 Poster: A snowHead
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It's getting to that time of year when I must commit to where i'm going to go for the coming season so would be grateful if you guys can help me.
I spent last season skiing Verbier and thoroughly enjoyed myself having a fantastic season, but this season want to try across the pond and am looking for a resort that has at least as much freeride terrain as Veriber. The groomed pistes are of no interest to me so the online piste maps for the resorts aren't helping.
I was thinking of Alta/Snowbird or perhaps Jackson Hole. I know the tram is out at JH this year but what i've gleaned so far makes it sound a very attractive proposition.
If anyone has skied the above and would be willing to offer me a compare of the two would be grateful for any offerings of advice.
Cheers,
RR
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Alta/bird, Jackson, Winter Park, Vail.
My choice would be Alta/bird - apart from anything else you have so many ski areas within < 1 hour drive. Jackson is also a 5 hour drive away, so that is very do-able for a weekend trip (or longer)
Vail has the back bowls, and Blue Sky Basin, and again, a lot of resorts within easy driving distances.
The other option is to head for Tahoe/Mammoth area. (I haven't been there yet, but ask me again in April...)
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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 can compare resorts quite easily by acreage as basically everything inbounds will be skiable. Unless you're going somewhere that's quite big standalone it makes sense to base yourself where there are a number of resorts in the area so you get variety. I don't know specifically what you mean by freeride terrain but if you mean cliffs & trees you can do worse than places like Squaw & Kirkwood though I'd thing an Alta/Bird season pass would be a pretty good bet - just don't expect to be alone at weekends.
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In my experience of skiing the States nothing remotely compares with the scale and plunge of places like Verbier, Chamonix, La Grave, St Anton etc.
The Rockies can offer you some bursts of steep/deep skiing, but not the epic off-piste runs. Snowbird and Alta had the best ski terrain I tried. Vail's back bowls looked quite mellow (they were not skiable when I was there). Jackson Hole seems to be quite a draw, but I've not skied 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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rockyrobin, Allegedly hiking down from any of the Canyons is easy... In my limited experience Utah or Jackson is the way to go...
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David Murdoch, I didn't realise the backcountry was easily accessible from Alta/Snowbird inbounds. On their official site there appears to be very little mention of out of bounds sliding  Made me feel the resort didn't encourage it.
Seems your thinking the same as me. A few people I have spoken to thus far on this also reckon Utah/Jackson would be my best bet.
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rockyrobin, Are you not better looking for a resort with some decent shops, given your ability to keep changing ski's ! 
Or maybe a resort with no shops might be a better option on the wallet.
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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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| rockyrobin wrote: |
| Salt Lake City was where I would stay if I did Alta/Snowbird but I wasn't overly impressed with the 2 buses up in the morning and one back. |
What? (OK, just checked the RideUTA website, and they are on the summer schedule)
In winter the busses are roughly every 15 minutes.
| rockyrobin wrote: |
I see i'm not going to get the vertical etc of the likes of Verbier but what has me drawn to JH is those cliff bands you see on all the ski movies of that area. Does Alta/Snowbird have anything similar?
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Are you looking to ski chutes or jump liffs?
Devil's Castle, Baldy Chutes, Mineral Basin and Cirque areas have cliffs and chutes. Keyhole has cliffs (never found any chutes there). Also quite a few other cliffs to go off dotted around the place, and things like the Ironing Board.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Thu 24-08-06 8:02; edited 1 time in total
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| rockyrobin wrote: |
David Murdoch, I didn't realise the backcountry was easily accessible from Alta/Snowbird inbounds. On their official site there appears to be very little mention of out of bounds sliding Made me feel the resort didn't encourage it.
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Very easily accessibly, once/if you get tired of the inbounds stuff - top of the Supreme Chair, or head over towards Grizzly Gulch in Alta, for example, but there's plenty of inbounds stuff to track first!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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I've always fancied Mt Baker and a bit of cruising around the Pacific North West:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49892&highlight=baker+jong
Having said that, Alta/Snowbird and Jackson Hole are the other places which I'd really like to ski.
I assume you've ruled out Canada?
I do think that you're restricting your options in the US if you don't have a car - I'm sure you could pick up a beater and sell it at the end of the season for not much less than you bought it for. Seems a shame not to be able to tour around a bit and US public transport isn't brilliant
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You know it makes sense.
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rockyrobin, sorry can't make it on Mon as with it being a Bank Holiday I'm not working in Leeds. Hopefully the following week.
