Skiing? Are you sure?

[cebeu]

Man...remember when all ya' needed were two quality planks, a pair of of the best boots you could afford, a bota bag filled with Jack, maybe a pack of Marlboros, a bandana and about $20 or $30 bucks for a kick-ass day of solitude and nature?

Look at some of this poop...

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/10/15/whats-new-ski-slopes-winter/?test=faces

"Park City will be introducing North America’s first heated chair lift..."

"...you’ll also be encased in an orange bubble shield..."

"...Mammoth Mountain...snowcats tricked out as food carts..."

"...Vail Resorts in Colorado, radio frequency (RF) chips embedded in your season passes and lift tickets will track the vertical feet and runs you’ve skied. You’ll be able to store and share those stats with a mobile app, EpicMix, which will also alert you if any of your Facebook friends show up on your mountain."


Colorado
"...Breckinridge...among the amenities is a large outdoor plaza with a heated deck...will also unveil a new 22-foot superpipe..."

"...Telluride includes home pick-up and delivery of your luggage."

"Aspen...slate of parties and film screenings...Don’t expect to see [a] Steakhouse, however; in its stead you’ll find a Miami eatery Casa Tua,..."


Utah
"In addition to its orange bubble lift,...an après ski beach...the final stop of the Winter Dew Tour by showing off its own new 22-foot superpipe.


Montana
Big Sky..."is unveiling two new zip lines...strung side by side, enabling you and a companion to ignore the lush scenery as you snap digital pictures of each other during your run."


California
Along with its snack-laden snowcats,...the former Belmont Park will have been transformed into a kids terrain park that’ll include kid-friendly jumps and a snow fort. Squaw Valley has also created a resort map that kids can follow to learn about the area’s wildlife.


Maine
"...state’s first loading conveyor system so that at the bottom of the lift, "skiers will line up side by side on the moving conveyor," according to resort marketing director..."


New Hampshire
Cranmore...expanding its tubing park from seven to ten lanes and "will feature a new Sun Kid surface lift in addition to a handle-tow lift...the tubing park is also being relocated to make way for a new mountain coaster that permits up to two passengers per car to ride up and down the mountain on a stainless steel track. Riders can control the speed of the car, limited to around 25 mph, making it a family-friendly way to travel the mountain."


Vermont
"...those in need of après ski drama at Stowe can visit the new 420-seat Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, whose programming will include theater, dance, film, music, and comedy. Mount Snow...Six new fan guns mounted to "a new mobile carriage design" will debut this winter,...The tubing hill has been re-graded "to remove the uneven pitches that require a lot of snow..."

[Irving]

No wonder lift tickets are like $60 for one day now.

[DD977GM2]

Whats the big deal? As if you didnt already know that tickets are expensive.
stick to Loveland or A-Basin and you will have agreat time at a reasonable(for todays rates) price at either.

BLAH BLAH BLAH Loveland is tooo cold...I say BS, Loveland is just as cold as all the others. It IMHO has the best terrain for the price and closer to Denver. Ask me how I know.......I spent 3 years skiing over 80 days a season and majority was Loveland then Copper Then Vail.

[Elhuero]

I was born and raised in colorado and I have never been skiing.

Went snowboarding once, and that was in Utah.

On the road, ski racks (and/or TX plates) are warning signs that the driver is going to do something dangerous and/or stupid.

[tmckay2]

No wonder lift tickets are like $60 for one day now.

$60? where are you skiing? most places are $90 and up now, including copper.

the best way to go is to just get a season pass. around $400 and you can go as much as you want. or 4 packs. ends up being around $30 per day. buying a ticket at the window is just plain crazy

[Mtn.man]

Come to Bailey we can pull you up Crow Hill and you can ski down.

Or do like the kids at Winter park and hitch a ride all the way up and ski out of bounds back down to the bottom of the pass.

[Irving]

$60? where are you skiing? most places are $90 and up now, including copper.



I haven't been for like 10 years. I was thinking closer to $90, but wanted to error on the low side.

[Colorado Osprey]

$60? where are you skiing? most places are $90 and up now, including copper.


Regular prices:
Ski Cooper $42
Monarch $56
Crested Butte $59 before Dec 19th $87 after
Wolf Creek $52

It's not $90 if you avoid the I-70 corridor crazies.


Personally I haven't skied since they started allowing snow boards. IMO They wreck the hill for skiing. Back then I never paid more than $25 for a lift ticket. Pretty sure I won't be back until prices fall or snow boards are banned... at least from certain runs. I don't see either happening in my lifetime.

