Inoffensive Nickname
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Midwest skiing is perfect for those of us who have lived at low altitudes our entire lives and are prone to altitude sickness. With that said, and with absolutely no offense meant toward the mountain divas, I doubt I'll go back to the mountains for skiing after this trip. Blackjack and Indianhead are so close to each other that when you're standing at the top of one hill, you can see many of the runs on the other hill. They merged several years ago to become Big Snow Resort, which seems to be really good for business.
We rented a one-bedroom condo right at Blackjack at the top of the beginner hill. We didn't take advantage of ski-in/out because a rope tow at the end of the day just doesn't seem like fun, but parking was 5 minutes away, and right at the edge of the snow with about a 100 yard walk/skate to the lift. I got a killer deal on the condo for $120/night.
First of all, the condo was wonderful. There was plenty of room for the two of us, it was nicely decorated, and there was a hot tub in the basement of the building. They had a boot tray for us and a ski locker outside (which we didn't use, since we kept our skis in the car). Since the condo was booked through the resort, we were allowed to take advantage of all the amenities at the main lodge (a few miles away, but nice if you have a non-skier with you).
We prepurchased lift tickets online, which we picked up when we checked in, so didn't have to wait in the mornings. Also paid $70 less than if we had paid the daily lift price. Overall, lift tickets were comparable in price to our small hills 5 hours to the south, or about $47.50 per day per person.
Last time I went to Indianhead two years ago, I had woken up sick as heck and skied about 4 runs before giving up. This time, I had to stop when my glutes started burning after a good day of skiing. Friday started as a bluebird day, and hubby was great about making sure I wouldn't psych myself out over "black diamond" runs. I warmed up with a long, blue run with a nice drop at the end, and we quickly worked our way over to the expert side of the hill. Unfortunately, one or two lifts were closed since it was a weekday, but we still had access to most of those areas from the lift we were riding. Clouds rolled in and it started snowing around noon, and ended up snowing about 6" throughout the rest of the day and night. The chili at the Sky Bar was delicious and hearty.
Day two, I woke up a little nervous, because I had never skied Blackjack before and maybe because I was afraid of powder, because my only experience with powder has either been big piles of manufactured snow, or big piles of wet, heavy snow that feel like hitting a stump underfoot when you try to ride over or through. Saturday was another bluebird day and this was powder - pure fluffy powder - sheer joy. Ok Divas...I get it! Hubby convinced me to take one run in the knee deep powder, and although it was work for my groomer-acclimated legs, it was still a joy to ski, and a HUGE confidence booster. He got himself into some hip deep stuff and got a little spooked, but managed to work his way out of it.
Apres ski both nights was a lot of fun. Sitting in the bar, we made friends with the guys in the condo next door to ours, before we realized we were all in the same building. Friday, there was a singer/comedian in the sky bar who had us doubled over with laughter. Saturday, we stayed a little while to listen to the singer at the Blackjack bar, but we were both so exhausted we ended up grabbing a bite and heading back to the condo to rest in the hot tub. One of the neighbors had gone back to make apple crisp for his buddies, and was lamenting there was no whisk to make whipped cream. We had a whisk and duct taped it to their door. We heard their cries of joy at discovering the whisk when they arrived back to the condo, and several minutes later, one of them appeared downstairs with two big bowls of fresh apple crisp topped with fresh whipped cream. (I suppose it's the little things.)
Divas, this has been a rough year that started with the loss of my mother in mid-January, which is why we ended up postponing the trip a month. When looking back through the resort calendar, I noticed that the original weekend we had planned on going, half the hills were closed for racing, so I would have been frustrated and disappointed. As it stands, it was as close to a perfect vacation as we've ever had.
We rented a one-bedroom condo right at Blackjack at the top of the beginner hill. We didn't take advantage of ski-in/out because a rope tow at the end of the day just doesn't seem like fun, but parking was 5 minutes away, and right at the edge of the snow with about a 100 yard walk/skate to the lift. I got a killer deal on the condo for $120/night.
First of all, the condo was wonderful. There was plenty of room for the two of us, it was nicely decorated, and there was a hot tub in the basement of the building. They had a boot tray for us and a ski locker outside (which we didn't use, since we kept our skis in the car). Since the condo was booked through the resort, we were allowed to take advantage of all the amenities at the main lodge (a few miles away, but nice if you have a non-skier with you).
We prepurchased lift tickets online, which we picked up when we checked in, so didn't have to wait in the mornings. Also paid $70 less than if we had paid the daily lift price. Overall, lift tickets were comparable in price to our small hills 5 hours to the south, or about $47.50 per day per person.
Last time I went to Indianhead two years ago, I had woken up sick as heck and skied about 4 runs before giving up. This time, I had to stop when my glutes started burning after a good day of skiing. Friday started as a bluebird day, and hubby was great about making sure I wouldn't psych myself out over "black diamond" runs. I warmed up with a long, blue run with a nice drop at the end, and we quickly worked our way over to the expert side of the hill. Unfortunately, one or two lifts were closed since it was a weekday, but we still had access to most of those areas from the lift we were riding. Clouds rolled in and it started snowing around noon, and ended up snowing about 6" throughout the rest of the day and night. The chili at the Sky Bar was delicious and hearty.
Day two, I woke up a little nervous, because I had never skied Blackjack before and maybe because I was afraid of powder, because my only experience with powder has either been big piles of manufactured snow, or big piles of wet, heavy snow that feel like hitting a stump underfoot when you try to ride over or through. Saturday was another bluebird day and this was powder - pure fluffy powder - sheer joy. Ok Divas...I get it! Hubby convinced me to take one run in the knee deep powder, and although it was work for my groomer-acclimated legs, it was still a joy to ski, and a HUGE confidence booster. He got himself into some hip deep stuff and got a little spooked, but managed to work his way out of it.
Apres ski both nights was a lot of fun. Sitting in the bar, we made friends with the guys in the condo next door to ours, before we realized we were all in the same building. Friday, there was a singer/comedian in the sky bar who had us doubled over with laughter. Saturday, we stayed a little while to listen to the singer at the Blackjack bar, but we were both so exhausted we ended up grabbing a bite and heading back to the condo to rest in the hot tub. One of the neighbors had gone back to make apple crisp for his buddies, and was lamenting there was no whisk to make whipped cream. We had a whisk and duct taped it to their door. We heard their cries of joy at discovering the whisk when they arrived back to the condo, and several minutes later, one of them appeared downstairs with two big bowls of fresh apple crisp topped with fresh whipped cream. (I suppose it's the little things.)
Divas, this has been a rough year that started with the loss of my mother in mid-January, which is why we ended up postponing the trip a month. When looking back through the resort calendar, I noticed that the original weekend we had planned on going, half the hills were closed for racing, so I would have been frustrated and disappointed. As it stands, it was as close to a perfect vacation as we've ever had.
Mighty good.
Too bad - that's a fun little place as well - not as much vertical as the others, but a wildly interesting layout. Hope it gets bought/reopened.
