• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

murphysf

Ski Well, Be Well.
Skier
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Posts
438
Location
SF Bay Area
Hello

Not sure this is the best forum to post in, if there is a better one please let me know and I will move or have the discussion moved to a better forum.

I am thinking of planning a ski trip for for myself and my cousins / friends to attend.

We are in our 40s to early 50s. Not sure how much interest there might be but may get around 5-10 to participate. Spouses and partners would be invited as well.

Looking for ideas on where to go also the best months for the give locations.

I'm in the SF bay area, others are in Boston, Toronto Canada and in England and Ireland. The idea is to have it in North America.

Assume the average ski level is Intermediate.

The idea would be to go for a long 3 day weekend. MLK in January may be a good option.

Looking for ideas of locations. I guess airport accessibility is major consideration. If if was my choice I would pick Squaw Valley as SF might be a draw for those that wanted to add a few days in SF before or after the trip. But am open to other places? Vail, Aspen, Park City? Others parts of the USA.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
With the average ability of being intermediate and taking ease of access with airport, Deer Valley. Sure there are great Colorado options but if some of the skiers coming from lower elevations and looking at just a long weekend, there could be elevation issues for some in Colorado.
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO
Hello

Not sure this is the best forum to post in, if there is a better one please let me know and I will move or have the discussion moved to a better forum.

I am thinking of planning a ski trip for for myself and my cousins / friends to attend.

We are in our 40s to early 50s. Not sure how much interest there might be but may get around 5-10 to participate. Spouses and partners would be invited as well.

Looking for ideas on where to go also the best months for the give locations.

I'm in the SF bay area, others are in Boston, Toronto Canada and in England and Ireland. The idea is to have it in North America.

Assume the average ski level is Intermediate.

The idea would be to go for a long 3 day weekend. MLK in January may be a good option.

Looking for ideas of locations. I guess airport accessibility is major consideration. If if was my choice I would pick Squaw Valley as SF might be a draw for those that wanted to add a few days in SF before or after the trip. But am open to other places? Vail, Aspen, Park City? Others parts of the USA.


Utah for sure. Best access to ski resorts from a Large International Airport in the US.
 

Mendieta

Master of Snowplow
SkiTalk Tester
Contributor
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Posts
4,902
Location
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
The other thing I would consider is crowds. MLK weekend can be a zoo. And dealing with crowds and a large group of varied abilities is particularly hard. Actually, crowds would be the first consideration in my book.

But hell. You are planning for a trip with a lot of friends and family, and spouses ... to ski. That's a great problem to have!
:yahoo:
 

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
Another vote for SLC (Utah). Easy air access for everyone on your list it looks like. Lots of options from there, no rental cars needed. To avoid crowds maybe consider Snowbasin or Powder Mountain? PowMow I don't think has much infrastructure at the resort so if you need stuff to do besides ski, eat, drink and sleep - Park City?

Edit for @murphysf sorry was thinking Rental cars - great shuttle services out of SLC to most of the nearby mountains. With a group that big if you time the flights right you can do a private van for cost of a shared shuttle (per person). Rental skis are plentiful and mostly good around there too.
 
Last edited:

Jilly

Lead Cougar
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,409
Location
Belleville, Ontario,/ Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Mt. Ste. Anne if you're thinking Canadian East. Tremblant will be a zoo as it's a holiday on Ontario as well as the states. West...Banff, but limited on hill accommodations. Interior BC...Sun Peaks, Panorama, Big White....

Another consideration is altitude sickness. Toronto and British Isles are sea level compared to Colorado or Utah.
 
Thread Starter
TS
M

murphysf

Ski Well, Be Well.
Skier
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Posts
438
Location
SF Bay Area
Thread Starter
TS
M

murphysf

Ski Well, Be Well.
Skier
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Posts
438
Location
SF Bay Area
Another vote for SLC (Utah). Easy air access for everyone on your list it looks like. Lots of options from there, no rentals needed. To avoid crowds maybe consider Snowbasin or Powder Mountain? PowMow I don't think has much infrastructure at the resort so if you need stuff to do besides ski, eat, drink and sleep - Park City?
HI, What did you mean by no rentals needed?
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,428
Location
Upstate NY
Personally, I'd stay away from MLK or Prez week if you want everyone to have fun. Nothing like overcrowding to kill the mojo.
 

karlo

Out on the slopes
Inactive
Joined
May 11, 2017
Posts
2,708
Location
NJ
Time zone change is another consideration. The East, from that perspective is a good compromise for those coming from England and Ireland. Stowe would be a good choice. Fly into Burlington. There are ski in ski out options. Or, stay at Trapp Family Lodge for easy access to their cross country trail network, one that includes an Austrian Teahouse at the top.

