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is one week just too short for canada/usa?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
hi all

we are off to canada for the first time in a few weeks - just short of ten days.

the question is this, is canada/usa too far for just a week? the reason we ask is that we are trying to convince friends of ours to go to canada next season, but due to work holiday restrictions one of them can only take a week off....... having never been before we're not sure if a week is just too short, what with the amount of time it takes to get there and any time difference/jet lag? we are heading to big white which obviously has an extra internal flight from calgary to contend with, the travelling time dosn't bother us, we are young and used to travelling to all sorts of places around the world for just a 'long weekend' - how have you all found it? were you just really really shattered to enjoy it the first couple of days?

cheers
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Yes, especially if you get jet lag on way out
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cbowls30, I live there and travel frequently x-pond. The minimum time I've managed all the connections door to door is 19.5 hours, everything ran like clockwork . . . and I still felt like I'd been hit by a bus. Disturbed sleep, time-zone changes, frequent pressure changes and dehydration really screw you up and you need time to recover without trying to bash as much snow under your skis as possible to justify the cost of getting here. You need 10-13 days to get best value and a good safe time.

You can do a lot to ameliorate jet lag and travel fatigue . . . but you can't ignore it.
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No if you survive jet lag but you want to be close to an intl airport which would restrict it to Banff area/Whistler for me probably.
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cbowls30, in about 7 trips to the west coast I've only ever done 10 days once, the rest was a week (inc Big White). Absolutely no problem apart from falling asleep in my dinner the first night at Fernie. It takes different people different ways. You are a lot younger than Masque wink
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well, i guess like you say its different for everyone, i suppose we will have to wait and see how it goes, but to be honest i think we are gonna be SO excited to be in canada i suspect no amount of jet lag will stop us ! lol .......
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holidayloverxx,
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we did miami for 4 days once (work related trip hence the short stop) and that was -6hr time difference and total travelling time from home to hotel 13 hrs and it didn't really bother us at all, coming back from the states has always hit us harder then going out..........
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cbowls30, depends where you want to go, I've been to Canada for one week trips but that was to Banff which was less than 2 hours from Calgary, I went for 10 days once and found that to be ideal as you could just take a day to get over jet lag and start skiing the second day.
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RichardB, When I went to Banff (one 7 day and one 10 day trip) I was up with the larks on day one and ready for the first bus. Seems a waste of a day to take it off.
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Depends how much travel takes out of you. I regularly (multiple times per year) do long-haul trips for work both east and west which are only a working week - or less. I don't seem to suffer from the time-zone changes but maybe that's because I'm used to it? The one thing I do which I seriously think helps is to put my watch on the destination time-zone as soon as I get on the plane: and then either sleep or stay awake as appropriate to that time. A lot of passengers seem to spend a lot of time (trying to be) asleep, which I don't think helps if you are arriving at 9pm.

I particularly remember one (holiday) trip years ago when we arrive in San Francisco at around 4pm, checked into the hotel and then when out to Pier 39 until about midnight! We were fine the next day...

Maybe if you think you are going to suffer you do, but if you think you won't, then you don't. Puzzled
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holidayloverxx, I only said it as an example. I was out first day, skied for 8 days and had a day off in the middle but some people react differently to long flights.


Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sun 3-02-13 16:36; edited 2 times in total
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I've only been to the States once, but I guess the problem with a longer trip is the sheer length of time given over to getting there and getting back again and the big slug that this takes of your enjoyment time.
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 You know it makes sense.
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RobW,

fair point, i think you're probably right, i guess we are about to find out in just over 3 weeks time......
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I did it last season, the jet-lag works in our favour (for euros skiing in NA) for skiing hours, but don't expect to be dancing on the tables 'till the small hours (or even making it through dinner). You pay the price when you get home though - but who cares! snowHead
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 Poster: A snowHead
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shep,

cheers for that, we're not massive 'apres ski' people anyway so we should be ok, we are away for just under 8 nights on this trip so should be ok, plus with the night skiing they have i'm hoping we will be able to get some decent time on the snow!
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cbowls30, I'd agree with shep, although I managed to convince the O/H that we needed to go for 2 weeks, "just to be on the safe side". Jet lag wasn't an issue for me, i was up at the crack of sparrowfart on the first day, full of beans and raring to go. I only took one day off boarding to go snowmobilingHope the snow's good for you.
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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?
cbowls30 wrote:
..... i think we are gonna be SO excited to be in canada i suspect no amount of jet lag will stop us ! lol .......



