Help me figure out a family ski trip

[Ducman]

I've been taking my two boys snowboarding in upper Michigan over New Years for the last 6 years. Now 10 and 12 I want to take them out west. Honestly the options are overwhelming....was thinking Park City but still hotels condos etc. I'm originating from Chicago.

Anyone got a good recommendation? Yes my wife will come too so there has to be shopping and food too...she won't spend all day in the snow like the boys will.

[Tobra]

I am partial to Lake Tahoe area, but that is local for me. You would fly into Reno and rent a car. Squaw Valley, among others, have terrain appropriate for snow boards.

They have mountains in Michigan?

[stomachmonkey]

Personally I'd take Innsbruck over Colorado any day.

I think your problem is going to be finding lodging.

A lot of stuff will already be booked up.

[Ducman]

Originally Posted by Tobra

I am partial to Lake Tahoe area, but that is local for me. You would fly into Reno and rent a car. Squaw Valley, among others, have terrain appropriate for snow boards.

They have mountains in Michigan?

No...they have hills but that's why we need to go elsewhere

[Ducman]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Personally I'd take Innsbruck over Colorado any day.

I think your problem is going to be finding lodging.

A lot of stuff will already be booked up.

Thought about it, on my own I've down alps trips but it's a whole different thing to lug the kids...+ no need to go to that level yet. They're used to hills

[2porscheguy]

With the ...arggh!...lower Canadian $$ you might want to consider Banff, Alberta (just down the road for me)....some great hills...sorry, mountains... close by with many resorts having snowboard 1/2 pipes/park/terrain....and lots to do for the wife...shopping, sightseeing. Flights from Chi are all direct too.

The resorts available are Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Mount Norquay, and Nakiska.

[porwolf]

How about Mammoth Mountain in the Sierras. Ski area mostly above 9000 feet, above the timber line, 5 hour easy drive from Los Angeles (rarely snow on the desert road), or plane connection to local airport. Huge ski and snowboard area with sweeping vistas of snow covered mountains. Lots of condos or lodges to rent. Being in California the winters are not too cold and snow is usually plentiful. Mammoth mountain reminds me of top Swiss ski areas.



California's Best Skiing & Snowboarding | Mammoth Mountain

[Seahawk]

When my kids were your children's age, they were pretty much in the circumstance your describe: They had learned to snowboard at Wintergreen Resort in Va but had not hit the big stuff.

Wntergreen had an excellent snowboarding school so for our first trip out west we focused on finding the same. I grew up skiing in Califormia so I wanted the kids to be comfortable.

We settled on Park City based on the rep of the snow boarding school there. It was great.

[Bikeadventures]

You could try Mammoth Lakes or Tahoe, depending on how far out west you wanted to go.

[mjohnson]

Do you want "amusement park/ski resort" or just "ski resort"?

If you want skiing - Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah. Either get a condo/hotel in the SLC burbs and drive the 30 minutes to Alta/Snowbird or stay in the canyon.

Some of the best skiing anywhere but not too many discos/boutiques or snowbike/tubing areas.

Staying in the 'burbs gets you easily to Big Cottonwood Canyon with Solitude and Brighton. Never skied those though.

If I could only ski in one area for the rest of my life it'd be LCC with the AltaBird joint pass.

Lots of Southwest flights out of Midway make for easy travel to SLC.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

Do you want "amusement park/ski resort" or just "ski resort"?

If you want skiing - Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah. Either get a condo/hotel in the SLC burbs and drive the 30 minutes to Alta/Snowbird or stay in the canyon.

Some of the best skiing anywhere but not too many discos/boutiques or snowbike/tubing areas.

Staying in the 'burbs gets you easily to Big Cottonwood Canyon with Solitude and Brighton. Never skied those though.

If I could only ski in one area for the rest of my life it'd be LCC with the AltaBird joint pass.

Lots of Southwest flights out of Midway make for easy travel to SLC.

Oops - you said snowboard. That means that Alta's out but Snowbird is still in play. My suggestion still stands...

[joe payne]

Vail.

[dhrcr911s]

Stay away from Montana

Thr runs are crowded and the people are nasty. .

[ThomO]

Keystone in Colorado is family friendly and very nice.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by dhrcr911s

Stay away from Montana

Thr runs are crowded and the people are nasty. .

