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clong83

Stauffenberg!
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Aug 22, 2017
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New Mexico
That's fifty days. Less than a season.

This pair of boots has 417 days so far. They are still snug -- I had thought they might be due for replacement this coming season, but as the last season ended I felt they were still fine. The last pair of boots had 462. Now you're talking over 900 trips.

I am probably an outlier on boot replacement.
I'd agree you are an outlier... On both number of ski days you use boots AND number of ski days per year. It 50 days is less than a typical season for you, I am starting to understand why you like boot up at the lodge.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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There are a lot of practical pros and cons both ways. I suspect that in reality personal aesthetic preferences have a lot to do with it.

Are you one of those people who thinks brewing a pot of actual tea and serving it in a cup with a saucer is a pretentious waste of time, money, and dishes? (Milk in cup first, then tea.) Yes? Parking lot booter.

Are you grumpy if your ski day doesn't start with getting every wrinkle out of your perfectly dry ski sock, chatting with the other old farts while you nibble your piece of fruit, and sipping the dregs of your second cup of coffee? Yes? Lodge booter.
 

James

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I rarely boot up at the car. Over the years there have been periods when I tried it. I found its acceptability depended on a few variables:
- what the weather is doing
- what the ground surface is like (puddles, mud, gravel? solid and dry? packed snow?)
- is there something to sit on? Like a rear hatch without much of a lip. I find trying to boot up sitting sideways in a seat is horrible: the door doesn't open far enough (especially if there is another car next to you), the seat is trying to make you slid too far into it, etc.
- how many people you have. If the good sitting/leaning spots on the car are fewer than your passengers, you have to take turns and wait.

Nowadays I would only do it in special circumstances, such as it being a long uphill to the lodge and downhill to a lift (and already having a ticket).

One other thing that may affect how people feel about booting up in the car -- whether they need to go inside anyway, for example to buy a ticket, use the bathroom, meet people, or wait for the lifts to open.
And you have rear entry boots!

As usual, a thread about Lodges and which are better or worse for booting up in, becomes about the parking lot.

There are a lot of practical pros and cons both ways. I suspect that in reality personal aesthetic preferences have a lot to do with it.

Are you one of those people who thinks brewing a pot of actual tea and serving it in a cup with a saucer is a pretentious waste of time, money, and dishes? (Milk in cup first, then tea.) Yes? Parking lot booter.

Are you grumpy if your ski day doesn't start with getting every wrinkle out of your perfectly dry ski sock, chatting with the other old farts while you nibble your piece of fruit, and sipping the dregs of your second cup of coffee? Yes? Lodge booter.
Alex Morgan ignited a debate in England over the milk.
Reminds me of an Irish guy telling me the joke about the difference between Lace Curtain Irish and Shanty Irish.
 

4aprice

Out on the slopes
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Lake Hopatcong, NJ and Granby Co
Copper booted up at the car, hop bus to lifts.

Snowmass- Locker room tucked in across from ticket window at main base,stash bags on top of lockers.or park at two creeks.

Deer valley- nice locker room w/bathrooms and low cost baskets Snow park.

Sugarbush, bag room w/racks by cafeteria

Killington- Bear lots of racks, by Gondola- we use the Bar area, racks and bathroom in back corner

Very good summary. From your list these are the ones I got to over the last season and I will add a couple things.

Killington - K1,Rams Head and Snowshed are all not bad.

Stratton - The main Lodge isn't bad with good cubbies down the hallway by the cafeteria. Sun Bowl lodge is good too with better parking.

Loon - Octagon Lodge is nice with good shelving for storing equipment and storing the skis in the gondola barn where one can step out and right on to the gondola.

Brighton has a great locker room.

Solitude had a nice room at Moonbeam lodge but took part of it away for snow sports school. We still used it successfully last year.

Steamboat has a really nice locker and boot up area in downstairs in Gondola Square..

For our home mountain Camelback PA. I think the regular locker and boot up areas are sufficient but not great, The lodge is huge and has plenty of seating room but I don't believe they let people store stuff there. For us however we spend a little more a get a seasonal locker in the fireside club which is real nice with access to the slopes and the bars for après ski and easy to get in and out of even if parking on the second level (free parking).
 

James

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Killington - K1,Rams Head and Snowshed are all not bad.

How is Brighton “great” when Killington is just “not bad”.Yet Killington has tons of room in K1 and esp Snowshed, plus free bag check. Surely that is better. Is it Kton is a little shabby?
 

