Nine Weeks a Ski Bum (Part One)
By Jim Kenney
November 27, 2015
{This is a reprint of a piece I recently posted on another website (not THAT website)
I have tweaked this a bit for the PugSki audience.}
Introduction
This is the Grand Daddy of all trip reports for me. It's a recap of the nine week/8,454 mile ski road trip I took during the winter of 2015. I guess posting here on PugSki is my way of thanking Phil and Trish for their contributions and leadership for some many years on THAT other website. Also, I just plain enjoy sharing ski travel stoke with friends and family.
The day before I left home: have skis & Subaru, will travel
On January 2, 2015 at age 61 I retired from the federal government in Washington DC after 37+ years as a civil servant. I’ve been a skier since boyhood, but trapped in the weekend warrior mode all my life. Moreover, I was anchored all those years in the not so snow friendly mid-Atlantic US. With retirement I finally got the chance to go “ski bumming” for a truly lengthy stint during the heart of winter while incorporating numerous first rate western US ski mountains. This is my after action report on my nine week trip including highlights, lowlights, ski area impressions, finances, lessons learned, logistical tips, and lots of
photos.
Favorite picture of myself from the trip, in the back bowls of Vail, February 2015.
Logistics and Finances
I started driving west from Northern Virginia on January 31 and I returned home on April 3. I chose not to chase powder, but instead followed a prearranged itinerary based on lodging preferences and planned visits with friends around the country. You might find it funny, but my biggest pre-trip worry was whether I would have anyone to ski with, so I made connecting with friends a priority over connecting with the freshest snow. I skied ten different ski areas in five states (CO, UT, CA, NV, WY) and put over 8400 miles on my 2014 Subaru Outback. I caught a break when nationwide gas prices dipped last winter saving me perhaps $350-400 on overall gas costs. The cheapest gas I saw was in Illinois and Missouri at $1.79 per gallon.
With a gang of friends on a beautiful March day at Breckenridge, I'm on the left. One of these guys is comfortable on extreme terrain, two others are instructors at Breck.
For the record, the best snow conditions I experienced were in mid-February at Breckenridge, CO, a mountain I had never skied before and grew to thoroughly enjoy. Fortuitously, the route of my great western loop had me circling back to Summit County, CO for the final four weeks of my trip where snow conditions continued to hold up fairly well through a beautiful, but not very snowy month of March. My favorite onslope memories from the trip were skiing in good snow conditions at several of the higher altitude Colorado Front Range resorts.
Thanks to Uncle Sam I receive a good government pension, plus I had arranged to start a new part time job after my return home. Financing the trip was not a problem, but I have the thrift gene from my Scotch-Irish ancestors. It turns out that once you have a ski pass (I used an EpicPass for most of my ski days) the largest cost of a trip like this is the nightly accommodations. To economize while meeting the expectations of myself and my family I planned the trip in two phases; an initial month of solo low-budget ski bumming around the US while visiting numerous ski areas and friends, and then for the second month settling down into a stable and somewhat more upscale lodging situation while hosting my wife, family, and friends.
The jam packed Redtail Finish Stadium at Beaver Creek for the Men's Super G final at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships at Beaver Creek. Never count Bode Miller out, but this might become known as the day of his last big competitive race.
During the solo phase of the trip I often used the Express Deals option on Priceline.com to find motels, particularly when I was traveling between ski areas and needed a place to stay for just a night or two. In my experience you never get the best rate by randomly showing up at a motel and asking for a room. I only did that once due to fatigue and lack of internet access after a long day of solo driving from St. Louis to Denver. My best Priceline deal was a night in a Quality Inn Suite in Glenwood Springs, CO for $45 including tax. I regretted not factoring-in a few more days at this location. The room felt palatial in comparison to some of my other accommodations and included a nice breakfast bar and an indoor pool with hot tub.
Spectating at a skijoring competition in Minturn, CO.
I also carefully mined the web and networked for other options prior to my trip to secure several key lodging choices that were not obtained via Priceline. I found a very inexpensive, but very austere motel (Turntable Restaurant and Motel in Minturn, CO) that I stayed at near Vail for two weeks during the World Championships for $350 per week. I got a bunk bed in a dorm room at Chateau Après Lodge two blocks from the chairlifts at Park City for $40 per night including breakfast. I enjoyed several no-cost days at Kirkwood, CA through the generosity of a relative’s slopeside condo.
Show me a better bargain in the US for near-slopeside accommodations at a major ski resort than the $40 bunks in the dorm of the Chateau Après Lodge, Park City including breakfast and two blocks from the lifts.
My best lodging decision was to rent a nice two bedroom townhouse in Silverthorne, Colorado for 30 days so that my wife could join me for the month of March. I arranged that rental through VRBO for $3500 including all costs. There is no motel tax for stays of 30+ days in Summit County, CO.
Geezer honeymooners.
