 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello Everyone,
New to the forums and am hoping I can get some sound advice from you all. So here goes: I, with my girlfriend are looking to go on a ski break for 30 days (approx) to ANYWHERE in N. America. From 10 Dec. I am basically looking for somewhere with good variety, RELIABLE snow and the possibility of getting cheap accomodation for the duration. We would like to avoid the need for a car!!! Both intermediate skiers and would love to experience some good powder and chalenging terrain, Have previously visited Fernie, Banff, Sunshine, L.Louise and Mammoth (awesome) Has anyone done something similar and would know what type of costs we could be looking at (accomodation, lift passes) I assume it would make sense to purchase a season pass if skiing for over 20/25 days??????
Your help is much appreciated.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Go to Salt Lake City.
Lodging is cheap in town. Cottonwood Canyons are a bus ride away :-
Snowbird, Alta, Brighton and Solitude.
All the powder you could ask for.
Midvale motels are handy for the bus. Otherwise a TRAX ride to 7200 and you are sorted.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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nivag, welcome to SnowHeads  Having only skiied in North America once, my experience is limited. That said I stayed in Breckenridge and visited a number of other resorts without hiring a car ( two on free bus - Arapahoe Basin and Keystone -, and one via shuttle transfer - Vail ). There were other resorts that weren't that far away - Copper, Beaver Creek etc , that we didn't get to so maybe Colorado should be on your list ?
There are some experts on the US here, and I bet it's not long before Utah gets a few votes.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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there you go, Latchigo, beat me too it ! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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What Latchigo said!
You'll get a motel in Midvale for under $60 a night for the room - so, about £20 per person, and these are within 20 miles of the 4 resorts mentioned above. You can also get up to Park City, Deer Valley, and the Canyons in about an hour.
Otherwise, head to Silverthorne in Colorado, and you're reasonably close to Vail, Beaver Creak, Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone, A-Basin... But you'll be travelling for longer to get to any of those resorts compared to the ones near Salt Lake.
Next option: Jackson Hole - Hostel X in Teton Village is ski in/ski out, and cheap. You've got Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee resorts, but not much else.
So, those would be my top 3.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks, dont suppose you would have any idea how much i would be looking at for renting somewhere for a month. Like the sound of being close to so many resorts. Also what is the cheapest way to ski all resorts i.e. multi passes
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nivag, not sure about renting for a month. But you will get deals by checking online. Very few resorts are available on mulit-passes. Alta and Snowbird can be done together, and the Vail group includes Vail, Beaver, Breck and Keystone. Copper and Winter Park can be linked on passes as well, but certainly not on terrain - Wp is about an hour's drive away!
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nivag, would you go back to Mammoth? I would imagine some of the older condominiums near the Canyon Lodge would welcome a thirty day booking at a reduced price. You could probably make do with the local bus service but a rental car would make things easier all round.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Timberwolf, or stay in Frisco for cheaper accomodation, and you've got easy access by bus to all the Summit County resorts.
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yep, second that Okanagan, when we passed through Frisco, it felt more like a 'real' town than the 'resort' feeling up at Breck
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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how much does it cost to hire a small camper/RV?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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thanks for the advice everyone. Although after looking on the net at ski ticket prices I have found what appears to be a good deal at Breck/Key/U.Basin season pass $360 and the same price for a season pass at WP and Copper. Is the skiing in Utah much better than in colorado? I am just trying to get a good balance between cost and a good place to ski. I cannot find any deals in Utah that come anywhere close to this...Alta/Snowbird is $1300. Just to reiterate after somewhere for a month with a half decent social scene and a good chance of powder and some challenging intermediate terrain.
Thanks All again
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nivag, I don't think the skiing in Utah is worth the $900+ extra. But, in terms of distance, Americans would consider driving it for a weekend - it's about 400 miles/6 hours from Vail to Salt Lake City.
And I would say that it's worth a visit, if you have the time.
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You know it makes sense.
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Wear The Fox Hat, Is that all? Wow.
About 2 years ago I did Park City-Jackson Hole for a couple of (awesome) days touring. About 6 hours. The point of that part of the trip simply being to see the Tetons. It was well worth the excursion and a tremendous drive, even on my own. TF for National Public Radio.
Driving back past Bear Lake and Beaver Canyon was pretty amazing too. I reckon that there are lots of little "unknown" US ski stations that it would be fun to explore with a campervan.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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just to complicate things a little more, how would whistler rate against utah / col for snow and all round experience???????? Cheers Guys
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Poster: A snowHead
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oh and Big Sky / Jackson Hole
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nivag, Whistler/Blackcomb is pretty good, but it's not near other ski areas.
Big Sky/Moonlight is smaller, and has a few areas within a couple of hours drive, but nothing like the number of resorts you have in Colorado or Utah.
Similar with Jackson Hole.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Well thanks for all your help, really appreciated. Looks like I will be doing Colorado for the majority of the time probably staying in Fresco, after a half decent apres ski and nowt too expensive (any better suggestions). Then to Utah for a few days and MAYBE MAYBE upto Jackson Hole for a few days though it is a monster drive back to Denver (how long?) Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Cheers mate, well 10 hours I can definately handle. At Jackson, what is the possibility of the route being unsuitable for travel? Obviously wouldn't want to miss my flight!!! Also I have heard that Jackson has a good social scene, probably a good place to spend new year???
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nivag, yeah, jackson is quite lively. There are possibilities of not being able to get over the passes out of it, but you could also fly from it.
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will have to think carefully then about going to JH, really dont want to be getting caught before flying home. I'll be flying into denver and probably hiring a car so will be returning back there.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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For a month rental you could try vrbo.com and check the Sandy/Midvale area of Salt Lake City. We've gotten pretty good deals on vrbo.com and I suspect many would offer lower prices for a full month. You can book into the "Extended Stays" there's one in Sandy, UT and one in the Midvale area. They have a small kitchen area and cost in the $37-$45 range plus tax. Go to epicski.com and search on "extended stay" or post a question. Then you can get a 47$ ticket good at Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, and Brighton -- it includes use of the ski buses. I also saw a private rental on skiutah.com with good prices, don't recall the link, don't know anything about the places, and don't know how close to the bus routes. Alternatively I'd probably suggest looking in the Dillon/Silverthorne/Frisco area of Coloarado which is relatively near several resorts (Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basine) and not too far from Vail (20-25 miles). I believe buses to Copper are pretty convenient but not sure about buses to other areas.
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FAQ
it's Frisco, not Fresco 
, and if you have any shoppers with you, you're not too far from the Silverthorne Outlet Stores... 