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Resort / destination recommendation


Eboot

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I severed the tensor tendon in my left thumb in a garage door accident.  Currently have a pin in the first 2 bones with a cast and a definitive NO SNOWBOARDING order.  Splint and cast come off middle of February.

In a surprising twist my wife has offered to make up for the loss of my season with a trip in late February or March.

Destination would need to offer comfortable fire side days for my wife and a range of runs that can meet my carving needs and spend time with my 11 year old daughter.

Recommendations?

Admins please feel free to move this to a different location if required.

The only places I have boarded in the US are in the northeast.

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I’m quite fond of Okemo, but I’m biased since I live at the bottom of the hill and work there.  It’s great for carving if you come midweek (Friday doesn’t count anymore); you will usually get a run to yourself and not wait in a lift line.  It lacks in long, sustained steeps; but has a huge variety of easy and intermediate terrain.  Jackson Gore Inn’s lobby has a good fireplace lounge and bar.  Town is lacking nightlife, but there are a handful of Really good restaurants.

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You never said where...

I second Beaver Creek. It's awesome (and expensive!). Other options in CO are Aspen and Copper.

Keep in mind that mid March is Spring break where the big resorts go crazy and carving across the run becomes a game of Russian Roulette. Beaver Creek and Buttermilk I feel fair better than most.

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Buttermilk, CO. There's a hotel right at the base, a free bus to Aspen just a short walk away, and wide open and empty groomers. If you feel like trying any of the other 3 mountains, they're a short bus ride away. 

Your wife and daughter can drain your bank account while you snowboard, but not too much as it's awkward to carry too much on the bus. Or, the ski lessons for kids look freaking awesome (from what I could tell as a very interested observer...) as they seem to hire really enthusiastic/good people. 

Pricey, but I was blown away at the whole scene. There's a reason the SES/ATC was held there for many years. 

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On 1/26/2020 at 6:30 PM, Dan said:

Are you looking for somewhere where you can stay on the hill, or are you open to driving to/from the lifts each day?

prefer not to have to drive daily

Thanx, all helpful.

Probably end of March

I didn't mention a location as this is an opportunity to explore the unknown.  Banff is certainly a possibility due to family nearby but was expecting it to probably be, Colorado, Utah or Montana.

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I'd see where there's snow and plan then, Okemo, Stowe, no.

The conditions are the same weatherwise at okemo and sunapee, sunapee has world class grooming, okemo doesn't.

Stowe, no.

You can wait and see where it's not warm and rainy, but, if it's warm and rainy everywhere, sunapee will still have excellently groomed trails.

Was at stratton last friday, what a mistake, my edges are toast, grooming, or the lack of knowhow.

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Once you narrow it down to a region; i am sure there will have tons more suggestion.
Late March for North East is a crap shoot.

Out west is probably better bet for the time frame.

Co:  Aspen 4 mountains in relative close vicinity.  +1 for Buttermilk
Montana:  Big Sky got some great carving and end of Season got some great steal.  Check with the Montuky crew.
UT:  Snowbasin/Powder Mountain(fewer on mountain lodging)/Park City/Canyon are all fit the bill.  Snowbird was challenging for me.

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Banff   : Fly into Calgary means rent a car or take shuttle. Car gives access to Norquay, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Kicking Horse. Norquay is cheaper than other three. Good for first or last day as it is smaller. Sunshine and Kicking horse has nice on hill ski-in, ski-out. Louise and Norquay have no on Mt. accommodation. Banff has public hot springs but the town is a real tourist trap that possibly your wife and daughter would find interesting ( did it but would avoid it and similar places at all cost personally ) Switching Gear is a (used) sport store in Canmore well worth a visit but no hard boot stuff any time i have visited. Take advantage of the snow hosts at the resorts if you are unfamiliar with the terrain, a rule of thumb is to follow the sun to get the best conditions and light as some mt runs can be a challenge in poor light.                                                                                                                                                                       Montana; Last there 2011 WTF awesome place A few miles from town but on hill accommodation available from Hostel to drain you bank acct. Make it a real adventure and take the train !

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Places out west I've been, ranked in order for a family trip:

Jackson Hole.  The big one.  Something for everyone.  As extreme as you want to get.  Has some good groomers, especially in the Casper area.  Town of JH is fun, but a short drive.

Snowbird.  No carving, but incredible if your family are expert skiers/riders.  No town.

Aspen.  If you can stay trailside at Ajax then great, otherwise stay at Snowmass.  Buttermilk is nice if you want a large hill of green circles.  Legendary town.

Steamboat.  Something for everyone, great carving, great town.

Squaw Valley.  Very little carving, but awesome otherwise.  Terrain is up there with the best, but when I was there 22 years ago, there wasn't much of a town.

Park City.  Something for everyone, large resort, nice town, not as "pretty" as the others. At this time of year the odds are that the only accommodations available are on the Canyons side.  This is where we stayed, although nice I would not do it again.  The best stuff is on the PC side, and it takes a while to get there and back from the Canyons.

I have been told I'd go nuts for the groomers at Sun Valley.  It's on my list.  Telluride is on my list too.

If your family is more intermediate level at skiing/snowboarding, I would put Aspen and Steamboat at the top.

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My favorite place was Telluride until I went to Aspen for SES. Hard to beat 4 mountains.

Telluride and Aspen are similar in that they're both remote (far from cities and crowds) old mining towns that have preserved much of the original Victorian architecture, have magnificent alpine scenery, great restaurants, and of course great carving (and all mountain) terrain.

If you check out softbootsurfer's milkland (Buttahmilk) thread, you'll see that they have been having an awesome season so far. And, if you ride there, you're likely to come across the tracks of some of the local carving legends.

The plush groom in Aspen has forever spoiled me, and has become a gold standard for measuring groom quality at my local hill.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Thanx to all for your input. 

As is typical in my life having gotten excited about something, everything changes. Now it looks like we will just be spending about 4 days in the Burlington VT area (Thursday night to Monday night around the weekend of 20-23 March).

I will be checking each of the local resorts nearby for expected snow conditions but any additional suggestions would be gratefully accepted, including resort and lodging options.  Not having to drive anywhere would be helpful and access for my wife to her real fire place critical 🙂

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Burlington VT area, swanky... there's only one place Stowe.   It's not the best carving mountain IMHO but the resort area is top notch and there's lots of good places to eat in town and you might still be able to visit the Trapp family guest house and snowshoe.  IF you don't want to pay resort prices there's lots of places on the main drag and the shuttle to the resort operates fairly frequently.

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