Apres Ski!

[Jenny]

We're boring - either a drive home (2.5 hours) or if we're on vacation, then it's still back to the condo and early to bed. Mainly because I can't stay up too late if we're going to get the early chairs. When we stay onsite (Searchmont) we DO spend enough time in the bar for a drink or two, but somehow that seems to be the only place that we do that.

 

[missyd]

Apres-Ski? Never done it in my life!
After skiing (day trip) its just getting home asap ... it may be different on vacation ... but I never did in winter.
Anyway ... beeing single its not always funny going out alone. And I do not like the drunken people at the skibars.

 

[Eviesnowcat]

Very surprised at the general wanting to go home and chill out nature of most of these posts, so am feeling the need to regale you all with stories of dancing on the tables in ski boots. DH and I prefer to ski in the US/Canada than in Europe because of the empty mountains and lack of drag lifts, but the apres ski thing seems to be one thing that is missing in most US resorts that we have been to. Often we seem to find that the US resorts are places that you drive to rather than stay at (generalisation I know) whereas in Europe the resorts tend to be part of a village that may have been there for hundreds of years - places where people live and work that just happen to be in the mountains. There seem to be more bars and restaurants and people staying in hotels in the village - which leads to more lively nightlife. One exception that we have experienced is Park City, UT - I'm sure there must be others as well. Anyway, I'm voting in favour of apres ski - if you're looking for us then we'll be the ones propping up the bar, wearing the silly hats, and singing the rowdy cockney songs!

 

[Jenny]

Oh my - you weren't singing when we were in Tahoe! The sitting around the fire we did at Northstar was more our style than yours, I guess, huh?

 

[Robyn]

Most often apres ski is a "safety meeting" aka beers with fellow coaches to decompress from a day of coaching then onward with thousands of my besties on I-70 heading home but my favorite option is a steam shower (oh how I miss the family's condo!) then dinner at my favorite restaurant with my favorite apres drink, a manhattan.

 

[Eviesnowcat]

Oh my - you weren't singing when we were in Tahoe! The sitting around the fire we did at Northstar was more our style than yours, I guess, huh?

The sitting around the fire at Northstar was fun! We definitely enjoyed it a lot - it was a very cool place to chill out and unwind (with some good company too!) I think it's just that it tends to get a bit more raucous in Europe, that's all!

 

[Jilly]

Eviesnowcat - you need to come to Quebec!! Apres-ski is a whole new life. Must be the French influence.

 

[altagirl]

Our local apres-ski basically just involves going to the bar, getting some beer and something to eat with friends and then going home - generally nothing too rowdy, and most of the time we just go straight home.

But when we were in Europe, our favorite place to ski was in Austria, because the partying starts so early. You could be dancing on the tables singing by 5pm on the mountain - which means we could have dinner, drink a whole bunch of beers, stumble back to where we were staying (still in ski clothes) and be in bed at 9pm and get plenty of rest to be ready to go when the lifts opened. Whereas in France, it seemed like nothing was even open until 10pm, which meant we basically never did much apres-ski there. We halfheartedly tried that a few times, but neither of us were willing to miss out on (or just be exhausted for) skiing the next day.

 

[merrydog]

My apres ski depends on who I'm with, though it has never turned into a dancing on the tables scene.

My sister doesn't drink, so when we ski together, we pretty much go straight home to change and relax.

Apres with other friends can involve drinks at a bar or hot tub back at the rental. Our favorite place to have a drink is at the Beaver Creek Ritz, it's a great way to soak up the posh environment without paying through the nose to stay there.

 

[Kiragirl]

Anyway ... beeing single its not always funny going out alone.

Really!??? That seems surprising. I will go out alone (usually to places I'm familiar with) especially after skiing because everyone is so into talking about what they did during the day, it's easy to talk to people--everyone is psyched!

And I do not like the drunken people at the skibars.

I have to agree with you on that one, a fun buzz is one thing.....

I love hot tubbing! We have 2 super nice ones on the back deck of my ski house. And/or sitting in front of a fire, having a drink, and decent/nice dinner.

 

[Christy]

Mainly because I can't stay up too late if we're going to get the early chairs.

Us too! I just like to chill out at night after a day of skiing. I think it's also something in my mindset. We go out at night if on vacation in cities, and of course I can go out for great food and cocktails in the city I live in anytime, but it doesn't really occur to me to do that in small ski towns. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing!

 

[altagirl]

My apres ski depends on who I'm with, though it has never turned into a dancing on the tables scene.

