of the holidays. January is locals season. The next 6 weeks belong to the tourists.

 

[kingslug]

Pm sent

 

[4aprice]

Somewhat true I guess. Some of the worst liftline days of my life have been at Jay Peak (Freezer) and Smuggler's Notch (M1), and neither of those are EPIC or IKON.



Not us lifelong Eagles fans! Watching pretty boy Mahomes run for his life literally play-after-play with no hope for escape was glorious television.

Yep I've seen that M1 liftline stretch up the hill beyond the lodge and up Lower Lift Line in the past. 70's were pretty brutal for lines. Fixed grip doubles mostly. I remember some long lines (like 1 hr long) at Aspen and Vail back in those days. Did encounter one pretty long one at Stratton this year on Snow Bowl MLK weekend. Long enough to piss off the wife

Myself I'm a Jets fan so all I know is innovative ways to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. They're amazingly good at it

 

[BenedictGomez]

We were at PC last year 3/3 to 3/9th and it was a zoo the whole week. I hated having to get there so early on weekdays to get a free spot at the Canyons and get in line for the Red pine gondy or the Orange bubble. They sell too many Epic passes for cheap $ and that brings the crowds.

The only time you ever have to get there "early" for a free parking spot is Saturdays & Sundays (unless your definition of early is more like 10am or 11am or something as it does indeed typically fill on weekend by 11am or so). Even then, there were only 2 Saturdays all last season I needed to park at Ecker and take the bus. Typically we ski Sundays after church which lands us there about 11:45am, and as I said rarely didnt get a free spot last year. That's what made this weekend unusual in that the free parking was filled by about 9am or so.

 

[thetrailboss]

Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union, Vail Resorts Reach Agreement

SAM Magazine—Crested Butte, Colo., Feb. 14, 2025—The unionized lift mechanics at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) reached a contract agreement with res

www.saminfo.com

 

[kingslug]

Well there ya go...

 

[ctdubl07]

Vail providing 6 of us access to Telluride this week did not suck.....holy cow is that a Mtn and town to desire. Damn do I wish i had the foresight (and funds!) 10 yrs ago to buy in. Even being holiday wknd with 2 feet of new snow after a drought and clearly a fair amount of Epic pass guests, the place was extremely manageable. Newish lifts and prime services. The Texans arrived awhile back and its clearly been turning aspenish but still a gem. Stores still have a local vibe and only brand I saw was Patagonia. Women buying custom cowboys hats at a clip. Town still very walkable with gondi straightout of heart. Wife and I did the snowcat to dinner event for $1K which was cool. Around the corner is a summitish private house that is rentable for $7500 a night. That would be awesome in a storm. Kids said being able to go to "Telluride High" should be a reality show. Hike to and bowls were great. Lots of heli action while we were there. Easy drive from Montrose.
Cant believe its still single owner driven for last 20ish years.
Dude has it figured out.
Go.

 

[snoseek]

Vail providing 6 of us access to Telluride this week did not suck.....holy cow is that a Mtn and town to desire. Damn do I wish i had the foresight (and funds!) 10 yrs ago to buy in. Even being holiday wknd with 2 feet of new snow after a drought and clearly a fair amount of Epic pass guests, the place was extremely manageable. Newish lifts and prime services. The Texans arrived awhile back and its clearly been turning aspenish but still a gem. Stores still have a local vibe and only brand I saw was Patagonia. Women buying custom cowboys hats at a clip. Town still very walkable with gondi straightout of heart. Wife and I did the snowcat to dinner event for $1K which was cool. Around the corner is a summitish private house that is rentable for $7500 a night. That would be awesome in a storm. Kids said being able to go to "Telluride High" should be a reality show. Hike to and bowls were great. Lots of heli action while we were there. Easy drive from Montrose.
Cant believe its still single owner driven for last 20ish years.
Dude has it figured out.
Go.

It's really the very best in Colorado imo. It's been unbelievably expensive for decades now though. I bet they don't see alot of epic traffic as its 7 hours from Denver.

