Anyone ever take mass transit skiing?

[ski diva]

I think it's more doable in Europe than it is here, but I know there's a train from Denver to Winter Park. And I just saw a press release from Ascutney in Vermont, saying they'll be running a complimentary shuttle to/from the train station in Windsor, VT, (the "Vermonter" stops there). They'll also provide a 20% discount off the train fare. I don't know if they'll be doing this during ski season, though, but it'd make sense.

Could this be the beginning of a trend?

 

[Consuela]

Does taking the gondola at Heavenly count? hehe It starts right on State St next to the casinos.

https://www.skiheavenly.com/lake_tahoe/things_to_do/gondola/

 

[Robyn]

Here in CO there is the train to WP (although it's quite expensive, like $50), Loveland runs a shuttle, you can bus from anywhere in Summit County to any of their 4 resorts and you can use the bus in Vail. The problem is getting from Denver to Summit County or Eagle County otherwise I'd happily do it. For my coaching days to load a bus at 6am and then sleep on the ride up would be a dream!

 

[num]

I love hearing that Ascutney set that up. Personally, I do take public trans to the hill (Wilmot Mountain, WI on the IL border) sometimes, but it's not anything set up by the hill or the town, so it's not very convenient.

If I'm not already downtown, I take the bus or train there, then I take a suburban commuter train line (53 miles) that lets me off at a town about 5 miles from the hill. I take a cab the last five miles. If there was shuttle service between the train station and the hill, that would make a huge difference for me. So far I haven't found anyone in the area to rideshare those last few miles with, though that'd be another solution if I do.

It happens that the line that goes closest to the hill is the only suburban commuter train line that doesn't run on weekends, and is generally a supplemental service. The other lines have much more efficient express trains, and run more frequently. This train running less frequently and less quickly, and only on weekdays leads me to only take it when I take a day off and have a whole lot of time for skiing. Most of my trips to Wilmot are after work nightskiing runs, which I rideshare to.

 

[IntheClouds]

Does taking the gondola at Heavenly count? hehe It starts right on State St next to the casinos.

https://www.skiheavenly.com/lake_tahoe/things_to_do/gondola/

Connie you crack me up ! If it counts, it counts as the priciest transit per foot I've ever been on!

 

[RachelV]

We never rent a car when we stay in Park City and take the free bus to the mountains.

I wish there were more NYC->VT mass transit options. The trains (amtrak) are slower than driving (really, by over an hour for Killington) and kind of expensive.

 

[dloveski]

UTA to the CTW Canyons

I pledge to do better and I wish more folks would ride the busses up the canyons instead of driving. The congestion on the roads and the limited parking are causing many problems for the resorts and the skiers alike.:Cry::Cry::Cry:

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I did a last minute, very low-budget ski trip with DH once, and we opted for UTA instead of a rental car. Worked out fine. (Just don't miss that last bus out of BCC!)

 

[bklyn]

I've done the summit county SummitStage and Aspen area RFTA in Colorado, the UTA up to BCC and LCC in Utah and some service they have in Jackson Hole that I don't remember the name of now.

They all work well. Too bad an viable alternative to cars is not really there for day trippers and weekenders coming from Denver to the mountains. The shuttle services are too expensive if you are coming up for a short trip.

 

[IntheClouds]

I hear you Bklyn. While in Snowmass/Aspen I utilized the shuttle system. All free. When in Utah I had the Superpass. Would have used it but made the choice to stay in my group for carpooling.
When in Colo. I ended up spending a total of $72.00 + 1 tank of gas for 2 people, 5 days to go from Denver to A-basin & any driving between. No way could I have pulled that one off on a shuttle.
Can't even do that from LAX to Disneyland.

Seems wastefull. But I do offer up rides if they work out. For each car not driven on a trip, a difference is made. The more economical the vehicle, the better !

 

[IntheClouds]

We never rent a car when we stay in Park City and take the free bus to the mountains.

I wish there were more NYC->VT mass transit options. The trains (amtrak) are slower than driving (really, by over an hour for Killington) and kind of expensive.

Park City. Well next time you are planning a trip there, or just book one, call me. We'll see if I can join in or not !

 

[playoutside]

Did it several years ago in Park City and it went really well. Definitely set up for it and it was even easy to take a side trip over to Alta w/o a car.

I've been continually frustrated by the possibilities in New England. I spend most of last winter in NJ and made most of my trips driving by myself to meet up with others in VT. I looked at all possibilities of getting there instead of driving by myself. Trains were suprisingly slow, but they also presented problems on both ends -- no easy way to park for several days and no way besides taxi to complete the connection to the resorts. I looked into buses, including those run by clubs and it was much more limited, but it was an option depending on where you wanted to meet the bus and if you were willing to go to resorts that others chose. The best I've been able to do is connect occasionally with others to carpool. I'm hoping more are open to this now with the cost of gas.

