Help me pick Please.

[Roger]

Hey there everyone I am asking you for my annual plea for help by helping me pick a resort. Last year I went to Jackson Wyoming and had a great time. I went with my friend Scott as you can see from the pics he isn't too fond of the Cold lol but it was great.

So next year Scott is going with me again but I am taking also my Brother, Sister and my mother. My mother will not be hitting the slopes but the rest will. I am hoping you all will help me pick a trip for me.

Looking for nightlife and things to do around town since my mother will not be hitting the slopes, this will be the first trip they ever go Out west to the slopes so I want to impress them. I have included the Trip list for next season which is smaller for next cause of the uncertainty of everything.

Would love your opinions you all have been great in helping me each season.

Thanks

Roger

 

[tch]

Park City is really the only place on your list where your non-skiing mother can entertain herself, except maybe Snowmass. But Aspen is a bus ride away and not all that convenient. For my money, the other places have great skiing (some superior to PC), but are either too isolated for non-skiers (Big Sky/Crested Butte) or don't have as much variety for skiers of varying ability (Taos/Telluride). Keystone and Mammoth are nice mountains...but again lack the "ski town" vibe that Jackson or Park City have.

Park City is often derided as a middle-of-the-road Disneyland type destination....but there is a reason it is so popular. It has lots of variety (the biggest area in North America), a vibrant (if touristy) town, and easy access (35 +/- minutes from the airport).

 

[New2]

What does your mom want to do with her time? Telluride's a great spot for sightseeing and poking around exploring, riding the free scenic gondola between pedestrian-friendly villages. Yes, it's a smaller mountain than some of the others, but it's also less crowded... the biggest problem is that if this is your siblings' first ski trip out west, Telluride might just spoil other lesser spots for them

 

[Ken_R]

Hey there everyone I am asking you for my annual plea for help by helping me pick a resort. Last year I went to Jackson Wyoming and had a great time. I went with my friend Scott as you can see from the pics he isn't too fond of the Cold lol but it was great.

So next year Scott is going with me again but I am taking also my Brother, Sister and my mother. My mother will not be hitting the slopes but the rest will. I am hoping you all will help me pick a trip for me.

Looking for nightlife and things to do around town since my mother will not be hitting the slopes, this will be the first trip they ever go Out west to the slopes so I want to impress them. I have included the Trip list for next season which is smaller for next cause of the uncertainty of everything.

Would love your opinions you all have been great in helping me each season.

Thanks

Roger





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Telluride. Stay in town not the Mtn Village. Thank me later.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

Is there a reason to have to go with the group noted above? My number 1 suggestion for a trip with a non-skier is Banff.

I hope to make that trip this April with my family.

 

[ADKmel]

Telluride- we stayed at condo right by Coonskin lift. 2blocks to town, plenty of restaurants to walk to and we could walk under cover to the market, non skiers can ride the gondola over to the other side and meet you for lunch. the skiing and views are spectacular

Snowmass is awesome too. free bus to Aspen. Photo is Telluride

 

[Snowflake2420]

Telluride - probably the best scenery at a US ski resort, remote, nice town you can ski down to. Can also take day or evening trips to Ouray hot spring for example.
Park City - big mountain and lively town
Crested Butte - great scenery, amazing mountain, great town, albeit small

 

[Sibhusky]

Big Sky doesn't have a lot of nightlife or stuff for non-skiers.

Truth be told, I'd rather you went to some place in Colorado.

Looking at the dates for here... Christmas week? Are you nuts? The only reason to ski Christmas week is if you can't ski any other week, no matter what the destination is. Well...exceptions made if you rent out the whole resort.

 

[Jilly]

Is there a reason to have to go with the group noted above? My number 1 suggestion for a trip with a non-skier is Banff.

I hope to make that trip this April with my family.

This looks like a ski club trip. So places are set for the group? Do you have a Ikon or Epic pass?

 

[Roger]

This looks like a ski club trip. So places are set for the group? Do you have a Ikon or Epic pass?

I do not have a pass for next year cause usually we get a discounted rate and usually I only get to go on one trip a year cause I live in Florida. I am tempted to do the Keystone Long Weekend which I could use with Park City....lots to think about.

 

[Talisman]

Big Sky doesn't have a lot of nightlife or stuff for non-skiers.

Drinking, fighting and gambling don't count as stuff to do? Scott may not like some of the MT cold snaps that occur in December and January if he thought Jackson was too cold.

