Will the high cost of gas put a crimp in your ski plans??

[Deedee]

Rising gas prices

The gas price will definitely curb my ski trips. We are about 3 1/2 hours from Okemo VT where I work part time on weekends and holidays. I will have to arrange my work schedule for extended weekends and fewer 2 day trips, I hope they will welcome me on weekdays, too to cut down on trips.

 

[Arlaquinn]

New Here

Hello, I just bought a condo at my local mtn. were I live with my 4 year old son. I was unable to ski this year due to ACL reconstruction so I am ready to get out there this year....I plan on booking one big ski trip to celebrate being back on the mtn! At least one jaunt to VT and hopefully one out west also.....so gas prices are not slowing me down...I did not have to buy a season pass this year...2007 pass got pushed to the 2008 season!...one good thing about blowing out your knee Which by the way I did playing indoor soccer in November, not skiing!
-Arla

 

[Deedee]

Good luck with the ACL repair. I had a new ACL built using my hamstring, and it is still holding up 2 years later! Did it skiing in some bumps...

 

[Kiragirl]

Arlaquinn,
That is very cool that your mountain let you defer your pass 'til next year! Where is that? Sorry about the knee problem, tho. Hope it turns out ok.

 

[Arlaquinn]

Greek Peak, Cortland NY

With a medical letter, you can get a refund on your pass or push it to the following year. I also repaired my ACL with hamstring, still in rehabilitation mode..but hoping to be 100% soon.

I bought new skis too....I am worried they are a bit too long on my "new knee" but I am still doing my research....

Arla

 

[vanhoskier]

Heck no! My Prius and I will go wherever and whenever we want!

Prius drivers ROCK! (I'm not one of them....but I'd like one!)

Have you driven your Prius in the snow? If so, how good is it? I've been curious about that, as I know our next vehicle purchase will be a hybrid like the Prius or Civic.

 

[Deedee]

With a medical letter, you can get a refund on your pass or push it to the following year. I also repaired my ACL with hamstring, still in rehabilitation mode..but hoping to be 100% soon.

I bought new skis too....I am worried they are a bit too long on my "new knee" but I am still doing my research....

Arla

How long ago was your surgery? I had mine done on March 30 and after 6 months of rehab I was back teaching and skiing the following December.

 

[Arlaquinn]

acl surgery

I had surgery Feb 18th....so a little over 4months now.

 

[Deedee]

Keep up the therapy and you will be amazed at the progress you make. You will be on the slopes this coming season. I babied my knee for the first month or two but realized it is probably stronger now than my other ACL! Good luck!

 

[num]

Welcome to the board, Arlaquinn! I'm one month post op from acl reconstruction. I started a thread about the injury that's gone on to surgery and now rehab here. Recent acl patients have been chiming in with their experiences, especially toward the end of the thread. Feel free to drop in.

Good luck with recovery!

 

[abc]

Since answering this thread earlier, I think things are going to have to change for me.

In the UK at the moment, fuel costs are just rocketing as are food prices. The "credit crunch" as it is known here is really starting to bite.

I am a ski instructor working all year round. I work on artificial slopes (do work on snow too). At the moment our bookings are the worst they have been for years. Our summer holiday period so far is looking pretty dead. In contrast, this time two and three years ago I was pretty much fully booked for the summer.

It's not clear gas price will remain high come winter. But if it does, the entire ski related business will hurt. Given people have to spend more to commute and heat their home (I got lucky in getting rid of my weekend home that leaks like a sieve), they won't have as much money left over for recreation to begin with. And if gas price staying high, people will cut back on driving too. That would translate into fewer trips to the mountains, which lead to fewer lift ticket sale and fewer lessons booked, etc.

It's already hitting the summer vacation scence now. Hotel vacancy is quite a bit higher, judging how easily I was able to find rooms on my travel. Several kayak trips to Maine got cancelled due to people pulling out on gas cost (gas price REALLY hurts when you're hauling boats). Local participation, on the other hand, is alive and well. Looks like everybody is staying close to home.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

abc - darn, sorry to hear about canceled kayak trips to Maine :( --- it's awfully good up here for that but totally understand. Lots of forums are deep in discussion as to the repercussions for next winter and what possible incentives might be offered to encourage people to keep coming to ski resorts (gas cards, etc).

I think we're all thinking outside the box, out of necessity.