@Erik Timmerman or @Josh Matta can recommend best times for snow and avoidance of crowds. Lots of Canadians go there on their holidays, including school holidays, so you’ll need to keep sight of that.

Personally, I'd stay away from MLK or Prez week if you want everyone to have fun. Nothing like overcrowding to kill the mojo.

Wherever, book early.

Another option, if other winter activities are of interest. Stay at Rock n River in Keene, NY. Their guides can take you ice climbing in the Adirondaks, one of the premier ice climbing locales in the States. Also, if conditions allow, ski touring, with gear rented at the Mountaineer in Keene Valley. Best time late Feb to mid March. That’s Prez Week and Canadian school holidays. But, those activities will certainly get you away from the crowds. For alpine skiing, Whiteface is also there. Then, there are the Olympic venues at Lake Placid, like the bobsled run, open to public. I’d choose late Feb to mid March. Earlier, it can be brutally cold.
 
Thread Starter
TS
M

murphysf

Ski Well, Be Well.
Skier
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Posts
438
Location
SF Bay Area
Personally, I'd stay away from MLK or Prez week if you want everyone to have fun. Nothing like overcrowding to kill the mojo.
Got it, will avoid MLK and Presidents week.
 

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
Also a +1 to CAD - it's definitely a nice 'discount' to USD these days. I wouldn't eliminate Banff from your list - but you might want a Rental car or three there. Easy ride out to the Big 3 and I think especially Lake Louise and Sunshine handle crowds pretty well. Or Fernie/Kicking Horse.

Gotta love the plethora of great options for group ski trips huh?
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
Skier
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Posts
4,804
Location
Whitefish, MT
Gotta love the plethora of great options for group ski trips huh?
The idea would be to go for a long 3 day weekend. MLK in January may be a good option.

The plethora will probably be reduced by landing at whatever airport EVERY PARTICIPANT can fly to directly. Three day weekends in my mind are for maybe a five hour drive, tops, not dumping $$$$ on airplanes (with participants from both coasts, drives are out, tho) and certainly not using up precious vacation time sitting for connections.

Really, if you're going to have someone using up an entire day in transit, you need a week.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
Hello

Not sure this is the best forum to post in, if there is a better one please let me know and I will move or have the discussion moved to a better forum.

I am thinking of planning a ski trip for for myself and my cousins / friends to attend.

We are in our 40s to early 50s. Not sure how much interest there might be but may get around 5-10 to participate. Spouses and partners would be invited as well.

Looking for ideas on where to go also the best months for the give locations.

I'm in the SF bay area, others are in Boston, Toronto Canada and in England and Ireland. The idea is to have it in North America.

Assume the average ski level is Intermediate.

The idea would be to go for a long 3 day weekend. MLK in January may be a good option.

Looking for ideas of locations. I guess airport accessibility is major consideration. If if was my choice I would pick Squaw Valley as SF might be a draw for those that wanted to add a few days in SF before or after the trip. But am open to other places? Vail, Aspen, Park City? Others parts of the USA.

For the guys in England and Ireland, flying to the US for a 3-day weekend is a hell of a lot of travelling for a short period of skiing. For example, it's a 10-hr flight from London direct to Denver. Getting to West Coast airports can take 11 or 12 hours. And as @fatbob mentioned, SLC will most likely involve a connecting flight. And on the return leg, they lose a day on an overnight flight back home.

So if you really want them to join you, then you've got to make it a week-long trip to make it worth their while. Otherwise, they're spending almost as many days travelling as they are skiing.

I've skied both UT and CO flying from London, and there's no way I'd do that much travelling for a 3-day weekend.
 

Sponsor

Top