 Poster: A snowHead
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Very tempted
http://mtnweekly.com/epic-race-ski-ride-26-resorts-win-lifetime-epic-pass-57877
Austria : St. Anton, Lech, Zürs, St. Christoph, Stuben
France : Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens, Orelle
Switzerland : Verbier
U.S. of A. : Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin Eldora, Canyons, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton
Start in Europe.
Head to the States with a stopover in Minneapolis.
Get the Epic done and combine with Mountain Collective Pass and the pics and stories could fill a season or two worth of Powder magazine
http://mountaincollective.com/
Alta, Snowbird, Aspen Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Mammoth, Whistler Blackcomb, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mike Pow, Mt Brighton is fine as a place to ski after work but I wouldn't go out of my way to ski there.
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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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The big picture rjs, the big picture 
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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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Big picture is a big gamble to get it done if there's people taking it seriously and highly dependent on early Euro openings
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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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Of course it's a gamble
$1000 for the passes
$1500 for the flights
$50 / day accommodation
$50 / day food
1 week for European resorts
1 month for the US
Approx. US$ 7,000 for :
1. Unforgettable experience
2. Epic Pass for life
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
| Head to the States with a stopover in Minneapolis. |
You would need a stop in Detroit too.
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if i had the time, i would give it a go, done a good portion of the resorts in my time.
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| rjs wrote: |
| Mike Pow wrote: |
| Head to the States with a stopover in Minneapolis. |
You would need a stop in Detroit too. |
Yeah looking at it and to avoid backtracking
Europe to Detroit.
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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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US openings will be earlier so you'd have to do Denver through to Reno back via Minneapolis and Detroit - back to GVA - Verbier is easy to tick but 3 vallees needs a few days and then Arlberg 3 days too under the rules. Would be done by a couple of days after the last village in Arlberg/3 vallees open - not requiring Warth mind.
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How many resorts can I ski each day?
Safety comes first. Racers are required to ski no more than one resort per day in the US and no more than two resorts per day in Europe so they can capture and enjoy the full experience of each mountain.
That will certainly slow things down a bit, i could have done all of the 3v resorts in one day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think I'm struggling to see the point (as an organised challenge) - it requires nothing more than adequate time and cash budget. And I don't understand the reward (I get the lifetime pass thing but that's not that interesting anyway, and I doubt the lifetime element)...
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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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Just read the FAQ. In the words of the Dragon's Den "I'm Out"
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If I win the race, does my Epic Pass for Life include all 26 of these mountains?
Race winners receiving an Epic Pass for life will be able to ski resorts operated by Vail Resorts in any given year. |
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under a new name, it is presumably a marketing ploy where they get
1. a number of people rich enough to buy the season epic pass
2. a free story they can then pimp on to whomever they feel
I can see the pass being lifetime, most people would be able to get significant use out of such a thing to make it a big problem and whilst i havent looked at the t's and c's of the epic pass but it wouldnt surprise me if you had to ski in the base mountain at least once to enable the other resorts to be activated.
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You know it makes sense.
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If you live anywhere near Summit County, Colorado and you have more than 10 years skiing left in your legs then it's worth it IMHO.
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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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Mike Pow, Yeah but if VR keep signing up reciprocal resorts to epic pass every year you'd expect to keep being able to use those benefits as well (not unlimited in Europe but still a perk) These lifetime passes are necessarily lifetime just lifetime of the existing corporate owner - I think Killington passholders got done over a few years ago.
Anyway the contest is a gimmick to attract more attention to the Epic Pass in the Oct/Nov sales window and get the message out that VRs are open for business early November so book your Xmas vacation now etc.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hmmm, a little like the lifetime ski passes that shareholders of a certain Italian area received, were limited and now get nothing from?
Yep, it smacks of the Hoover self financing marketing scheme in the UK in ~1996 with free flightsm baggage etc, for buying a washing machine that went horribly wrong when the mktg genii translated US promotional expectations (you get nothing you don't pay for) to the UK...
Many (all?) of the US airlines used to offer lifetime unlimited use subscriptions... Even though paid for and contracted I don't think any scheme still exists..
