Going out west Christmas week next year. Where to?

My dad has confirmed that we will be going out west next year.  Christmas week is the only time we will be able to go because that is the only time my parents will be able to take the time off.  We plan to ski 5 days with 2 separate travel days with no skiing on them.  We want to go to a place that is going to have enough natural snow to have stuff open off all lifts.  Don't need it to be completely 100% open, but the lift served terrain that is groomed most frequently needs to be open.  Also needed are good lifts which in my definition are mostly high speed with footrests.  My mom needs footrests or her knees hurt which means she doesn't enjoy the skiing as much.  We would like to have no shortage of groomers since my mom generally doesn't go off them, but some natural expert terrain for when we're feeling adventurous.

We'd like to be able to stay slopeside or in an area that is served very well by bus as it gives us more flexibility.  My mom typically doesn't ski the entire day and I'm sure she'd rather go back to the hotel/condo rather than sit in a crowded lodge.

Here's the places I looked at the most which have all or most of the things I mentioned above.

Steamboat
Snowbird
Big Sky
Park City/The Canyons
Deer Valley


What can I expect from them in terms of terrain, lodging, travel to and from, crowds, conditions, pros cons, etc.  Just tell me what I can expect from each of them on holiday weekends.  If there's any places that I didn't include that would fit our criteria, let me know.

For cost, we would preferably like to spend under 300 a night on lodging, but if it is needed to spend more than that to stay at a good place, we probably would splurge.  For airfare, we won't pay anything crazy outrageous, but my dad said that it is a very special trip and he isn't worried so much about splurging on airfare, so don't bother saying for us to go a different time because we aren't able to.  We strongly prefer to fly United Airlines as our bags would go free which means probably 500 dollars still in our pockets.  They go to all the closest airports.

ADKJeff's Steamboat report looked like a pretty strong vote for that place.  

Yeah, I would definitely recommend Steamboat, Sno.  Night skiing too.  Lodging was very reasonable.  Flights were very convenient and affordable (I think $460 per person from Albany).  If you do Steamboat, get that Intrawest Passport deal so you can drag SnoMom & SnowDad up to Stratton and Tremblant too.

Also, we had friends who were there over Christmas break this year and they had fantastic snow.

Oops posted this in ski conditions by accident.  Sorry Harvey, can you please move it to The Woodstove.  That's where I originally meant to post it.

"The places that are safest for natural snow like Alta, Targhee, Bachelor, Whistler don't fit your mom's requirements."

"You might consider Snowmass, which does. More drought risk there, but mellow terrain, high speed lifts and not the crowds that make Christmas unpleasant many places."

(TC)

Christmas is a crap shoot if booking way in advance

I'm not sure I would go for steamboat then even though it's a fav of mine.  

I'd consider Vail since its higher altitude and they can make snow if needed.

The safest best in North America is Lake Louise.  It's way north and they get snow early.  The exchange rate is very favorable currently as well.  Really big mt with skiing for all tastes.  You can also day trip to the several other resorts within 30 mins of there.

The Deer Valley/Canyons/Park City trip would be good because you could explore three different mountains and Park City is a great town.

Vail would be good for you, too, just because it's so big and has a lot to explore.

Both of those places also have the advantage of being pretty easy to access as far as flights and hotel choices.

Have looked at Vail.  It never appealed to me much.  Seems way too crowded and there are whole sections that never see grooming and are thus inaccessible to my mom.  I don't want to go out west to stand in MC size lines and only ski a fraction of a mountain.

I did several Christmas weeks at Winterpark. They were good and not too crowded, but that was 10+ years ago. Most everything was open.

PeeTex wrote

I did several Christmas weeks at Winterpark. They were good and not too crowded, but that was 10+ years ago. Most everything was open.

Winterpark is a great place - underrated imo - and it's also owned by the same company as Steamboat. There is a very nice pass they sell called the 4 x 40 that gives you two days at WP then two at Steamboat for $220 per pass. Finding that fifth day at a discount can be tricky though. I'm not sure if the pass is blacked out Christmas week or not.

snoloco wrote

My dad has confirmed that we will be going out west next year.  Christmas week is the only time we will be able to go because that is the only time my parents will be able to take the time off.  We plan to ski 5 days with 2 separate travel days with no skiing on them.  We want to go to a place that is going to have enough natural snow to have stuff open off all lifts.  Don't need it to be completely 100% open, but the lift served terrain that is groomed most frequently needs to be open.  Also needed are good lifts which in my definition are mostly high speed with footrests.  My mom needs footrests or her knees hurt which means she doesn't enjoy the skiing as much.  We would like to have no shortage of groomers since my mom generally doesn't go off them, but some natural expert terrain for when we're feeling adventurous.

We'd like to be able to stay slopeside or in an area that is served very well by bus as it gives us more flexibility.  My mom typically doesn't ski the entire day and I'm sure she'd rather go back to the hotel/condo rather than sit in a crowded lodge.

Here's the places I looked at the most which have all or most of the things I mentioned above.

Steamboat
Snowbird
Big Sky
Park City/The Canyons
Deer Valley


What can I expect from them in terms of terrain, lodging, travel to and from, crowds, conditions, pros cons, etc.  Just tell me what I can expect from each of them on holiday weekends.  If there's any places that I didn't include that would fit our criteria, let me know.

For cost, we would preferably like to spend under 300 a night on lodging, but if it is needed to spend more than that to stay at a good place, we probably would splurge.  For airfare, we won't pay anything crazy outrageous, but my dad said that it is a very special trip and he isn't worried so much about splurging on airfare, so don't bother saying for us to go a different time because we aren't able to.  We strongly prefer to fly United Airlines as our bags would go free which means probably 500 dollars still in our pockets.  They go to all the closest airports.

