 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi folks, We are looking to have 10 days away 7 ski + 3 city break in the US flying out 29th March (ish). Anyone done this? Which resort / city combos work. Both intermediates so have no need for great off piste just good variety. Thanks in advance Mr & Mrs B 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mar 29 is rather late for best conditions in US. But Lake Tahoe region has tremendous snow base this year and should still have quite good skiing at that time. Resorts of high interest include Squaw Valley, Heavenly, Kirkwood and perhaps Northstar (Sir Paul's fav). From Tahoe area it is about a 3 hour drive to San Francisco, one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the US. A side visit there would be quite memorable.
Another choice for city/ski combo would be Salt Lake City, good skiing in Utah this year. But SLC is much less interesting than SF as a side trip. Denver, Colorado is not so fascinating either. Snow in Pacific NW is very poor this year, so that would rule out Seattle or Vancouver. Mar 29 is too late to catch decent snow in Vermont/Boston. Quebec City and Mont Ste Anne might still be decent.
I was just looking for info on Spanish ski areas and stumbled on this recent relevant thread. This is a fine forum.
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=80940&highlight=sierra+nevada#80940
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks for all your help! Had thought of Killington/Boston, as have done San Fran in last 6 mths. The hunt continues.............. Mr & Mrs B 
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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 could also consider Mammoth Mtn via LA, about 6-7 hours drive. But LA is better on film than in real life. Sprawling, disjointed city with challenging traffic for 60 miles/100 kilometers in every direction. But it could have t-shirt and shorts weather in Apr. Mammoth is mammoth and should also have very good skiing as late as early Apr this year, and not too far (3 hrs?) from Kirkwood and Heavenly.
Oops, just thought of Taos via Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Northern New Mexico is one of the most culturally (and culinary) fascinating areas in US skiing. The small city of Santa Fe is steeped with Indian and Spanish missionary atmosphere and has quite a nice little ski area called appropriately "Ski Santa Fe" about 15 miles from town, with good intemediate level ski terrain for a couple days of fun. Taos Ski Valley has good advanced terrain and a renowned little cluster of lodges/accommodations at base of slopes. Taos Ski Valley could keep a better skier entertained for 4 or 5 days. Near art colony town of Taos. Big airlines fly into Albuquerque, which is a large city with southwestern flavor too, and is about 90 minutes south of Santa Fe and 3 hours south of Taos. Early April could be iffy conditions-wise, but believe they are having a fairly strong snow year, more reliable than Sierra Nevada in Spain. Sunshine will be intense in New Mexico at that time, but high elevation can preserve snow!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Last year we did Tahoe and San Francisco and it worked fine, it is an easy 3-4 hour drive from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe so long as you dont get caught in any traffic. This year we are doing LA and Mammoth, though we may stay out of LA itself. Mammoth is some 300 miles from LA, if you can avoid the really heavy traffic (we plan to go up on Sunday morning and back the following Sunday morning) the drive should not be too bad- as in most US driving once you clear the urban areas it is mostly driving in a straight line, this time skirting the edge of the Mojave desert. If the snow improves and you can wait until later on Vancouver and Whistler may be an option, but the big snow right now is in California, Mammoth is reporting 379 inches of snow so far this with a base of 144-168inches.
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You can also do Mammoth from SF - but it is about a 7 hour drive.
Snow should be good in Tahoe at the end of March - we skied through to the middle of May last season. One advantage with California is that if it isn't storming it is usually clear and warm!
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Given your tight turn around, you should stick with spots close to the major airports...most notable being Salt Lake, as in Copper and several others. Or Denver with the closest resorts being Breckinridge and Arapahoe...followed by Vail, the grandaddy of resorts when miles of piste are the issue.
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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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I'll vote for SLC - awespme snow this year and tremendous variety. As you're heading out after the crucial St Patrick's day cutoff you should be able to get good accom deals. Alternatively stay in Park City - great local skiing and you can tour elsewhere nearby if you like. Snowbird/Alta only 45 minutes away for example...
Jealous I am,
DM
(at least only cos they had 400 inches of snow already this year!)
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Good information on this thread as I am hoping to add USA to my skiing CV this year. Tried Canada before and will be going back in 2006. My interest is more on skiing and try to see as many resorts as possible. Don't think I would be able to repeat anywhere near like one resort per day format in Europe but I am hoping to see may be 3 to 4 resorts in the first trip if that can be arranged say in 10 days somewhere in March.
So would it be practical just to hire a car and hoop around between off-resort motels or should I pre-book in-resort accommodations to achieve what I want. In Europe I can do all the accommodations with the Internet but America is a new territory to me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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saikee, I did a short early season Utah and Wyoming trip las tyear and found Expedia excellent for the accom. I booked my flights directly with Continental on their sit ewhich worked well too.
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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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saikee, book ahead, although if you wanted to stay in SLC, use the Extended Stay in Sandy. From there you can ski Solitude and Brighton (Big Cottonwood Canyon), Alta and Snowbird (Little Cottonwood Canyon) and Park City/Deer Valley/The Canyons. Each resort is under 45 mins from Sandy, and yet you're close to the centre of Salt Lake City. (you could do a different resort each day easily)
Colorado - stay in Breckenridge or Keystone. From there you could do Breck, Keystone, Vail, Arapahoe Basin, Copper, Beaver Creek all close to each other, and with a bit of a drive Aspen or even Winter Park.
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David Murdoch and Wear The Fox Hat,
Thanks for the tips. I notice Colorado seems to have a good choice of resorts scattered closely together.
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You know it makes sense.
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Yes, also has great late season snow records, which may explain why I'm going there in 28 days. 
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