 

[karlo]

Telluride

 

[martyg]

Watch for macro trends in weather. Initial indications are that we will be in La Niña. Party for PNW and Northern Rockies, skate skiing and road biking for southern locales.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

I do not have a pass for next year cause usually we get a discounted rate and usually I only get to go on one trip a year cause I live in Florida. I am tempted to do the Keystone Long Weekend which I could use with Park City....lots to think about.

I guarantee that with exchange, your price to ski Banff will blow away the price to join in with your ski club, even with whatever discounts they're offering. You'll have a way better trip overall too. For the price of your ski club trips, I'd be willing to bet you could stay in one of the best hotels in North America (Banff Springs or Chateau Lake Louise).

If part of your experience was to hang out with your ski club members, your US based for sure is the way to go. But it looks like this is a family trip.

Banff would be a trip of a lifetime experience for your mom and the rest of your family. Anywhere else in your list would be "meh" in comparison.

 

[Pajarito-bred]

1st- Telluride 2nd- Snowmass -- 3rd place Park City
The only potential disadvantage based on your schedule is T'ride may be colder during your Jan. dates than PC will be in Late March (on average) of course you takes your chances-- but Whitefish over Christmas-- not that one!
Of course this year, there Was NO skiing in late March, stuff can happen..
Just go to Telluride (staying in town vs Mountain Village is better for nightlife options, but riding the gondola home at night could be fun, too). Staying at Snowmass means a 30-minute bus ride home from Aspen after-hours, that sucks compared to just walking home a few blocks in Telluride, watching the snowflakes fall in the streetlights.
Snowmass ( including skiing the other 3 areas) might be good, depending on what your non-skier would enjoy spending her days exploring, not much going on at the base of Snowmass, but a whole world of high-end window-shopping, people-watching, art galleries and museums in Aspen. In add'n to Telluride, both Snowmass and Aspen Mtn have the option for non-skiers to ride gondolas to meet the skiers on the mountain for lunch -- Aspen mountain is the only of those 2 with a worthwhile view from the top of the gondola--
For 1-week a-year skiers from Florida, I assume you're looking primarily for intermediate cruisers-- all these areas have great variety, Snowmass/Buttermilk wins (slightly) with 2 of 4 resorts with plenty of green/blue runs, (Aspen Mtn has no green runs, Highlands very few). All have great steep terrain too, but if you're not into the extreme stuff, you still get to view that terrain best at Telluride, and watch expert skiers navigate chutes and mega-moguls while riding Plunge and Gold Hill lifts above, with intermediate routes down from the top-- for those who prefer their slopes less sloped.
The folks above have got it right- you can't beat the views from Telluride - from town, the lifts, or the runs. Pretty good in Aspen/Snowmass, too, especially compared to mediocre scenery of scrub-oak-covered hills of Park City. You can't beat the nightlife in Telluride, unless your thing is high-dollar Glitz, in which case Aspen wins. Snowmass loses both ways, though.
For Telluride, you normally fly to Montrose, a bit over an hour drive, much lower risk of cancellation due to weather than Aspen has (Aspen regional jet only, into a narrow valley with a short runway). PC better access via SLC, but not enough better to recommend.
Telluride-- NO crowds -- none -- except maybe Plunge lift 8 early on a powder day. Snowmass very few crowds, maybe 5-10 min. at Elk Camp lift in the AM. PC-- haven't skied there recently enough to know.
May the snow and virus gods bless your choice.

 

[Bruuuce]

Telluride or Park City.

 

[raisingarizona]

This year? I’d plan on staying home and bass fishing.

 

[Crank]

Tough year to make ski club plans.

My club has postponed large group trips to 21/22 ski season. Most of us bought Ikon passes and we will get together in smaller, drive-up trips. Our cancelled trip to Italy last March looks like it will be a total loss. Bummer.

That said, Park City or Telluride gets my vote. Park City has more town for mom to explore. Telluride is at a pretty high altitude if that is a factor. Town is a lot better for mom and group than Mtn Village.

I have not been to Park City in almost 20 years; I assume that there is still live music and nightlife. Big Sky has none. Telluride is not bad, but, It ain't no Jackson Hole in that regard.

 

[Tricia]

When I look at your list, I think of Park City with all the activities, including the Alf Engen Museum.
But, Telluride is on my bucket list so I'm intrigued by all the suggestions to go there.

 

[Itinerant skier]

While I doubt the year will be a total loss, I certainly wouldn't be planning a ski trip around the nightlife. Telluride should still be awesome though.