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Those who think this is possible and can be done on the cheap will do it and be in the game. Those that self select out because it sounds expensive or impossible will and they won't be in the game. I suspect you could expand that to other parts of life also. There are ways to do this for $3-4k all in. The cost many have not identified is the tax liability of the prize. This is probably the single biggest expense.
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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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Those who think this is possible and can be done on the cheap will do it and be in the game. Those that self select out because it sounds expensive or impossible will and they won't be in the game. I suspect you could expand that to other parts of life also. There are ways to do this for $3-4k all in. The cost many have not identified is the tax liability of the prize. This is probably the single biggest expense.
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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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| fatbob wrote: |
| US openings will be earlier so you'd have to do Denver through to Reno back via Minneapolis and Detroit - back to GVA - Verbier is easy to tick but 3 vallees needs a few days and then Arlberg 3 days too under the rules. Would be done by a couple of days after the last village in Arlberg/3 vallees open - not requiring Warth mind. |
Why would the Arlberg take 3 days, from what I can see of the rules, it's easy enough to ski the listed parts of the Arlberg in a day, I've pretty much done that when doing the weisse ring in Lech on a morning off when working in St Anton. May depend on which bits they want photographing (doesn't seem to be listed yet), and also if a condition is that lifts have to be operating on the day you visit. Given the weather here (St Anton) and pictures friends have posted on Facebook from St Christoph, that's not far off skiable if you are prepared to hike. Accom cheap too since pre season (or free if you know the right people).
Be interesting to follow this, not sure how many people will have the time/funds for 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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| fatbob wrote: |
| US openings will be earlier so you'd have to do Denver through to Reno back via Minneapolis and Detroit - back to GVA - Verbier is easy to tick but 3 vallees needs a few days and then Arlberg 3 days too under the rules. Would be done by a couple of days after the last village in Arlberg/3 vallees open - not requiring Warth mind. |
Why would the Arlberg take 3 days, from what I can see of the rules, it's easy enough to ski the listed parts of the Arlberg in a day, I've pretty much done that when doing the weisse ring in Lech on a morning off when working in St Anton. May depend on which bits they want photographing (doesn't seem to be listed yet), and also if a condition is that lifts have to be operating on the day you visit. Given the weather here (St Anton) and pictures friends have posted on Facebook from St Christoph, that's not far off skiable if you are prepared to hike. Accom cheap too since pre season (or free if you know the right people).
Be interesting to follow this, not sure how many people will have the time/funds for it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sitter, More than possible to nail the whole Arlberg in a day given that Warth and Sonnenkopf aren't included (in fact I've done it on days when was only really bumbling around) but rules say only 2 named resorts in a day (probably to discourage risk related to speed accidents). I'm kinda assuming that given its a lift pass competition the lifts actually have to be open to count but I must confess I haven't looked into the minutiae as I don't fancy schlepping to Detroit just to clock some turns on some (probable) pimple etc.
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Sitter, Fair play to you, if you can ski the whole of Arlberg in a day, I've been 50 weeks and am still discovering new lines! 
fatbob, Ditto!
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You know very well that isn't the contest - it's not about enjoyment it's about ticklists.
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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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| Markymark29 wrote: |
Sitter, Fair play to you, if you can ski the whole of Arlberg in a day, I've been 50 weeks and am still discovering new lines!
fatbob, Ditto! |
Haha, true, I'm here for my 6th season and still haven't skied/boarded the whole area, especially now Warth is included. Just going by the areas mentioned in the competition, only says Anton, Cristoph, Stuben, Zürs and Lech, very doable in a day!
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Vail surprised everyone a couple of days ago and threw a free season pass for next year to anyone in the race who completes the requirements this season. This is in addition to the 10 lifetime passes for the 1st 10 to finish. Pretty cool.
It has been a good experience so far. I met up with Klaus at Denver Airport for the first time and hit A-Basin. We met up with another competitor there and today we hit Keystone and will meet up with another competitors. Snow is falling in CO. 6 inches yesterday and a few more today. I did a short summary here on day 1. http://epicskiandride.com/day-1-arapahoe-basin-snow-report/
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well the race ended and I didnt wind but I had a blast doing it. I tacked a few of the questions form the forums in my final blog post. If they do it next year I'll be working to find a way to make it possible again. Awesome trip. Great skiers.
http://epicskiandride.com/the-epic-race-how-did-it-end/
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FAQ
