lowrider Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) From sleeping in your car to 5 star puffy pillows and hot tub what do you remember as the best or worst winter ski-snowboard experience ? Edited September 30, 2016 by lowrider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drschwartz Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Tied for best: Sugar Bowl lodge where there are no vehicles, you are right on the slope, and they know your name at arrival and recognize you, and call you by name for your entire stay. Feels like Tahoe in the 1950s. Great restaurant and wine list. Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail. Extraordinary service, ski gear right at the slope for you, and superb lodging, comfy beds, great food. Worst: one night in a car and a snowstorm outside Mt. Bachelor in Bend. Followed by a white-out, uphill blowing snow day that only Bachelor can produce so I didn't even get to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Snowmass Inn is a hotel that would be $39/night on the side of an interstate, but because of it's location it's a WHOLE lot more! Clean enough, a short stumble to the ski hill and some shops, and a nice pool/hot tub. That's a win for me but I'm a simple person. I've stayed in some fancy hotels on non-snowboarding trips - I always feel out-of-place. I've also stayed in questionable places - as long as I can lock the door and the sheets/towels are clean I can deal with the rest for a short period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Worst hotel was in Oyen, where my wife and I had to crash after being stopped by a blizzard on the way back from Banff. I'm not sure they had rented out any of those rooms since the last big storm on that road, and our room was directly over the bar which was open playing both kinds of music, Country and Western, until 2 am. I think the people who ended up in the booths at the gas station diner that night had a better sleep. The Best Western that formerly was some 60s motel Corey and I stayed at in Calgary was probably the next worst hotel. After that, the Snowmass Inn. Hmm, 2/3 of my worst hotel experiences were with Corey. That should tell me something. As far as best, probably the Westin Resort in Whistler was the swankiest. But I've stayed in some condos at Big White that I prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 14 hours ago, Neil Gendzwill said: Hmm, 2/3 of my worst hotel experiences were with Corey. That should tell me something. Haha, maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Best: Rusutsu Tower, a 2 level hotel suite all to myself right down to the heated hi-tech japanese toilet, onsen, restaurants of all descriptions, powder dumping out of the sky 70% of the conference week I'm there. And then there was the bed.... I swear it was at least 8 feet wide, enough room for a sizeable orgy, and so comfortable... All a bit over the top for me. Like Corey, the Snowmass Inn and its' ilk are all I normally need. A clean bed, a warm room, a place to store my gear. It's not like I'm planning to spend a lot of daytime in the room on a snowboarding trip. In NZ at Ruapehu I'll stay in the communal bunkhouse accommodation of the ski club I belong to, or stay in a backpackers when I'm in Central Otago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Trapp Family Lodge, and Stowehof Inn. Both near Stowe VT and highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Three car camping in a snowy parking lot tales: In my new car at Crystal Mtn. WA, woken up at 6:30 AM by the sound of the snow thrower starting up and chewing into a snow bank. Followed soon after by the sound of a torrential downpour of slush, mud and rocks on top of my new car. Mtn. High/Snow Summit CA (can't remember which one), waking up every so often to move my car back to the high end of the lot. Freezing rain had made the lot a skating rink and high winds kept pushing my car downhill towards the drop off with no guard rail. Timberline, OR, about 3AM in a snow storm, the back end of my car lifts off the ground. I get out to a startled tow truck driver who says I'm parked illegally. he unhooks and takes off. I check with management the next day to find that I was parked legally and the tow truck driver was probably just trying to steal my car. I stay in hotels now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 22 minutes ago, Keenan said: Mtn. High/Snow Summit CA (can't remember which one), waking up every so often to move my car back to the high end of the lot. Freezing rain had made the lot a skating rink and high winds kept pushing my car downhill towards the drop off with no guard rail. Holy crap! This reminds me of a trip home from a ski area a few years ago. A blizzard blew in about 1 hour into my 5-hour drive. Now I was driving at about 30 mph on a 60 mph road in the prairies. I heard on the radio that the highway I was on was closed, but I thought I'd soldier on in my Subaru with winter tires and a dose of optimism that things would be better ahead. I got into a small city and quickly realized it was like a finger trap. You could get in but they wouldn't let you leave. Every hotel room in town was full with 30+ name waiting lists, and it was going down to -40 that night. Oh boy. Subarus can barely keep the engine warm at -40 when idling, let alone keeping the occupant warm too! I was not equipped to camp at -40! I started texting everyone I knew to see if anyone had friends or family in that town. It turns out someone I raced cars with a few years ago was staying at his parents' place that weekend. They were nice enough to let me sleep on their floor. Given the alternative, this was an awesome place to sleep. Then my new best friend helped boost my frozen car in the morning too! Block heaters are good, but only if you have a spot to plug them in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 On 10/3/2016 at 1:46 PM, Keenan said: Mtn. High/Snow Summit CA (can't remember which one), waking up every so often to move my car back to the high end of the lot. Freezing rain had made the lot a skating rink and high winds kept pushing my car downhill towards the drop off with no guard rail. "boggles" OMG! Just as well you noticed, or that would have been quite the wake up call! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 Snorting Elk. Crystal Mountain, WA. if you know, you know! If not, too bad schnitzel, elk frost, shotski, cookie, sleep, powder, repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 1 hour ago, slopestar said: Snorting Elk. Crystal Mountain, WA. if you know, you know! If not, too bad schnitzel, elk frost, shotski, cookie, sleep, powder, repeat. I know, I lived upstairs for a winter. Snorting Elk is the bar, Alpine Inn is the hotel. We used to hang our groceries out the windows in mesh bags to keep them cold. Then after about a month they decided that looked trashy and bought us mini fridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdahbonz Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 I would have to say this place roughly 5 miles over the CAN/US border north of Jay Peak was one of the more memorable. In the odd year between ECES events our CAN carving friends found this gem. Space for everyone, great company, easy trip to Jay, to Owls Head, Sutton and others although we spent our time between Jay and Owls Head. Super reasonable and I would go back there in a heartbeat. Great crew of peoples, when we had a good east coast snowy winter. Lots of great memories. For you New England carvers, this one can accommodate a big group. if you're not looking for it, you'll never find it. 2 monster residences on 100+ acres of privacy. This is the smaller chalet-the other one sleeps 26+. https://www.chaletsauquebec.com/FicheChalet.aspx?IdChalet=5975 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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