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Spring break trip - Ikon suggestions

Ikon Base Spring fling

  • Cottonwood Canyons

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • California dreaming : - Mammoth Mountain

    Votes: 4 21.1%
  • AC/DC: Aspen, A-Basin and Copper Mtn

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Canada, oh Canada! Lake Louise+ Revelstoke

    Votes: 12 63.2%

  • Total voters
    19

Slim

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Ikon base pass on hand, my family is trying to decide where to go the week before Easter. (~4/4-4/11).

We skied Brighton+Solitude two years ago around that time of year, Alta and Snowbird that same week last year.
We have mostly skied Winter Park and Copper last few years, and 2 trips to Steamboat.
Never skied in Canada. I thought Banff NP was beautiful in summer.
Never skied in California. Never been to the Sierra’s or the desert.

This will be a two family trip, flying in. Want a place to stay together. Swimming pool is a must for at least some of the time. Nightlife not required.

6 or 7 days skiing(depending on travel, usually in Copper or Winter Park and The Cottonwoods we have been able to ski on our last day).

We like advanced-intermediate terrain, including moguls(our go to has been Mary Jane). At Snowbird we skied a lot of single black trails and some double blacks, but definitely not the most extreme terrain. We like playful and varied terrain with rocks, trees and convoluted terrain.
Gate access to simple (ATES) backcountry terrain would be a great bonus.


Looking at resort stats for spots on the Ikon pass here are the airports I was considering:
  • SLC: maybe stay most days in Solitude, then pony up for Cliff lodge at Snowbird for a night or 2.
  • Denver: Hit Copper and/or A-Basin for a day or two, then Aspen for a few days, then back with a stop in Dillon again.
  • California: Ski Mammoth and June. Possibly Squaw. What airport to you fly into? I don’t see any good flights from MSP to Mammoth Lakes, shortest was 9 hours!
  • Calgary: ski Lake Louise, then take the drive to Revelstoke.

Which of these would you pick for me? Why?
Any destinations I missed?
 
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Winks

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You should definitely come check out California sometime, spring is also a good time to enjoy the weather and skiing in a T-shirt. Squaw/Alpine and Mammoth are some amazing places. You can stay in Reno and experience those places. Squaw/Alpine is about half hour from Reno and Mammoth is about three hours south of Reno.
 
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Slim

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You should definitely come check out California sometime, spring is also a good time to enjoy the weather and skiing in a T-shirt. Squaw/Alpine and Mammoth are some amazing places. You can stay in Reno and experience those places. Squaw/Alpine is about half hour from Reno and Mammoth is about three hours south of Reno.

Thanks. It certainly looks beautiful.

You bring up a good point I forgot to mention, we want to stay in the mountains, in a pretty location. It’s a vacation after all, we will spend plenty of time hanging out at the condo, so want that to be enjoyable too.
So staying in Reno (for Mammoth/Squaw/June) would not be our choice, nor greater Salt Lake City for the Cottonwoods.
 
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David Chaus

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Staying in the mountains, there is no place like Banff and Canmore. It’s a drive or shuttle to Lake Louise and Banff Sunshine, but you are surrounded by amazing views everywhere.

Also, snow preservation is very good there and it’s a safe bet as far as the quality of skiing goes, if you are going to make firm reservations in advance.
 

Winks

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Thanks. It certainly looks beautiful.

You bring up a good point I forgot to mention, we want to stay in the mountains, in a pretty location. It’s a vacation after all, we will spend plenty of time hanging out at the condo, so want that to be enjoyable too.
So staying in Reno (for Mammoth/Squaw/June) would not be our choice, nor Great Salt Lake City for the Cottonwoods.

That is okay as well, you can stay in Tahoe and still make it over to Mammoth. See about getting something near Squaw or possibly in Truckee.
 

Jim Kenney

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All the places on your poll sound good, but since Western Canada seems like it might be a bit more unusual destination for you and you might be curious about it, I'll comment on that.
I skied Revy (2 days), LL (2 days), Sunshine (3 days) and Norquay (1 day) in mid-late March 2018, staying for a couple nights in town of Revelstoke, couple nights in Banff, couple nights Canmore, and couple nights in mid-mtn Sunshine Lodge. All ski areas mentioned were super scenic and with light to moderate/manageable crowds. I drove up from Utah and WY, but returned through Calgary to drop-off a passenger at airport, then continued driving southeast back into USA. The drive from Banff to Calgary is super easy and mostly level. The drive from Banff to Revy is much more mountainous and can be closed for brief periods due to snow storms. This was my only experience visiting the area, so take with grain of salt and consult with a local, but I'd be surprised if April/Easter time frame is one where you'd have extreme trouble finding appropriate accommodations a month or two out from your trip.
I had a MCP pass and skied my two "free" days at all places mentioned including one freebie at Norquay, and did one extra day at Sunshine since it was convenient when I stayed a few nights at the mid-mtn lodge there (liked that lodge a lot and it was not very crowded with excellent conditions).
My favorite of those ski areas for all around good terrain/scenery/snow at the time of my visit was LL. Revy had experienced a rain event just before my visit there and skied sort of small for its vertical, only the top third of the mtn was in good shape with soft, fun snow. Still, a neat place. Sunshine was in excellent shape (it and LL are fairly high elevation for the region) and I enjoyed staying mid-mtn there, whereas other places I did a short commute to ski each day.
My wife was with me and my son. She does not ski and I took off a couple days to do non-ski things with her. Banff/Canmore area was great for that.