Marker

Making fresh tracks
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How is Brighton “great” when Killington is just “not bad”.Yet Killington has tons of room in K1 and esp Snowshed, plus free bag check. Surely that is better. Is it Kton is a little shabby?
That's why K1 is being rebuilt and new lodges are planned for the other base areas in time.

During a mid-morning break in K1, I watched a guy and his SO monkey around with his boots for about 30 minutes while trying to get them on. I thought my boots were tight! I did see him later on the hill so I know he was successful. I don't think he's doing that in a parking lot...
 

James

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That's why K1 is being rebuilt and new lodges are planned for the other base areas in time.
Do we know if there's check bag space and boot up area? Or are they going the way of Jackson, hosing the customers and hoping they boot up in the parking lot? Thus subsidizing an insufficient base lodge.
I don't have much hope actually.
 

Marker

Making fresh tracks
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Kennett Square, PA & Killington, VT
Do we know if there's check bag space and boot up area? Or are they going the way of Jackson, hosing the customers and hoping they boot up in the parking lot? Thus subsidizing an insufficient base lodge.
I don't have much hope actually.
From the website:
The first floor of the new facility will house tickets, guest services, Killington Sports, rentals and a free bag check.

Actually, K1 is not that great compared to Snowshed and Ramshead. I occasionally go in the Bear lodge and haven't paid a lot of attention. Same for Skyeship base down on Route 4, but that place is rarely crowded when I've been there.
 

BC.

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Sugarbush boot up area should be a model example of what should be built by ski areas for their customers......Very convenient, lots of room, benches, cubbies...bathrooms close. Nice. Definitely a positive.
 
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crgildart

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Agree, even though no official non-locker storage. We throw bags on top of lockers.
I've heard tale of resorts installing slanted boards on top of the lockers so that bags can't be stashed there. Places I go still have plenty of open cubbies if we get there early enough to get a parking spot close enough to make booting up inside the lodge feasible.. Again, if I'm walking more than an 8th of mile I'm carrying as little as possible.. and they don't let cars drive up to the lodge without handicapped permits or other good excuses when they're directing traffic to the satellite parking lots..
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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I've heard tale of resorts installing slanted boards on top of the lockers so that bags can't be stashed there.

Yeah, I've been places like that. Heck, even the gym I used to go to had lockers like that, and the lockers were free! (Well, included anyway.)

they don't let cars drive up to the lodge without handicapped permits or other good excuses when they're directing traffic to the satellite parking lots

I can't recall anywhere that didn't allow drop offs at the lodge.
 

pud

Putting on skis
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Chair 2 parking lot at Mammoth. Get there early, have a heated boot bag, walk only 30 to 40 yards to the chair. Plus you can return to the car to change cloths or equipment during the day.
 

dbostedo

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Chair 2 parking lot at Mammoth. Get there early, have a heated boot bag, walk only 30 to 40 yards to the chair. Plus you can return to the car to change cloths or equipment during the day.

One of the few places I liked booting up at the car simply because it's so close to the restaurant and lifts.... We actually parked early, got breakfast at the Mill, then went back to the car and booted up. Though if the Mill had some place to stash my shoes, I would have carried my boots there and booted up sitting in the sun on the deck (it was warm out - we ate on the deck).
 

raisingarizona

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Steamboat has a really nice locker and boot up area in downstairs in Gondola Square..
).

That locker room used to be the Inferno night club back in the mid 90’s. On Saturdays they had their disco night, it was the big night to go out, “hook up” and party. Good times.
 

oldschoolskier

Making fresh tracks
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Ontario Canada
Here’s a novel concept, skiers need to get there boots on and store their street shoes somewhere.

Why not build the resort to accommodate skiers and their needs instead of the wannabes that really don’t ski.

Just say’n!
 

crgildart

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I can't recall anywhere that didn't allow drop offs at the lodge.

Oh you can do it, but you'll get flagged down and stopped by 3 or 4 different parking lot attendents demanding to know why you can't park and carry your gear like everyone else has to..
 

crgildart

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Winterplace WV has a nice arrangement with the scout groups and other large group events. They have a small wing of the lodge that isn't used for anything in particular and they allow groups to dump their bags, food coolers. etc over there while there. Boot up in the lodge and they put your gear bags in that roped off area not allowed for the general day trippers there, just for the groups. That said, it's not 100% secure. One of our kids lost a jacket in the lodge last time. We're not sure exactly where but multiple trips to lost and found that night and the morning after turned up nothing.
 

crgildart

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What's the resort (s) I saw someone post somewhere a few hears ago that had big garden type utility pull wagons all over the parking lots for folks to haul their gear to and from the lodge in? I'd love to have that as an option, especially on really cold days.
 

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