Talk of The Villages Florida

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)
-   The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)
-   -   Downhill skiing within driving distance....what's good? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/downhill-skiing-within-driving-distance-whats-good-337587/)

JMintzer 12-22-2022 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com (Post 2168778)
are you sure that your post is more about not knowing how to goggle these destinations or is it about impressing us with your skiing acumen?

Anyone else catching the irony in this post?

Two Bills 12-22-2022 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkjelenbaas (Post 2168693)
Are you kidding me - do you know GOOGLE - come on you can do it on your own!!

Are you the Bogie-mans brother?

Fastskiguy 12-22-2022 11:23 AM

1 Attachment(s)
Quote:

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com (Post 2168778)
are you sure that your post is more about not knowing how to goggle these destinations or is it about impressing us with your skiing acumen?

Honestly and genuinely asking if anybody has skied at any place within 10-ish hours from TV and can share some 1st hand observations.

And of course if somebody mentions heli skiing or some exotic (or non-exotic!) ski adventure I'm gonna comment. I'm sure you understand being fired up and and enthusiastic. Here's a picture from a rainy day in 2019. Great snow and the place was totally empty. Even got to bust out the ski-gee that day, awesome!!!

Joe

tophcfa 12-22-2022 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wilson02852 (Post 2168760)
Tucks will pucker the cheeks of many skiers. If the hike up doesn't wear you dropping off headwall and heading down on mostly ice will just plan squeeze those cheeks. Yeah, the rock runout at bottom is also interesting.

Tucks is definitely not for the faint of heart. Got well over 100 runs under the belt there. We used to make it an annual spring tradition. Hike up to the base camps late at night, camp out for a three day weekend and do three or four runs per day. Basically lived on peanut butter and jelly, water, and vodka. Experienced every imaginable condition, from glare ice, corn snow, rock skiing, and deep powder. Nothing like a powder day, skiing from the parking lot on the top of Mt. Washington through almost a mile and half of snow fields then dropping off the head wall. Watched a couple unfortunate skiers get airlifted out of there and always tried to stay well clear of the crevasses. One of my best friends named his two sons Tucker and Hunter, after two of the ravines. Ski on : )

curler1 12-22-2022 12:41 PM

Snowshoe WV ~ 14 hours drive from the villages

RiderOnTheStorm 12-22-2022 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy (Post 2168521)
My wife and I want to try taking a driving vacation for skiing this winter, something maybe 10-12 hours away? Has anybody done this? Where did you go and how did you like it? Thanks :)

Joe

Hmmm ... Ten to twelve hours. Have you considered a 3-D headset?

RiderOnTheStorm 12-22-2022 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm (Post 2168822)
Hmmm ... Ten to twelve hours. Have you considered a 3-D headset?

On the other hand, you can probably find something with "Good" conditions 10-12 hours away as long as you keep in mind the definitions of decreasing slope quality; Excellent Winter, Good Winter, Poor Winter, Excellent Spring and GOOD spring.

Fastskiguy 12-22-2022 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm (Post 2168822)
Hmmm ... Ten to twelve hours. Have you considered a 3-D headset?

Yes! But it induced instant motion sickness and I just couldn't handle it. Unfortunately!

B-flat 12-22-2022 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2168799)
Tucks is definitely not for the faint of heart. Got well over 100 runs under the belt there. We used to make it an annual spring tradition. Hike up to the base camps late at night, camp out for a three day weekend and do three or four runs per day. Basically lived on peanut butter and jelly, water, and vodka. Experienced every imaginable condition, from glare ice, corn snow, rock skiing, and deep powder. Nothing like a powder day, skiing from the parking lot on the top of Mt. Washington through almost a mile and half of snow fields then dropping off the head wall. Watched a couple unfortunate skiers get airlifted out of there and always tried to stay well clear of the crevasses. One of my best friends named his two sons Tucker and Hunter, after two of the ravines. Ski on : )

WOW you are a brave soul! I've skied all over NH and hiked up to the lunch rocks at Tuckerman's not in a million years would I ski Tucks, I wasn't a bad skier but that was beyond my ability.

tophcfa 12-22-2022 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-flat (Post 2168894)
WOW you are a brave soul! I've skied all over NH and hiked up to the lunch rocks at Tuckerman's not in a million years would I ski Tucks, I wasn't a bad skier but that was beyond my ability.