 

[thetrailboss]

Vail providing 6 of us access to Telluride this week did not suck.....holy cow is that a Mtn and town to desire. Damn do I wish i had the foresight (and funds!) 10 yrs ago to buy in. Even being holiday wknd with 2 feet of new snow after a drought and clearly a fair amount of Epic pass guests, the place was extremely manageable. Newish lifts and prime services. The Texans arrived awhile back and its clearly been turning aspenish but still a gem. Stores still have a local vibe and only brand I saw was Patagonia. Women buying custom cowboys hats at a clip. Town still very walkable with gondi straightout of heart. Wife and I did the snowcat to dinner event for $1K which was cool. Around the corner is a summitish private house that is rentable for $7500 a night. That would be awesome in a storm. Kids said being able to go to "Telluride High" should be a reality show. Hike to and bowls were great. Lots of heli action while we were there. Easy drive from Montrose.
Cant believe its still single owner driven for last 20ish years.
Dude has it figured out.
Go.

"That's what I like to hear. All I can say is, 'you're welcome!' Stay EPIC my friends!"

 

[BenedictGomez]

Shuts down very early in April due to elk migration though. Guess that's a small price to pay.

 

[oldfartrider]

It’s the first place I ever went in the west in 1992. Was expensive then but also great.

 

[AdironRider]

Telluride is like end stage capitalism in a nutshell.

The cheapest house currently for sale is 3 million dollars and is exclusively owned by people that do not live there full time. No local population exists, they all commute in from Montrose. The stores cater exclusively to tourists. It is bar none, the weirdest place I've ever visited.

The four wheeling and skiing is pretty rad though.

 

[Ski the Moguls]

Vail providing 6 of us access to Telluride this week did not suck.....holy cow is that a Mtn and town to desire. Damn do I wish i had the foresight (and funds!) 10 yrs ago to buy in. Even being holiday wknd with 2 feet of new snow after a drought and clearly a fair amount of Epic pass guests, the place was extremely manageable. Newish lifts and prime services. The Texans arrived awhile back and its clearly been turning aspenish but still a gem. Stores still have a local vibe and only brand I saw was Patagonia. Women buying custom cowboys hats at a clip. Town still very walkable with gondi straightout of heart. Wife and I did the snowcat to dinner event for $1K which was cool. Around the corner is a summitish private house that is rentable for $7500 a night. That would be awesome in a storm. Kids said being able to go to "Telluride High" should be a reality show. Hike to and bowls were great. Lots of heli action while we were there. Easy drive from Montrose.
Cant believe its still single owner driven for last 20ish years.
Dude has it figured out.
Go.

There was a Starbucks in Mountain Village up until last year, but it closed. Does Christy Sports count as a brand?

 

[BenedictGomez]

Based on the email I received today from Vail promising a dollar sum as my discount next season, it seems for the first time in a long time the EPIC pass price isnt going to be increased.



Assuming others come to the same logic I wonder if the stock's down tomorrow. This is a beast that survives on price increases.

 

[raisingarizona]

Telluride is like end stage capitalism in a nutshell.

The cheapest house currently for sale is 3 million dollars and is exclusively owned by people that do not live there full time. No local population exists, they all commute in from Montrose. The stores cater exclusively to tourists. It is bar none, the weirdest place I've ever visited.

The four wheeling and skiing is pretty rad though.

I spent the winter of 2006 living in the “White House”, which was basically on the same block as the gondola and chair 8. That was possibly the wildest winter of my life. It’s hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago now.

 

[Ski the Moguls]

This Is the Most Expensive (and Luxurious) Ski Town in the U.S. — and No, It's Not Aspen or Vail

In the tiny ski town of Telluride, Colorado, over a third of real estate is $5 million or more.

www.travelandleisure.com

 

[raisingarizona]

This Is the Most Expensive (and Luxurious) Ski Town in the U.S. — and No, It's Not Aspen or Vail

In the tiny ski town of Telluride, Colorado, over a third of real estate is $5 million or more.

www.travelandleisure.com

I can’t afford to go there anymore.