I think it's just a European thing. I've never even considered doing anything like that in the States, but it seemed surprisingly common in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, etc. They would have bands playing songs everyone knows the words to and people (often family groups where you'd see 3 generations dancing and drinking together) would end up dancing on the tables or benches while singing along with the band.

Heh, and the other thing I'm still baffled by is how often the bands there would be playing Sweet Home Alabama and Rocky Mountain High... and more people would be singing along there than they would if you heard it in Alabama. It definitely adds some "wait, where the heck am I?" to the experience! Honestly the whole apres-ski thing is so much more a part of the experience to me in Europe than it is here. Which is a good thing - we keep talking about going back to St. Anton and on the bright side, even if the snow turned out to be crap, we know we would still have an amazing time because the apres-ski would make up for it. And we just don't do that anywhere else...

FWIW - hot tubbing is not my thing. It's about the worst possible thing to do to overworked muscles and swollen joints. I know it feels good at the time, but if you're trying to get your body ready for the next day, an ice bath would actually make a lot more sense. Well, I guess if you were going to finish/alternate with an ice bath, the hot tub would probably be fine, but THAT I don't often have the motivation to do...

 

[pinto]

Heh, and the other thing I'm still baffled by is how often the bands there would be playing Sweet Home Alabama and Rocky Mountain High... and more people would be singing along there than they would if you heard it in Alabama. It definitely adds some "wait, where the heck am I?" to the experience! Honestly the whole apres-ski thing is so much more a part of the experience to me in Europe than it is here. Which is a good thing - we keep talking about going back to St. Anton and on the bright side, even if the snow turned out to be crap, we know we would still have an amazing time because the apres-ski would make up for it. And we just don't do that anywhere else...

Totally agree with all of that. ... In Zermatt, at Hennu Stall: "Play That Funky Music" just started, and DD (at age 8) looks at me and says, "This is the same thing they play at home."

(No, that's not her beer.)

In Lech, though, they were playing all sorts of German pop, and that was hilarious. It was the only time I've ever actually danced in ski boots. What a hoot. No photos, unfortunately. (I take that back: no photos, fortunately.)

 

[Skise]

Drive home or if we are actually somewhere further away for several days go to sauna and eat, maybe have a beer or something with friends in the cottage/apartment and then fall asleep...

 

[Witchery]

We tend to do the same thing each ski trip. Ski till about 3-4, head to the Westin and unwind in the outdoor hot tub or head straight to the GLC for some food and drinks, either way both happen its just the order that changes. We always wander the village at night to stretch out the legs, do some shopping, later on head for dinner and then home. Then it's get up early in the am and start all over again the next day.

 

[3VSki]

I've only ever skied in European resorts - French Alps mostly - where there's great apres ski for anyone who has the energy. We book chalets away from the party scene - though on one trip our bedrooms looked across the pathway directly into another chalet which had a group of about 20 young 'uns - all dancing on the tables til the early hours, on the first night. There was very little noise from their chalet for the rest of the week - they had ripped it up on their very first night and suffered for it. I'd rather have my dinner set down to me (with a nice bottle of red) and good craic with the group - then bed by 11pm cause we're up and out for first lifts.

It's a bit weird cause I always book a chalet with a hot tub but I've never actually got into one. I like the idea til I see other people soaking in it and then think I don't want to share your bugs!

 

[gr8outdoors]

I'm boring too! I prefer to go home, have dinner and relax. If I'm on a trip, I like to relax at the hotel for a little while, then go out for dinner and right back to the hotel for the night. I always have my son (and husband) with me, though - not heading out to the bar with an 11 year old :-)

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I always ski by myself so don't like going to bars myself. If I'm doing a day trip I drive the 2-3hrs home. If I'm on a ski vacation or staying overnight for the weekend, I usually use the hot tub, look in the shops and then go out to dinner.

 

[Pocono bunny]

Apres-ski in the winter is the same as apres-climbing in the summer, just with warm and fuzzy clothes! I always come off the hill ravenous, so it's usually a burger and beer then a hot shower and bed. Out on the town if I'm up for it, but usually not!

 

[laine]

After my last run, I like to treat myself to a drink at the bar - a hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and whipped cream. It's delicious...really...like drinking a York Peppermint Patty. I don't have a hot tub at my ski cabin, but we head home to some wine, cheese, and salami, and then my friends and I cook a big family-style dinner and watch a movie. Perfect night.

-laine