You heard him! Stay away from Whitefish especially! The snow is always shytty, the wimmins are all mutts, and they all drink that shytty american beer!

I hate to date myself but we had some great times back in the Ole days at Whitefish, Montana!....just not so family friendly though!

[Geary]

The irony .. California's going to have another lousy snow season this year, so I was planning to head to Michigan .. Mount Bohemia - Extreme Skiing - Upper Peninsula of Michigan

[Flat Six]

Worked in a Seattle ski shop for a decade; skiied 35 years & most of the west. Live in SoCal now and when I go on a trip Utah is usually my first choice. Easy to fly into, airport and rental car companies are all geared toward serving skiers/boarders. Less than 45 minutes up a 4-lane highway to Park City.

We usually stay at the Newpark Resort (we rent two condos for four couples). Love Deer Valley; always thought it was froo-froo groomers (and you can get that still) until we hooked up with a guide there -- some seriously good expert-level terrain and open glade skiing. No boards allowed, though. Plenty of cruisers at Park City, and I hear they've opened up even more terrain. Canyons is also fun, but some of the runs have this funky side-camber pitch to them that makes it hard (for me, anyway) to get a nice good rhythm going. Plenty of shopping and dining in PC.

Little Cottonwood Canyon (Alta & Snowbird) is a very easy 40-minute drive. Huge areas, and you can get a combo ticket to ski both (no boarding at Alta). Big Cottonwood Canyon (Brighton & Solitude) is a very easy 35-minute drive. Solitude is becoming my favorite West Wasatch area; it's quiet, pure, friendly, and aptly-named.

About 45 minutes north of PC is Snowbasin, my favorite Utah resort. Owned by the Sun Valley Corp., SB offers exceptional snow conditions, lots of varied terrain, really fast detachable chairs (and gondola) for lots of runs. Well protected from the wind, too. And world-class food on the mountain.

Personally, I'd stay away from Mammoth. It's my 'home hill' and I get 8-10 days a year there, but a real PITA to get to if you need to fly in. Takes me 5 hours to drive there; takes me the same amount of time to fly to SLC/drive to Park City. Nothing to do for non-skiers (a reasonable spa at Snowcreek is about it). A couple of good restaurants and a bunch of mediocre ones.

Tahoe is easy to fly to (Reno or Sacramento), but snow conditions can be sketchy around the holidays. The last 3 times we tried to do a week in Tahoe for XMAS, we had to cancel at the last minute & reschedule (Hawaii, boo hoo for me) because the snow sucked. Heavenly and Sierrra-at-Tahoe can get wickedly miserable when it's windy. Love Sugar Bowl (NLT) when there's fresh snow; Squaw's good, too. Squaw and Northstar can be zoo-like during the holidays because you get a bunch of noobs from SAC/SFO trying out the new gear they got for XMAS. Most fun we've had at Tahoe is a small, 4-chair hill called Homewood. Chair off the back side, skiied fresh knee-high powder for almost 4 hours -- just doing laps.

Whistler/Blackcomb usually pretty reliable at XMAS, but busier (and now spendier) than I care for.

Conditions in Colorado, IMHO, can be inconsistent around the holidays. January+ is pretty reliable, but late December can be a crapshoot. I also don't like the fact that you have to drive a couple of hours from the airport to get to most of the major resorts.

Lemme know if you have any questions and/or want any specific recommendations; am happy to help.

Good luck and happy tracks!

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

You heard him! Stay away from Whitefish especially! The snow is always shytty, the wimmins are all mutts, and they all drink that shytty american beer!

I hate to date myself but we had some great times back in the Ole days at Whitefish, Montana!....just not so family friendly though!

Oooh . . . the Beer Stube . . .

[gprsh924]

Park city is a great option for taking the whole family. It's reasonably priced, super close to the airport and there town is great. Plenty for your wife to do off the hill. A lot of other resorts are more self contained. Breckinridge is another good option, though its a 2 hour drive from Denver.

Aspen is on another level, but it gets quite pricey. I'm headed there with 10 guys in February, so we were able to get a house right downtown at the base of Ajax

[gprsh924]

Flights are pretty expensive to SLC right now ($500 +) as an FYI. Most ski towns over NYE probably will be.

Southwest tends to be a good bet for ski trips as there is no charge to check your skis. All the other airlines charge for ski bags (unless you have a good mileage card or the right status).