We have flown Belfast-Newark, then driven directly to Killington. Left home at 9.00AM on a Friday (GMT). Arrived Killington 9.00 AM Saturday (EST.) We were there for 2 weeks and planned to not ski Saturday, but by the time we got there we were too excited.....15 minutes to check in, unpack and hit the slopes Happy
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Like what Shep said. Have done a one week Utah trip, no particular issues.
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we did a few years (4) of flying into Calgary landing at around 1730 and then driving 4 hours or so to Golden so arriving around 2200 Canadian time (middle of the night UK time). We then skied Kicking Horse for a warm up day and then heli skied for 4 days before flying back to the UK. Not a problem waking up for the skiing but some problems staying up after dinner for which the best cure seemed to be to stand up, play pool, table tennis etc ie anything to avoid sitting in a chair watching tv. However, (and there is probably some medical reason not to do this) I found taking ibuprofen helpful in the mornings for some reason as I was often a bit "fuzzy" and it seemed to help. As shep says the main problem is when you get back. Takes around a day per hour of time difference to adjust.

am off to Niseko, Japan (opposite time zone) in a few weeks and hoping to avoid the opposite problem ie not able to get up to ski and not able to go to bed...
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I think it's worth it for a week. With jetlag, you tend to be up for the first lift quite easily too Cool
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RobW, spot on. I I have travelled a lot with work. Get on local time as soon as you board, and cat nap on plane. I stay up til about 10pm when you arrive, works for me every time. Often up at 6am the first few mornings.


Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 3-02-13 23:04; edited 1 time in total
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Dam! I'll have to apologise to holidayloverxx, I'm clearly not as tough as you lot . . . it may be that my trips are usually the opposite there and back so that my be screwing with my body clock more. . . . It doesn't help that my work day was/is anything up to 16 hours..
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RobW wrote:
The one thing I do which I seriously think helps is to put my watch on the destination time-zone as soon as I get on the plane: and then either sleep or stay awake as appropriate to that time.


+1

I've never skied that far away but have done quite a lot of long haul travelling and this is what I always do. Might feel a bit rubbish when I arrive if I've been awake for a stupidly long time but going to bed at an appropriate local time has always ensured I feel raring to go the next day.
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No ... just go for a weekend ...
Go to Calgary and do the night skiing
Sleep all day .. no Jet Lag
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Masque wrote:
Dam! I'll have to apologise to holidayloverxx.


Accepted Little Angel
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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.
Masque wrote:
Dam! I'll have to apologise to holidayloverxx, I'm clearly not as tough as you lot . . . it may be that my trips are usually the opposite there and back so that my be screwing with my body clock more. . . .


going (lots of hours) West has never been a problem. Half hour snooze sorts it out. Going the same distance East always knackers me. I always put it down to excitement about skiing/holidays v's returning home. Haven't skiied anywhere further East than the Alps, which is only an hour ahead, so you don't even notice. You might have a point about going the other way though
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
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I've done many week-long trips from US to Europe, so yes, it's definitely doable and worth it. Going from Europe to the US should be even easier, as the jet lag works in your favor and you have no difficulties getting up early in the morning. As others have said, don't expect to be able to stay up late in the evening, though Smile.
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You know it makes sense.
I do long haul flights often enough. RobW's advice is pretty spot on.

Add to it, stay up as late as sensible if you can. And keep your eyes shut even if you're woken up in the middle of the night. It only takes a couple day for the worst to be over.

If you're worry about falling to sleep at dinner, eat early BEFORE the sleepiness sets in. Or take a short walk, which should freshen you up, before sitting down for dinner. It'll be advisable to skip the spres drink or save it for after meal, at least for the first day.

Whatever you do, DON'T EVER take a nap (in bed) in the middle of the day! It'll set you back in your jetlag adjustment massively.
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cbowls30, Also watch the dehydration when you get there; a very dry atmosphere ( hence champagne powder snow ) combined with convection air heating systems indoors can lead to dehydration, and poor sleep. Then skiing on top.... Did you contact my brother in law about BW ?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Unless you have an unusually weak constitution, a week definitely isn't too short from a tiredness perspective and you can easily fit in 6 full days of skiing.