Used to love it when an entrepreneurial day hiker would lug a couple cases of Budweiser up to the lunch rocks and sell singles for $3 each (a case cost about $10 back then). When your camping up there for three days and you had to lug a winter sleeping bag, food, a water filter, a couple bottles of hard liquor, a couple changes of clothes, skies, poles, and ski boots up Mt. Washington, beer was priceless. We would buy every beer they carried up there, for whatever they wanted for them ($20 bills were light). We quickly learned you had to sleep with the beers inside your sleeping bag or they would freeze and the cans would explode. Fast forward 40 years and now we float around in our heated pool in Florida and drink frozen Margaritas during the winter. How times change when you get old.

Fastskiguy 12-22-2022 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2168950)
Used to love it when an entrepreneurial day hiker would lug a couple cases of Budweiser up to the lunch rocks and sell singles for $3 each (a case cost about $10 back then). When your camping up there for three days and you had to lug a winter sleeping bag, food, a water filter, a couple bottles of hard liquor, a couple changes of clothes, skies, poles, and ski boots up Mt. Washington, beer was priceless. We would buy every beer they carried up there, for whatever they wanted for them ($20 bills were light). We quickly learned you had to sleep with the beers inside your sleeping bag or they would freeze and the cans would explode. Fast forward 40 years and now we float around in our heated pool in Florida and drink frozen Margaritas during the winter. How times change when you get old.

That pitch looks like a vertical wall at the top.I bet those were like the best 3 day trips ever.

24 hour drive from TV so....not completely out of the question I guess!

Joe

ditka41 12-22-2022 10:37 PM

Been to Snowshoe Mt. WVA three times and loved it. Very senic . Check snow conditions before hitting the road for that many hours though. Excellent condo rentals and a H.I. in the valley also.

tophcfa 12-22-2022 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy (Post 2168952)
That pitch looks like a vertical wall at the top.I bet those were like the best 3 day trips ever.

24 hour drive from TV so....not completely out of the question I guess!

Joe

They were absolutely some of the best 3 day trips ever. We were 17 years old for the first one and skipped a few days of high school and thumbed from Northampton, MA to Mt. Washington carrying skies and a backpack. It became an annual tradition for the next 19 years until I blew out my knee playing basketball (it’s amazing it took that long). Only 3 of the crazy crew of 5 are still alive today.

As great as Tucks is, I wouldn’t even think of driving 24 hours to make that hike carrying your equipment up Mt. Washington as a senior citizen. My whole body aches just thinking about it. That’s for young people.

jebartle 12-23-2022 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardlyworking (Post 2168523)
The last place we went to was Boone, NC. It was fun but nothing compared to western US ski areas.

I agree, we lived in NC, slopes were kamikaze, yipsters, but that could have something to do with my skiing ability, lol.

lawgolfer 12-23-2022 07:28 AM

airlines serving Crested Butte
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy (Post 2168765)
That sounds like just the kind of place we're looking for, we'll try to get there. Our current favorite is Buttermilk but Aspen has a drawback or two. Well, I guess just one drawback ($$$$). We'll totally give this a shot, thanks!

Joe

United flies from Denver to Gunnison, CO daily. For ski season, American flies to Gunnison from either Houston or Dallas-Ft Worth. If you don't mind riding a shuttle bus for 20 miles from Gunnison to CB, you can avoid renting a car. The Grand Lodge is the original hotel. It has little kitchenettes if you want to make your own breakfast or lunch. It is a 5 minute walk to the lifts; however, you can check your skis overnight at the lifts. The Stagecoach is the newest hotel. It is a three minute walk. The Elevation is 55 steps to the lifts. Full price adult tickets purchased online are $132 in non-holiday weeks. Of course, there are discounts for seniors and multi-day tickets.

If you or your wife is disappointed with CB, I'll buy you a drink as recompense.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:53 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.32 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.