Revy, North Bowl:
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Revy, upper chairlift
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LL
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Sunshine, mid-mtn Lodge:
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Stairway into Delirium Dive at Sunshine:
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Snowshoeing with wife at Sunshine:
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Hiking with wife to frozen waterfall in Johnston Canyon near Banff
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We did high tea at Chateau Lake Louise and snowshoed there too.
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Visited Mt. Norquay on last day almost as an after thought. It was possibly the most scenic of all!
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If you want 5000+ vertical feet of trees with 69 trails and a handful of alpine bowls thrown-in, but not many people - Revelstoke.

If you want a nice variety of terrain and a great, unpretentious vibe among some of the most spectacular scenery in the ski world - Lake Louise.

If you want some beautiful intermediate skiing with a dash of exciting black diamonds and some very cool mid-mountain accommodations - Sunshine Village.

If you enjoy a more intimate mountain with great history, scenery, and some killer bumps and trees - Mt. Norquay.
 
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Slim

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Thanks @Jim Kenney ,

We did a summer road trip through Banff and Revelstoke, we even hiked that same gorge that you have a pic of your wife on!

I did remark at the time that the Banff Rockies are very scenic
 
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raytseng

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Banff will be significantly cheaper; there are hotels with indoor swimming, or the banff hot springs is basically a swimmingpool sized hotspring. SLC can be cheaper if you are not slopeside. Aspen will be much more expensive.

I would remark that Banff to Kicking Horse is in day trip range instead of Revelstoke, even if you have to pay for a window tickets, it maybe worth it vs using up your precious vacation time. For 1week with 2 families, I would say there is no need to relocate, Aspen/SkiBig3/SLC all have multiple mtns and more than you can ski in 6days.
 

Nathanvg

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You can't go wrong with any of these trips.
  • Mammoth is cool but quite frankly, it's easy for LA and LV people to get to but hard for almost anyone else. If I am going to travel far, I want to go to a less crowded area. That said, once you get there it is nice and it skis real well late in the year. Tahoe is hit or miss in April. In good snow years, it skis well.
  • Snowbird/solitude are also great in the spring. Since you've done them you know them but I'd try something new.
  • Aspen is great and I've made many April trips there with stops at copper on the way back to Denver. I usually drive to Aspen day one to maximize my time there. Snowmass is my preferred place to stay with families but Aspen works well too. You can often get good deals in April.
  • Banff is my top recommendation. Wonderful town, scenery and skiing with low crowds and costs.

Mammoth in April:

upload_2019-9-4_19-6-31.png
Tahoe (Heavenly, sorry no pics of squaw/alpine handy)
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Banff (Lake Louise)
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Banff (Norquay)
upload_2019-9-4_19-14-21.png

Aspen (snowmass in April)
upload_2019-9-4_19-17-9.png
 
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Banff will be significantly cheaper; there are hotels with indoor swimming, or the banff hot springs is basically a swimmingpool sized hotspring. SLC can be cheaper if you are not slopeside. Aspen will be much more expensive.

I should have pointed out we are looking for a house or condo, not a traditional hotel room.

Do you really think Banff NP would be cheaper? I couldn’t even find a single thing on VrBo or Airbnb in Lake Louise, not even looking at price yet. Last summer was similar, I assume due to the fact that it’s a national park, there is very limited lodging. So far, Mammoth seems by far the cheapest.
Kids will be 9-17, so slopeside is nice but no longer required. Just don’t want to drive far twice a day(~15 min max).

I would remark that Banff to Kicking Horse is in day trip range instead of Revelstoke, even if you have to pay for a window tickets, it maybe worth it vs using up your precious vacation time. For 1week with 2 families, I would say there is no need to relocate, Aspen/SkiBig3/SLC all have multiple mtns and more than you can ski in 6days.
Good point. For sure not thinking of doing Revelstoke as a day trip from Lake Louise. Unfortunate the Banff area and Aspen only give you 5 days on the Ikon pass, that’s where the combo comes from. In Aspen's case it’s on the way to the airport anyway.
 
