Ski Odyssey '07

[nachos supreme]

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this one but it's one of the few pages I can access via work these days(the Geeks upstairs have put client security on and apparently most of the board exceeds their limit of "questionable" words)this limits my searches a bit,so I'm hoping the mag's can offer a bit of advice/opinion.

Anyway I digress,
I've managed to score 6 weeks escape from the cubicle,middle of January through to the end of February.So I'm going to do the obvious and fly over from Oz and ski some pow.

The only restrictions I have(aside from the usual $) are that I need to fly into San Francisco and leave from San Francisco.

The rough plan is to drive up to Tahoe-Utah-Colorado-Jackson-Utah then,depending on what the weather is doing,Tahoe and back to San Francisco.

I've been mapquesting it up and trying to get a feel for the drivetimes etc but I'm hoping you might be able to help out with a bit of advice from your experiences.I guess the best bet will be to try and drive weekends where possible.

The other thing that kind of puts a dent in it is Presidents weekend,having worked a couple of seasons over in Mammoth a while back I remember how much "fun" this time can be.I'm wondering if it's the same all over or if Mammoth's proximity to LA amplifies it a bit?

Anyways it should be a pretty sweet trip so any tips or thoughts you guys might have would be much appreciated.

cheers

[Squatch]

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this one but it's one of the few pages I can access via work these days(the Geeks upstairs have put client security on and apparently most of the board exceeds their limit of "questionable" words)this limits my searches a bit,so I'm hoping the mag's can offer a bit of advice/opinion.

Anyway I digress,
I've managed to score 6 weeks escape from the cubicle,middle of January through to the end of February.So I'm going to do the obvious and fly over from Oz and ski some pow.

The only restrictions I have(aside from the usual $) are that I need to fly into San Francisco and leave from San Francisco.

The rough plan is to drive up to Tahoe-Utah-Colorado-Jackson-Utah then,depending on what the weather is doing,Tahoe and back to San Francisco.

I've been mapquesting it up and trying to get a feel for the drivetimes etc but I'm hoping you might be able to help out with a bit of advice from your experiences.I guess the best bet will be to try and drive weekends where possible.

The other thing that kind of puts a dent in it is Presidents weekend,having worked a couple of seasons over in Mammoth a while back I remember how much "fun" this time can be.I'm wondering if it's the same all over or if Mammoth's proximity to LA amplifies it a bit?

Anyways it should be a pretty sweet trip so any tips or thoughts you guys might have would be much appreciated.

cheers

I know presidents weekend is a pretty big draw for "destination resorts," so maybe you should consider non-destination resorts during then, or go BC if that's your thing.

Traditionally, Jackson gets good snow in early- to mid-January (check out the videos from the UVM crew in the Hall of Fame). February is traditionally a good time for Utah. Keep in mind nothing is guaranteed, and if you can follow the snow, do it.

Trip sounds uber-sweet...just stay flexible and follow the storms and you'll have a good time.

[The Dad]

I'm jealous.

President's Day: Yes, it sucks. Bear in mind that few people who neither go to nor are employed by an educational institution get any vacation at that time, which means it sucks hardest where families with school-age kids go. Avoid destination resorts for one thing, but also, you may have more luck if you figure out which place has the lousiest kids programs.

Drive time from SF to Tahoe is greatly affected by timing. Leave anytime from 3 or 3:30 to 7 on a Friday and it will take you at least five hours. If you can leave outside that window, avoid being around SF or Sacramento from 7-10am or 3-7pm on weekdays, and aren't affected by weather incidents or accidents, it's more like three. I've left from south of SF at 8:30am on Saturday, stopped for a bathroom break for three kids, and still been in Truckee by 11:45.

Weather can really be a huge factor around this time, though. To the extent that you can stay flexible, you will benefit. If it's snowing between where you are and your next destination, stay where you are and ski.

[Vitamin I]

I don't see why you couldn't ski every single day and drive when lifts are not running.

Mt. Rose (Tahoe) to Utah seems doable---8-9 hours of driving between, no days off needed.

Even if you add Whistler, you can ski everyday on the way there and back to Sierras (Hood, Baker, etc etc etc). Not sure where I'd ski if I drove between Jackson and Whistler...

President's Weekend: should be no prob skiing Sun/Mon at a low-key resort. That Saturday can be crowded even at low-key resorts.
.
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[nachos supreme]

I'm jealous.

President's Day: Yes, it sucks. Bear in mind that few people who neither go to nor are employed by an educational institution get any vacation at that time, which means it sucks hardest where families with school-age kids go. Avoid destination resorts for one thing, but also, you may have more luck if you figure out which place has the lousiest kids programs.

Drive time from SF to Tahoe is greatly affected by timing. Leave anytime from 3 or 3:30 to 7 on a Friday and it will take you at least five hours. If you can leave outside that window, avoid being around SF or Sacramento from 7-10am or 3-7pm on weekdays, and aren't affected by weather incidents or accidents, it's more like three. I've left from south of SF at 8:30am on Saturday, stopped for a bathroom break for three kids, and still been in Truckee by 11:45.

Weather can really be a huge factor around this time, though. To the extent that you can stay flexible, you will benefit. If it's snowing between where you are and your next destination, stay where you are and ski.

Thanks for the responses guys,

Alpinedad:
I hear that,the beauty of this trip nothing is set in stone,the only place I'm going if it's snowing or snow's on the way is up the hill,no sense driving though a storm to find that the goods you thought you were going get have moved over to where you were.

I was thinking,depending on the snow,of booking into somewhere round Cottonwood for few days from the Monday of Pres?I don't like the idea of booking anything but I like the idea of struggling to find a place on a public holiday even less

Squatch:
I'm hoping so man,the shots of the day out of Jackson in January this year looked off the hook,I'll be making my pre trip offerings to Ullr that's for sure.

Vitamin I:
Low key works for me,I'll look into it for sure.The internet is an evil beast,everytime I have a search I end up finding more little area's I wanna check out.

[Spats]

Good plan to lock down some lodging over President's Day weekend. Not sure if you'll be here in time for Martin Luther King weekend, but if so, I'd do the same, as it's another popular holiday.

You can stay in cheap motels in South Lake Tahoe Sunday through Thursday for about $25/night. Friday and Saturday are the only expensive nights. There are a couple hostels you can stay in Friday and Saturday: Doug's if you like drinking, the Monaco if you just want to sleep.

Don't overlook western Colorado: lots of good skiing there that's far enough from Denver to not get the front range crowds (Telluride, Steamboat, etc.)