Canada / USA resort for Easter 2009?

A snowHead

Hi all

Will try to be a bit more specific , but we're looking at going trans Atlantic next year, and have little idea where .
Have skied La Ros 5 years, Plagne, Samoens, Obergurgl and enjoyed all - (Ros the most of course Smile

)

Would be first 2 weeks of April, so need snowsure
USA or Canada
Prefer catered chalet to hotel on cost grounds
Group of 24 ish, adults and kids all capable skiers (although a couple prefer to stick to blues all week)
Got a bit spoilt with ski in ski out in the past, but prepared for buses if necessary.
Cost definitely a factor

So - a miracle please guys!

Thanks
HJ

A snowHead

Not sure you'll have much luck with catered chalets in North America.

Snow sure and still open for first two weeks in April - Whistler, Lake Louise/Sunshine, Vail and various places in Colorado. Snowbird/Alta in Utah, Mammoth and no doubt some Tahoe resorts.

And of course some of the best spring skiing in North America - Mt Bachelor in Oregon. Fly to Portland, hire a car, stay in Bend (great town) or Sun River (resort-y town) - both have good condos that won't damage your wallet. Need to drive to hill each day or get bus from Bend. Big mountain (volcano actually), fast lifts, no crowds, and an average snowpack in early April of 100 inches or so :-}

Also remember that early April isn't exactly high season ski wise in most of north america. You could just book flights to some major hub, and worry about it in roughly a year's time.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I skied several times in Banff at Easter, always excellent, although LL frontside lower slopes can be a bit soft and the Sunshine ski out might be shut or yucky. Norquay may be shut. That's at worst; at best it'll be brilliant from top to bottom. Breckenridge was great at Easter, but Vail was past itaks best as was Jasper. Mammoth was great at the end of April. All except Banff 1 visit only.
As the man says, catered chalets are rare in N.America, and when they exist they seem pricey.

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Change your mentality to get the best of it I suggest

Ski in ski out possible but you pay a big premium for it in resorts where it is available and cut out many good alternatives. Plus you might get bored by the lack of stuff to do in the evenings mid week many places compared to staying in the local town.

Cars are a good thing for transfer to resort, shopping at the mall, supermarket even driving to the nearest restaurant.

Plenty of large appartments/condos available many places with up to 3 bedroom. Rental usually by the night but expect a discount for 5+ days booking.

2 weeks means you can go to 2 places and transfer between them e.g. Tahoe & Mammoth, Big White & Sun Peaks, Banff & Panorama as examples, Breckenridge & Winter Park

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We have done a number of Easter trips during the kids school holidays to Tahoe, Mammoth and Whistler. As a general rule snowsure has never been an issue as there was an abundance of snow and more whilst we were there.

That apart, I agree that you really have to get to grips with the differences between the ski resorts over there and what you have been used to.

Broadly catered chalets (of any size) are out, as is anywhere (catered or not) which will take 24.You would be better off splitting into smaller groups and going for 3 or 4 bed condos.If you all want to be under the same roof then an hotel is the likely answer.

Ski in ski out will be an issue if price is an issue.You pay a biggish premium for that and given that the ski area may be remote from the town/restaurants/shopping etc you may wonder why you are paying a lot extra to live next to the snow but miles from anywhere else.

Buses...what buses? The car is king.Typically (in my experience) the US skier drives (in his car) to the ski hill, parks in a big car park, puts his boots on in the car park, walks to the nearest lift, goes skiing and at the end of the day gets back in the car and goes home( at Tahoe/Mammoth certainly). There may be odd exceptions to that. Whistler is one where it is a resort and there are buses(free) around the resort. Also the Banff areas (because there are no ski areas in Banff itself you have to get a bus of up to say 40 mins if you go to Lake Louise, less if you go to Sunshine or Norquay). In other areas there is no or no good public transport. I was not aware of any public transport at Tahoe. I think there may have been a bus service of sorts at Mammoth but generallyeveryone uses a car.

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At that time of year, Breckenridge is hard to beat: runs to suit everyone, quaint village, plenty of slopeside accommodation and some catered chalets (rare in N America), guaranteed snow with a 2900m base (but make sure you're not susceptible to altitude sickness).
CO resorts like Vail, Winter Park, Copper or Keystone can also be OK in April - but they tend to close around April 12th. But you'll definitely have good high-altitude skiing at nearby Arapahoe Basin and Loveland (these are for day trips only - no accommodation).

Other good spring skiing options (with some disadvantages):
Sunshine Village (a bus ride from Banff)
Bachelor (a drive from Bend)
Whistler (lower runs very low - may have to download at end of day)
Mammoth (not a particularly picturesque village)
Snowbird/Alta (not much of a base village)
Lake Louise (not really any base village at all - but beautiful scenery)
Squaw Valley (small, purpose-built village - and not much skiable terrain for intermediates)

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Breckenridge is good, and has reasonably priced ski in ski out accomodation (condos). The town is very high, though (10000 ft+), which can be a bit of a problem; in a group of 24 there might be one or two who react badly.
LL is beautiful' but there really is.nothing there except a handful of hotells, a handful of shops and the very excellent LL Station bar and restaurant. I love it, but not everone's cup ogf tea.
Of the NA resorts I've visited, I'd recommend Banff for a large group.