Bigger issue in New England is the cost of heating oil. Price now nearing quintuple what it was when we moved here 7 years ago. Huge crisis pending for many. If I go on the monthly budget plan to cover just the heating degree months, I "only" have to come up with $1,100 per month (based on average monthly usage). It will be....an interesting winter. Not in a good way. Despite the skiing, I'm not looking forward to it :(

But I'm nonetheless driving much less at this point in time, just to start getting used to a modified lifestyle. Living rurally has its distinct disadvantages. Public transportation doesn't exist in most rural locations.

 

[abc]

abc - darn, sorry to hear about canceled kayak trips to Maine :( --- it's awfully good up here for that but totally understand.

I know what you mean. I went for a short trip last year and planned to do some more this summer. But many planned trips are cancelling left and right. It probably will hurt the hotel business up there too, which won't help them to handle the winter heating bill. :( A vicious cycle, unfortunately.

On the brighter side, vacancy is so high at some nearby more "popular" destination (Newport, RI, Mystic, CT or Lake George) as people cut back in travel. I could probably go to those places and NOT have to fight against the usual summer herd...

 

[Molly]

Have you driven your Prius in the snow? If so, how good is it?

I'm no Prius driver, but I play one on TV.

One thing in the Prius' favor is the narrow tire setup that Toyota gave it for fuel economy. The smaller the footprint, the better a tire digs into snow. (Rule of thumb: If you're putting new snow tires on new rims, try going narrower than your regular tires. On the Prius, though, going narrower might require swapping tires from your road bike...)

 

[MaineSkiLady]

It probably will hurt the hotel business up there too, which won't help them to handle the winter heating bill. :( A vicious cycle, unfortunately.

Actually, things aren't too bad (yet), because some people are/will be taking trips up here (and longer ones) in lieu of more distant types of summer vacations to which they might otherwise drive. State is promoting/encouraging coastal residents to come up to their own state's regional mountains and check them out. Seems to be working?? Hoping for the best, anyway....

I think the White Mountains region of NH will have a banner summer. Again, hopeful thinking...

 

[Jilly]

One thing I noticed in my travels over the last few days, are people are slowing down. Highway 401 runs the width of Ontario. Montreal to Windsor. The highway is 4 lanes everywhere and more as needed. The speed limit is 100 kph. Usually the speed on the highway is 120 in the rural areas, and up to 130 in the big city. Yesterday I was doing 120 and passing people. Even my friend that drove in from Ottawa commented that drivers are slowing down to conserve gas. So high prices are helping the police control speeders.

 

[Bravosarah]

One thing I noticed in my travels over the last few days, are people are slowing down. Highway 401 runs the width of Ontario. Montreal to Windsor. The highway is 4 lanes everywhere and more as needed. The speed limit is 100 kph. Usually the speed on the highway is 120 in the rural areas, and up to 130 in the big city. Yesterday I was doing 120 and passing people. Even my friend that drove in from Ottawa commented that drivers are slowing down to conserve gas. So high prices are helping the police control speeders.

I've really noticed the slow down on the 401.

I travel it twice a day on my motorcycle to and from work (except for Sundays when I steal the Jetta :D ) Secretly I've been thinking the high price of gas is worth it, just because the drive has improved so much! Seriously!

 

[mollmeister]

I fear it will impact my season, but I hope I can be creative and still ski 25-30 days. The one thing I am having a tough time with is that I am really trying to be more aware of my gas usage and consume less of it. I am using my car less and riding or walking to get where I need to be.

THANK YOU for saying that. Because it's not just about cost, but about availability and environmental impact, both driving and flying. We're already planning to carpool more for ALL of our mountain adventures. I wish we could fill the tank with biodiesel for trips to the hill!

At home I walk everywhere I can, and have car-swapped with DH for the month. He's traveling and his car is just sitting at the airport. It gets better gas mileage, so I am now driving his on all the necessary errands while mine sits in a parking lot. I miss my car, but it's worth it.

 

[abc]

have car-swapped with DH for the month. He's traveling and his car is just sitting at the airport. It gets better gas mileage, so I am now driving his on all the necessary errands while mine sits in a parking lot. I miss my car, but it's worth it.

Long before gas price hits $4 nationwide, those of us living in California, the land of expensive gas were doing a lot more in saving gas. My S.O. drove my car to and from work (45 min each way) whenever I'm out of town! The other car isn't exactly a gas guzzler either. But even a Subaru Outback, due to the extra weight of 4 wheel drive, is thirsty when compare to a Ford compact!

I'm so glad I live in New York City. I don't need to drive much at all! It's one thing to drive to ski or kayak. It's fun after all. It's really boring and hurts like hell if the drive is just to get to work or for grocery...:(