Extended PNW tour

[frEEk]

Looking for thoughts and opinions on the second half of my tour schedule. Unfortunately setbacks early on have meant I'm pressed for time now, so it is one resort every 2 days, but I have to be In Oregon on March 30, so only time for 22 stops (including tomorrow). Here's what I got planned right now:

1 Schweitzer
2 Whitefish
3 Big Sky
4 Sun Valley
5 Jackson Hole

Then in haven't-figured-it-out-yet order:
6 Dear Valley
7 Alta
8 Park City
9 Snowbird
10 Canyons
11 Beaver Creek
12 BreckenRidge/Keystone
13 Aspen
14 Vail
15 Telluride
16 Squaw
17 Heavenly
18 Mammoth

In mid April I resume in Oregon to do Bachelor and Hood, then back home.

As is probably obvious I'm looking to do the big (as in, most visitors) hills primarily. I'm sure there are lots of smaller awesome places that are really worth checking out, but a big part of the point of the trip is to be able to share experience with as many people as possible (more specifically, with visitors to Whistler).

So are there any big names I am missing? Any I've got up there that are really not worth visiting?

One thing I've found out so far on this trip: there are ALOT of ski areas out there, even discounting the tiny local hills and 1 T-bar small town specials. Would take years to do em all, even at one day each.

[McScrundle]

Not sure I can add any names to your list, but keep up the work, that is a very well written and enjoyable blog! Is schweitzer your first stop tomorrow?

[garyfromterrace]

Can't comment too much on the list either (only skied Whitefish a dozen times or so - great party, great little hill); I can however say that I am very jealous, nice road trip dude. Well documented too.

[le dog]

nice blog/diary (your website)

[Buster Highmen]

Substitute Snow Basin for Canyons and get Silverton in there somehow. I'd skip Breckenridge in lieu of Silverton.

[HikeforTurns]

Substitute Snow Basin for Canyons and get Silverton in there somehow. I'd skip Breckenridge in lieu of Silverton.

Or CB instead of Breck (Aspen-Beaver-Vail-CB-Silverton-Tride) horeshoe loop.

[

[::: :::]

[never mind]No love for WA?
Crystal & Baker[\saw you've been thru WA]

[Game Over]

pnw? you are geography challenged
edit- in engrish challenged

[Hammer-Down]

Steamboat

[frEEk]

First of all, thanks for all the comments about the blog. I tend to think my writing style is too wordy and meandering, so it is good to hear it is still readable. Just wish it weren't so far behind (having a hard time catching up).

twbarret, yes Schweitzer was yesterday. Caught it on a decent (not great, offpiste is windpacked and frozen), but quite enjoyable.

garryfromterrace, don't be too jealous. This schedule of one every other day is getting to be a grind. Def need to allow for multi day visits and some down days to really enjoy it.

Buster, thanks very much for the input. That's exactly the kinda thing I'm looking for. I will definitely take a look at those options.

HikeforTurns, that is excellent, thanks. Routing is starting to be an issue (i only planned the BC/AB loop and as far as Whitefish). Some big gaps coming up, and I'm glad to see such an efficient route available for that section.

steepconcrete (an eastern skiier i assume?), the "extended" is intended to mean geographical extension, not temporal. I am clearly getting well past the PNW zone.

Hammer, I don't know how I didn't have that on the list. An obvious oversight. Thanks.

[Game Over]

im in oregon--> steepconcrete as in cascade concrete.

[Goatski]

I've got a half price voucher for you when you come to Vail, hell, I'll even show you around.

I'd say skip Sun Valley - Big Sky>Sun Valley>Jackson is not an efficient route whatsoever. Do 2 days in Jackson instead, its a big mountain and an awesome town. Sun Valley be weird, and a *meh* year so far for them too.

Also I'd rather ski Solitude than Deer Valley, & Snowbasin subbed for Canyons is good advice too. Park City be worthy.

If you need to see Breck you can take CO-9 south to HWY 285 to get to Crested Butte. Between the two, choose CB for the awesome town. The extremes are not open at this point so you'll miss a lot of the CB appeal... but it's still cooler than Breck. Breck has a decent town too, weird to say, but tough choice this year. Don't skip Aspen. Do skip Keystone.

CB>Silverton>Telluride is more of a PITA than you can imagine. SIlverton & Telluride are so close as the crow flies, but super far as the RV drives.

WY>CO>UT>CA is more efficient than WY>UT>CO>CA, but you should decide based on storms of course. Jackson to Steamboat is money. Telluride to UT is chill, & you can even go through Moab. Maybe sub Steamboat for Silverton (since this is a mega-resort tour for whatever reason...)

Good luck, see you when you get to Vail.

[frEEk]

GoatSki, you rock. All valuable advice. And I would definitely love a tourguide (I use Mountain Host tours in the morning to check em out and get the initial layout, as I am a host at home) but a guide for the good stuff woudl be fab. Also, Vail due to size may be one of the very few exceptions that gets a second day cause I doubt I can cover it in 1).

I have to distill the rest of the info and plot all these places on a map and figure a route still, and I gotta do it soon. Sun Valley is a tough one. This is s the second time I'veheard the same opinion about it, but then a big part of this trip is when I talk to a guest back home and they say they usually ski X, that I can tweak the tour and info relative to that, and I understand Sun Valley is a big destination... but yeah, hard pressed to drive there in one day. I'm conflicted.

WY - CO - UT - CA was the plan. Only Sun Valley throws a bit of a wrench in there in terms of efficiency. Mayby UT - SV - UT will be better. Dunno yet.

Thanks again,m and I'll post a route map when I get it together.

[frEEk]

Here's the route the computer says is most efficient when using the full list of stops (my original plus a few suggested here)



I didn't realize just how bunched up most of them are. And the map doesn't show every point as the program took town names and several resorts share the same town. No wonder UT and CO are so famous for snow sliding.

So based on this (and yes, Sun Valley continues to ferk up the route but it being as big a destination as it is, I don't think I can skip it), any additional suggestions/advise? Give I'm really tight on time, I may be tempted to do a couple of the substitutions (well, removals) suggested above, like Canyons. Of course, my map may be off since I realize some of these resorts may be significantly outside the towns in their addresses.

[frEEk]

For anyone who doesn't already know: Goatski is a ridiculously good skier and gives a mean tour of Vail to boot (can hardly believe how much we covered in one day). Thanks dude!