I guess it’s time for the new ski thread. Pretty dismal here in the Northeast; warm rain is the order of the day and areas have very limited terrain open. We got one day in two weeks ago, and plan to get another day in this coming weekend on the White Ribbon of Death.
Every weekend in 2023 is booked from New Years to the end of March, all over New England and New York. No trip out west this year, we’ll set one up again for next years.
So, what are people up to?
Big Mountain Resort in Whitefish, Montana, opens today with a 50" base at the top and sunny with temps in the low 20’s expected all week. If you like to ski powder…
My SIL and her family is headed to Kalispell for the holiday (well, the kids live there). It’s a fun mountain, hope the snow holds over the next few weeks.
Every storm seems to hit Whitefish and Glacier National Park squarely, so I think there will be good snow for a while, this being a La Nina year. I live 45 minutes south of Whitefish on Flathead Lake, and we get a lot less snow than they do for some reason. Well, lower elevation is one reason…
first time since xmas 2019 we are away skiing.
Two weeks over Christmas and New Year. Can’t wait.
We are driving to Austria as usual, based in Kaprun so we will get an 11 day ticket that covers the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Zell-am-See and Leogang/Fieberbrunn. All are within a 20-30 drive of our base so lots of options.
The really good part is that we have a choice of slopes from around 700m altitude right up to 3000m so we can flex around the weather and conditions.
Snow fall has not been huge so far but there is plenty at the higher altitudes, further low altitude snow is forecast this week and the temp is going to be low for some time so they can make a ton of artificial snow as well. Looking good for all slopes to be open. The low altitude meadows particularly don’t need much of a covering to be perfect so we should be good to go.
Bridger Bowl opens tomorrow. I’ve skinned up 5 or 6 times–it’s in great condition. I plan to ski tomorrow (I have a weekday pass). Heli trip at Crescent Spur 2nd week of March with the crew. I would really like to find a pair of boots that performs yet doesn’t hurt to put on and take off!
I got a couple days in so far. Need more snow. Took a chunk out of my Vampires and am not happy about it. More coming tonight thru Saturday.
Anyone have recommendations for a ski resort in Washington? I’d like to bring my five-year-old son, so a good kids lesson program is important. I haven’t been out since well before he was born, and I sure miss it. Wife doesn’t like skiing, so I’m trying to get him to be my buddy on the slopes.
So jealous
Last time was 2018
Maybe get something in in spring 2023 , but two kids in Out of state university….
Never even noticed we didn’t have one of these up already. Hit Monarch Mountain for their opening last weekend, trying to get my legs back. Chilling at the cabin just south of Copper Mountain this weekend. Goodbye my legs.
Regarding “all downhill”, we hope to get some cross-country days in, as well as downhill. The Catskills has some scenic trails on old railroad beds, great for biking in the summer and cross-country in the winter.
@Telemark your username sounds like you’re a Telemark skier? I’ve seen telemarkers at Belleayre and Windham in NY but not recently.
When I created this account (20+ years ago) I was exclusively on telemark. When I met my now wife (a former alpine racer and coach) I started dabbling in AT gear to help me keep up on the slopes. In the past 5 years I’ve switched over mainly to alpine gear, but I still tele with my tele friends, usually in spring when the snow is soft.
I’m retired from skiing, but I live vicariously through my kids’ skiing. They dabble with snowboarding sometimes, but prefer the skis. Of course it helps that they have their own skis, but rent boards. Slowly improving my tuning skills.
This season we’ve done Mammoth and Mountain High so far. Mammoth is good as always, although the base isn’t deep yet. Mt High is still slushy at West and bare ground at East.
We’ll do Brianhead over Christmas break.
You don’t stop skiing because you get old, you get old because you stop skiing.
I’d love to ski again, but the risk-reward just doesn’t balance for me anymore. That’s the real sign of age. 
Thanks for starting this thread, @Telemark!
I have several ski trips planned this season with my ski club—all local here in the northeast—including Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine, plus Whiteface in New York in February. I’ve never skied Whiteface before.
In the meantime, I’m also planning some weekend day trips or short overnight trips. I’ve got an Epic pass again, so I’m hoping to use it at the local Epic resorts.
On that note, my sister is coming to visit over Christmas. She’s never skied in New England before, and we were looking at a day of skiing on 12/26 and/or 12/27. Any suggestions?
An Epic resort would be nice, but not mandatory. I think Mount Snow, Okemo, and Sunapee will be mobbed that week. So I’m currently considering Attitash or Stowe. The problem is that Stowe is really far distance-wise and in recent years has had serious parking problems on busy days, and Attitash is not known for great ski conditions early in the season.
Non-Epic resorts I’m looking at include Cannon Mountain or maybe Bretton Woods.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Stowe is extremely expensive ($179 advanced purchase) and will be crowded. If you’re on Epic, check to see if your pass works there during holiday week. Parking is not guaranteed and costs money, so get there early if you want to ski. Lift tickets should be purchased in advance since they limit sales.
Everything with snow will be crowded that week. A lot of areas are requiring reservations or limiting sales, so the sooner you lock it down the better. Are you day tripping from Boston or overnight? Crotched is a smaller Epic mountain without huge crowds, but it’s a smaller mountain without great snowmaking.
Thanks for mentioning that. My Epic military pass is good over the holidays, but another person who will be joining us has an Epic Local Pass, which has holiday restrictions for Stowe. So along with the other reasons you mentioned, Stowe is probably out.
We were looking at meeting at the ski resort and then staying overnight. My sister will be driving from Portsmouth, NH on the morning of 12/26, and has to be back in Boston by the evening of 12/27 to fly out of Logan early on 12/28.
Anyway, I did actually consider Crotched but have been there twice and didn’t think much of it…especially early in the season.
We’re headed to Aruba over Christmas break because we dislike skiing during that time so much.
Our trips this year include our annual weekends at Jay, Saddleback, and Bolton (all on the Indy Pass). Feb vacation week we’re hitting Gore, Magic, and Whiteface, then a birthday celebration weekend at Whiteface later. We’ll be doing daytrips to Waterville, Cannon, Sunapee, and Pats.
Our main pass is Indy+. We bought 5 days at the lowest tier of the Epic, for use at Sunapee and Wildcat with family and friends. Finally for the Gore/Whiteface trips we got a Frequent Skier card for the NY areas.
Bridger Bowl opening was great. Better coverage than any time last season. They didn’t open the main expert lift (that you need a beacon to ride) because they were still doing avy control. We got a good whack of snow Monday then extreme winds, so they have their work cut out for them. Lots of hooting and hollering (and AM beers) from the locals!