ski travel

[sorcamc]

So, I see many of you talking about passes and travel and I wondered..when you get a pass like the indy, how/where do you stay? Do you just get hotel rooms wherever you go? I think if my hubby skied, I'd be all over the place, but because he doesnt, I feel like Im limited to taking a few trips a year. because if where I live, NJ, I feel like I miss out on SO much..like, I can get to Poconos easily enough, but that is a HILL, not a mountain. TO get to Vermont skiing, it's at least 4.5 hours, so not a day trip. Im just curious as to how many of you manage the travel. Ive been tempted to buy a sprinter van and become a mountain explorer/ski bum

 

[marzNC]

For using Indy in the east, I tend to have a "home base" for 4+ nights that's close enough to get to 2-3 different mountains. For instance, the ski safari I did a few years ago was based at a condo in western MA for about a week, near the MassPike. It was a short drive to Catamount, slightly longer to Berkshire East and West Mountain but still reasonable day trip distance (1.0-1.5 hours one way). Had snow conditions been better, we were thinking of making the drive to southern VT. Ended up skiing Catamount one day, BEast two days, and West one day. Would've skied Catamount again but they got messed up by rain and weren't open midweek.

Of course, it makes a difference that over the last decade I've made new friends who have become travel/ski buddies. Plus I'm retired and don't mind doing long drives solo. My husband is a non-skier for assorted reasons. While I don't mind skiing solo, it's nice to have company when the ski day is done. I don't really like eating alone for 3-4 days in a row.

If I get a hotel room, I much prefer to stay for two nights. Have set up driving trips were I get to a motel in the evening, ski the next day at a nearby mountain, then check out the next morning and ski at the same mountain until mid-afternoon before moving on to another location.

 

[geargrrl]

Indy Pass west here... we've done Airbnb, hotels, stay with friends. It all depends. Most of the western areas are road trip situations. There are only a few communites where you could stay at one place and ski several areas. We've also taken our van and camped in parking lots where allowed,

 

[marzNC]

One season when I had Indy and Ikon, my friends and I went to Powder Mountain for a day when we were staying in SLC. Happened to talk with a man booting up in the lodge who was from Boise, ID. He had made the drive to use Indy at PowMow. Unfortunately the days he picked weren't that great. The first day the visibility was really bad due to fog and clouds so he didn't stay long. The day we were there is was a bit on the warm side.

 

[Christy]

Im just curious as to how many of you manage the travel.

Most of us have something that gets in the way of doing as much travel (ski or otherwise) as we'd like. Work, family obligations, money, pets, other commitments...honestly if you can take a few trips a year, that's as much or more than many people are able to manage!

 

[sorcamc]

Believe me, I appreciate that I can do it, that isn't lost on me, but sometimes I see people planning several multi mountain trips, and I am just curious how people manage the housing/sleeping aspect.

 

[sorcamc]

My husband is a non-skier for assorted reasons. While I don't mind skiing solo, it's nice to have company when the ski day is done. I don't really like eating alone for 3-4 days in a row.

we are in the same boat! Today is my "retirement" eve...that baby boy in my profile pic turns into an adult tomorrow, so this is the last winter I have children at home. Next winter, Id love to ski as often as I can- but mostly mid week bc 1) I don't love weekends with the crowds and 2) I do love my hubby, so dont want to be gone too much!

 

[marzNC]

we are in the same boat! Today is my "retirement" eve...that baby boy in my profile pic turns into an adult tomorrow, so this is the last winter I have children at home. Next winter, Id love to ski as often as I can- but mostly mid week bc 1) I don't love weekends with the crowds and 2) I do love my hubby, so dont want to be gone too much!

Only reason I ski on weekends when driving in the east is if I'm meeting up with friends with kids in school or friends who are working.

@Lmk92 skis in PA and the northeast midweek. She met up with me for a couple days at Timberline in WV in Jan 2022. We probably started planning in the fall.

Would you consider driving to northern VA? Massanutten and Bryce are on Indy.

 

[Christy]

Believe me, I appreciate that I can do it, that isn't lost on me, but sometimes I see people planning several multi mountain trips, and I am just curious how people manage the housing/sleeping aspect.

Congrats on your retirement! I think people typically go for whatever lodging option is in their budget. Plenty of people just rent hotel rooms or condos; others look for more budget friendly solutions. Is the real question, how to travel for skiing a lot on a budget? I think a lot of people will have tips for that. People do all sorts of things like joining a ski or outdoors club and sharing rooms on organized trips or taking advantage of the club lodge (here in WA The Mountaineers have lodges with bunks right on the mountain--the social atmosphere is part of it. You do chores too); like you said, using a (winterized) camper van (not sure this is actually a budget option); foregoing slopeside lodging and staying in an outlying and cheaper area; choosing a destination based on overall cost; etc.

