re: 2023-2024 Ski Thread

The resorts I'm familiar with in Colorado (Summit County) will be making snow in about a month. But, good snow in mid December can be iffy. Good luck.

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Any advice for a mid December trip? I’m a total rookie. Was considering Jackson Hole, Big Sky, CO locations.

Spent the last two summers in Bozeman/Big Sky and Jackson hole was next on the list, figured winter might be a good time to knock it out, but not sure how conditions would be in December

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If you're new to skiing and want reliable December snow, Wolf Creek in Colorado is a great choice.

It's a family-owned ski resort, so not one of the big corporate/Vail Resorts-type places. If you want fancy, WC ain't it. If you want badass snow and a mountain that you can learn to ski on, it's tough to beat.

WC gets the most snow (base elevation is over 10,000ft, storms get trapped and have to dump to get up/over) in Colorado and people drive in from all over the place (out of state plates, sleep in the parking lot...) to catch powder days.

It won't cost you an arm and a leg either. Lift tickets were $82 last year at the window. Probably a few bucks more this year, but less than $100. Not on any of the ski passes (a good thing).

It's not a huge mountain, but big enough to have plenty of varied terrain. And if you wait 10min at a lift, you're bitching about it being too crowded. Lots of days, you'll ski straight to an open chair.

Pagosa Springs is an awesome little town. The locals fought and killed off a major development years back to keep it a normal place. The lack of a major resort development is about the only thing keeping it a "sleeper" and not the next Aspen/Vail. It's that pretty and the snow is that good. I don't think they'll be able to fight it off forever, so you'll probably see it explode within the next 10-15 years (assuming cost of capital drops).

Don't get me wrong, they still get folks in from out of town (a LOT of Texas money), so they have some very good restaurants and other things to do. But you're going to eat your $100 ribeye and drink your $100 wine in jeans/boots, not in your Gucci "apres ski" outfit. The older couple at the table next to you might have a 9-figure net worth, but you'll have to know what you're looking at to notice.

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You're going to have to wait a bit to see who gets snow a few weeks before. I've done Jackson that timeframe before and there was no one there so that was great.

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Did the waiting game a few years ago, and snow was shitty. Then, boom. 10 straight days of powder from Christmas on. Booked last minute in early January, and it was awesome.
If you roll the dice, and lock in now. Be prepared for 50/50 chances of ok or shitty.

That's why people target February and March. You know that no matter how bad of a season, there will be show.

I'll second cottonwood resorts in Utah. Most snow in us. Alta/snowbird are top 5/ top 10 resorts... And brighton/solitude will have enough open for all skill levels to still be fun.

There's a decent bit of snow in the high (snow level 11000 Id guess) terrain of CO this morning. Winter is creeping in.

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Pagosa Springs is an awesome little town. The locals fought and killed off a major development years back to keep it a normal place. The lack of a major resort development is about the only thing keeping it a "sleeper" and not the next Aspen/Vail. It's that pretty and the snow is that good. I don't think they'll be able to fight it off forever, so you'll probably see it explode within the next 10-15 years (assuming cost of capital drops).

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The lack of Vert at Wolf Creek will also ensure it never blows up

Alta has way more than 2000 vert my guy… lift served yea.. but the whole point of Alta is to hiking Baldy , East castle, and traversing. You can ski an honest 3000 vert if you want to.

Solitude also over 2000 if you factor in Fantasy Ridge

Think I have my ski trips planned...Going to be a big season.

Mid-December: Winter Park/Steamboat-Flights are dirt cheap, going to roll the dice and hope Ullr delivers some snow.

January: Snowbird/Solitude/Brighton- Ski season wouldn't be complete without an SLC trip.

Late January-Early Feb: Heavenly/Kirkwood/Pallisades- First time skiing Tahoe ever.

Late February: Revelstoke/Lake Louise/Sunshine- Going back to Banff and Revy, driving from Calgary. My favorite place in North America.

Mid-March: Big Sky- Making the drive west, going to stay in Bozeman which means I'll likely hit Bridger one day as well.

I’m not jealous. Ok, I am but not much. Ok I’m incredibly jealous and I hate you.

What was it about Heavenly that made it poorly run? I was thinking about planning a trip there(also hit up Kirkwood and Northstar) this season? I went about 10 years ago and it was great but I know things can change over time