Where to take a ski trip ?????

[ss20]

Left field thought- Catskills trip. Close, affordable, do a day each at Windham, Platty, and Belleayre. All will likely be less crowded than any mega-resort on a mid-January weekend.

 

[ThatGuy]

Belleayre has also really been cranking out the snowmaking recently if theres not alot of natural

 

[crank]

Great suggestion except what are the odds of air temps above zero degrees for MLK weekend...brrrrr

Hey, I'm not the one asking to go night skiing in the northeast in January. I figure if they want to freeze Tremblant pretty much fills the bill. Plus it may be less crowded.

 

[djd66]

If you are willing to do 6-8 hour of travel, why not just fly out west? Lots of ski in/out options and much higher probability that the skiing will be good. I think pretty much every year in recent memory we have had a Christmas/ NYE wash out and it takes the month of January to bounce back.

 

[Edd]

Mont Tremblant?

My first thought also. Google Maps says 6:58 for the drive from Buffalo, plus night skiing and it’s a big eastern mountain with a fuckton of slope side lodging. Dodging MLK crowds would be a great bonus but I'm sure Tremblant will be just as crowded as the big ski areas on this side of the border.

 

[crank]

I used to go to Tremblant and later Ste Anne/Le Massif for Presidents week vacation and it was both less crowded and less expensive, non holiday pricing. It may still be a bit less crowded than the big American resorts on MLK weekend.

 

[Smellytele]

Jay also has the water park to hang in after skiing.

 

[nhskier1969]

has anyone skied at keystone before? Going on a trip and wondering what to expect.

 

[raisingarizona]

Europe....duh.

 

[nhskier1969]

Not sure what you meant by Europe but Keystone is located in CO

 

[raisingarizona]

Not sure what you meant by Europe but Keystone is located in CO

thread title.

 

[chuckstah]

has anyone skied at keystone before? Going on a trip and wondering what to expect.

I've been a few times, but it's been a long while. Keystone certainly isn't my favorite CO ski area but coming from the east coast it will be fine. There's lots of intermediate terrain with snowmaking, almost east coast like. There's also plenty of bump runs and some nice trees scattered about. It generally lacks lift served above tree line bowls, but I think that's been expanded a bit. There's plenty of hike to terrain if that's your thing, but tough at Summit county elevation. I don't think you'll find anything that scares you there, but it's fun. Don't miss A-basin up the street while you're there. Loveland is also nearby and certainly worth a day or 2.

 

[nhskier1969]

My wife and I plan on touring one day. Looks like a pretty easy skin to access the bowls.

 

[Smellytele]

It is kind of a ski out then ski back. What I mean is the peaks are not side by side but behind each other.

 

[Tonyr]

has anyone skied at keystone before? Going on a trip and wondering what to expect.

There isn't much open at Keystone now so it will be mostly groomers I'd guess. Fully open Keystone is alot of fun, there is a bunch of great tree skiing there on and off the map. I think it's an underrated mountain if conditions are good.

Can you make a day trip or two to Vail? That mountain is over 80% open right now. You'll have much better options there at this point.

 

[Tonyr]

My wife and I plan on touring one day. Looks like a pretty easy skin to access the bowls.

It's about a 45 minute hike from the top of the Outback lift if I remember correctly.

 

[chuckstah]

My wife and I plan on touring one day. Looks like a pretty easy skin to access the bowls.

When I've stayed at a friend's place in Breck above 10K feet I was tired going up to the third floor. Couldn't sleep, waking up
constantly out of breath. Couldn't imagine trying to uphill at 12K, but hopefully your experience will be better.

 

[jimk]

has anyone skied at keystone before? Going on a trip and wondering what to expect.

Keystone, a lot of this is somewhat dated and you better double check me on latest pricing, parking, etc, but the following may give you some ideas.

I skied Keystone once in 2020, for nine days in March 2015. I also made visits there twice before in the early 2000s. I’ve learned to appreciate the mountain. It may not be the steepest and deepest, but several nice attributes make it an excellent destination for the right guest, such as tons of scenic intermediate terrain, night skiing (rare in the West), a huge terrain park, and an excellent synergy with the burly local’s favorite Arapahoe Basin, just five miles up the road. I think Keystone also offers slightly more affordable slopeside accommodations than many other Vail resorts.

I have used VRBO to catch fine spring deals in the attractive condos at the newer slopeside River Run Village at Keystone. You can save even more if you consider some of the older condo and motel properties in nearby Dillon. The density of vacation homes in Summit County makes it a good area for solo travelers to look for inexpensive rooms through Airbnb. The entire county is served by the free Summit Stage bus system, which could eliminate the need for a rental car.

Finding free parking at Keystone is a breeze. There are large lots at both the River Run and Mountain House base areas. The River Run lot even furnishes little wagons to wheel your gear to and from the lifts. The Keystone-Arapahoe Basin Pass (~$350 depending on when you buy it) is a true bargain season pass for two complementary mountains.

Keystone is also one of the few Vail resorts that offers discounted lift tickets outside Epic Pass offerings. The short preseason window for this has closed for 2017-18, but typically the four packs of tickets for both Keystone and Arapahoe Basin go for about $200 in the early fall. My daughters used these four packs to join me at Keystone in 2015; being late risers, they took advantage of Keystone’s night skiing operations to extend their ski days.

When staying near Keystone, I’m often in condo mode and use local supermarkets for supplies to dine in. However, I remember making repeated trips to Murphy’s Food and Spirits in Silverthorne for good and inexpensive fish dinners on Fridays during ski season. Butterhorn Bakery/Cafe in Frisco is good. Between the neighboring towns of Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne, there is a glut of dining choices, and the strong restaurant and pub scene at Breckenridge is less than 15 miles from Keystone.

The Keystone trail layout includes 3,148 skiable acres spread across three mountains. All three mountains feature fine intermediate-advanced terrain, but with different nuances. Dercum, the front mountain, specializes in excellent and long (~2,300 vertical ft) intermediate slopes including Schoolmarm, which on a quiet day is one of the best and prettiest low-intermediate runs in the US. The second mountain, North Peak, offers fine spring bump skiing on empty trails like Geronimo. The third mountain, the Outback, features a collection of great tree runs such as Pika and Timberwolf. Some days Keystone runs an inexpensive à la carte snowcat operation from the top of the Outback offering single black diamond skiing that is ideal for off-piste neophytes looking for a manageable taste of the backcountry.

Starfire trail, North Peak at Keystone, CO

One gorgeous spring day in 2015, I took my wife (a nonskier at this point) on a 30-something-dollar scenic snowcat ride at Keystone. We had a really fun afternoon. The tour lasted about 75 minutes, and we climbed as high as 12,000 ft in a swanky snowcat. The driver was personable and stopped a couple times to let us get out and enjoy secluded views of the Front Range while he shared local history. Afterward, we dined al fresco at the mountaintop Outpost lodge. Multiple gondola rides from the River Run base to the departure point of the cat ride at the summit of Dercum Mountain and over to the Outpost (elevation 11,660 ft) are included in the price of the tour.