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Vail's Big Northeast Improvements- 2022-2023

tnt1234

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stop calling a 50 foot hill from the lodge to the lift a 'hike'. for fucks sake.
lol.

In fairness, on a frozen solid day, if you have a few kids and an armful of their gear, those hills can be pretty evil!

It's super funny to me that for decades Stowe has had these 'hills' and ice, snow, whatever, they just had their customers deal with it. Vail buys the place and rather than letting people struggle up some snow, they buy a whole new chair lift....
 

drjeff

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lol.

In fairness, on a frozen solid day, if you have a few kids and an armful of their gear, those hills can be pretty evil!

It's super funny to me that for decades Stowe has had these 'hills' and ice, snow, whatever, they just had their customers deal with it. Vail buys the place and rather than letting people struggle up some snow, they buy a whole new chair lift....

For every 1 vertical foot you have to climb with your gear, a kid (or kids) in tow with their gear, that should count for about 50 vertical feet for an able bodied person with just their own gear!

If you've been through it, you get it! If you've never had that experience before, well you better accept that those of us who have been through it are just saying "wait until they get to themselves..." 😂😂
 

deadheadskier

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For every 1 vertical foot you have to climb with your gear, a kid (or kids) in tow with their gear, that should count for about 50 vertical feet for an able bodied person with just their own gear!

If you've been through it, you get it! If you've never had that experience before, well you better accept that those of us who have been through it are just saying "wait until they get to themselves..." 😂😂

Yep this. 50:1 is the ratio. 😆 Stowe was home for years and I never really gave the Mansfield stairs or hill climb much thought. "The climb ain't so bad, good exercise and warmup to start the day etc, etc."

When I introduced my 4 year old to the mountain two seasons ago? Man did I think that the mountain has a challenging setup for families. All three options are poor. You're either trudging up the hill to the lift from the Mansfield lodge, trudging from car up the hill to Midway lodge or trudging from car to Over Easy Gondola to the Spruce lodge.

In terms of parental Sherpa degree of difficulty, Stowe rates high on the scale for Eastern ski resorts. Ease of egress from car to lodge and lodge to lift becomes oh so important when lugging a whiney child's stuff.

Thankfully it's fairly short lived. My six year old should be mostly self sufficient this season after 4 years of me being his Sherpa. But now along comes my 3 year old to the sport this year. So it starts all over. I actually held off on starting her until 3 vs age 2 like her brother because my wife doesn't ski and isn't with me to help. I wanted my son self sufficient prior to starting my daughter.

Being the Sherpa for two kids at a time just seemed like way too much. I simply couldn't figure out the calculus of 3 sets of skis, 1 set of poles, my boot bag and a shared boot bag for them with just two shoulders and one pair of hands. Granted no boot bags to a lodge last season due to Covid, but still seemed too daunting for my sanity. Lol
 

abc

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But, but, but...

There're some of us who not saddled with kids! We'd prefer Stowe stay family unfriendly to cut down on crowds. ;)

Just kidding. But you get the drift...
 

ctdubl07

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We have 4 kids and theyve always been in programs every wknd.
When they were first starting out, lived in a community with a shuttle bus. All kids would boot and helmet up to ride bus, no excuses. But I would honestly carry 4 sets of skiis in a HUGE hockey bag, it could fit up to 120cm's, plus Id handle my board.
Then we moved and now everyone walks to the lift... no one seems to remember, never got any credit.
 

tnt1234

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I have no idea why 50% of ski resort lodges still have bathrooms in the basement or upstairs and nothing on the main floor.
I think it's because it's cheaper to build the toilet closer to the
Yep this. 50:1 is the ratio. 😆 Stowe was home for years and I never really gave the Mansfield stairs or hill climb much thought. "The climb ain't so bad, good exercise and warmup to start the day etc, etc."

When I introduced my 4 year old to the mountain two seasons ago? Man did I think that the mountain has a challenging setup for families. All three options are poor. You're either trudging up the hill to the lift from the Mansfield lodge, trudging from car up the hill to Midway lodge or trudging from car to Over Easy Gondola to the Spruce lodge.

In terms of parental Sherpa degree of difficulty, Stowe rates high on the scale for Eastern ski resorts. Ease of egress from car to lodge and lodge to lift becomes oh so important when lugging a whiney child's stuff.

Thankfully it's fairly short lived. My six year old should be mostly self sufficient this season after 4 years of me being his Sherpa. But now along comes my 3 year old to the sport this year. So it starts all over. I actually held off on starting her until 3 vs age 2 like her brother because my wife doesn't ski and isn't with me to help. I wanted my son self sufficient prior to starting my daughter.

Being the Sherpa for two kids at a time just seemed like way too much. I simply couldn't figure out the calculus of 3 sets of skis, 1 set of poles, my boot bag and a shared boot bag for them with just two shoulders and one pair of hands. Granted no boot bags to a lodge last season due to Covid, but still seemed too daunting for my sanity. Lol


So...I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your 6 yo will be self sufficient like 40-50% of the time.

You can raise that percentage by packing and distributing healthy snacks at a seemingly insane rate, and keeping the sessions short.

It's all totally worth it though.
 

jaytrem

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You can raise that percentage by packing and distributing healthy snacks at a seemingly insane rate, and keeping the sessions short.

It's all totally worth it though.

Some very young kids can (and want to) go all day. Not sure if it's nature or nurture though. A ski day was always pretty easy for my kids compared to an amusement park day. At Coaster events you typically get in an hour or 2 early and stay an hour or 2 after closing. Talk about exhausting!
 

Smellytele

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Right where I want to be
Some very young kids can (and want to) go all day. Not sure if it's nature or nurture though. A ski day was always pretty easy for my kids compared to an amusement park day. At Coaster events you typically get in an hour or 2 early and stay an hour or 2 after closing. Talk about exhausting!
I have 3 sons. All ski well. When they were young 2 would go all day, the middle one not so much. He would always be pokey carrying his stuff. He could ski very fast but chose to usually ski behind and observe the rest of us. The other 2 always had to be the first ones down. He has better form but is way more cautious always taking the easier way down where the others (especially the youngest) will take the path less traveled.
 

skiur

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I used to hit first chair, not anymore. I do hit last chair often.
 

Edd

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I pretty much go with sun and conditions all season for first/last chair. Better to go early during early season, later in the spring.

Getting my wife to go early; she will, but she’d always rather not.
 

RISkier

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It was great when Stowe had the 7:30 chair..now its 8..but I still bet most don't show up until 9..especially with kids.
I think it was mostly an accommodation for Stowe locals with somewhat regular jobs. Lots of folks did a few runs before work. Especially on powder days. Vail isn't going to do that.
 
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