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KingGrump

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Don't forget if you do Banff, you will need a park pass. They ain't cheap.
 

ADKmel

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I Loved Banff.every where you look is a post card! I was there mid March and it was a record brutal cold so Firm Frozen snow. We thought Norquay was fantastic no one there we ripped 15k in about 2.5hrs on the high speed. Last year they had a drought on snow (more came after I left) but woods not open; the groomers were zoomers. . LL was crowded and scratched off, Sunshine best conditions and the longest gondola I've ever been on. Staying mid Mt would be something talk about having first dibs! Canmore is fun town with lots of restaurants shops, elk and VRBO.

You could start in Revy? We flew into Kelowna rented a car and it's a Nice Drive up to Revy. about 3hrs- The town is funky with the most diverse restaurants ever, cool shops, rail road museum. And you can Heli ski if conditions are right. The Mt looks small but skis big. We were there end of March, there was 5-8 each morning on top! the bottom was getting soggy most were down loading on the gondola from half way but you have to do 1 top to bottom it is the longest vertical in N America! Then take the scenic drive over to Banff. .Drop the car at Calgary to fly home? Revy Pics below CIMG0374 - Copy.JPG CIMG0403 - Copy.JPG CIMG0414 - Copy (2).JPG CIMG0399.JPG
 

raytseng

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I should have pointed out we are looking for a house or condo, not a traditional hotel room.

Do you really think Banff NP would be cheaper? I couldn’t even find a single thing on VrBo or Airbnb in Lake Louise, not even looking at price yet. Last summer was similar, I assume due to the fact that it’s a national park, there is very limited lodging. So far, Mammoth seems by far the cheapest.
Kids will be 9-17, so slopeside is nice but no longer required. Just don’t want to drive far twice a day(~15 min max).


Good point. For sure not thinking of doing Revelstoke as a day trip from Lake Louise. Unfortunate the Banff area and Aspen only give you 5 days on the Ikon pass, that’s where the combo comes from. In Aspen's case it’s on the way to the airport anyway.

My experience in banff was there are a fair number of 2br or 3br "suite" hotels units options for relatively cheap. Perhaps there are more regulations on short-term rentals up there versus real full time lodging,so you may not find much on aribnb/vrbo versus a real hotelier.
I booked at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort and it was basically a 2br condo unit with kitchen and living room. You still may need to book 2 units if you have a big group.

Take a look at booking from skibig3 or from actual "hotel" sites but you will have to do some digging or research to find the 2br+ or condo style units. Also, there should be an ikonpass discount link somewhere esp, if you're booking this early, and/or gives you package pricing without requiring lifttickets .
here is another example: https://douglasfir.com/accommodation/3-bedroom-family-suite/

If driving is a bug for you, the shuttle does stop at Rocky Mountain Resort so if it comes to it, your group can split up if needed.
 
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sbooker

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I've checked out all four of those locations and three of the four at that time of year.
I can't see how you could go wrong but if I had to choose and I was from the US (I'm from Australia) I would check out the skiing at Banff. The 'international' vacation when you're not having an international vacation.
Check out the frozen waterfalls in Johnston Canyon too.
 

ADKmel

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At Banff, we stayed at the lodges at Canmore, our condo owner allowed us to use his Park Pass- PUT IT ON YOUR Windshield We got a ticket at Sunshine Parking lot, was an easy fix stopped at the guard house/entry north of Canmore. But we learned sharing pass is illegal. they want you to buy your own pass (about Canadian 27$/day/car last yr) Our unit was 2br/2ba. With the 30% Off for US $$ I thought It was a reasonable vacation. Canmore to Mts was about 30-45min drive. Staying in Banff is $$$ you'll still be driving to the Mts or taking a bus. Norquay is right across the street from Town, LL and Sunshine 15-20min drive.

If you haven't been to Mammoth is is spectacular and Mammoth- we stayed slope side in a 3BR/3BA Juniper Springs condo we could ski down to a lift. Nights they had private van to take us to restaurants so could have drinks and not drive. We never drove the car all week- was great leaving it parked in the underground garage- it snowed 70" in 24hrs!!! Later in season Lifts do start closing due to lack of people. There is really good bus service in Mammoth, so some can go home if wanted too leave early. This spring we stayed off Mt (Mt is 3miles from town) and drove up to the Mill to park and ski. Fly into Reno. Stop and ski Squaw or Alpine then down to Mammoth. Unlimited IKON Days at Mammoth is a plus.
 

surfsnowgirl

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We stayed in Canmore for part of our last trip to Banff and it was amazing. We had a nice 2 bedroom condo. Town of Canmore is very cool too.

Another vote for mammoth and Tahoe as they are close enough to each other to make visiting both areas doable.
 

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