 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I am in charge of sorting out our annual group ski trip, and looking for resorts in NA/Canada. Our group has a mix of abilities, and are looking for resorts with:
- walk to lifts/no ski bus
- accommodation close to good nightlife/apres ski
Options currently thinking of:
- Whistler (Seems expensive?)
- Park City/Canyons (Champagne Powder? Are there any ski in/out accom?)
- Breckenridge (Cold?)
Any other options, much appreciated!
Bernie - new Snow head 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you do a search you'll find that that is a pretty fair shortlist. You can have ski in/out other places (at a price) but nightlife doesn't necessarily go alongside. There are smaller purpose built interior Canadian resorts e.g. Silver Star/Big white/Sun Peaks but I wouldn't expect them to rage at night.
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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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IME, few North American resorts have nightlife in the European sense, so you need to start with that and then find the accommodation. Standard behaviour in most resorts is to go back to your condo, flip open a beer, dial a pizza and spend the evening in the hot tub. Vail could fit the bill but, as with Breckenridge, much of the resort's accommodation needs a bus trip.
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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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bernieburger, welcome to 
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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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| Quote: |
Vail could fit the bill but, as with Breckenridge, much of the resort's accommodation needs a bus trip
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I'm not sure about the "much" part. There're definitely ski-in/ski-out accomondations. But I doubt it's any less expensive than Whistler. And nightlift is, well, underwhelming.
We've just covered the 2 largest "lift-connected" resorts of N.A. Just work your way down the list. Thogh your choices goes downhill faster than you can slide down the hill on skis.
Rockies:
Snowmass: equally expensive as the other two. Not nearly as large unless you get on a bus to go to Aspen!
Steamboat: less expensive but even smaller. Same as Breck. Unlike Breck, there no option of other resorts within driving or bussing distance of Steamboat.
Banff/Lake Louise: Lake Louise is fine if not too big. Nightlife is non-existant unless you get in a car, or choose to stay in Banff and deal with their infamous bus.
Who said Breck is "cold"??? 
Squaw Valley: Not as varied terrain, favors advanced/expert skiers. Otherwise really tiny.
Heavenly Valley: Good variety of terrain, good nightlife. But you have to choose either bus to nightlife or bus to lift, unless you fancy a good walk. Warm in the village.
In short, expect to pay an arm and a leg for ski-in/ski-out. And if you also want nightlift without a bus, you might as well bring your own bank. (Your choice is clear in that case, either Whistler or Vail) Unless, of course, if you do it in January (or early April), which is low season for N.A., with good reliable 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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Jackson Hole - stay in Teton village which has decent nightlife, and 15 mins to Jackson on bus.
Canyons has lots of ski-in/out, and bus to Park City for nightlife.
Big White is a bit of an Aussie ghetto, but there's plenty of skiing and respectable nightlife (limited but lively) on hill
Whistler/Vail/Aspen all ski-in/out, lively and in comparison expensive. Add a short bus ride and your alternatives grow considerably.
And I certainly wouldn't call Steamboat, lake Louise, Squaw small ....
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gortonator, I agree ref Lake Louise. Plenty skiable.
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| bernieburger wrote: |
Hi,
I am in charge of sorting out our annual group ski trip, and looking for resorts in NA/Canada. Our group has a mix of abilities, and are looking for resorts with:
- walk to lifts/no ski bus
- accommodation close to good nightlife/apres ski
Options currently thinking of:
- Whistler (Seems expensive?)
- Park City/Canyons (Champagne Powder? Are there any ski in/out accom?)
- Breckenridge (Cold?)
Any other options, much appreciated!
Bernie - new Snow head |
Hi Bernie,i'd go for Breckenridge,we stayed at Beaver Run Resort right on the slopes,and the ski room opens onto slope just above one of the main lifts.There is plenty of night life,and great eating places.The skiing is great for all abilities,and as for being cold ,we were there over Christmas and New Year and it was -35deg,but it was still great,it wont be that cold at end of Feb.Go for it!
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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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bernieburger, welcome to snowHeads
I'd agree with gortonator (although I have no personal experience of Utah.
I am less keen on Breck than many here. Altitude - and a lower proportion of the skiing below the treeline - which is one of the great joys of North American skiing.
"End feb" may include Presidents day weekend . (16th ) If you are aiming to be in the US then - you may wish to avoid resorts too close to SLC or Denver.
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I've not been to Whistler or Park City but we had a great 2 weeks in Breckenridge last year and would definitely go back.
4 of us stayed in a B&B www.abbettplacer.com rather than the usual self catering as we found it was a similar price to staying in a self catering apartment but we got a mega breakfast cooked for us each morning and cakes laid out for us on our return from the slopes in the afternoon. We were just a couple of blocks from Main Street where most of the shops etc are and even closer to a couple of great restaurants. In the B&B there was also a tiny guests kitchen area with a microwave, plates, cutlery etc (can't remember if it had a cooker) so some self catering was possible if required. We also had a fridge in our room. We did have to catch a free bus to the slopes but the journey was short, the bus stop by the B&B was approximately 1 minutes walk away and the buses ran on time every 20 minutes.
We got our lift passes much cheaper than the walk up prices by booking them before we went through www.themountainsusa.com and paying the international price rather than the USA nationals price. The passes gave us much more skiing than we could possible do in 2 weeks as we could ski Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Vail and Beaver Creek.
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