We opened up the floor for remembrances of trips past. Some of you had tall trail tales. Some had stories of good friends, togas and hot tubs. At least one person reminded us of the pleasures of Solitude.
Mail from the Trail Archive
So much snow, it had to be shipped...
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, February 1996. The snow was so abundant that it had to be shipped out of town via large dump trucks just to make room for walking around town. The powder was fresh every morning, and the lift lines were manageable all day long. The air had a bite of cold just enough to keep the snow light, but not too cold to keep me in the lodge. The day was absolutely the best in my memory of the 25 years I have enjoyed skiing. That includes some of my high school trips and we all know how much fun those were. I can't wait to do it again in 1997.
Gary Sapia
Gary@Ashtech.Com
Screaming down trails
Definitely the most memorable trip was this past season. My friends and I went
to Blackcomb mountain at Whistler in British Columbia. We skied snow covered
bowls and ice encrusted glaciers and experienced a white out condition at the
peak. We blasted through powder up to our knees, screamed down the groomed
trails and popped over moguls for maximum height. We also rolled down a few
slopes, bounced off each other and somehow found ourselves in an out-of-bounds
avalanche area. And when the day was done, we made our way back to our "nearly" slope-side condo and relaxed in our outdoor hot tub as we watched the sun set. Truly the way God intended us to live. Now if we can only have him pick up the bill.
Michael Bayer
Michael_Bayer@ccmail.prusec.com
Alps: Quite simply out of this world
The best skiing trip I ever took was in the French Alps at La Plagne. The
extreme skiing there is quite simply out of this world. The resort provides
several great mountain guides that show you around the hidden parts of the
mountain. The glacier peaks at around 3,500 meters and provides an exceptional
breadth of skiing experiences. The colossal size of the mountains and the
exceptional landscapes are far more impressive than anything I ever experienced
in North America. If you go there at the beginning of the spring season, you
can even occasionally see wild animals as you ski down towards the valley.
Christophe Sloan
cs45@cornell.edu
It was Italy. It was 1974.
Lovinio, Italy. Shared the slopes and the quaint little ski resort with only
one other group: the U.S. Olympic ski team for five days at Thanksgiving, 1974.
All passes leading into the resort were blocked, and the snow that blocked the
passes created tremendous ski conditions. Bright sky, super temperatures, good
food, friends and drinks. I have skied all over Europe and the U.S. and have
never been able to duplicate this wonderful ski vacation and experience. We had to leave this paradise with an Italian Army Officer driving the bus over a goat trail through a pass on the way back to Germany and home.
George Mordica
mordicag@leav-emh.army.mil
Ever so fluffy snow
I've done most of my skiing in Colorado/Wyoming: Breckenridge, Steamboat, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Winter Park, Jackson Hole. The BEST was Winter Park in March. The snow was ever so fluffy and the weather was beautiful. Winter Park consists of two mountains. One is an easier mountain on the Winter Park
side. On the other side of the resort is Mary Jane, a more difficult mountain. The mogul runs on Mary Jane are just awesome. The moguls are huge but not too steep and they go on forever. The names of the runs include "The Drunken Frenchman" and "Outhouse". Skiing Winter Park is like two resorts for the price of one. Ski season... YES!
Tom Marquardt
tjm@unix1.sba.com
Freeloading can be fun
Last March, my younger brother and I headed to Summitt County, Colorado, to
freeload off local friends for a dream ski vacation. In Summitt, Copper
Mountain and the smaller but spectacular Arapahoe Basin are the favorites of the aborigines. If you can handle all the Texans, the quaint mining town of
Breckenridge is a refreshing asylum from the glitter of Vail and Aspen. Locals
can be cautiously observed imbibing at the Gold Pan, a true Old West saloon....
Chris Kriz
Chris_Kriz@midhosp.chime.org
Don, Barb, Phil, Salt Lake
Where: Ski areas around Salt Lake City
Who: Ten friends from Canada and the U.S. met for ten days of winter wonderland
in February. Barb and Don's son taught skiing at Deer Valley, everyone was
there to ski all day, and we did it all ten days. Don's brother Bob stayed at
Deer Valley. We all loved and still love Alta. It has the best terrain and snow maybe in the world. We ended up skiing Alta, Snowbird, Park City, Solitude and Deer Valley. We rented a 12 passenger van and we braved several blizzards to get to the ski areas. We rented a huge condo at the junction of Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. We shared cooking and wine choosing chores, and laughed and enjoyed ourselves nonstop.
Philip Florence
philipf@ix.netcom.com
Friends and skis
I have had three great ski trips that were made great by the combination of good skiing and great friendship. One, a week skiing Keystone with one of my closest friends. The other two trips were to Candanchu in Spain and Pas de la Casa in Andorra with my other closest friend. Skiing by itself is fun, but for me it is skiing with genuine friends that makes it great fun.
Gary Powell
garypowl@arrakis.es
Grab that snowcat
The best ski trip I ever took was to Wolf Creek, Colorado. I live in Breckenridge and frequently drive the three hours to Wolf Creek to get the really deep powder. The waterfall area at Wolf Creek is probably one of the best areas for steep and deep powder. The only way out is to attach yourself to the back of a snowcat and get towed out. The tickets are only $30 and lodging is also really cheap in nearby South Fork. If you want to escape the crowds and trendiness of say Vail, Aspen or Breck, just head to Wolf Creek for a really relaxing and fun getaway.