The issue is financial, as extra days come free many North American resorts. For us this year, days 8-10 of our lift pass are free and days 7-10 of our hotel are free. Air fares are generally cheaper on weekdays, so, bizarrely, 10 days can actually be cheaper than 7.

Why don't you book for 10 days and bid your friends a tearful adieu after 7?
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Re US - you get to add Denver to front range resorts , SLC or Jackson Hole if you can get a speedy connection on the outbound leg and possibly Tahoe into Reno (again assuming quick connection). One thing to remember is that if you're close enough to the airport you cna get at least a good 4 hours skiing in on the last day as Eastbound flights depart in the evening. Full day in Whistler if you get the last BA flight of Vancouver IIRC.

Everyone is right about the early start first day, actually you can keep it up most of the week. I do tend to find that any appetite for apres on day 1 or 2 of skiing is mitigated by desire for apres nap and this can also suplant dinner in favour of takeaway etc.
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^^^ BA out of Vancouver leaves at 9.30pm or 8.30pm depending on the time of year, so full day at Whistler is doable

I have done very short business trips (2 full days) to the West Coast and manage to be reasonably productive so no reason why you can't manage a ski trip. as others have said, expect to be up at sparrow-f@rt in the mornings
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Jonny Jones wrote:


The issue is financial, as extra days come free many North American resorts. For us this year, days 8-10 of our lift pass are free and days 7-10 of our hotel are free. Air fares are generally cheaper on weekdays, so, bizarrely, 10 days can actually be cheaper than 7.


This ^
It's an expensive flight for only a week of skiing. 10 days would be my minimum from a financial perspective. Jetlag is a non-issue flying west and pretty much guarantees making the first lift.
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I wouldn't do it for the reasons mentioned above.

One of the ways to cheat jet lag is to change your sleep patterns to 'siesta' time before you go. There is one bloke- an IT geek apparently - that went to the extreme and broke his sleep down into rigid two hour sections throughout the day and night so that he never slept more than 2 hours at a time. The concept of the 'natural' sleep pattern has been taking a battering recently. Apparently humans are more programmed to sleep for 3-4 hours, wake up and potter around for 2-3 hours then go back to sleep for 3-4 hours. If you can re-programme in time, it should help immeasurably with the jet lag.
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I'm off to Hawaii on Friday for 5 nights: - going to take 19 hours to get there, 22 hours to get back, plus need to factor in a 10 hours time difference... But hell its gonna be great! Sleep possibly, insulin certainly all over the place for sure, but I don't intend that to let me stop enjoying it.

I'll let you know... Laughing
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cbowls30, We have been to Whistler 5 times for just a week as you actually get 6.5 days(ish) skiing for the 7 nights. We don't get jet lag going there and worst case is you are up very early for the first day. On the way back it is overnight anyway so as long as you get some sleep on the plane I find it is ok coming that way too. If near Heathrow then direct to Vancouver and a short transfer to Whistler is not too bad a trip - the further you are away from Heathrow the worse it gets.

We did keep looking at different resorts over there but keep going back to Whistler mainly because the travel is easy.

Yes the journey is longer elapse time than most European resorts but you do loose most of a day going anywhere - unless it is a very short transfer and flight to europe. Hence if you are ok with a week only going to Whistler is no hassle. Obviously a longer trip is better and much cheaper pro-rata but if they can't get the time off like us you will still have a great time. We go with friends that take the full 2weeks and we fit in to one of the weeks which works fine for both of us.
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It's a personal thing, obviously. I've done many one-week trips out there to play in the powda and it works ok if you're serious enough. Personally I've travelled a lot so I have a bunch of tactics to minimise jet lag. Even so, it's hard to adjust at more than about 2 hours a day. That's not a real problem, you just have to deal with it.
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philwig, exactly.

Rule 5.
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For me it would be more the cost that would put me off only going for a week.

I've travelled over to the US allot and had variable experience with Jet Lag, sometime I wake up in the wee small hours and can't get back to sleep others I've been OK. I try to stay up as late as possible on the day of arrival and it usually sets me up pretty well.

Managed to ski half a day after a 26 hour coach trip a couple of weeks ago with pretty much zero sleep. Mountain air is energizing Cool
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