We’re getting closer to first tracks, time to start up the thread for the upcoming season.
We’ve bought Indy for another year, and they added a few mountains that we’ll probably be hitting (Mt Abram, Ragged, Middlebury Snowbowl) so that’s a win for us. No big trip planned for this year, just our usual Feb vacation road trip to Maine.
What passes did folks end up buying this year? Any big trips planned?
Think snow.
I switched to a Ski Cooper pass this year. My friends have a cabin a couple miles from the mountain, and I’ll keep at few days at Monarch (plus a couple places in Minnesota/Wisconsin if I make a trip back there).
No big trips, but I’ll probably spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s up there.
It’s hotter in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area than it is in Las Vegas - in October. I don’t think that bodes well for a good ski season in the Sierra Nevadas.
The usual–weekday pass at Bridger Bowl, heli trip first week of March, and on the cancellation list at another heli operation. I’d like to take a couple of lessons–despite 45+ years of skiing, I’ve really lost confidence on steeps in anything less than ideal conditions. Which is quite limiting at Bridger. Age and injuries are taking their toll.
We’re going to a wedding where the bride and groom rented out the ski area for their guests. Teton Pass Ski Area in Montana. Should be a fun time.
7 or 8 years ago we skied before Halloween, and the season only ended because Sierra at Tahoe’s annual agreement with the National Forest for skiing ends at the end of April. There was still plenty of snow on the ground - it was about a 6-month ski season! But yeah, see a car down the street with ski racks already while it has been 100F+ here around Sacramento. There’s optimism!
I got the usual Epic Tahoe value pass again, so another season with Heavenly and Kirkwood mainly, with a possible day or two at Northstar. Paging @Gatopescado.
Well…
I hate to say it, but my left knee just kinda went bad over the summer. Both heels hurt like hell, can barely walk, right calf muscle has totally atrophied from the injury on the first day of last season…
Not sure I’m gonna make it. Or, maybe once I get the boots strapped on, I’ll be better. Getting back on the hill is what worked last time I had a bad knee. Gotta start trying to get in some kind of better shape… this ain’t good. Gonna get the stationary bike back in from the garage.
As for the snow… Reno had record breaking high temps the last 2-3 day. 90’s in October. Going to cool down the next couple days, but no end to the 80’s in sight. We’ll see. Who knows?
Yeah, get on it, man. How are we gonna have “Gato’s Gunbarrel Mogul Clinic” this season? 
Former Indy pass holder (3 years ago), I went again this year with the NY Ski 3 pass (Whiteface, Belleayre, Gore) and added a midweek Catamount, Berkshire East pass. The long middle and short of it is Indy was too expensive for the amount of skiing I do. Indy is great if you go occasionally, or want to explore new mountains, but the more you go 1: the more expensive each trip becomes and 2 the more time you have to spend traveling. The Indy mountains within 2 hours of me I can only go 14 days, and last season on the ski 3 pass (+ some other opportunities) I skied 60 days. The last season I had with Indy I found it cheaper for a 5 day ski trip to pay outright in advance at Mont St Anne and La Massif lift tickets then ski for free in Black Mtn Maine and Saddleback when the price of lodging was included.
If you want to ski a lot Indy is not the way to go - at least as one’s only pass. It also doesn’t ski like a season pass. It’s more like playing poker, holding some cards hoping you can use them before the season ends. It was such a great experience just to ski when and where I want. And if it sucks I can leave early and be happy I went skiing.
We ski 25+ or so days a year at Indy resorts, mostly on the same mountains (2 days each at Jay, Saddleback, Cannon, WV, Bretton Woods, Pats Peak, Berkshire East, Jackson XC; one day each at Saskadena Six, Black Mountain of Maine, West, Dartmouth Skiway, Whaleback, Hickory) and this year we’re adding Ragged, Abram, and Middlebury Snowbowl. It’s a combination of day trips (Pats, Ragged, WV, Cannon), weekends (Jay, Bretton Woods, Upper Valley) and school vacation week (Maine). At $400 it easily pays for itself and matches our ski preferences. We don’t have a home mountain, and we like skiing at new places, and exploring small local hills.
We do miss skiing at Gore and Whiteface where we have family. Fortunately they have seasons passes and we often get a day at each on their guest passes.
In past years we’ve used Indy at Powder Mountain UT and Mount Hood Meadows OR, but no trips out west this year.
Black Mountain, a small independent mountain in Jackson NH has been through some tough times in the past few years. Last year, Indy came though with some money to keep it alive. This year, Indy is taking over the mountain with a plan to convert it to a community-owned co-op, similar to MRG in VT.
I’m going to try to get back there this year, we have a trip in the area, staying with friends a bit lower down on the ski area road. If only to get a few runs in, it’ll be worth it.
We got frequent skier discount cards at our “home” mountain, Belleayre in the Catskills, which should pay for themselves in a couple of weekends. Considering we won’t get to go more than 4-5 weekends this winter, that seemed the best option.
And it looks like it could be a good ski season for the Northwest, but warmer than usual in the Northeast:
Maps show NOAA’s winter outlook (msn.com)
Snowed up on top of Heavenly …
The gods have smiled upon the mollusc family, I have a new job and we will be moving back to salt lake/ park city when we had the opportunity to live for 5 years . I haven’t skied since 2018, there are a lot of vertical feet to be made up.
Colorado is getting SO MUCH SNOW. We’re currently on day two of a three-day whiteout (ok, not really THAT bad) in Colorado Springs. Wolf creek already has 3 feet of base down. I’m heading over tomorrow after work for the weekend with a coworker, so it’ll be a good start to the season.
Meanwhile in the Northeast, temps were up in the 70s and the big question is will Killington be ready for the World Cup races later this month.
Been cold, but dry. Lots of snowmaking around Tahoe. So, you know, a half inch a day.
I assume that’s going to change soon - a line of storms is heading through San Francisco starting on Wednesday
Hope so. Might skip off to the north, but we’ll see.
I got my gear washed and ready to go, kinda…
We’ve got our season passes and just waiting for the snow