[cebeu]

For the record my intent in whining (this thread) was/is about the continued commercialization ("pussification") of the activity nationwide versus the cost factor.

Give me back my old school escape (<-- never gonna happen although Monarch "still lives" and Silverton Mountain is promising) and back-off on turning the hills into a gawd-damn living-room for panty-waists.

Fucking "heated orange bubbles, tricked-out snow-cat food carts and pipes for prepubescents"...what a joke! And yes...I understand the economic game.

[Rant1]


PS - Somewhere way deep, back in the worthless recesses of my small brain I can still hear this old dude grumblin' in the mid-70's, something about; "sucks...not the same...back in my day...etc..." Somethings never change but...I feel better bitchin' anyway. ;)

[Irving]

How is a 22' half pipe pussification?

[tmckay2]

Regular prices:
Ski Cooper $42
Monarch $56
Crested Butte $59 before Dec 19th $87 after
Wolf Creek $52

It's not $90 if you avoid the I-70 corridor crazies.


Personally I haven't skied since they started allowing snow boards. IMO They wreck the hill for skiing. Back then I never paid more than $25 for a lift ticket. Pretty sure I won't be back until prices fall or snow boards are banned... at least from certain runs. I don't see either happening in my lifetime.

fair enough but besides crested butte none of those places are all that great.

[Ryan_Th3_K1d]

If I had more money and time I'd be skiing at Silverton moutain as often as i could. We went once last year and that place is AWESOME!!!!

[SNAFU]

Hart,Kastle,Hexcel,K2s,,,,MOUGULS,ICE,,and some snow.
Eastcoastie ski bumm,,,
Killington,Gore,Whiteface,Hunter,Stowe,Greek Peak,West Mtn and even Willard.

First time I skiied out here was Snowmass,,in 1978.
Dude I could not ski this white fluffy stuff.
No wonder wide planks rule.
I did GS back east

This will be my first full year of skiing Aspen,Buttermilk,Highlands,Snowmass,,going to drive a RFTA bus,bonus 4 mtn pass free.
Should have done this 4 years ago. ;)

[jason303]

Yeah, we're all getting old too.



For the record my intent in whining (this thread) was/is about the continued commercialization ("pussification") of the activity nationwide versus the cost factor.

Give me back my old school escape (<-- never gonna happen although Monarch "still lives" and Silverton Mountain is promising) and back-off on turning the hills into a gawd-damn living-room for panty-waists.

Fucking "heated orange bubbles, tricked-out snow-cat food carts and pipes for prepubescents"...what a joke! And yes...I understand the economic game.

[Rant1]


PS - Somewhere way deep, back in the worthless recesses of my small brain I can still hear this old dude grumblin' in the mid-70's, something about; "sucks...not the same...back in my day...etc..." Somethings never change but...I feel better bitchin' anyway. ;)

[mtik00]

My wife and I did the summit county thing for years. I got sick of all the people.

Monarch is a great, albeit small, mountain. It still has that local feel.

[BPTactical]

When I lived at home we skiied almost every weekend and one year I was on Lovelands ski team(downhill). I never put any thought into how expensive it was and my sister and I used to go up for a half day pass often for either 8 or 12 bucks.
Only recently did I realize what it cost my folks back then and what THEY gave up to take us skiing. They saved all summer so we could ski.
I have not been since I was 19 and started working for a living.
I do have a couple of friends that ski and when they mention what it costs I find it hard to see how they can afford it.

[SNAFU]

Cost is the reason I backcountry ski. Cross country,snoeshoe,telmark.
Backcountry I can put skins on my teleies,skin up ski down.
Do hut to hut trips,camp out and have a campfire.

This will be the first time I ski on a commercial area for 15yrs.
Couldn't afford it here in the Asspan Valley, but driving a bus for RFTA,free 4 mtn pass.
No black out days either.

Bet I'll still backcountry,,might not like the crowd on slope.

[mtik00]

Monarch has about the best deal I've seen, if you are willing to wait.

For the past 4 years or so, they've done business with a gas station chain. For 10 gallons of gas, you get a two-for-one coupon (with blackout dates). They normally start these in January.

This season is $56 for a full-day adult. That means two people can ski for $28pp. It's definitely the way to go if you aren't going to ski alot (i.e. enough to make a season pass worth it).

[SigsRule]

I remember skiing when Loveland was $3.75 and we bitched about how expensive Vail was at $6.50. Of course, we also had 20-30 minute lines at each lift because of the two person chairs. I'm 64 and still skiing - I'll take all the creature comforts they offer - and we've been season pass holders for 10 years or so.