I did five days with a bunch of buddies in park city/canyons in February. I was kind of dreading the trip as I never have really liked park city resort and heard not great things about the canyons. This trip park city grew on me. We didn't have great snow, but we stayed a half a block from the town lift which was very convenient. Park City has enough difficult terrain to keep one interested (although you have to hike for it) and there are more than enough (too many for me) blue and green cruisers. I also skied Canyons for the first time and I was really impressed with how big it was and how good (and easily accessible) some of the difficult terrain was there. We also hit it after a fresh 6-8 inches which made a huge difference. Vail bought both places last year and is going to connect them together this summer to make a 7000+acre giant ski area. They are dumping 50 mil in improvements into the resorts. Park City also has night skiing  (till 10PM) and its free with your lift ticket. If your mom needs foot rests then you may have to strategically pick your lifts. I don't know what it is about Utah but many lifts (even high speed ones) don't have foot rests. Even crazier than that there are many lifts that don't even have a safety bar (including the town lift in park city). I haven't been to steamboat in 10 years but it was a great resort and great town back then. Snow isn't a given at either one. After eating in Park City for a week I think Steamboat might be more reasonable but you can find decent eats in Park City without breaking the bank. Park City seems more of an upscale money town than Steamboat but again I haven't been to Steamboat in a while.

I got a good tip on thee lift at Park City for cheap lodging.You have to have  a poker face to do it. There are a bunch of timeshares there (mariott, hyatt, hilton, starwood). If you wait until a week or two before your stay and look on craigslist you can generally pick up one of the them for $1200-$1500 for a 2BR for the week. You have to wait though as people start out trying to rent them for $3500-$3000. They get desperate and drop the price if they haven't rented at the last minute. Best to do this if you can book a hotel with a one day cancellation policy so you have a backup plan in case the timeshare thing doesn't work out.

Deer Valley I would steer clear of. Its smaller and has less terrain and won't have better snow than pc/canyons. If you want to blow $125 go ski one day over there. If you buy a multi day epic pass in advance it works at pc or canyons. I would also steer clear of snowbird. The blue/green terrain there ends up being connector trails for the most part. It is a hell of a lot steeper overall than the others on your list and is not known for groomers or much to do after skiing.

One of the things I believe causes some negative feelings about The Canyons is because it has history with Otten/ASC.  I think many of the people who hate it are those who were pass holders at the mountains which Otten bled dry to build it.  I'm sure it is a great mountain that gets criticized unnecessarily.

snoloco wrote

One of the things I believe causes some negative feelings about The Canyons is because it has history with Otten/ASC.  I think many of the people who hate it are those who were pass holders at the mountains which Otten bled dry to build it.  I'm sure it is a great mountain that gets criticized unnecessarily.

Not sure that the knocks I heard had anything to do with Otten or ASC. The knocks I had heard were:1.) Snow conditions are always worse than park city. This was not true the day we went as we skied park city the following day and canyons got more snow. This could be a general truth though as snowfall in that area is very localized.2.) Mountain is very spreadout and lift layout is not optimal. This one I would agree with to a certain extent. You certainly have to plan your way around and really pay attention to where you are going or you can get lost or somewhere halfway across the resort. The one big bummer is that to access some of the best terrain off the 9990 lift you have to take two lifts to get back to it. The runs to skiers left of that lift - magic line, charlie brown and red pine chute all require that you loop around and take two lifts to get back up. We lapped that area and peak 5 before we crossed half of the resort to get to the super condor area. Talk about localized snow. That ridge had no snow (I mean brown) on skiers right and 3 feet of snow in the trees on skiers left.

Not sure if this link will work, but it has input about 18 places often considered for early season or Christmas trips.

http://web.archive.org/web/20060527094327/http://www.skiingmag.com/skiing/travel/article/0,12910,328638,00.html

Would not recommend Snowbird unless your mom likes steeper groomers.  Of course, she could ski at Alta but then not exactly ski in/out.  The advantage of flying to SLC and staying in Park City is that you and your dad have the possibility of a day or two in LCC/BCC.  A lot more lodging options at Park City than in LCC/BCC.  Solitude is an option that works well for some families.

Big Sky has plenty of terrain of all types.  Small resort village.  No likely to be crowded.  Worth skiing a day or two at Bridger if going to Big Sky.  Good way to acclimate and get ready for long runs, but no lodging near the base at all.  Plenty of motel options 20 min away in Bozeman.

I have never seen more Piston Bully's grooming than at Vail. Pretty sure you'll like it despite the lines. As much as its reputation has taken a sort-of hit the last few years, it's freaking Vail. Slopeside lodging, dry snow, something to ski for everyone.

That said, if I was skiing on your dad's dime and cared about that stuff I would look at Beaver Creek. In some ways it's a cross between Stowe and Whiteface. I like it.

Between Vail and BC and all those shiny new lifts you would love it but back blows could be iffy for Xmas

Plenty of shopping for your mom to rack up your dads credit cards too

Having just experienced Utah without snow I would not book in advance that far ahead.  Like I said the only sure thing for that early is Canadian Rockies.  

As far as having a good amount of snow Christmas week is a crap shoot at any location. It's also going to be crowded, it's one of the busiest of the season. If you live in a ski town it's the week to make money and not go skiing. The locals tend to get very uptight by New Years weekend and are ready to get their town and mountain back. Yes, we think of the experience many call "vacation" as barely palatable.

I am surprised noone has mentioned Whistler/Blackcomb. That place has everything for everyone...

skunkape wrote

I am surprised noone has mentioned Whistler/Blackcomb. That place has everything for everyone...

Usually dependable for snow, but not this year. I'm still hoping my trip there in April is a skiing trip, but it looks more and more like a mountain bike trip.