William Gosnell
Gosnell@Colorado.net
Remember that time Otis Day came to Steamboat?
The best ski trip I ever had was in 1986. IT was National Collegiate Ski Week
and 5,000 college kids descended on Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was like a
giant frat party for five days, and Otis Day and the Knights (from the film Animal House) gave us a concert in the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom. I think the hotel was out a few thousand sheets (toga party!) that night. By the way, the skiing was fantastic with almost waist-deep powder in the glades. It snowed for four straight days.
Dave Lovo
DLOVO@AG.GOV
Austria...or Sun Valley?
It is no contest ...After a bad ski trip in Austria where we tried to learn to ski, we spent a week on Sun Valley. That was over 20 years ago. My wife and I learned more in half a day on Dollar Mt than we learned in a week in Europe.
Sun Valley's ambiance can't be beat. It is the best combination of
small town warmth and a first rate mountain with great professional support.
It has grown a bit in the last 20 years but it still retains that special
something that makes a vacation special.
Paul S. Kraabel
kraabel@kraabel.com
Fun vs. best: There is a difference
By far, the most FUN skiing I've done was moving to Aspen for two years. You
can't beat putting your boots on in your apartment and walking to the lift at
Ajax (for about 40 days per season). The BEST skiing I've done was at Snowbird. What more can one ask for but a 7 1/2 minute ride in a tram with a breathtaking view, followed by the most diverse trails in the Midwest? Fun is Colorado, skiing is Utah.
Eerik Maandi
maandi@mindspring.com
The pleasures of Solitude
The resorts surrounding Salt Lake City have to be among the best in the United States and perhaps the world. Alta, Snowbird, and Solitude (all within 30 to
40 minutes of one another) offer everything you could ask for in a skiing vacation, and there is no more appropriately named mountain than Solitude. You can ski for hours without seeing another soul. Enjoying such an amazing place ALONE for a little while (while on vacation with many friends) may be the thing that has endeared it so much to me.
Tim Osbon
chaosbon@visi.net
More ado about Whistler
My best skiing trip was in Whistler, British Columbia during December break in 1995. They have fantastic snow combined with amazing lifts and great food. With the huge variety of runs, I would choose Whistler over any other mountain. Powder is great, moguls, tree skiing and even some cruising. The village is also great for after skiing with great restaurants and clubs.
Ryan Rogowski
rrogow@po-box.mcgill.ca
A little night skiing
My best ski trip ever was last year. I went to Breckenridge, Colorado with three of my friends from work in the first week of January. We stayed in Silverthorne, Colorado from January 2-6, 1996. During our stay, it snowed more than 96 inches. I had never skied powder before and the experience was incredible. We were able to test the slopes out at three different resorts: Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Keystone. Keystone has night skiing, so this was also another first for me. I've skied at several different resorts in New Mexico and Colorado, but none have left me more impressed than my trip last year to Breckenridge.
Sincerely,
Chad Woods
chadw@why.net
Now that you mention it, just this past weekend...
The best ski trip I have ever taken is to Big Sky, Montana. I just went this
past weekend. The snow and mountain was just perfect. There is so much skiable terrain that it is just great skiing for everyone. Big Sky is the most
beautiful and most challenging skiing I have ever skied.
Ryan Behrends
behrendr@rocky.edu
Been to Thredbo?
I have skied all over the world: USA, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy,
Canada, but my best ski trip was to Thredbo, Australia. It was the best coverage of snow I'd seen and the originality of the trails was
spectacular. It is an area for everybody, beginners, intermediate and advanced.
I recommend it to all!
David Lukas
womerah@ozemail.com.au
More "Best Slopes"
I LOVE THE STATES, BUT EUROPE HAS IT ALL...Starting to ski in the Northeast (VT, NH, ME, MA) as a kid, I would view the peaks of the White Mountains with awe as my family's car neared such giants with the names Killington and Suicide Six. Moving to Washington, DC, and thus having only mere hills to hit in the winter strengthened my feelings that the Northeast was home to mountains with some serious altitude. I was wrong.
I've lived in Italy now for about a year and have the good fortune of skiing
(actually snowboarding) every weekend in a season that starts around mid-October and perseveres through April. To date, I've hit the slopes in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Germany, with France on my list of things to do. I've never been in Colorado, but have a hard time believing that the Rockies have a chance of offering the combination of vertical drop, varied terrain, cultural diversity, and overall incredibleness of the Alps.
For people planning ski trips to Europe, Italy is by far the best value for
food, lodging, and lift tickets. I feel Switzerland has the best skiing
available, but don't forget to mortgage your house before coming, you'll need
the money. Austria has, hands-down, the most insane night-life with Australian
(yes, Australian) run bars with names like The Crazy Kangaroo in St. Antons and The Londoner in Kupzbuel. Bring lots of aspirin, and don't bother mortgaging the house, just sell the car first for spending money.
Marc Raimondi
Vicenza, Italy
raimondm@email.vicenza.army.mil
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