Thanks everyone. Have got head round park and ride now. Only question is best for spring skiing !

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

last I looked the UK firms, Crystal, Thomson did do catered chalets....

Indeed a quick clik thru to Thomson shows:

USA

Resort
Hotel

Breckenridge
Chalet Jefferson (sleeps 1 - 20)

Breckenridge
Chalet Northstar (sleeps 1 - 22)

Winter Park
Chalet Sundance (sleeps 1 - 20)

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Have also heard that kids are not welcome in restaurants after 7ish. Anyone come across this ?

snow reports

helenjane, in a few restaurants, yes (in a very few, no kids at all), but in general, kids are welcome at any time in my experience. BTW, 7ish is considered outrageously late for dinner in many N.American ski resorts (slight exaggeration, but N.Americans do seem to dine a lot earlier than Brits; more high tea than dinner).

What you have heard may be brought about by some of the licensing laws they have....in Canada for instance there are some rules about where kids can/ cant go after I think 8pm, but really what it means is that you may not be abe to go as a family into a bar that sells food as well as drink. I have never heard of any restaurant being anti kids and in our various trips there we never had any problems at all on that front. It never featured once.

Where you may come across an issue is if you go to South Lake Tahoe (on the Nevada side) and stay in a casino/hotel. They get very jumpy if they see any kids veering towards the gambling area where the slot machines or the tables are. That very definitely is against the licence and the security staff will raise the issue if the kids get too close (There is plenty of space in any such hotel for kids and families but as you might expect kids are drawn like magnets to slot machines)

All of that said, they do eat very early in the US.....ski resorts are better than Florida where evening service starts at 4.30/5pm but even so 6.30 to 7.30 is usually prime time. Once, in summer, we went to Stowe in Vermont and went to eat at 8.30 as a family in a decent restaurant. They looked at us as if we were from another planet when we asked to sit down, very soon we were the only table occupied in the place and it was clear we were keeping the staff from going home !!

You know it makes sense.

malcolm1, I'd forgotten that. It was a bit of a problem in Panorama, in BC. Not a problem in Alberta.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

The Whistler World Ski and Snowboard Festival is always on at the beginning of April. Not sure about exact dates for 2009. It is around 10 days of great entertainment for everyone. A lot of great skiing and snowboard competitions, also there is a free concert every afternoon - night. Lots of parties in town etc... Plenty to keep both adults and kids entertained.
There is always plenty of great spring skiing up in the alpine, although most years it is a compulsory download from mid-mountain. I like it, its always great to ski during the day, then come down and walk around in T-shirts while enjoying the activities. You can mountain bike around the trails if you are keen on that. Or if you are like me, you can even do some rock-climbing.
I am not aware of any chalets that will accommodate 24 people. Your best bet is to get a few rooms in the same hotel.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Yes, above the treeline is called the alpine. Wasn't aware it was different elsewhere.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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See this definition

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alpine

in Europe (or the UK at least) I think that most would would expect the meaning to be (3).......in the US/Canada it would appear to be (4)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

gortonator, that's amazing, I'd heard American cars were big but even i didn't realise they could fit 24 people. Your sceptically.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

In the US, it can be a verb. As in "are you going to tele today or are you going to alpine?" Very Happy

After all it is free

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"Will try to be a bit more specific , but we're looking at going trans Atlantic next year, and have little idea where"

HelenJane:
Planning for 24 people is a task!
I am writing from New England and ordinarily I am not biased towards New England skiing. My husband and I have skiied most Western resorts in Colorado and also Canada. However, April even out West can be tricky. We went to Whistler once in late March and it was unpleasantly damp and chilly for the whole week...it's the ocean breeze that chills you to the bone even if its above freezing! Also many western resorts close in early April. This year Aspen will shut April 8.

If cost is a factor, you will find renting houses in Colorado expensive (even in British terms), especially those near the slopes. Another factor is that 2 weeks is a long time and I think you will want to be in a place where you have options of travelling around to nearby mountains, unless you are at Vail which is simply huge or Aspen / Snowmass which has 4 mountains on one ticket and free shuttle. Both are expensive...accommodations, food, lift tickets.

So my choices would be to go earlier and spend a bucket at Aspen, or try the Park City Area in Utah...easy to get to, 35 minutes from Salt Lake, from whence you can also get to Canyons, Deer Valley, Alta, and Snowbird. We skiied Alta in January and it was great. Or...in spite of my preference for Western US skiing, I think you might think about Vermont. Killington stays open until mid May and is known for the most reliable Spring snow in New England. We always spend a weekend there in early April. Snow in Vermont is softer in Spring so you don't have the classic New England ice problem. From there you can also ski at Okemo...or take a slightly longer trek to Stratton and Mt. Snow. Killington is about 2.5 hours from Boston which is an interesting place to start and end with lots to do.

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Canada / USA resort for Easter 2009?

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