 

[teppaz]

In general a rule of thumb is: to save money, you must be willing to stay off mountain and drive to and back from it. It also helps to be willing to share condos and even hotel rooms/suites. I'm a budget-minded skier (freelance writer) so I'm always looking for ways to travel on the cheap.

 

[sorcamc]

Yes, I’d actually like to join a ski club or women’s ski club because I also need to find more women who have the same flexibility to ski/travel. I told my software engineer daughter to create a recreational match.com for me!

 

[sorcamc]

Only reason I ski on weekends when driving in the east is if I'm meeting up with friends with kids in school or friends who are working.

@Lmk92 skis in PA and the northeast midweek. She met up with me for a couple days at Timberline in WV in Jan 2022. We probably started planning in the fall.

Would you consider driving to northern VA? Massanutten and Bryce are on Indy.

That looks like about 5 hrs- so def doable

 

[sorcamc]

Also, saw Indy is on waitlist- have they already sold that many!!!??

 

[diymom]

The Indy Pass started sales with just return customers, that ended a day or so ago. Those who have not had an Indy in previous years could sign up for the wait list to hold a spot and will be able to buy passes soon (24th?). This is the first year they have limited sales.

 

[diymom]

There are enough places on the Indy Pass that I would be willing to do as a day trip from the Boston area if I had a friend to meet up with. Ideally I'd have a friend to share a room overnight and ski both days in a row to cut back on the driving though. Even better if the friend is local so we could carpool.

 

[marzNC]

The Indy Pass started sales with just return customers, that ended a day or so ago. Those who have not had an Indy in previous years could sign up for the wait list to hold a spot and will be able to buy passes soon (24th?). This is the first year they have limited sales.

What Indy does is provide direct marketing on behalf of the Indy locations. So the more people they have on an e-list, the better.

Even though I didn't get Indy last season, I was still offered the "returning" customer rate via email. I'm going to use it the same way I did a couple seasons ago. Hoping to check out a few places in the midwest while visiting relatives. That's a region where I haven't skied yet.

 

[Peaheartsmama]

I’m very similar to you. based in NJ. Did the poconos / CBK for several years. We often did overnight to ski two days. There are 2-3 more options within 5-15 mins of camelback that is under $100 a night. Often below $80 if you book early. Now that we are in IKON we are forced to go farther and I have found that to ski in The Catskills , Vermont (Stratton/ Kton) and Canada (tremblant) requires much more hotel budget. Almost double if I wait till closer to the date to book lodging since weather is uncertain. I think for next year I will look for hotels early in the season with a good cancellation policy as we really try to avoid driving in bad conditions. and pre-book to have more options. I waited to late this year to book.

 

[sorcamc]

I’m very similar to you. based in NJ. Did the poconos / CBK for several years. We often did overnight to ski two days. There are 2-3 more options within 5-15 mins of camelback that is under $100 a night. Often below $80 if you book early. Now that we are in IKON we are forced to go farther and I have found that to ski in The Catskills , Vermont (Stratton/ Kton) and Canada (tremblant) requires much more hotel budget. Almost double if I wait till closer to the date to book lodging since weather is uncertain. I think for next year I will look for hotels early in the season with a good cancellation policy as we really try to avoid driving in bad conditions. and pre-book to have more options. I waited to late this year to book.

Do you ever ski Jack Frost? CBK isnt on a big pass is it?

 

[Peaheartsmama]

I’ve skied Jack Frost once a long time ago. That one is on EPIC. CBK is not currently on a big pass but it’s owned by Alterra the company that also operates IKON. I really hope they are added to it so I have a closer to home option. In the meantime the option closest to me is Windham which is just shy of 3 hours away

 

[marzNC]

CBK is not currently on a big pass but it’s owned by Alterra the company that also operates IKON. I really hope they are added to it so I have a closer to home option.

It's confusing but Camelback is owned by KSL Resorts, not Alterra. KSL Resorts mostly owns and operates beach resorts. The only ski resorts are Camelback and Blue Mountain.

Alterra Mountain Company was created by KSL Capital Partners and the Crown family (owners of Aspen/Snowmass). KSL is an independent management company, while KSL Capital is an investment company that specializes in travel and leisure.