BTW, Sport Conrad are advertising new 168 & 176cm 04/05 Goaties in the flat for 200 euro as they're cosmetic seconds. At bit shorter than your 183 planks but therefore ideal for US tree skiing 
http://www.sport-conrad.com/englisch/2A_00_Detail.asp?ArtNummer=70001014
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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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rockyrobin, it would be worth ingratiating yourself on the TGR forums (or at least lurking there) if you're looking to hook up with good (some are seriously good) skiers over there. it's a little intimidating for the newcomer but i've met a few people off there and they have all been great.
to avoid being jonged:
read the "welcome wagon" thread
don't ask a question without having used the search function extensively beforehand
post some nice skiing pics in your first post
or
post a picture of your sister
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rockyrobin, if you want to spend all your time skiing off the groomers, you'll find ALL the people on TGR are likeminded
i'm considering a StraightlineAdventures camp in Snowbird in January so I'll give you a shout if you end up round there - I'll be wanting a day's warm-up 
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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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rockyrobin, Where would you stay if you go to SLC ?
The UTA buses are good and can get up the hill better than most cars, but you may want to consider a car for getting around. People don't walk anywhere and the shops are really spread out.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rjs, if he's in the Sandy/Midvale areas, there are plenty of shops and strip malls around, and reasonable bus services. I've managed a couple of weeks using public transport, and the tram to get into the city centre
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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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Arno, I'll let you know when i've decided where to go and would be nice to meet you and have a slide. I'm curious about the Straightline Adventures camp. I'll be looking for some tuition myself while out there but having done the Warren Smith thing am wary of taking the more traditional lessons. A friend of mine did the Powder Extreme lessons in Verbier also so that would be ideal if could find something similar in SLC/JH.
rjs, I don't know SLC at all apart from looking on the map where the snowbus goes through town so haven't a clue yet where's best to look at for accommodation. Will probably look for a Condo or something similar.
I really don't mind using public transport, and like you say running a cheap car with inadequate tyres and the hassle of sorting snow chains for it would probably make getting up into resort each day easier by bus. I'll see how we get on after being there for a few days and can always go looking for a car if need be.
gregh, Thanks for the linky to that resort guide. Funnily enough I stumbled upon that book on this forum a few days ago so have already ordered it! I hear what your saying about Jackson. Problem i'm having is my heart says do Jackson, my head says Utah. I'll bear in mind what you say. I've watched a lot of footage of Jackson Hole and it's hard to resist as there's so much fantastic terrain there.
Wear The Fox Hat, You sound like you know SLC pretty well. Can you recommend any areas that I should be looking at for accommodation? Shops are good, though i'm not so sure about the strip joints in the hood. I'll be concentrating on the skiing 
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actually just realised you are in Leeds, you could have borrowed my JH book !!
I'm sure whichever resort you choose you will have fun!
The real thing that would put me off staying in SLC is that I've heard stories of mega snow in resort and not being able to get up the Canyon road to it!!
One other thing, what kind of people are staying in each resort, could you hook up with fellow hard core sliders as easily in each resort????
Good luck!
Cheers,
Greg
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rockyrobin, check out www.straightlineadventures.com
to be honest, i'm not sure how much i'll learn in a purely technical sense - i think it'll be more about tactics (ie them telling me to go faster ). should be fun though - a great opportunity to ski with some awesome skiers
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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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| gregh wrote: |
The real thing that would put me off staying in SLC is that I've heard stories of mega snow in resort and not being able to get up the Canyon road to it!!
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On my few visits there (6 weeks, I think), I've experienced 3 closures of the road. All were late night or early morning. One was due to an accident, and the others were due to snowfall - thankfully on both those occassions I was in resort when they closed the road 
It happens, but normally within an hour or so, it will re-open.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| rockyrobin wrote: |
I was wondering if Alta/Snowbird had a doss hole like the bomb shelter in Verbier? I'm just wondering where the people who get stranded up there stay? I could always get up there before the storm hits and strand myself  |
Well, you start off in the Goldminer's Daughter (Wildcat Base, Alta), and Trainer, Jezza & co will keep serving you till the cops can get up the road to say their licence has expired...
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Wear The Fox Hat, Sadly there's one thing I NEVER do and that's drink before a possible powder day. Guess I could always just sip lime sodas and try and get some kip before they kick you out so i'm full of beans and raring to get up the hill
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You know it makes sense.
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rockyrobin, first lift is 9 or 9.15, so plenty of time to sleep and recover, or for 1m+ of fresh powder to be waiting for you...
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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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Wear The Fox Hat, Pfffft! If go on the razzle I doubt i'd get up there for 11! The thought of having an epic day spoilt because of drinking is sacrilage. I can do my drinking in the summer when skiing doesn't get in the way. Anyway I couldn't afford to be drinking out all the time being there for a long time. I'll be more of a staying in with friends having a meal with some cheap plonk from the liquor store.
Hmmm? 1m+ of fresh powder means i'm going to need a snorkel 
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Poster: A snowHead
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