The ski trip is on! - Page 3

WillNotFly4Food · December 10th, 2003, 21:54

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Sandy is about 45 minutes from the slopes. (Just an FYI

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Not to mention Sandy is, well, Sandy.

Chuck, you're making me feel antiquated. I still ride my old Rossi Vipers, 207 I think they are.

tonyw · December 11th, 2003, 07:29

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The changes in the ski industry with advances in equipment have been staggering in the past five years. If you own skis that have little to no sidecut and/or are long, leave em at home. Seriously, skiing is supposed to be hard and the new skis make it SO much easy mostly due to the length and the ease of turning due to sidecut. Where I used to race on 207-210cm for GS and 200-203cm for SL, I am consistantly on 170cm now.

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You're so right. I used to be one of the skeptics of the new shaped skis (I always thought that name was funny, since even the old skis had a bit of a shape to them). Then I heard the pros were using them, so I demoed a pair. And I looked at the guy like he was nuts when he handed me a pair of 168s.

But I took them for a few runs and had a great time with them. It took a little getting used to, and I made a few HORRIBLE turns before I got it. Once I got used to them, though, I didn't want to give them back. As soon as I got back home, I went on Ebay and bought a pair!

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Unfortunetly you have to own your own clothes.

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Or you could ski naked! It might get cold, though.

Ophir · December 11th, 2003, 11:24

Yeah, if you don't look down you would never know they are short little skis. We got ripping around at well over 50mph on 170's all the time. It is sweet.

Regarding the cost: If you only ski ten times or less per year you are better off demoing skis. You will always get the lastest and greatest and the ski that suits the conditions, plus you won't have to carry em around. Just invest in a good pair of boots with footbeds (footbeds a must, that was my last business).

JH, Sandy is the place dude. That is where all the skibums go to live if they are doing the Snowbird/Alta thing. It is really close to skiing, much less than 30 minutes without traffic in the canyon.

TheWife · December 11th, 2003, 23:22

Okie dokie guys-cabin accomodations for Feb 26-March 1 are a GO.

BobDDuck · December 12th, 2003, 10:24

I hate to play the whole last minute card thing, but I THINK I might be coming in. It all depends on last minute fares. If only SWA flew out off PIT....

Ethan

FlyChicaga · December 12th, 2003, 10:32

Well I'll plan on going if I can. Although I won't know for sure until mid-next month. I have to bid off for some certain days for our career night at U of I, so hopefully I can manage around the ski trip too!

E_Dawg · December 12th, 2003, 10:45

Yeah I'm gonna definately try to make it... all depends on school and more importantly $$$. If I can come I'll be driving. And I'll have drive up that Fri and come back that Sun, depending on my schedule

tonyw · December 12th, 2003, 11:34

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I have to bid off for some certain days for our career night at U of I, so hopefully I can manage around the ski trip too!

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Find a way, dude! You won't regret it.

And go and teach some of the boys on the hoops team how to shoot free throws, would ya? I have been hearing a lot of crap from my brother about how we gagged against Carolina.

JollyRodger · December 12th, 2003, 14:30

Asking a snowboarder which resort is best is like asking a hobo what his favorite type of booze is.

Powder Mountain has a few select runs that aren't too bad, but no one could recommend it as good resort with a straight face or without an employee discount. Traveling a long distance to ski at PM would be like going to Rome and hanging out at KFC.

Alta, Snowbird, and Snow Basin (aka Sun Valley South) are great choices. Snow Basin has world-class facilities and is perfect for those who like a variety of cruising runs. Alta and Snowbird are incredible hills and have everything from wild to mild.

The rockies have the world's best snow. You will not be disappointed.

Prospective_Pilot · December 12th, 2003, 20:29

I'd like to make it along....only things that could be a problem is my age (16) and the fact that I have never skied before.....

Kristie · December 14th, 2003, 12:57

so have we decided on a resort or a slope in which we're going to go ski on? cuz i wanna start looking for cars to rent/places to stay...even though we'll be keeping Michelle and Willfly's places as food for thought!

probably the sooner we decide that, the sooner/cheaper we can get accomodations and so forth... i bet they probably book up pretty quickly don't they?

did you notice that the ski trip is now in the new calendar section of the forum? i guess that makes it "official"...

TheShortOne · December 14th, 2003, 22:04

Heya,

John and I are going to stay in Sandy, UT (see link to our cheap hotel above)- the hotel is $50/night and it has a queen bed, recliner and kitchenette (sp?) in it. No hot tub though, but its on the main strip, so we'll go "borrow" another hotel's hot tub as necessary

Its about a half hour (give or take) from all the ski places. Michelle tells me it'll be about an hour drive from there to her place. As far as cars go, John and I are going to be getting the cheapest one possible, parking at the bottom of the canyon and riding the bus up. We'll probably end up skiing Snowbird/Alta and Deer Valley (depending on snow)