 

[astridhj]

Several times I've decided to stay outside the big skiing towns when in Austria and taken the free shuttle bus instead. In Bergen, Norway, I can take the train every saturday and sunday up to Voss, and down again. But since I first have to drive in to town, find a parking space there pay for it, as well as paying for the train+bus+lift ticket, I'd rather just drive up. But we try to car pool if it is possible.

 

[abc]

Did it several years ago in Park City and it went really well. Definitely set up for it and it was even easy to take a side trip over to Alta w/o a car..

But how do you get to Park City from the airport?

 

[playoutside]

We used a shared van service...sort of public transit in my book. A little inconvenient, but they had hourly pickups and it was pretty uneventful. The van brought us to the condo after making 1-2 other drop offs.

We also found van services that offered great prices on rides and lift tickets when we wanted to leave the PC area for Alta and Snowbird.

By far the most convenient skiing region I've visited.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Occasionally my club and the one based in the city 39 miles down the road have chartered a bus but that's less than once a season in the past. And I've tried very hard to ride share the last two seasons but mostly I'm told: "Oh, I want my own car there to leave when I want to.." So, mostly I've had to drive by mayself, which was expensive in my books BEFORE the price of gas skyrocketed! I'm just hoping that some of these people have come to their senses or my coming season may get quite shortened:Cry::Cry:

 

[abc]

Doesn't the van service goes something like $20/person? With two people minimum, it's $80 round trip. A rental car for a 4 day weekend can be had for about $100. That allowes freedom of going whenever and stopping to pick up lunch and such...

Probably makes more sense if staying a full week. But then, one might be tempted to go over to Alta/Snowbird, which involves more share van expense...

I will try to use public transport for anything that the public transport can reach. But skiing hasn't been one of such as far as I can tell.

I've tried very hard to ride share the last two seasons but mostly I'm told: "Oh, I want my own car there to leave when I want to.."

I'm afraid I'm one of such type. And that's actually a result of past experience. I've car pooled with people occasionally. And it just ended up nobody was too happy about the time to go and the time to leave... I simply wouldn't bother doing it, especially on short day trips.

On longer trips, it's a little different. If the drive is long enough, there're usually people to car pool with. And if we're staying together the whole time anyway, there's less conflict on when to go anywhere.

 

[shnu]

when we used to go skiing in winter we always took the car. we are minimum 2 persons with minimum 4 pair of skis. and going by train with all that gear istn't much fun, as the possibilities to store the luggage in a cabin aren't that much.
whereas last winter i often went by train from vienna to the montafon. but i only had to take my luggage and no gear with me, as my bf worked there. except once i had to take my gear (just 1 pair of skis, poles and shoes) and it was not much fun.

like astrid said we also mostly use the free shuttle bus when we stay outside. but i expereinced that they aren't aways that good as they are in st. anton for example. from my point of view they provide a good shuttle service. in schruns (montafon - silvretta nova) it was not really satisfying, so we mostly went by car. the bus from schruns to the silvretta nova only drove once in an hour :mad:

i think it's difficult to decide whether to go by car or bus/train as you are dependent on the possibilities the public traffic/shuttle services.

 

[playoutside]

Doesn't the van service goes something like $20/person? With two people minimum, it's $80 round trip. A rental car for a 4 day weekend can be had for about $100. That allowes freedom of going whenever and stopping to pick up lunch and such...

True. My friends who I travel with always laugh because I am the queen of the spreadsheet! I always make a spreadsheet for all the expenses and possibilities. Sometime the cars are more and that's when we go for public transit. Once when 7 of us went we got a great deal on an Excursion -- a monster of a car but necessary with 7 people and gear.

 

[RachelV]

Doesn't the van service goes something like $20/person? With two people minimum, it's $80 round trip. A rental car for a 4 day weekend can be had for about $100. That allowes freedom of going whenever and stopping to pick up lunch and such...

That's funny, after a few years living in NYC I feel more free when I DON'T have a car. I hate worrying about where to park it, I hate buying gas, I hate DRIVING places -- I'd much rather be sitting on a bus/train/whatever reading, listening to music, etc. At least then it's my time and I can just sit and chill.

It's true that the vans don't make a lot of sense price-wise for super short trips, but for longer trips they're really cheap and convenient (talking specifically about the SLC area here). If you have enough people to fill a van you can get a private one and it's even cheaper. Plus, I like knowing that if there's weather I won't have to personally drive up the canyons in it... I'd rather leave driving in heavy snow to people that are used to it.

Anyways, one of my biggest complaints about skiing in the northeast is the lack of mass transit options. Living in NYC has spoiled me. I should look more into trains/shuttles this year and see if there are any better options since the last time I really checked it out.