Parts Two, Three and Four follow...
By Jim Kenney
November 27, 2015
{This is a reprint of a piece I recently posted on another website (not THAT website)
I have tweaked this a bit for the PugSki audience.}Introduction
This is the Grand Daddy of all trip reports for me. It's a recap of the nine week/8,454 mile ski road trip I took during the winter of 2015. I guess posting here on PugSki is my way of thanking Phil and Trish for their contributions and leadership for some many years on THAT other website. Also, I just plain enjoy sharing ski travel stoke with friends and family.
The day before I left home: have skis & Subaru, will travel
On January 2, 2015 at age 61 I retired from the federal government in Washington DC after 37+ years as a civil servant. I’ve been a skier since boyhood, but trapped in the weekend warrior mode all my life. Moreover, I was anchored all those years in the not so snow friendly mid-Atlantic US. With retirement I finally got the chance to go “ski bumming” for a truly lengthy stint during the heart of winter while incorporating numerous first rate western US ski mountains. This is my after action report on my nine week trip including highlights, lowlights, ski area impressions, finances, lessons learned, logistical tips, and lots of
photos.
Favorite picture of myself from the trip, in the back bowls of Vail, February 2015.
Logistics and Finances
I started driving west from Northern Virginia on January 31 and I returned home on April 3. I chose not to chase powder, but instead followed a prearranged itinerary based on lodging preferences and planned visits with friends around the country. You might find it funny, but my biggest pre-trip worry was whether I would have anyone to ski with, so I made connecting with friends a priority over connecting with the freshest snow. I skied ten different ski areas in five states (CO, UT, CA, NV, WY) and put over 8400 miles on my 2014 Subaru Outback. I caught a break when nationwide gas prices dipped last winter saving me perhaps $350-400 on overall gas costs. The cheapest gas I saw was in Illinois and Missouri at $1.79 per gallon.
With a gang of friends on a beautiful March day at Breckenridge, I'm on the left. One of these guys is comfortable on extreme terrain, two others are instructors at Breck.
For the record, the best snow conditions I experienced were in mid-February at Breckenridge, CO, a mountain I had never skied before and grew to thoroughly enjoy. Fortuitously, the route of my great western loop had me circling back to Summit County, CO for the final four weeks of my trip where snow conditions continued to hold up fairly well through a beautiful, but not very snowy month of March. My favorite onslope memories from the trip were skiing in good snow conditions at several of the higher altitude Colorado Front Range resorts.
Thanks to Uncle Sam I receive a good government pension, plus I had arranged to start a new part time job after my return home. Financing the trip was not a problem, but I have the thrift gene from my Scotch-Irish ancestors. It turns out that once you have a ski pass (I used an EpicPass for most of my ski days) the largest cost of a trip like this is the nightly accommodations. To economize while meeting the expectations of myself and my family I planned the trip in two phases; an initial month of solo low-budget ski bumming around the US while visiting numerous ski areas and friends, and then for the second month settling down into a stable and somewhat more upscale lodging situation while hosting my wife, family, and friends.
The jam packed Redtail Finish Stadium at Beaver Creek for the Men's Super G final at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships at Beaver Creek. Never count Bode Miller out, but this might become known as the day of his last big competitive race.
During the solo phase of the trip I often used the Express Deals option on Priceline.com to find motels, particularly when I was traveling between ski areas and needed a place to stay for just a night or two. In my experience you never get the best rate by randomly showing up at a motel and asking for a room. I only did that once due to fatigue and lack of internet access after a long day of solo driving from St. Louis to Denver. My best Priceline deal was a night in a Quality Inn Suite in Glenwood Springs, CO for $45 including tax. I regretted not factoring-in a few more days at this location. The room felt palatial in comparison to some of my other accommodations and included a nice breakfast bar and an indoor pool with hot tub.
Spectating at a skijoring competition in Minturn, CO.
I also carefully mined the web and networked for other options prior to my trip to secure several key lodging choices that were not obtained via Priceline. I found a very inexpensive, but very austere motel (Turntable Restaurant and Motel in Minturn, CO) that I stayed at near Vail for two weeks during the World Championships for $350 per week. I got a bunk bed in a dorm room at Chateau Après Lodge two blocks from the chairlifts at Park City for $40 per night including breakfast. I enjoyed several no-cost days at Kirkwood, CA through the generosity of a relative’s slopeside condo.
Show me a better bargain in the US for near-slopeside accommodations at a major ski resort than the $40 bunks in the dorm of the Chateau Après Lodge, Park City including breakfast and two blocks from the lifts.
My best lodging decision was to rent a nice two bedroom townhouse in Silverthorne, Colorado for 30 days so that my wife could join me for the month of March. I arranged that rental through VRBO for $3500 including all costs. There is no motel tax for stays of 30+ days in Summit County, CO.
Geezer honeymooners.
Parts Two, Three and Four follow...
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