Tele_Pilot · December 14th, 2003, 23:11

I work at Snowbird. The snow in Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons is better than the resorts in Park City. Howenver, Feb/Mar is normally good for snow. March is generally the heaviest snowfall month. If you want ski town type nightlife, stay in park city. The Canyons is the best for more advanced terrain of the Park City resorts. For beg-intermediates, Deer Valley and Park City are fine. Most beginners and low intermediate skiers think Snowbird is too hard of mountain. Brighton and Solitude are good mountains for about everybody, with good snow and less crowds on weekends. If you want to cheapest way to go, stay in SLC and ride the bus up Big or Little Cottonwood canyon. REI on 3300 south in SLC sells discounted lift tickets..as does the lift house at the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon, just west of the 7-11. I would recommend 4WD especially if going to Snowbird,ALtal, Solitude, Brighton. There are also shuttles to the resorts. Shared vans are about 25 per person ea way. Cabs are about $60 total for however many people will fit. I can recommend a couple companys if anyone is interested in those options. Also, anyone interested in going in the backcountry, let me know...I go quite often, and my good friend guides and goes about 6 days a week. For those flying in, I believe all the resorts have a deal this year( i know deer valley does) that if you bring your boarding pass to the ski area the day you fly in, you get a free lift ticket..Book a morning flight and get a free day skiing. I think they have the info on skiutah.com. Also for those that dont mind sitting thru a Time share sales pitch, I believe the Marriot and Canyons resorts will give you a couple free tickets. You usually have to be a married couple, though.

TheWife · December 15th, 2003, 00:26

Friday or Saturday there were 7 accidents in Parley's Canyon on one day, before it was even dark, due to ice. So REALLY get 4WD or take the bus cause a little Honda Civic is NOT the car to be in.

mtsu_av8er · December 15th, 2003, 01:04

OK, if girlfriend and I are able to find a way to make it happen, we won't be on the slopes much (I'm from San Francisco. and she's a Tennesean...)....but you can count on us to enjoy the "off the slopes" activities....any other non-skiers out there??

TheWife · December 15th, 2003, 08:57

I won't be skiing at all. If you aren't interested in the skiikng then you might have a great time at the cabin with the pool and games and such. Plus I'd really love to have some girls to hang out with! Or if you want more private accomodations then you could certainly hang out w/ us during the day and sleep some where else.

jtrain609 · December 15th, 2003, 08:58

Heya Michelle,

We get tons of ice here too, and every year when it first gets cold and the snow and ice come people SOMEHOW manage to forget how to drive on the stuff.

4WD won't save you if you are driving your car too fast on ice. Nothing can save if you really screw up driving on that stuff.

Cheers

John Herreshoff

TheWife · December 15th, 2003, 09:19

Very true, speed is a big factor. It does seem though like it's usually cars in accidents and we are in an SUV majority county so....I think it's that people think their cars can handle things that they really can't.

jtrain609 · December 15th, 2003, 10:00

I think a big part of it is what kind of conditions you're used to driving in. I come from a middle of no where town of about 2,500 people that is a 45 minute drive to the first major interstate. Main roads get plowed, but anything off those main roads might get plowed two or three times a year. Ice/snow is a normal thing for me to tackle in my mini-van, and I've found ways of getting around in some pretty horrible conditions.

Stupid city folk, don't have any idea how to drive on nasty icy roads.

Cheers

John Herreshoff

PhotoPilot · December 15th, 2003, 15:59

I'm with John on the icy Michigan roads . . . I grew up in the Lower Peninsula where snow was normal but ice was a given. Then I moved to a little farm in a county that forgot about us until a week after every other road in the world had been plowed. THEN I went to the Upper Peninsula where the snow is thick, the men are men (and so are the women!), and you'd better know how to drive.

I'm also with Michelle. I could get around just fine in Michigan in a two wheel drive car (but much easier in a 4x4 considering where I went!). Get out in the mountains and it's like taking those nasty Michigan roads and putting them on a 10 degree slope. Gravity only wants you to go one way and a lot of times 2WD doesn't cut it. Heck, half the time 4WD doesn't cut it either! In Yosemite this weekend chains were mandatory, even for people who know how to drive on ice.

My point? I want to meet you people without having to pull anyone out of a ditch or worse! We can talk about driving all day, but when it comes time to push on the gas, just be careful! Remember, lean the mixture as you go up the mountain and be ready with that carb heat!

jtrain609 · December 15th, 2003, 22:02

Amen dude. We're not even going to try to climb out way up the moutains; we're taking everyone's advice and driving to the parking lots at the base and taking the bus up. I don't want to find out what it's like sliding backwards on one of those moutain roads.

Where in the LP were you from Photopilot? I'm originally from Caro, about 30 miles east of Saginaw up in the thumb.

Cheers

John Herreshoff

PhotoPilot · December 17th, 2003, 11:47

I grew up in Flint, moved to Marquette for college, came back to the LP and bought a farm in Fremont (North of GR, East of Muskegon), then went back to Marquette for about 18 months before heading out to Cali. I'm actually in Flint until the 23rd visiting my parents . . . wanna fly? I brought my flight bag and am always ready to go!

FlyChicaga · December 17th, 2003, 12:48

I would do some flying on Friday evening with ya if I wasn't poor! I have a Flint overnight, but it's pretty short.

PhotoPilot · December 17th, 2003, 14:16

Poor?! I thought pilots were the second most overpaid people in the universe? Don't you actally own those 747s that you fly?

Check your PMs, Chicaga!

TheWife · December 20th, 2003, 11:07

Incase any of you still have any doubts about needing a good ride-one of the accidents I mentioned earlier was caught on tape by a dash board cam in a police car, and has been shown around the world. A van goes rolling towards the cops flying over their car as they run for safety. That was in Pareley's Canyon.